Week commencing 29 July 1991

I can't identify any clever theme running through this week in 1991's ARIA chart debuts outside the top 100.

 

Before we dive in, on a sad note, I received news that a regular reader of my blog, Craig MacGregor, passed away this week, following a long illness.  When I started writing these chart recaps, I never imagined that I would end up having several long phone conversations with one of its readers, but that's what happened with Craig and I.  We both shared a keen interest in the ARIA charts and flop music of yesteryear, among other commonalities.  I had planned to meet Craig when he returned to Australia from New Zealand for a period in May 2021, but COVID and border closures put an end to that.

 

While Craig was preparing to die, he sent me his copy of Joel Whitburn's Billboard Hot 100 Charts - The Eighties book, a New Zealand chart book, and some printed ARIA top 50 charts from the 1990s with Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia/Northern Territory state charts on the reverse that I did not have (I am in Victoria), as he wanted these to go to someone who might use them.  RIP Craig (or 'kool beanz', as he might have said).

 

Ric Ocasek rocked away from the ARIA top 100 this week in 1991.

  

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 108 "You Can Swing It" by Sheena Easton

Peak: number 107

Peak date: 5 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Chart run: 174-108-107-113-128

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

Scottish singer Sheena Easton burst onto the Australian chart in 1981 with "9 to 5 (Morning Train)" (number 1, April 1981), which was re-named so as to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" (number 9, April 1981) from around the same time.

 

Between 1981 and 1991, Sheena amassed 10 Australian top 100 singles, with "For Your Eyes Only" (number 6, February 1982) and "What Comes Naturally" (number 4, June 1991) also reaching the top 10.  We saw Sheena bubble under with Prince in December 1989.

 

"You Can Swing It" was the second single lifted from Sheena's tenth studio album What Comes Naturally (number 38, July 1991).  Internationally, "You Can Swing It" peaked at number 54 in the Netherlands in August 1991.

Within Australia, "You Can Swing It" was most successful in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 84.

A third single from What Comes Naturally, "To Anyone", was released in Australia in September 1991, but failed to chart.

Sheena would land one more charting single in Australia, with her version of The Three Degrees' "Giving Up, Giving In" - minus the comma in the title - which peaked at number 78 in January 2001.

Sheena had greater, albeit modest, success on the ARIA albums charts in the ensuring years, with No Strings (number 160, September 1993), Fabulous (number 95, March 2001), The Best of Sheena Easton (number 596, November 2008) and Original Album Series (number 1060, February 2015) all charting.

 

I don't recall hearing "You Can Swing It" before.  My take is that it was a bit too American-sounding to be a large hit in Australia in 1991.  "What Comes Naturally" was American-sounding too, but had a Prince-esque pop sensibility that "You Can Swing It" lacks.

While "You Can Swing It" was Sheena's last single to peak outside the top 100 in Australia, she will appear on a 1982 post coming up in October.

 

 

Number 118 "This Is the Way to Heaven" by Mark Stevens

Peak: number 118

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 118-134-139-133-(out for 7 weeks)-132-132-147-140-150

 

In the week in which the 37 year-old Australian soap opera stalwart Neighbours is ending, it is fitting that we have a debut from an actor who played the role of Nick Page on the show.  Mark joined the cast of Neighbours in July 1988, which was after I - and probably a good chunk of the Australian audience - stopped watching it, opting instead for Home and Away.  That being said, Mark looks familiar to me - he was probably a pin-up in Smash Hits magazine a few times when I was a reader.  Prior to Neighbours, Mark was on Young Talent Time for three years; but, again, it was after I stopped watching it.

 

In the tradition of Kylie Minogue and all who've come after her, Mark was yet another soap-actor-turned-popstar hopeful.  But how did it pan out for him?  Not too well, going by the number 118 peak of this single, which would be Mark's only release to make the ARIA top 150.  Nonetheless, this single spent a respectable 9 weeks in the top 150.

I hadn't heard this one before.  It doesn't stand out as anything special to me, despite being written and produced by Nik Kershaw, whom we saw writing for another artist earlier in 1991.

Mark's Wikipedia biography is a bit of a depressing read.  He became addicted to drugs in the 1990s and, after overcoming the addiction, became a born-again Christian who is now affiliated with the lucrative Hillsong church.

 

Number 125 "Kozmik" by Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers

Peak: number 105

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 125-118-105-112-123-125

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

David Nesta Marley, better known as Ziggy, is the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley.  Ziggy, together with his band The Melody Makers, placed two singles on the ARIA top 100 in the late 1980s, with "Tomorrow People" (number 36, June 1988) being their biggest hit in Australia.  The group landed a second top 100 'hit' in 1989 with "Look Who's Dancing" (number 69, October 1989), and two albums Conscious Party (number 34, July 1988) and One Bright Day (number 68, October 1989) made the top 100.  A mini-album Look Who's Dancing (number 111, June 1990) also registered on the albums chart.

"Kozmik" was the lead single in Australia from Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers' fifth studio album Jahmekya (number 111, August 1991).  Internationally, "Kozmik" peaked at number 11 in the Netherlands in July 1991, and number 44 in the Flanders region of Belgium in August 1991.

Locally, "Kozmik" was most popular in Queensland, where it reached number 84.

I don't recall hearing this one at the time, but the music video was on a tape I digitised about a decade ago.

We will next see Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers in 1995.

 

 

Number 133 "Sexdrive" by The Rolling Stones

Peak: number 133

Peak dates: 29 July 1991 and 12 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Chart run: 133-143-133-135-146-137

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

 

We last saw rock fossils The Rolling Stones in June 1991.  "Sexdrive" was the third single, and one of only two studio recordings on the otherwise live album Flashpoint (number 12, April 1991).  Curiously, "Sexdrive" was not issued as a single in the band's native UK.

 

Internationally, "Sexdrive" peaked at number 31 in Sweden in September 1991, and number 24 in the Netherlands during the same month.

Within Australia, "Sexdrive" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 101.

We shall next see The Rolling Stones in 2002 - assuming I am still writing these chart recaps in 2033.

 

 

Number 139 "Rockaway" by Ric Ocasek

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 139-141-141-140

 

Together with his former band The Cars, in which Ric shared lead vocal duties with Benjamin Orr, Ric Ocasek (born Richard Theodore Otcasek) placed 12 singles on the Australian top 100 between 1978 and 1987.  Although it was not the band's biggest hit, the highest-peaking Cars single Ric sang lead vocal on was "Shake It Up" (number 10, February 1982).  My favourite Cars single with Ric vocals is "Tonight She Comes" (number 16, February 1986).

