The 1990s decade had only just begun, but this week, we have two top 150 debuts from two acts most closely-associated with the 1970s, and a bubbling WAY down under entry from a band primarily thought of as being an 80s act. Interestingly, all three singles peaked on the chart during the same week. Let's take a look.
Iggy Pop: Livin' on the edge of a corporate, 9 to 5 image.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 111 "Livin' on the Edge of the Night" by Iggy Pop
Peak: number 101
Peak date: 26 March 1990
Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 111-104-116-113-101-111-115-120-130
Iggy Pop, real name James Newell Osterberg Jr., bubbled under in January 1989, on the first chart recap I wrote for this blog, and here he is again, with the lead single from his Brick by Brick album (number 65, February 1991), which I have previously written about in a special post on singles peaking at number 101. Interestingly, all but one of "Livin' on the Edge of the Night"'s 9 weeks in the top 150 were spent between numbers 101 and 120.
Iggy's biggest chart success to date in Australia was "Real Wild Child (Wild One)", which peaked at number 11 in May 1987, and can still be heard as part of the theme for the nearly 34-years-running Australian music video TV program rage. Iggy would better that peak, though, with the third Brick by Brick single, "Candy" (number 9, January 1991), a duet with Kate Pierson from The B-52's. In the interim, "Home" peaked at number 95 on the ARIA singles chart in August 1990.
Iggy's two major hits aside, he is probably best known in Australia for his infamous 1979 Countdown TV performance of "I'm Bored" (number 68, August 1979), which still receives regular airings on rage.
I don't recall hearing "Livin' on the Edge of the Night" at the time. I found the first verse boring, but it picked up with the chorus, and I like this. Iggy's image in the video seems a lot tamer than usual - he keeps his shirt on, for starters. It's almost as if the record company told him to wear a suit and slick back his hair, as part of an image overhaul. The shirt was off again, though, by the time they got to "Candy" later in the year.
Iggy had more luck with this track on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it just scraped into the top 100 at number 99. "Livin' on the Edge of the Night" peaked at number 51 in the UK in February 1990, and number 47 in the Netherlands in March 1990.
Iggy will join us again in 1991, with another duet.
Number 143 "Bad Love" by Eric Clapton
Peak: number 125
Peak date: 26 March 1990
Weeks in top 150: 7 weeks
Chart run: 153-143-133-128-131-125-126-131
Weeks on chart: 8 weeks
More than a decade before Madonna was latching onto other (and in her case, a lot younger) artists to maintain relevance, it seemed that Eric Clapton was roping in some of his pals to help him score hits at this point in career. "Bad Love" is co-written by Eric with Mick Jones from Foreigner, and Phil Collins plays drums on the track and appears in the video. Around the same time, Eric returned the favour to Phil, playing guitar on and appearing in his video for "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (number 15, April 1990).
"Bad Love" was issued as the second single from Eric's Journeyman album (number 27, December 1989). We saw the first single from the album bubble under back in December.
Internationally, "Bad Love" peaked at number 25 in the UK in February 1990, number 83 in the Netherlands in March 1990., and number 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1990.
On the state charts, "Bad Love" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 56.
We will next see Eric in July 1990.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 153 "Bombers in the Sky" by Thompson Twins
Peak: number 152
Peak date: 26 March 1990
Weeks on chart: 6 weeks
Thompson Twins (no The) bubbled WAY down under back in October 1989. Here they are in the same region of the chart again, with the second single lifted from their Big Trash album (number 135, October 1989).
I don't recall hearing this one before, yet it peaked three places higher than the previous single - which I heard/saw on TV numerous times. Unusually for this period, where the chart does not seem to have extended to/beyond number 200, this single spent 6 weeks on the chart, despite its number 152 peak. "Bombers in the Sky" does not appear to have charted anywhere else.
We shall see Thompson Twins again in 1991.
Next week (5 March): Next week there are four new top 150 debuts, including a megamix from a band who were quite successful during the 1980s, and one bubbling WAY down under entry. You can also follow my posts on instagram, facebook and twitter.
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