Week commencing 22 June 1992

This week in 1992's new entries peaking outside the top 100 in Australia is a real mixed bag, with everything from a cover of an old 60s hit, a remix of an early 70's 'classic', some indie dance, house music, and... Enya.  Shall we take a look?

 

James: another frustratingly low Australian chart position.

 

Top 150 debuts:

 

Number 104 The 1992 Mixes EP by Daddy Cool

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 22 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 15 weeks

 

The original release of "Eagle Rock" by Australian band Daddy Cool spent ten weeks at number 1 in Australia between June and August 1971, becoming the biggest hit of that year.  Even though I was born seven years after that song was released, I was quite familiar with it from an early age, such was Australian radio's penchant for playing "classic rock" until the mid-1990s.  A quite memorable clip of the band performing the song in 1975, complete with 'sharpie' bogan dancing in the audience, can be viewed here.

The 1992 Mixes EP contained a 'Dance Mix' of "Eagle Rock" as its lead track, a video for which is embedded below.  The other two tracks on the "EP" (so, really it was just a 3-track CD single) were the "Daddy Cool Megamix" and "Eagle Rock, 1992."  While I can't find either of those tracks on YouTube, I can link a 'news' report on this single/EP's release from 1992 here.

According to The ARIA Report, these mixes were released to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the release of "Eagle Rock".  This lead to the CD release of the Daddy Cool compilation album Daddy's Coolest (Volume 1), which peaked at number 35 in October 1992, after originally peaking at number 5 in September 1982 when it was just titled Daddy's Coolest.  The 1992 updated versions of the tracks do not appear on this compilation, however.  A volume 2 of Daddy's Coolest was released in November 1984, but did not chart.

The chart run for The 1992 Mixes was split in two, initially spending six weeks in the top 150, before exiting for four weeks and then returning to the top 150 for another nine week-run, climbing back up to number 108 in October 1992.  The EP ties with a track we saw in May by Apotheosis for the most weeks spent in the top 150 for a single debuting in 1992 that peaked between numbers 101 and 150, registering a tally of 15 weeks.

 

 

Number 125 "Book of Days" by Enya

Peak: number 111

Peak date: 29 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

 

We last saw Irish songstress Enya in 1989.

"Book of Days" was the third single issued from Enya's third studio album Shepherd Moons (number 8, December 1991), following "Caribbean Blue" (number 74, November 1991) and "How Can I Keep from Singing?" (number 47, January 1992).

 

The original album version of "Book of Days" was sung in Gaelic, but it was re-recorded with English lyrics for its inclusion on the Far and Away soundtrack album (number 124, June 1992), and for its single release.  I am surprised that this single appears to have been released in Australia at least a month before its release in Enya's home country and Europe.

 

Internationally, "Book of Days" peaked at number 12 in Ireland, number 10 in the UK in August 1992, and number 34 in Sweden in November 1992.

 

Within Australia, "Book of Days" performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 84 on the state chart.

 

I remember hearing this song at the time, and feel it may have done better on the chart had it been re-titled "Far and Away".  While Enya's albums generally sold well in Australia, she had to wait nearly seven years after her first top 40 single "Orinoco Flow" (number 6, February 1989) to land her second, with "Anywhere Is" (number 34, December 1995).

 

We shall next see Enya in 1996.

Number 139 "Mix It Up" by Dan Reed Network

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 22 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks

American funk rock band Dan Reed Network formed in Portland, Oregon in 1984.  The group had the most, although still modest, success in the UK, landing six top 75 singles there between 1990 and 1991, although none peaked higher than number 39.

 

"Mix It Up" was the only Dan Reed Network single to dent the top 150 in Australia, although an earlier album Slam peaked at number 140 in June 1990.  "Mix It Up" was lifted from the band's third studio album The Heat, which was released in Australia in June 1992 but missed the top 150 locally.

Internationally, "Mix It Up" peaked at number 49 in the UK in July 1991.

 

I don't recall hearing this one before, but it's not bad.

 

Number 141 "Divine Thing" by The Soup Dragons

Peak: number 133

Peak date: 29 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Weeks on chart: 11 weeks 

Scottish band The Soup Dragons formed in 1985.  Their debut album This Is Our Art was released in Australia in June 1988, but did not chart locally.  Oddly, no singles from that album appear to have been released in Australia.