 

Ric enjoyed solo success on the Australian chart with the single "Emotion in Motion" (number 8, November 1986), which reached the top 10.  His only other solo top 100 entry, however, was "True to You" (number 100, February 1987).  I like both of these tracks a lot.

 

"Rockaway" was issued as the lead and only single from Ric's third studio album Fireball Zone (number 119, August 1991).  The single peaked at number 46 in Canada.

I don't recall hearing "Rockaway" before.  It doesn't compare to Ric's earlier solo releases, or those of The Cars, in my book.

 

"Rockaway" would be Ric's last solo single before his death in 2019, aged 75.

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 172 "My Book" by The Beautiful South

Peak: number 172

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

We last saw British band The Beautiful South in July 1990.  "My Book" was released as the second single from the band's second album Choke (number 69, April 1991), following "A Little Time" (number 72, May 1991), which was their biggest 'hit' in Australia.

 

Internationally, "My Book" peaked at number 43 in the UK in December 1990, and number 25 in Ireland in January 1991.  "My Book" missing the top 40 in the UK is notable, as previous single "A Little Time" had gone to number 1 there.

 

Domestically, "My Book" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 138.

I hadn't heard this one before.  It's not bad, but I can see why it was not a huge hit.

 

The Beautiful South will next join us in 1992.

 

 

Next week (5 August): Three top 150 debuts and four bubbling WAY down under entries.

< Previous week: 22 July 1991                                      Next week: 5 August 1991 >

Kent Music Report beyond the top 100: 27 July 1981

There isn't really anything connecting this week in 1981's new entries bubbling under the top 100, other than two of them are loosely connected to 'heroes', and two are by Australian bands.  Let's take a look.

 

The Sports: whoever was listening to the radio in 1981 was not buying this track.

 

Beyond the top 100:

 

Position 27 "When We Go Out Tonight" by The Sports

Highest rank: 21st

Peak date: 24 August 1981

Weeks on below list: 4 weeks

 

At this point in 1981, Melbourne band The Sports had placed 8 singles within the Australian top 100, with "How Come" (number 21, July 1981) being the highest-peaking of those.  The band's most enduring hit, though - at least in my perception - is "Who Listens to the Radio", which peaked at number 35 in December 1978.

 

"When We Go Out Tonight" was the second and final single lifted from The Sports' forth and final studio album Sondra (number 20, June 1981).  Its release followed "How Come".  I do not believe I have heard this track before - it has the catchiness typical of front man Stephen Cummings' songwriting, including his TV jingles, so I am surprised it was not a bigger hit.

 

The Sports went on to place one final single within the Australian top 100, with "Sunshine Superman" (number 72, December 1981).  The band's lead singer, Stephen Cummings, embarked on a solo career following the demise of The Sports in late 1981, and we will see Stephen bubble under a number of times, starting in 1989.

 

 

Position 28 "The Last Number One" by Little Heroes

Highest rank: 18th

Peak date: 31 August 1981

Weeks on below list: 5 weeks

 

My impression is that we seem to see a lot of Australian acts in the Kent Music Report beyond the top 100 list, and here is yet another one.  Like The Sports above, Little Heroes also formed in Melbourne.

 

"The Last Number One", the band's third single, was their first to almost chart in Australia.  The song appears on the band's debut album Little Heroes (number 81, August 1981), which spawned no top 100 singles.

Little Heroes would score their first top 100 hit in 1982 with "One Perfect Day" (number 12, June 1982), which would also be the band's only top 40 entry.  Little Heroes placed three other singles within the Australian top 100, before splitting up in 1984.

 

 

 

Position 35 "Believe It Or Not (Theme from "The Greatest American Hero")" by Joey Scarbury

Highest rank: 7th

Peak date: 19 October 1981

Weeks on below list: 7 weeks

This single went on to peak at number 2 on 26 April 1982, and spent 26 weeks in the top 100.

 

"Belive It Or Not..." (I am not typing out the full title every time) is a song I have vivid memories about hearing/seeing on TV as a 3 year-old child in 1982.  I guess I must have watched The Greatest American Hero, even though I recall little else about the TV series, other than the Superman-like guy flying through the air.

 

Of course, "Believe It Or Not" went on to be a major hit in Australia, reaching number 2 in April 1982.  But, initially, the single was a flop, stalling outside the top 100.  I am guessing that The Greatest American Hero started to air - or become popular - in Australia in late 1981/early 1982, leading to a renewed interest in the single.

Internationally, "Believe It Or Not" peaked two weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1981, and number 1 in New Zealand in October 1981 (they always seemed to be ahead of us).  The single charted twice in Ireland, originally peaking at number 19 in November 1981, and then re-entering at number 28 in October 1982, almost a year later.  Oddly, the single did not chart in the UK.

 

Believe it or not, this track would become Joey's only top 100 entry in Australia.

 

 

Next week (3 August): Two new entries bubbling under the top 100.

< Previous week: 20 July 1981                                            Next week: 3 August 1981 >

Week commencing 22 July 1991

Among this week in 1991's new ARIA singles chart entries below number 100, we have three acts who would never land a top 100 hit in Australia, and two who would never trouble the top 100 again.  Shall we take a look?

 

Lonnie Gordon: serving looks but not hits.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 136 "Out of My Head" by Degenerates

Peak: number 126

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 136-126-133-136

 

Degenerates were an Australian band for whom I can gather little information about.  I can tell you, however, that the three-piece group consisted of Jamie Durrant on vocals/guitar, David Klenjans on drums, and Julien Chick on bass.  The trio only released one album Play Dinosaur, in June 1992, on which this track does not appear.

 

An interesting thing I discovered while researching this band is that a version of "Out of My Head" originally appeared as the second track on an EP titled Out of My Head released by the band The Xentrix (I assume that is pronounced 'eccentrics') in 1987.  However, none of the 1991 line-up of Degenerates was in that band.  At that point in time, the track's writing credits were given to P. Watts/D. Gillard, who were both in The Xentrix.

Robert Mackay, who was also in The Xentrix, went on to form a band called Degens with Jamie and David from Degenerates.  They released another version of "Out of My Head" in November 1989, which missed the ARIA top 150.

Robert was not in Degenerates, but nonetheless another version of the song was recorded and released, this time with writing credits going to Watts/Gillard/Durrant.  I guess it was third time lucky for the song becoming a (very minor) 'hit' of sorts.

