Bubbling Down Under: Week commencing 2 November 1992

Three of this week in 1992's four new top 150 entries are cover versions, and one of the bubbling WAY down under debuts is an EP of four cover versions. Before taking a look at them, I wish to alert you that I have added top 150 chart runs for all of my June 1992 chart recaps (a work in progress).

Alannah Myles scored a flop instead of a hit this week in 1992.

Top 150 debuts:

Number 131 “Highway to Hell (Ballad of Jed Clampett)” by The Fargone Beauties

Peak: number 106

Peak date: 23 November 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 131-119-112-106-125-133

We last saw Aussie band The Fargone Beauties in 1991.

"Highway to Hell (Ballad of Jed Clampett)" was issued as the lead single from the band's second album It's Hard When You're Ugly (number 147, November 1992). As you might suspect from the title. it's a cover version of the AC/DC song "Highway to Hell" (number 24, October 1979)... re-worked in country style, complete with banjos. Jed Clampett was the patriarch of the American TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. Funnily enough, I commented last time that The Fargone Beauties' music sounded to me like it could have featured in that series.

I recall catching the video for "Highway to Hell..." on rage as a new release, airing before the top 60 chart commenced.

We'll see The Fargone Beauties once more, in 1993.

Number 140 “Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)” by Manic Street Preachers

Peak: number 139

Peak date: 9 November 1992

Weeks in top 150: 3 weeks

Known chart run: 163-140-139-144

Weeks on chart: 8 weeks

Welsh band Manic Street Preachers last paid us a visit in August 1992.

"Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" was recorded for the NME's charity album Ruby Trax (The NME's Roaring Forty), which I discussed in an earlier post from September 1992. Forty different artists recorded forty cover versions of UK number 1 singles for this album. "Suicide Is Painless", the theme song from the TV series M*A*S*H*, was originally recorded in 1970 by The Mash, peaking at number 1 in the UK for three weeks in May-June 1980. In Australia, the single peaked at number 52 in September 1980.

Internationally, Manic Street Preachers' version of "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" peaked at number 7 in the UK in September 1992, number 12 in Ireland, number 21 in Sweden in November 1992, and number 40 in New Zealand in February 1993.

Locally, "Theme from M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless)" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 116 on the state chart.

The subtitle of the song is slightly ironic, given that the band's rhythm guitarist, Richey Edwards, went missing on 1 February 1995, and is presumed dead, possibly by suicide. His car was abandoned at a service station near the Severn Bridge, which is a known suicide site.

I first heard the Manics' version of this track when picking up the 3-CD Ruby Trax in the now-defunct Melbourne alternative music store Au Go Go Records, in their upstairs second-hand/collectables section in 1999. It was one of the better cover versions on Ruby Trax, in my opinion, and I have enjoyed rocking out to this song on my car CD player (how quaint) when no-one is watching…

We shall next see Manic Street Preachers in 1993.

Number 142 “Dancing Queen” by Abbacadabra

Peak: number 104

Peak date: 9 November 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 142-104-121-109-109-134

Abbacadabra were, as you might suspect from the name, an ABBA covers act, formed in the UK in 1991, and known for their dance reworkings of ABBA songs. The original ABBA version of "Dancing Queen" spent eight weeks at number 1 in Australia in September-October 1976, and the 1992 re-issue to promote the ABBA Gold compilation (number 1 for 4 weeks in December 1992) peaked at number 37 in November 1992.

The Abbacadabra version of "Dancing Queen" was mixed by Dave Ford and Pete Waterman (of Stock Aitken Waterman) for PWL. Vocals were performed by Linda Taylor and Karen Boddington, who sang the female vocal part on the original Home and Away TV theme.

Overseas, Abbacadabra's version of "Dancing Queen" peaked at number 57 in the UK in August 1992, and at number 29 in Ireland in September 1992.

The track appears on Abbacadabra's debut album Abbasalute, which does not appear to have been released in Australia.

We will see another, home-grown ABBA-tribute act in December 1992, and another ABBA covers release further below this week!

Number 147 “Everybody” by Paul Begaud

Peak: number 130

Peak date: 23 November 1992

Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 147-137-147-130-134-144

"Everybody" was Australian singer/songwriter/producer Paul Begaud's (pronounced 'buh-GO') only release. The song was written by Andrew Klippel, from Euphoria, and Ean Sugarman, who was also involved with Euphoria. Andrew Klippel performs backing vocals on the chorus.