The Soup Dragons finally made a dent on the Australian chart in November 1990, when "I'm Free", the first single from their second album Lovegod (number 54, February 1991), debuted and climbed to number 9 in February 1991.  That song was originally recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1965, and would become the only Soup Dragons single to trouble the top 50 in Australia.

The Soup Dragons followed up that track with the equally-good but far less-successful "Mother Universe" (number 67, April 1991), and a non-album single "Electric Blues", which was released in Australia in November 1991 but failed to chart.

"Divine Thing" was the lead single from The Soup Dragons' third album Hotwired (number 177, July 1992).  Internationally, "Divine Thing" peaked at number 53 in the UK in April 1992.

 

In Australia, "Divine Thing" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 96.

 

I recall catching the video for "Divine Thing" on rage as a new release, but could barely remember it when I came to write this post.

 

The Soup Dragons will join us once more, in 1993.

Number 142 "Constant Craving" by k.d. lang

Peak: number 138 (in 1992); number 38 (in 1993)

Peak dates: 29 June 1992 and 6 July 1992 (1992 chart run); 5 April 1993 (overall)

Weeks in top 150: 33 weeks (5 weeks in 1992, 17 weeks in 1993, 11 weeks in 1994)

Weeks on chart: 59 weeks (all chart runs combined)

We first saw k.d. lang dueting with Roy Orbison in 1989.

"Constant Craving" was issued as the lead single from k.d.'s second studio album Ingénue (number 3, April 1994), which reached its eventual peak on the Australian chart almost two years after initially peaking at number 56 in June 1992.

"Constant Craving" experienced a similar fate on the Australian chart, released locally on 11 May 1992 and debuting at number 196 on 8 June 1992, climbing to number 138 for two consecutive weeks in June/July 1992.  The single was then re-issued in March 1993, re-entering at number 116 on 8 March 1993 before climbing to its highest peak of number 38 on 5 April 1993.  The renewed interest in the track came after Ingénue was nominated for a Grammy for the best album of the year, and "Constant Craving" won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, held on 24 February 1993.

 

"Constant Craving" re-entered the ARIA top 150 again at number 149 on 14 March 1994, rebounding back to number 51 on 11 April 1994, following a promotional visit from k.d. down under, and her guest-hosting at the 1994 ARIA Awards on 30 March 1994.  Somehow, I was not aware of "Constant Craving"'s resurgence on the chart in 1994 at the time; I guess partly because rage ceased airing the top 60 chart, reverting back to a top 50, in March 1994.

Internationally, "Constant Craving" peaked at number 8 in Canada in May 1992, number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October 1992, number 15 in the UK in March 1993 - after originally peaking at number 52 there in May 1992, number 15 in Ireland in March 1993, and number 61 in Germany in May 1993.

For what it's worth (not much in my book - as regular readers will know), "Constant Craving" also peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Radio Songs chart in September 1992, number 22 on the Pop Airplay chart in October 1992, and number 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart in October 1992.

Within Australia, "Constant Craving" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 28 in April 1993.  The single peaked on all state charts in 1993, other than in Western Australia, where it reached its highest position of number 40 in April 1994.

One memory of "Constant Craving" I have is singing it randomly with a female student in my form while playing basketball (which I hated) in year 9 P.E. class.

We'll next see k.d. in 1993.

 

 

Number 143 "Everybody in the Place" by The Prodigy

Peak: number 125

Peak date: 6 July 1992

Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks

Weeks on chart: 13 weeks

We last saw English electronic group The Prodigy in 1991.

 

I first became aware of The Prodigy through the UK Chart Attack radio show, which would air new releases and new entries from the UK singles chart that had not yet crossed over internationally (particularly in the US).  Through that show, I would hear many tracks months before they made a dent on the Australian chart.  I didn't cotton on to the program though until April 1992, so missed hearing "Everybody in the Place" on the program.  The track was the band's second single, lifted from their debut album Experience (number 163, January 1997).  I do recall catching the video for "Everybody in the Place" on rage in 1996, though.  I would have enjoyed the track in 1992 if I had heard it then.