 

We will see Degenerates again in 1992, but before then, they released another single, "Crazy World", in November 1991, which missed the top 150.

 

 

Number 133 "Pop Goes the Weasel" by 3rd Bass

Peak: number 122

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 133-122-142-(out for 2 weeks)-134-(out for 1 week)-141

 

"Pop Goes the Weasel" was the lead single from American hip-hop trio 3rd Bass' second album Derelicts of Dialect (number 118, August 1991).  The group formed in Queens, New York in 1987, disbanding in 1992.  "Pop Goes the Weasel" was the only 3rd Bass release to register on the ARIA top 150 singles chart.

 

Internationally, "Pop Goes the Weasel" peaked at number 64 in the UK in June 1991, number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1991, and number 17 in New Zealand in September 1991. 

"Pop Goes the Weasel" performed better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 88.

 

The track prominently samples Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" (number 3, June 1986), and lyrically takes aim at the increasing commercialisation of rap music in the early 1990s, with artists such as MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice crossing over into the mainstream.  Henry Rollins portrays Vanilla Ice, lecturing the class, in the music video embedded below.
 

 

Number 145 "Gonna Catch You" by Lonnie Gordon

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks

Known chart run: 167-145-(out of top 150 for 1 week)-148

Weeks on chart: 4 weeks

 

We last saw American singer Lonnie Gordon in February 1991.  Since then, Lonnie had parted ways with Stock Aitken Waterman, and had teamed up with the team behind Black Box, whose Dreamland album belatedly topped the ARIA albums chart in March 1991, ten months after its release.  Lonnie had also undergone quite a radical makeover, ditching her crimped long dark locks for a short bleached hairstyle more reminiscent of Yazz.  Lonnie has maintained this look ever since, and has commented herself that she looks "like a drag queen" when asked about her popularity with gay audiences.

Overseas, "Gonna Catch You" peaked at number 32 in the UK in May 1991, number 27 in the Netherlands in August 1991, number 37 in France in September 1991, and number 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1991.

 

Within Australia, "Gonna Catch You" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 115 on the state chart.

 

Lonnie's pairing with Black Box really was a match made in heaven, with Lonnie providing actual diva vocals, and, combined with her palatable image, there was no need to hire French models to lip sync.  Why "Gonna Catch You" was not a huge commercial success, I do not know.  A lack of promotion was one factor for the single failing to take off in Australia - I only knew of its release when seeing the cassingle in the shops.  I finally heard part of the song when it was used as background music on the Sophie Lee-hosted What's Up Doc? when leading to a commercial break.  I recognised the voice and then it clicked that it was Lonnie's new single.

"Gonna Catch You" also appeared on the soundtrack for Vanilla Ice's flop movie Cool As Ice.

 

"Gonna Catch You" eventually appeared on Lonnie's second - and final to date - studio album Bad Mood, which was released in 1993, but does not appear to have been issued locally.  Bad Mood also contained a new remix of Lonnie's 1990 hit "Happenin' All Over Again" (number 33, August 1990), for which a new video was filmed to promote the single's 1993 release in North America.  Comparing both videos, you would not think it was the same person singing, as Lonnie looks so different in both of them.

 

Lonnie will visit us again in 1996.

 

 

Number 150 "Come Alive" by Orchestra JB

Peak: number 150

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Top 150 chart run: 150

 

One reason I write these chart recaps is that it forces me to listen to music that I would otherwise not hear, which occasionally leads to me discovering some gems.  This is one of them - or so I think.

Orchestra JB was an alias of British DJ and musician Jimmy Brown.  For this track, Lydia Steinman provides vocals - though I am not sure if she both sings the chorus and performs the spoken verses, as they sound like different voices to me.

Internationally, "Come Alive" peaked at number 296 (number 178 on the compressed chart) in the UK in September 1992.

 

I had never heard of this song until getting hold of these charts.  It is one of my favourite discoveries from the 101-150 section of the ARIA chart.

"Come Alive" is lifted from the only Orchestra JB album Tambourine Fever.

 

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 186 "Rubberbandman" by Yello

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

We last saw Swiss duo Yello in July 1989.  "Rubberbandman" was the lead single from the pair's seventh studio album Baby (number 73, August 1991).

 

Internationally, "Rubberbandman" peaked at number 58 in the UK in June 1991, number 9 in Switzerland in July 1991, and number 29 in Germany in 1991.

 

Domestically, "Rubberbandman" performed strongest on the Western Australia state chart, where it reached number 135.

 

Coincidentally, Yello's 1980 debut album Solid Pleasure, which did not chart anywhere else, spent a solitary week on the ARIA albums chart at number 146 this week in 1991, with Baby debuting at number 134 above it.

I first heard "Rubberbandman" in the early 2010s when it popped up on a UK monthly promo VHS compilation I was digitising, The Video Pool.  I actually laughed when I first heard the track/saw the video, due to the way Yello singer (if he can be called that) Dieter Meier said the lyrics, "Do I know why I'm in love with you?", with characteristic weird vocal effects; but I like the song.

Yello would not grace the ARIA singles chart again until the end of 1995.  In the interim, they had another two charting albums in Australia: the compilation Essential (number 148, December 1992), and their eighth studio album Zebra (number 197, January 1995), which spawned no charting singles here.

 

 

Next week (29 July): Five top 150 debuts plus one bubbling WAY down under entry.

< Previous week: 15 July 1991                                       Next week: 29 July 1991 >

Kent Music Report beyond the top 100: 20 July 1981

As I sat down to write this post, it occurred to me that I know nothing about the acts bubbling under the Australian top 100 this week in 1981.  Let's get enlightened together!

 

John Schneider: that hair was probably a fire 'hazzard'.

  

Beyond the top 100:

 

Position 22 "Fool in Love with You" by Jim Photoglo

Highest rank: 8th

Peak date: 31 August 1981

Weeks on below list: 7 weeks

 

James G. Photoglou, using the slightly modified stage name of Jim Photoglo, is a pop and country musician hailing from Los Angeles.  "Fool in Love with You" was the title track and lead single from Jim's second studio album Fool in Love with You.

 

"Fool in Love with You" reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1981, becoming Jim's second and biggest pop hit there.  The single was Jim's only release to (sort of) chart in Australia.

While Jim may have experienced only moderate success as a recording artist in his own right, he went on to become a successful country music songwriter in Nashville.  Jim has written songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Dusty Springfield, among others.

