One thing this week in 1981's debuts have in common is that this will be the only occasion we will see the artists in question. Let's take a look at them.
Anne Murray was not 'blessed' with the chart position for her latest release.
Beyond the top 100:
Position 4 "I Don't Mind" by The Hitmen
Highest rank: 2nd
Peak date: 13 July 1981
Weeks on below list: 4 weeks
Ironically named in retrospect, Australian band The Hitmen never actually landed a 'hit' in Australia, with none of their releases charting higher than number 67.
Formed by Radio Birdman backing singer Johnny Kannis in 1977, The Hitmen were originally named Johnny and The Hitmen. Following Radio Birdman's 1978 tour, two of that band's members joined, and they became The Hitmen; although they are credited as just 'Hitmen' on some releases, including this one. Regular readers will know that I don't like inconsistency with band names involving 'The'!
The Hitmen's biggest single in Australia was "Didn't Tell the Man" (number 75, August 1979). For reasons I cannot determine (it was released on the same label), stupidly this track did not appear on the band's debut album Hitmen (number 67, 1981) - although it does show up on an expanded 2-CD re-issue of the album in 2007.
The Hitmen only landed only one other top 100 single, with "I Want You" (number 98, June 1980), which does appear on their first album.
"I Don't Mind" also appears on the Hitmen album, and narrowly missed the top 100.
The group placed one further single on the Kent Music Report 'Hit Predictions' list (where the titles are not ranked in order of sales) in May 1982, with "Everybody Knows (I Don't Like Love)". Although signed to a different label, they repeated the mistake of not including the track on their second album It Is What It Is (number 81, December 1982) - though it does appear on the 2007 re-issue, which was the final Hitmen release to make the top 100.
Position 25 "Blessed Are the Believers" by Anne Murray
Highest rank: 15th
Peak date: 20 July 1981
Weeks on below list: 6 weeks
My impression from the song title "Blessed Are the Believers" was that it was going to be a god-bothering tune - but, instead, the song is about believing in love. Given the performer was Anne Murray, I was also expecting a country-ish tune, and I was right about that.
Canadian singer Anne Murray, born Morna Anne Murray, placed 13 singles on the Kent Music Report top 100 between 1970 and 1986, with "You Needed Me" (number 2, December 1978) being the biggest of those.
"Blessed Are the Believers" was the lead single from Anne's sixteenth studio album Where Do You Go When You Dream (number 69, July 1981).
Internationally, "Blessed Are the Believers" peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in May 1981.
This would be Anne's only appearance on the beyond number 100 list.
Next week (13 July): Two more singles peaking outside the top 100.
< Previous week: 29 June 1981 Next week: 13 July 1981 >
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