 

Internationally, "Everybody in the Place" peaked at number 2 in the UK in January 1992, number 2 in Ireland in January 1992, and number 65 in the Netherlands in April 1992.

In Australia, "Everybody in the Place" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 54.  Oddly, the first three Prodigy singles were more popular in Western Australia than anywhere else in the country - who knew they were such trend-setters?  The next-highest state chart peak "Everybody in the Place" achieved was number 88 in South Australia/Northern Territory.  It missed the top 100 in the remaining states.

 

An earlier, different version of "Everybody in the Place" appeared on The Prodigy's 12" single, limited to 7,000 copies, What Evil Lurks, which peaked at number 168 (number 118 on the compressed chart) in the UK in March 1991.

We will next see The Prodigy in 1993.

 

Number 146 "Born of Frustration" by James

Peak: number 134

Peak date: 6 July 1992

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Weeks on chart: 7 weeks

 

We last saw English band James in 1989.

 

"Born of Frustration" was released as the second single from the band's fourth studio album Seven (number 123, May 1992).  It followed "Sound" (number 28, May 1992), which was the band's highest-peaking single in Australia.

Internationally, "Born of Frustration" peaked at number 13 in the UK in February 1992, and number 69 in the Netherlands in February 1992.  The track also peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in April 1992.

Locally, "Born of Frustration" performed strongest on the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory state chart, where it reached number 112.

I don't think I was aware of this track at the time, but have since caught the video a couple of times on rage.

We shall next see James in 1993.

 

 

Number 149 "Your Love Is Lifting Me" by Nomad

Peak: number 149

Peak date: 22 June 1992

Weeks in top 150: 1 week

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

 

We last saw British house duo Nomad in 1991. 

 

"Your Love Is Lifting Me" was presumably intended to be the lead single from Nomad's second album, which never eventuated.  Internationally, the single peaked at number 60 in the UK in April 1992, number 31 in the Netherlands in June 1992, and number 39 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1992.

Domestically, "Your Love Is Lifting Me" performed strongest on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, where it reached number 118.

I don't recall hearing this one at the time.  Presumably, its success was hampered by a lack of promotion.  It deserved to do much better.

We shall see Nomad once more in November 1992.

 

Bubbling WAY down under:

 

Number 184 "So Right" by K-Klass

Peak: number 184

Peak date: 22 June 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

We last saw British dance act K-Klass in January 1992.

 

"So Right" was K-Klass's second single released in Australia, though it did not appear on their debut album Universal (number 140, May 1994).

 

Internationally, "So Right" peaked at number 20 in the UK in April 1992, and number 19 in Ireland.

 

Locally, "So Right" performed strongest in Western Australia (was dance music bigger there than elsewhere in Australia in 1992?), where it reached number 160.

I don't recall hearing this one before, but quite enjoyed it.  It's a shame that this more club-orientated dance music wasn't more commercially-successful in Australia in the early 1990s.

We shall next see K-Klass in 1993.

Number 198 "The Days of Pearly Spencer" by Marc Almond

Peak: number 193

Peak date: 29 June 1992

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

 

We last saw English singer Marc Almond in 1991.

 

"The Days of Pearly Spencer" was the third and final single issued from Marc's seventh solo studio album Tenement Symphony, which was released in Australia in November 1991 but failed to chart.  The song is a cover version of a song originally released by David McWilliams in 1967, which peaked at number 32 in Australia on the Go-Set singles chart (Australia's official chart at the time) in July 1968.

 

Internationally, "The Days of Pearly Spencer" peaked at number 4 in the UK in April 1992, number 8 in Ireland, number 44 in the Netherlands in May 1992, number 32 in the Flanders region of Belgium in May 1992, number 16 in Austria in June 1992, number 31 in Sweden in June 1992, and number 21 in Germany in July 1992.

Locally, "The Days of Pearly Spencer" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 173.

 

I hadn't heard this one before, but enjoyed it.

"The Days of Pearly Spencer" was Marc's final single to chart in Australia, although he had later low-charting albums with Stardom Road (number 425, July 2007), The Velvet Trail (number 1053, March 2015), Shadows and Reflections (number 1000, October 2017) and Chaos and a Dancing Star (number 1061, February 2020).

 

 

Next week (29 June): Four top 150 debuts and two bubbling WAY down under entries.

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