The music video for "Fool in Love with You", embedded below, is a perfect time capsule of the early 1980s.  It looks like the assistant principal at my high school was taking fashion tips from Jim in this video, sporting a very similar hair style and moustache over a decade later.

 

 

 

Position 25 "Dead Or Alive" by John Cale

Highest rank: 9th

Peak dates: 3 August 1981 and 10 August 1981

Weeks on below list: 5 weeks

 

Welsh musician John Cale was a founding member of American group The Velvet Underground.  John's only release to dent the top 100 in Australia was the album Songs for Drella (number 100, July 1990), which was a collaboration with fellow Velvet Underground member Lou Reed.

"Dead Or Alive" was the opening track on John's seventh solo studio album Honi Soit.

I didn't enjoy this one, but the music video is another interesting snapshot of the early 80s.

This would be John's only single to 'chart' in Australia.

 

 

Position 26 "It's Now Or Never" by John Schneider

Highest rank: 20th

Peak dates: 27 July 1981 and 3 August 1981

Weeks on below list: 6 weeks

 

John Schneider is best known for his role as Beauregard "Bo" Duke in the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, which I used to watch with my mother in kindergarten, but remember very little about now.

 

Sounding much older than his 21 years on this recording, to my ears, "It's Now Or Never" was a cover version of a song recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960.  John's rendition of the track peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 49 in New Zealand in September 1981.

As with the other two new entries this week in 1981, John would not trouble the Australian charts again.

 

 

Next week (27 July): Another three new entries, one of which would eventually go on to become a big hit in Australia in 1982.

 

< Previous week: 13 July 1981                                                Next week: 27 July 1981 >

Week commencing 15 July 1991

It doesn't matter how big you are - everyone flops at some point, and we'll see that is definitely the case this week in 1991, when one of the most successful recording artists in the world - at the height of her popularity, no less - lands outside the ARIA top 100.  Shall we take a look?

 

Madonna took a 'holiday' from the ARIA top 100 this week in 1991.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 121 "When Love Comes Down" by The Slow Club

Peak: number 121

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 121-122-132-136-148

 

Australian band The Slow Club were fronted by Andrew Sefton, and also contained the lead guitarist from English band Japan, Rob Dean.  Surprisingly, Japan never landed a charting single in Australia, but their album Gentlemen Take Polaroids (number 86, March 1981) dented the top 100.  Japan's biggest hit in the UK was "Ghosts", which reached number 5 there in April 1982.

The Slow Club scored two ARIA top 50 hits with their first two releases, "Shout Me Down" (number 36, November 1990) and "Rosalie" (number 46, March 1991).

 

"When Love Comes Down" was issued as the third and final single from The Slow Club's only album World of Wonders (number 101, November 1990).  I don't recall hearing this one before.  A music video probably exists, but has not yet been uploaded online.

 

 

Number 148 "Holiday" by Madonna (re-issue)

Peak: number 144

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Top 150 chat run: 148-144-150

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

This single originally peaked at number 4 on 14 May 1984, and spent 22 weeks in the top 100.

 

Madonna Ciccone made her understated debut on the Australian chart in November 1983, when "Burning Up", her second single but first Australian release, spent a solitary week at number 95.  "Burning Up", which did not chart anywhere else, would go on to reach number 13 in June 1984 following the success of the next single.  And that next single in question would be... you guessed it, "Holiday", which peaked at number 4 in May 1984.

"Holiday" was the first in a string of 20 consecutive Australian top 40 hits for Madonna, with only one of those missing the top 20.  Madonna's hit streak in Australia came to a crashing halt with "Oh Father" (number 59, January 1990), which, ironically, was the first Madonna song I really connected with.  Yes, you read that right.  Madonna's ubiquity in the 1980s put me off her a bit; she seemed inescapable.  In retrospect, I can appreciate most of Madonna's pre-"Oh Father" singles, but I really liked "Oh Father"... shame the record buying public didn't.

Madonna followed up "Oh Father" with another flop I enjoyed, "Dear Jessie", which spent two consecutive weeks at number 51 in March 1990.  Just when it seemed like Madonna's chart fortunes were waning, she quickly bounced back with one of the biggest hits of her career, "Vogue", which spent five weeks at number one in April and May 1990, becoming the third highest-selling single of 1990 in Australia.  It would, however, be Madge's last Australian number one single for a decade, and none of her other 1990s singles peaked higher than number 4 in Australia.

Madonna's first greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection (number 1, November 1990) was released towards the end of 1990, with her film Truth Or Dare (titled In Bed with Madonna in Europe and Australasia) premiering in Australia on 27 June 1991.  Madonna seemed to be the biggest pop star in the world in 1991, despite only releasing two singles that year - one of which was a re-release - and nothing else on the musical front.

 

Following the controversial music video for the lead single from The Immaculate Collection, "Justify My Love" (number 4, December 1990), the follow-up release "Rescue Me" (number 15, March 1991) was released without any promotion, and no music video - though a montage video was put together for the UK market.

The 1991 release of "Holiday" in Australia was an even more-understated affair - I was not aware of its release at the time.  In fact, I had a 'debate' with a Madonna fan over whether "Holiday" was even released here in 1991, despite there being 7", 12" and CD singles listed in The ARIA Report's weekly list of new release titles on 8 July 1991.  Of course there had to have been a local release - whether an Australian pressing or just European imports - for "Holiday" to have registered enough sales to chart in 1991; albeit lowly.

A bunch of earlier Madonna singles were issued on CD in Australia (European imports, I am assuming) on the same date as the 1991 release of "Holiday", but only "Holiday" received vinyl releases at the same time.

 

The CD single for the 1991 release of "Holiday" was titled The Holiday Collection, and contained two of Madonna's earlier hits that were excluded from The Immaculate Collection, "True Blue" (number 5, November 1986) and "Causing a Commotion" (number 7, November 1987) - although the latter is, annoyingly, titled "Causin' a Commotion" on this release.  Only Madonna could leave off international top 10 hits from her greatest hits collection!

Internationally, the 1991 release of "Holiday" peaked at number 5 in the UK in June 1991, number 3 in Ireland, number 24 in the Netherlands in July 1991, number 40 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1991, and number 37 in France in August 1991.

The 1991 issue of "Holiday" was the third time the single had reached the UK top 10, after originally peaking at number 6 there in February 1984, and at number 2 in August 1985.  That must be some kind of record - in the pre-streaming era, anyway.  Only in the UK.

Within Australia, the 1991 release of "Holiday" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 107.