A music video exists for this track - I remember seeing it on TV a couple of times, but has not yet made its way onto YouTube. While "Everybody" was not a commercial success, Paul went on to become a successful songwriter/producer for other artists, including Human Nature, Leah Haywood, Selwyn, Tina Arena, and Honeyz. He wrote "End of the Line" for Honeyz, which peaked at number 5 in the UK in December 1998, and number 24 in Australia in April 1999.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 152 “Song Instead of a Kiss” by Alannah Myles

Peak: number 152

Peak date: 2 November 1992

Weeks on chart: 6 weeks

Canadian singer-songwriter Alannah Myles (real name Alannah Byles) burst onto the chart in Australia in early 1990 with "Black Velvet" (number 3, February 1990), though it made its understated debut at number 163 in October 1989. Preceding "Black Velvet" was "Love Is", Alannah's debut single, which was released in Australia in June 1989 and crept into the top 150 in August of that year, initially climbing to number 128 in September 1989. The success of "Black Velvet" renewed interest in "Love Is", and it eventually climbed to its peak of number 12 in April 1990, spending 48 weeks on the chart in total. Both tracks appeared on her triple-platinum debut album Alannah Myles (number 2, May 1990), and were followed up with two minor hits, "Still Got This Thing" (number 64, May 1990) and "Lover of Mine" (number 47, October 1990), the latter of which was my favourite single from the album. "Lover of Mine" was a much bigger hit on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart than elsewhere, where it reached number 4. No-one seems to do rock ballads quite as well as the Canadians, it seems.

"Song Instead of a Kiss" was the lead single from Alannah's second album Rockinghorse (number 65, October 1992). I was not aware that Alannah had new material out until Rockinghorse appeared as album of the week on the printed ARIA top 50 charts that were available for free in record stores at the time. I didn't hear "Song Instead of a Kiss" until January 1993, catching the second half of the song while channel surfing on AM radio. I had a cassette tape ready to record, and recorded it onto that. The single no doubt suffered from a lack of promotion. It's my favourite Alannah Myles song, and I think it deserved to do much better on the chart. You can hear the full-length version of the track, with its extended luscious strings intro, here.

Fortunately for Alannah, "Song Instead of a Kiss" was a big hit in her homeland, spending four weeks at number 1 in Canada in Novermber-December 1992. The song was not a huge success elsewhere, however, peaking at number 89 in the UK in November 1992, and at number 35 in the Netherlands in February 1993.

In keeping with all four of Alannah's previous charting singles in Australia, "Song Instead of a Kiss" was most successful in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 121 on the state chart. "Black Velvet" topped the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, "Love Is" reached number 5 on it, and "Still Got This Thing" peaked at number 38 - all peaks being higher than any of the other state charts.

Like many recording artists, Alannah was unfortunately screwed over royally by her record company, Atlantic Records, making virtually no money from her recording career in the early 1990s. She still owed the company millions of dollars earlier this century, and received her first royalty cheque, of a measly US$5000, in 2008. It’s quite shocking that artists can be so exploited and left in debt despite having major international success.

The 'wrap' Alannah wears in the music video for "Song Instead of a Kiss" reminds me of fellow Canadian Shania Twain's leopard print outfit she wears in the "That Don't Impress Me Much" (number 2, March 1999) video.

We will not see Alannah again, although she released another single from Rockinghorse in Australia, "Living on a Memory", in July 1993, which failed to chart.

Number 196 “Instant Karma!” by John Lennon (1992 re-issue)

Peak: number 196

Peak date: 2 November 1992

Weeks on chart: 3 weeks

Ex-Beatle John Lennon's "Instant Karma!" was originally released as a single in early 1970, credited to the Plastic Ono Band. It peaked at number 5 in the UK in February 1970, number 3 in Ireland, number 7 in the Netherlands in March 1970, number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1970, number 2 in Canada in March 1970, number 9 in Switzerland in April 1970, number 4 in Austria in April 1970, number 4 in the Flanders region of Belgium in April 1970, number 1 in the Wallonia region of Belgium in April 1970, number 5 in Australia on the Go Set charts in May 1970, and number 9 in Norway. Somewhat fitting the song's title, "Instant Karma!" was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, rendering it one of the fastest-released songs in pop history! It was a non-album single.

"Instant Karma!" was re-released as a single in continental Europe (oddly not in the UK) in 1992, initially given away with early editions of The John Lennon Video Collection. The 1992 release peaked at number 7 in Germany in August 1992, number 10 in the Netherlands in August 1992, number 31 in Switzerland in August 1992, and number 29 in the Flanders region of Belgium in August 1992.

Domestically, the 1992 release of "Instant Karma!" was most successful in Western Australia, where it reached number 158 on the state chart.

John would bubble WAY down under again in 2018 with his 1971 track "Jealous Guy" (number 1477, October 2018), which, to my surprise, was not released as a single during his lifetime, but was listed as an AA-side on the 1988 re-issue of the "Imagine" (number 21, December 1988) single.

Number 208 “Silk Pyjamas” by Thomas Dolby

Peak: number 208

Peak date: 2 November 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

We last saw English singer-songwriter Thomas Dolby in September 1992.

"Silk Pyjamas" was released as the third single from Thomas' fourth studio album Astronauts & Heretics (number 123, August 1992). Internationally, the single peaked at number 62 in the UK in September 1992.

Locally, "Silk Pyjamas" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it peaked at number 189 on the state chart.

I hadn't heard this one before, but liked it. This would be Thomas' last singles chart entry in Australia. He had a later low-charting album, though, with Original Album Series (number 892, March 2017).

