A loose lyrical theme running through this week's debuts is being free with your 'love'. Whether that's busting moves at your best friend's wedding, being flippant about the name of the person you're writing a love song about, or stating explicitly (in quite a literal sense!) what you want to do to your 'lover', it's all here this week. Let's take a look...
Top 150 debuts:
Released as the third single from Sam's debut album Stop! in Europe, "This Feeling" stalled at number 91 in the UK in August 1988. The single had greater, albeit moderate, success in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, and the Netherlands, where it peaked at numbers 23 and 32, respectively, in November 1988. Sam then scored her biggest hit with the re-issue issue of "Stop!" in early 1989.
In Australia, "This Feeling" was Sam's fourth single, following "Walking Back to Me" (released April 1988, failed to chart), "Stop!" (number 4, May 1989) and "Can I Get a Witness?" (number 17, August 1989). The track features a guitar solo from David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.
I remember seeing the "This Feeling" single in the shops, but never heard the song or caught the video anywhere at the time; so, presumably, its success was hindered by a lack of promotion. It's a shame, as "This Feeling" is actually my favourite Sam Brown song, and I think it deserved a lot better. "This Feeling" performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it peaked at number 86. Sam will pay us another visit in 1990.
I know some of you reading this might be thinking, "Isn't this blog supposed to be about flops that missed the top 100?" Well, yes, that is its raison d'être, but I will also write about singles that flopped upon their initial release (or later re-release, after once being a hit), such as this one from Young MC.
"Bust a Move" was the second release for Young MC (real name Marvin Young) in Australia, following the 12" vinyl-only release of "Know How" in May 1989. Issued locally in early July 1989, "Bust a Move" took just over two months to dent the top 150. Despite the initial lack of success, Young MC had co-written both of Tone Lōc's 1989 hits, "Wild Thing" (number 15, May 1989) and "Funky Cold Medina" (number 8, August 1989). "Bust a Move" had greater success in the US, where it peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989.
I caught the "Bust a Move" music video at least twice on Countdown Revolution in 1989, and even recall someone at school reciting the "she's dressed in yellow, she says hello" couplet at the time, so I am not sure why "Bust a Move" flopped the first time around - other than because, as I have previously written, rap generally didn't do that well on the Australian singles chart during its 1980s heyday. Of course, "Bust a Move" would go on to top the ARIA singles chart in October 1990, after being re-released. Young MC will join us again in 1991.
Another rap track that didn't crossover into the mainstream in 1989, but did a little bit better in 1990, was "Hump Music" by No Face. Although, in this instance, it's understandable why this didn't become a major chart hit (or is it?), given the more... overtly sexual nature of the lyrics, with lines such as "Girl, I'll f**k you, give me p*ssy now", "suck my d*ck all night long" and "I'll f*ck you, I'll dump you, I'll suck you". Ooh er Missus! Nevertheless, "Hump Music" got a second lease of life on the ARIA chart, where it re-entered in March 1990, and peaked at number 64 at the end of April 1990.
Like most Australians, I'd never heard of Extreme until their breakthrough hit, "More Than Words" (number 2, August 1991); an acoustic ballad that was nothing like their typical sound. Released as the band's second single in the US, but their first in Australia, the glam metal "Kid Ego" peaked at number 39 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (which doesn't count as a real chart in my book), and appears to have not charted anywhere else other than New Zealand, where it peaked at number 13 in August 1989. Lifted from the album Extreme (number 97, August 1989), "Kid Ego" performed better on the Australian Music Report chart, where it peaked at number 93. On the state charts, "Kid Ego" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it peaked at number 79. We will next see Extreme in 1993.
On the state charts, "Song for Whoever" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it
peaked at number 114. We shall see The Beautiful South again in 1990.
Despite having name recognition, Chaka Khan only had two solo top 100-charting singles in Australia - those being the original version of "I'm Every Woman" (number 27, March 1979), and "I Feel for You" (number 4, December 1984). Even with her group Rufus, they only managed to score one Australian top 100 'hit' - "Tell Me Something Good" (number 64, November 1974). Despite Chaka's relative lack of success, this 1989 remix of "I'm Every Woman", lifted from the remix album Life Is a Dance - The Remix Album (number 143, July 1989), managed to register on our chart - albeit in the lower reaches of the top 150. This version of "I'm Every Woman" performed much better in the UK, where it peaked at number 8
for two weeks in May 1989.
Before getting hold of these charts, I had never heard of Marshall Crenshaw, who hails from the US. Marshall had previously placed one single in the Australian top 100, "Someday, Someway" (number 57, December 1982). "Some Hearts" was written by Diane Warren, and was originally offered to Belinda Carlisle, who recorded a demo for her 1987 Heaven on Earth album, but it did not evolve beyond the demo stage. Interestingly, this song did not chart anywhere else.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Now here's someone I had heard of before... unknowingly, as the voice of Tommy Pickles on the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats - a show I used to sometimes watch in 1996 to wind down from a day of my final year of high school. But long before then, E.G. (real name: Elizabeth Ann Guttman) had a brush with fame playing 'Patti', the 17 year-old teenage runaway who later gave birth to a 10 lb. baby boy, in Rod Stewart's "Young Turks" (number 3, March 1982) music video. In between being a dancer in music videos and a voiceover actress, E.G. tried her hand at being a pop star. While she never achieved massive success in her recording career, E.G. did score a top 20 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands and New Zealand, with "Say It, Say It" in 1986.
Elizabeth also recorded a track with Stock Aitken Waterman, "Mind Over Matter", released overseas in 1987 to promote the film Summer School. In Australia, "Mind Over Matter" had a belated release in July 1988, and whilst it peaked at number 44 on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart in September 1988, it did not chart nationally on the ARIA chart (probably because the chart ended at number 100 in 1988). "Mind Over Matter" did, however, reach number 84 on the Australian Music Report chart. Interestingly, Stock Aitken Waterman originally recorded "Mind Over Matter" with Deborah Harry, but it was shelved, and remains unreleased to this day.
After that long introduction, let's take a look at the track at hand. "Some People" was
released as the lead single from the album Lace Around the World. While it reached number
33 on the US Dance chart (not a real chart, according to me), the single failed to chart anywhere else.
In Australia, "Some People" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 104.
Next week (25 September): Another six new top 150 entries, and two bubbling WAY down
under debuts. Among them, we have the first charting song about the drug ecstasy, and the
last chart entry from a duo who were nudging the top of the charts earlier in the year. You
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Hello - would it be possible to get the debut date and debut number for Chaka Khan's "Life Is a Dance - The Remix Album"? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi, yes. The album debuted (and peaked) on the ARIA albums chart on 10 July 1989. It spent two weeks on chart, though I am not sure when the second week was, as I can only access full charts for the top 150. Having said that, the albums chart ended at number 141, 146, and 146 for the following three weeks (it ended at number 149 the week the album debuted).
DeleteYou may also be interested to know that Chaka's 'C.K.' album peaked at number 115 on the ARIA albums chart on 27 February 1989 (it debuted on 30 January 1989 at number 140). However, no singles from 'C.K.' charted in Australia.