Madonna will join us on a surprising number of occasions over the next two and a half years, with the next one being in February 1992.

 

Number 150 "Borrowed Love" by Bingoboys featuring Arnold Jarvis and Princessa

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 150-148-140-112-104-123-119-127-140

 

Austrian dance music trio Bingoboys came out of nowhere to land a number 3 hit in Australia with "How to Dance" in May 1991, featuring Princessa on vocals.  It would be their only single to register a place in the ARIA top 100.

 

The act's second single, "Borrowed Love", featured vocals from both Princessa and Arnold Jarvis.  Both tracks were lifted from The Best of Bingoboys (number 72, June 1991), which, despite the title, was the group's first album and was not a compilation.  I recall seeing an infographic over the "How to Dance" music video on Coca-Cola Power Cuts, similar to the format Pop-Up Video later used, explaining that the album was titled The Best of because "it's the best", according to the band.  Hmm.

While "How to Dance" had been a hit across Europe (minus the UK) and even crept into the top 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Borrowed Love" did not follow suit, and the only other place it charted was the US, where it reached number 71 in July 1991.  That being said, only Australian and American pressings of the single are listed on discogs, so perhaps it did not receive a release in Europe.  Europe did receive "No Woman No Cry" which, despite sharing a title with a famous Bob Marley song, is not a cover version.  It was not issued as a single locally.

 

"Borrowed Love" performed better on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it peaked at number 93.

 

I don't recall hearing "Borrowed Love" before.  It's very different to "How to Dance", but I like it.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 177 "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" by Clive Young

Peak: number 177

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 1 week

 

We last saw Australian singer-songwriter Clive Young in July 1989.  In the interim, Clive switched record companies from EMI to Mushroom, and the album that was scheduled for release in 1989, Naturally, was shelved.

"Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" was the lead single from Clive's debut album When the World Goes 'Round, which did not see the light of day until September 1992 (it did not chart).  "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" was released on 29 April 1991, and took almost three months to dent the ARIA top 200 for a solitary week.

On the ARIA state charts, "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, as Clive's previous two singles had done, reaching number 154.  The difference between state and national chart peaks for Clive's earlier singles was stark, with "Something Special" peaking at number 15 in Victoria/Tasmania vs. number 50 nationally, and "Naturally" peaking at number 50 in Victoria/Tasmania vs. number 102 nationally.

A music video was filmed for "Whenever You Lay Your Hands on Me", but nobody seems to have their hands on it...

Clive will join us again in 1992.

 

 

 

Number 179 "Long Train Running" by Bananarama

Peak: number 179

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Bananarama, whom we last saw in March 1991, really were in chart strife at this point in their career.  None of the four singles lifted from their fifth studio album Pop Life (number 146, August 1991) peaked higher than number 20 in the UK, and none of the album's singles dented the top 50 in Australia.  A combination of being perceived as an 80s act and the Bananarama girls now being in their 30s were probably factors.  The group had also made a deliberate attempt to move away from the Stock Aitken Waterman sound that permeated their work between 1986 and 1989, to lukewarm commercial results.

Although Bananarama made a point of not including any cover versions on their second album Bananarama (number 99, July 1984), which spawned the top 40 hits "Robert de Niro's Waiting" (number 40, August 1984) and "Cruel Summer" (number 32, February 1985), each of their studio albums since had included a cover version, which also ended up being released as a single.  The girls' attitude to releasing covers probably softened following the massive success of "Venus", which resurrected their career and was number 1 in Australia for seven weeks in September and October of 1986.  "Venus" also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1986.

The Nanas' fourth studio album WOW! (number 1, June 1988) contained a version of The Supremes' "Nathan Jones", which was not a huge hit in Australia, peaking at number 59 in March 1989, after being re-recorded with new band member Jacquie O'Sullivan and tacked onto their The Greatest Hits Collection (number 21, January 1989) compilation. 

A version of The Beatles' "Help!" (number 25, May 1989) was then recorded with French and Saunders' Bananarama parody act Lananeeneenoonoo, including Kathy Bourke as the third member, to raise funds for Comic Relief.

Bananarama covered The Doobie Brothers' 1973 single "Long Train Runnin'", adding a 'g' to the title, for their Pop Life album.  The Doobie Brothers' version peaked at number 58 on the Kent Music Report, but this was on the charts David Kent later compiled retrospectively (they were not published at the time), so I do not consider these official.  The 1993 Sure Is Pure remix of "Long Train Runnin'" peaked at number 67 in Australia in March 1994.

Released as the third Pop Life single, "Long Train Running" peaked at number 30 in the UK in April 1991, number 18 in Ireland in April 1991, number 47 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1991, and number 45 in Germany in June 1991.

Domestically, "Long Train Running" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 122.

I was (and still am, to a large degree) a Bananarama fan when this track was released.  The only place I heard "Long Train Running" at the time was on the Hot 30 Countdown on Fox FM, which was supposedly voted for by listeners.  I tuned in part-way through the song, and recognised that it was Bananarama quickly.  The song seemed familiar to me; I must have heard the original on the radio when growing up.

"Long Train Running" was somewhat different for Bananarama, featuring castanets and flamenco guitars performed by Gipsy Kings, using the name Alma De Noche.  That's the kind of thing Stock Aitken Waterman would never have done, and one of the Nanas commented in a Smash Hits interview in 1990 that their new producer Youth was open to things like putting seagulls on a track, whereas Stock Aitken Waterman would have "laughed that idea out the window".

For whatever reason, Bananarama's music was not connecting with the record-buying public in the early 1990s in the same way it had - albeit inconsistently - during the 1980s.  Following this album's era, the more-experimental sounds of Pop Life would be abandoned, and the girls would return to Stock Waterman (Aitken left in mid-1991) for their next album, which was creatively a step backwards.

 

But before then, a fourth single was released from Pop Life in Europe, "Tripping on Your Love", which was the first Bananarama single to miss the UK top 75 since "Aie a Mwana", their debut release in September 1981.  Jacquie O'Sullivan also quit the group around August 1991, after three and a half years, and there's a solo interview with Keren Woodward from that month where she admits they don't know where Jacquie is right now.  Jacquie speaks of her time in Bananarama in this interesting podcast interview from 2020, which is well worth checking out.  Sara Dallin also gave birth to her daughter Alice towards the end of 1991.

Bananarama have continued on as a duo since 1992, with original band member Siobhan Fahey (who went on to form Shakespears Sister) rejoining them for a live tour in 2017.  Bananarama have a new album Masquerade scheduled for release next week, with the video for the title track, which is the best new Bananarama track I have heard for some time, premiering last month.