Number 218 “The Further in We Go” by Suzanne Rhatigan

Peak: number 218

Peak date: 2 November 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

I first became aware of Irish singer-songwriter Suzanne Rhatigan when seeing her name appear in the backing vocal credits in the liner notes on Sonia's Everybody Knows album. Suzanne worked with several Stock Aitken Waterman-produced artists, although her vocal contributions were not limited to back-up. As revealed in the Chart Beats podcast series on Stock Aitken Waterman-produced singles (check out episode 29), Suzanne's voice was "ghosted" on Mandy Smith's records. This normally means that the voice is mixed together with the (supposed) singer's vocals, but in this instance, Suzanne basically was "the voice of Mandy Smith". In case you are wondering who Mandy Smith is, she was Rolling Stones' bass guitarist Bill Wyman’s much younger girlfriend, and later wife. Mandy was a mere 13 and Bill was in his late 40s when they began "dating" (ick); the pair married in 1989 when Mandy was 18. Not surprisingly, the marriage ended in divorce a mere two years later.

As the voice of Mandy Smith, Suzanne scored three top 100 singles in Australia, with "I Just Can't Wait" (number 91, May 1987), "Victim of Pleasure" (number 78, December 1988), and "Don't You Want Me Baby" (number 90, July 1989). "Mandy" also had two singles that narrowly missed the top 100: "Positive Reaction" (number 7 on the Australian Music Report 'significant sales reports beyond the top 100' list in March 1988), and "Boys and Girls" registered on two ARIA state charts (number 81 in Victoria/Tasmania, and number 73 in Western Australia - both in July 1988) but not the national chart. The Mandy album (number 144, December 1988) also registered on the ARIA albums chart.

Suzanne told her mother that her voice was used on Mandy's "I Just Can't Wait" single, and her mother revealed this information to the Irish press, which understandably severed her relationship with Stock Aitken Waterman, and she was effectively fired... temporarily. The trio invited her back, however, to record a follow-up after "I Just Can't Wait" became a hit across continental Europe. Despite not being given credit for Mandy's vocals, Suzanne does not seem bitter about the experience in her interview for the Chart Beats podcast.

Now onto Suzanne's recording career under her own name... "The Further in We Go" was issued as the lead single from Suzanne's debut, and only, album To Hell with Love, which was released in Australia in February 1993 but failed to chart. "The Further in We Go" missed the UK top 200 singles chart, and I cannot find evidence of it charting elsewhere. The single was released in Australia at the end of September 1992, but took just over a month to chart.

Locally, "The Further in We Go" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 161.

I hadn't heard this track before, but did hear the follow-up, which we will see next month. I remember reading an interview with Suzanne in the free Brashs in-store magazine, where she spoke about being "a bitch".

If playing the video embedded below to hear the song, note that it's the whole album - skip to 10:14 minutes in to hear "The Further in We Go".

Number 224 Abba-esque (The Remixes) EP by Erasure

Peak: number 224

Peak date: 2 November 1992

Weeks on chart: 1 week

We last saw English synth-pop duo Erasure in March 1992.

Erasure scored their second, of only two, Australian top 40 hits - both peaking at number 13, with the Abba-esque EP (number 13, August 1992), containing covers of 4 songs originally recorded by Swedish supergroup ABBA. "Take a Chance on Me" (the ABBA version peaked at number 12 in March 1978) was promoted as the lead track on the EP, but my favourite song from the EP is "Lay All Your Love on Me" (ABBA's original does not appear to have been released as a single in Australia). The EP also contained covers of "S.O.S." (ABBA's version peaked at number 1 for one week in January 1976) and "Voulez Vous" (ABBA's version peaked at number 79 in September 1979). Only "Take a Chance on Me" would appear on the Erasure compilation album Pop! The First 20 Hits (number 122, November 1992).

As I have mentioned previously, ARIA did not appear to know what to do with multi-part CD singles in 1992, with several remix singles charting in their own right as a separate release, rather than their sales being combined with the original/main release. Here is another example, where the remixes version of Abba-esque charting separately. This remix EP was released locally on the last Monday of September 1992, more than three months after the release of the original version.

The Abba-esque (The Remixes) EP did not chart separately elsewhere. The Abba-esque EP peaked at number 1 in the UK for 5 weeks in June-July 1992, number 1 in Ireland, number 1 in Sweden in June 1992, number 3 in Switzerland in July 1992, number 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1992, number 52 in Canada in July 1992, number 1 in Austria for 8 non-consecutive weeks between July and September 1992, number 4 in the Netherlands in August 1992, number 4 in the Flanders region of Belgium in August 1992, number 2 in Germany in August 1992, and number 42 in New Zealand in August 1992.

Locally, the Abba-esque (The Remixes) EP peaked highest in Western Australia, where it reached number 188 on the state chart.

At the time of writing, number 224 is the lowest peak I have for the singles chart in 1992.

The four tracks on the Abba-esque (The Remixes) EP, all of which I have embedded below, are: "Voulez Vous" (Brain Stem Death Test Mix), "Lay All Your Love On Me" (No Panties Mix), "Take a Chance on Me" (Take a Trance On Me Mix), and "S.O.S." (Perimeter Mix). Listening to each of these for the first time as I write this post, I can say that I didn't really like any of the mixes. I am generally not a huge remix fan, except for extended versions of the original track.

We shall see Erasure again before the month is out!