We shall see Bananarama next in 1992.

 

 

Number 181 "Crazy" by Daisy Dee

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 22 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

Daisy Dee, born Desiree Rollocks, is a Dutch "singer, actress, TV host, stylist, and television producer" (thanks Wikipedia).  She was a featured vocalist on MC B's version of Technotronic's 'This Beat Is Techntronic", which was a top 20 hit in the Netherlands, Austria and Germany in 1990.  That single was released in Australia in April 1990, but missed the top 150.

"Crazy" was Daisy's first solo release in Australia, was lifted from her 1992 debut album Daisy Dee.  "Crazy" peaked at number 29 in the Netherlands in September 1990, and number 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991.  The song was used in the Vanilla Ice movie Cool As Ice, but did not make its way onto the accompanying soundtrack album.

 

On the ARIA state charts, "Crazy" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 145.

 

Daisy would land her biggest chart success in Australia with a remixed version of this track, "Crazy 96", which reached number 38 in September 1996.  This would be Daisy's only top 100 entry in Australia, although she came within a whisker of the top 100 again in 2000.

 

Daisy will join us next in 1996.

 

 

 

Number 182 "Piece of My Heart" by Tara Kemp

Peak: number 156

Peak date: 19 August 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

 

American r&b/new jack swing singer Tara Kemp landed her first chart 'hit' in Australia with her first release, "Hold You Tight", which peaked at number 68 in May 1991.  That single was vastly more successful in the US, where it reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1991, becoming the first of two top 10 hits Tara would land in her home country.

 

"Piece of My Heart" was the second of Tara's US top 10 hits, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1991.  It was the second single from Tara's debut album Tara Kemp, which peaked at number 140 on the ARIA albums chart in April 1991.  Internationally, "Piece of My Heart" peaked at number 81 in Canada in August 1991.

Within Australia, "Piece of My Heart" was most successful in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 136 on the state chart.

 

I remember hearing both "Hold You Tight" and "Piece of My Heart" on the American Top 40 radio show.

 

A third single from Tara Kemp, "Too Much", was released locally in September 1991, but failed to chart. "Piece of My Heart" was Tara's last single to chart in Australia.

 

 

 

Number 194 "Don't Let Me Down" by The Farm

Peak: number 194

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 1 week 

We last saw The Farm in April 1991.

 

"Don't Let Me Down" was the third single issued from the band's first studio album Spartacus (number 106, May 1991).

 

Internationally, "Don't Let Me Down" peaked at number 36 in the UK in April 1991, number 29 in Ireland in May 1991, and number 78 in Germany in June 1991.

 

Locally, "Don't Let Me Down" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 169.

 

We'll next see The Farm in 1992. 

 

Next week (22 July): Four top 150 debuts and one bubbling WAY down under entry.

 

< Previous week: 8 July 1991                                         Next week: 22 July 1991 >

Kent Music Report beyond the top 100: 13 July 1981

This week in 1981 there were another two new singles bubbling beneath the top 100 that would not eventually break through.  Shall we take a look?

 

Randy Meisner: hearts may be on fire, but the charts ain't.

 

Beyond the top 100:

 

Position 19 "Hearts on Fire" by Randy Meisner

Highest rank: 10th

Peak date: 27 July 1981

Weeks on below list: 4 weeks

 

Randall Meisner was a founding member of Eagles (no 'The'), as their bass player.  He also provided backing vocals for the band, and sang lead on their 1975 single "Take It to the Limit", which I am surprised to learn only peaked at number 30 in Australia in April 1976.  If our charts had incorporated airplay, "Take It to the Limit" probably would have been number 1 for about 20 weeks, as it was still on heavy rotation when I was in kindergarten in 1983.  Gotta love Australian FM radio in the 80s...  I actually thought for a long time that Eagles' "New Kid in Town" (number 16, March 1977) and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" (number 6, May 1978) were new songs in 1983-4, as radio was still playing them so frequently then - at least on the station(s) my parents listened to.

 

Randy was also in the band Poco, who bubbled under in January 1990, but quit the band before their first album was released.

Randy's solo chart career only yielded one moderate hit single in Australia, with "Deep inside My Heart" (number 34, May 1981), which featured uncredited (on the single) guest vocals from Kim Carnes.  Like most people, I once wrongly assumed Kim Carnes was a one-hit wonder, but she seems to show up quite frequently on side projects like this, as well as having her own non-"Bette Davis Eyes" moderate hits.

 

"Hearts on Fire" was the second single lifted from Randy's second studio album One More Song (number 83, April 1981).  The single peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks in March 1983 - thank you Craig, if you're reading this, for giving me your copy of Joel Whitburn's Billboard Hot 100: The Eighties book, as without it I would not have been able to verify this fact (thanks to the bug-laden Billboard website).  This was Randy's highest-peaking single on the Hot 100.

 

"Hearts on Fire" was Randy's final single to (sort of) chart in Australia.

Position 21 "Rugby League Song (N.S.W.)" by Danny McMaster

Highest rank: 16th

Peak date: 20 July 1981

Weeks on below list: 3 weeks

 

I think I've written before that I would literally rather watch paint dry than watch a game of football or rugby, or 99.9% of other sports, for that matter.  But there's one thing that's even worse than sport - songs about sport.  Ugh.  The only good thing I can say about this one is that some kind (?) soul has uploaded it to YouTube, which I was not expecting for a flop single about sport by an Australian singer from 41 years ago.  I guess there are some things we can be thankful for about ardent sport fans.

 

"Rugby League Song (N.S.W.)" was written by Danny, who had no other 'charting' singles.  I think I can safely assume that this single was most successful in New South Wales.

A reader has kindly informed me that a Danny McMaster narrated Australia's Funniest Home Videos in the 1990s, around the time that Jo Beth Taylor was hosting.  Could this be the same guy?

 

 

Next week (20 July): Three new singles bubbling under the top 100.

 

< Previous week: 6 July 1981                                            Next week: 20 July 1981 >

Week commencing 8 July 1991

Only three of the eleven artists debuting and peaking outside the ARIA top 100 this week in 1991 we have seen before.  Before we take a look at them, I have updated some earlier posts with the following:

• 6 March 1989 - a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Schnell Fenster;
• 25 June 1990 - a new bubbling WAY down under entry from Peter Wolf;
  
• 29 October 1990 - a new bubbling WAY down under entry from John Williamson.
  

Chris Isaak: dancin' just outside the ARIA top 150.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 135 "Sugar Daddy" by Mighty Big Crime

Peak: number 135

Peak date: 8 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 135-144-138-142-137-140-149-147

Weeks on chart: 10 weeks

 

We last saw Melbourne hip-hop duo Mighty Big Crime in October 1990 - although no video or audio was available for that track, and that continues to be the case.  This time, however, someone has thankfully uploaded the music video to YouTube.

"Sugar Daddy" was Mighty Big Crime's fifth and final single, and their second ARIA top 150 entry.  I remember hearing this one at the time, but could not remember how the song went.

On the state charts, "Sugar Daddy" was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 90.

 

Mighty Big Crime roped in a few new 'hot' female members - Sophie Lee notably among them - and rebranded themselves as Freaked Out Flower Children later in 1991.  They landed a top 40 hit with their version of Eric Burdon & War's "Spill the Wine" (number 31, February 1992).

We will see Freaked Out Flower Children bubble under in 1992.

 

 

 

Number 142 "Power of Love/Love Power" by Luther Vandross

Peak: number 109

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 142-127-125-114-130-109-132-138-138

Weeks on chart: 13 weeks

 

Despite having notched up a decade of charting singles and albums in his native US at this point, smooth-voiced American singer Luther Vandross had not yet made any major impact in Australia, with "Power of Love/Love Power" (which is one song and not a double A-side) being his first single to chart down under.  Luther had earlier placed an album on the ARIA chart, however, with his sixth studio album Any Love peaking at number 103 in April 1989, despite there being no charting singles from it.

"Power of Love/Love Power" was the lead single from Luther's seventh studio album Power of Love (number 110, July 1991).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 46 in the UK in May 1991, number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1991, and number 45 in New Zealand in August 1991.

 

Within Australia, "Power of Love/Love Power" was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 86.

 

I don't recall hearing this one at the time, though probably caught it on the American Top 40 radio show.  I first became aware of Luther via hearing "Here and Now" on American Top 40 in early 1990.

 

Luther would finally land a major hit in Australia with his duet with Janet Jackson, "The Best Things in Life Are Free", which spent five weeks at number 2 in October and November 1992, becoming the sixth highest-selling single of 1992 in Australia.  Luther's only other ARIA top 50 single "Endless Love" (number 2, September 1994), coincidentally, was another duet, this time with Mariah Carey, and also peaked at number 2.

Luther passed away in 2005, aged 54, following a heart attack.  Just over two years earlier, Luther had a major stroke, which affected his mobility and his ability to both speak and sing.

We will next see Luther in 1993.

 

 

Number 144 "Light My Fire" by The Doors (1991 release)

Peak: number 130

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 144-130-139-141

The original release of "Light My Fire" peaked at number 16 in Australia on the Go Set singles chart in September 1967.

 

American rock band The Doors formed in Los Angeles in 1965.  Front man Jim Morrison died unexpectedly in Paris in 1971, aged 27, in uncertain circumstances (French law did not require an autopsy to be conducted) - though drugs and/or alcohol were probably involved.  The band continued, however, until 1973, reforming for another album in 1978.

"Light My Fire" was recorded in August 1966, and was released on the band's debut album The Doors in January 1967.  The track was issued as the second single from the album a few months later.  "Light My Fire" reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1967, spending three weeks at the summit.  "Light My Fire" also peaked at number 2 in Canada, number 49 in the UK in August 1967, and number 16 in Australia in September 1967.

The Doors, a biographical film directed by Oliver Stone, premiered in March 1991, with Val Kilmer playing the role of Jim Morrison.  The Doors soundtrack album (number 11, June 1991), consisting largely of Doors' songs, was promoted by a re-issue of the band's debut single "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", which reached number 97 on the ARIA singles chart in June 1991.

"Light My Fire" was re-released as the second single from The Doors soundtrack.  The 1991 issue of the single peaked at number 7 in the UK in June 1991, number 1 in Ireland, number 27 in the Netherlands in July 1991, and number 41 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1991.

We will see The Doors again in 1993.

 

Number 145 "Johnny's Gone" by Catfish

Peak: number 129

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 145-142-140-129-131-132-138-135

 

We saw Australian band Catfish, fronted by Don Walker from Cold Chisel, back in March 1989.

 

"Johnny's Gone" was the lead single from the second, and final, Catfish album Ruby (number 98, September 1991).

A second single from Ruby, "Crooked Smile", was released in November 1991, but missed the ARIA top 150.

 

If you can't make it through one of Richard Wilkins' inane interviews, skip to 1:09 in the video embedded below.  Alternatively, you can listen to the song (without the music video visuals) here.

 

Number 147 "Save Some Love" by Keedy

Peak: number 145

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 147-145

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks

 

American freestyle singer Keedy, who uses her surname as her stage name (her first name is Kelly Ann), launched her recording career with this track, which was the lead single from her only album Chase the Clouds (released in Australia in July 1991, did not chart).  "Save Some Love" was co-produced by Michael Jay, who produced Martika's debut album Martika (number 2, January 1990).

 

"Save Some Love" reached number 15 in the US.  Within Australia, "Save Some Love" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 117.

I probably heard "Save Some Love" on the American Top 40 radio show at the time, but have no recollection of it.  The song and video capture that early 90s look/sound so well.  I think this would have been a bigger hit locally if it had a promotional tie-in with Blossom, Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch or a similar American program from this era that appealed to teens and young adults.  "Save Some Love" is my favourite track among this week's debuts.

 

Keedy's second single, the Diane Warren-penned "Wishing on the Same Star" (released in Australia in August 1991, did not chart), peaked at number 86 in the US in August 1991.  Australian girl group Girlfriend released a cover version of "Wishing on the Same Star", which peaked at number 44 on the ARIA singles chart in January 1994. 

"Save Some Love" was Keedy's only release to chart in Australia.

 

 

 

Number 148 "Place with No Love" by Choirboys

Peak: number 110

Peak date: 29 July 1991

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks 

Top 150 chart run: 148-118-121-110-123-127

 

Sydney pub rock band Choirboys (no 'The') formed in 1979.  They would have to wait until 1983 for their first taste of chart success, with "Never Gonna Die" peaking at number 30 on the Kent Music Report singles chart in August 1983.  Their biggest hit was, of course, "Run to Paradise" (number 3, November 1987).  The band placed seven singles on the top 100 between 1983 and 1991.

"Place with No Love" was the third and final single lifted from Choirboys' third studio album Midnight Sun (number 30, May 1991).  It followed "Empire" (number 65, December 1989) [re-titled "Our Empire Falls" on the album] and "Rendezvous" (number 40, April 1991).

I don't recall hearing this one before.  It would become the band's last release of new material to make the ARIA top 150, although a Nick Skitz remix of "Run to Paradise" (which I hadn't heard before and am kind of awestruck at how awful it is) would reach number 16 in July 2004.

Choirboys drummer Lindsay Tebbutt died in December 2021, following an illness with mesothelioma.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

  

Number 162 "Dancin'" by Chris Isaak (1991 release)

Peak: number 151

Peak date: 15 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks 

This single originally peaked at number 46 on 12 May 1986, and spent 14 weeks in the top 100.

 

American singer and occasional actor Chris Isaak made his understated Australian chart debut in 1986 with his first single "Dancin'", which reached number 46 in May of that year.  The track is lifted from Chris' debut album Silvertone (number 77, June 1986).  As I was 7 years old for most of 1986 and not yet properly into music and charts, I was not aware of "Dancin'"'s first Australian release.

Chris landed his first proper Australian hit with "Wicked Game" (number 15, April 1991), which appeared on his third album Heart Shaped World (number 117, August 1989).  "Wicked Game" was featured in the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart.  While the single was released in Australia in early November 1990, it did not enter the chart until mid-January 1991, climbing into the top 50 in March.  I am guessing the single's belated success was due to there being renewed interest in all things related to David Lynch, following the success of his Twin Peaks TV series.

"Blue Hotel" (number 23, May 1991), which originally appeared on Chris' second album Chris Isaak (number 148, August 1999) released in 1987, was re-issued as a follow-up to "Wicked Game".  "Blue Hotel" had originally been released in Australia as a single in July 1987, but failed to chart.  Both tracks were lifted from the compilation album Wicked Game (number 8, May 1991), containing a mixture of tracks from Chris' first three albums.  The Wicked Game compilation was released only in Europe and Australasia, as a way of introducing Chris' new fans to his body of work.

 

"Dancin'" was released as the third single from Wicked Game.  It did not repeat the success of the previous two singles, stalling just outside the ARIA top 150.

Internationally, the 1991 re-release of "Dancin'" peaked at number 100 in the UK in April 1991, number 29 in Ireland in April 1991, and number 64 in the Netherlands in July 1991.

 

Domestically, the 1991 issue of "Dancin'" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 139.

We shall next see Chris in 1993.

Number 164 "Gotta Have You" by Stevie Wonder

Peak: number 164

Peak: 8 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

Stevie Wonder needs no introduction.  During the 1970s and 1980s, Stevie placed 26 singles on the Australian top 100, with "I Just Called to Say I Love You" reaching number 1 for eight weeks between October and December 1984.  Stevie's last big solo (not duet or a featured artist) song in Australia was "Part Time Lover" (number 3, October 1985).

"Gotta Have You" was recorded for the Jungle Fever soundtrack (number 109, July 1991), which was also a Stevie Wonder album.  The single peaked at number 92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1991.

Within Australia, "Gotta Have You" was most popular in Queensland, where it reached number 143.

I don't recall hearing this track before.  It somehow seems a bit jarring hearing Stevie singing over an early 90s r&b sound.

Stevie will next join us in 1995.

 

 

Number 180 "I Don't Even Know If I Should Call You Baby" by Soul Family Sensation

Peak: number 180

Peak date: 8 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

British trio Soul Family Sensation consisted of members Johnny Male, Guy Batson and Jhelisa Anderson.  "I Don't Even Know If I Should Call You Baby" was their debut, and in Australia, only, single release.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 49 in the UK in May 1991, and was lifted from their only album New Wave (released in Australia in October 1991, did not chart).

In Australia, "I Don't Even Know..." performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 160.

I was not aware of this one at the time.  Vocalist Jhelisa Anderson would go on to perform on The Shamen's "LSI (Love Sex Intelligence)" (number 53, January 1993) and "Phorever People" (number 63, February 1993).

 

Another track from New Wave, "The Day You Went Away", would go on to become a number 2 hit in Australia in November 1992 when covered by Canadian-Australian singer Wendy Matthews.  Soul Family Sensation’s version of this track stalled at number 142 (number 101 on the compressed chart) in the UK in March 1992.

While we will not see Soul Family Sensation again, a cover version of this song will bubble WAY down under in 1995.

 

Number 185 "Place in This World" by Michael W. Smith

Peak: number 184

Peak date: 12 August 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

Michael W. Smith - the W. stands for Whitaker (I think he was wise to use an initial instead) - is an American artist whom I knew nothing about prior to writing this post.  I was watching the music video embedded below as I wrote this, and my first thought, before I consulted Wikipedia, is that "this sounds a bit like a male Amy Grant."  Lo and behold, Amy actually co-wrote this track with Michael W. and Wayne Kikpatrick.  Like Amy, Michael W. dabbled in both 'contemporary Christian' music and the mainstream charts (in the US).  Michael has been releasing music since 1983.

 

"Place in This World" was issued as the second single (the first in Australia) from Michael W.'s sixth studio album Go West Young Man (released in Australia in July 1991, did not chart).  The single reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1991, becoming his biggest 'pop' hit there.

 

Within Australia, "Place in This World" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 165.

Like Keedy and Luther Vandross above, I don't recall hearing this one at the time, despite being a casual listener of American Top 40.  Perhaps I tuned out for a couple of months?

Michael W. never landed a top 100 single or album in Australia, and did not have a charting album here until 1998.  We will see him again in December 1991.

 

Number 187 "92° F"/"The Incredible PWEI vs Dirty Harry" by Pop Will Eat Itself

Peak: number 187

Peak date: 8 July 1991

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

We last saw Pop Will Eat Itself in January 1991.

"92° F"/"The Incredible PWEI vs Dirty Harry" was issued as the fourth and final single from the band's third studio album Cure for Sanity (number 51, February 1991).  Internationally, the single peaked at number 23 in the UK in June 1991.

In Australia, "92° F"/"The Incredible PWEI vs Dirty Harry" performed strongest in Western Australia where it reached number 146.

We'll next see Pop Will Eat Itself in 1992.

 

Next week (15 July): Three top 150 debuts and five bubbling WAY down under entries.  Among them is, surprisingly, a single from one of the biggest artists in the world in 1991.

 

< Previous week: 1 July 1991                                      Next week: 15 July 1991 >