Unlike most of these chart recaps, I am familiar with all but one of this week in 1993’s new entries peaking outside the top 100 in Australia. Among them are several artists I am at least a casual fan of. Before taking a look at them, I have updated the following previous posts:
* 6 February 1989 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from The Go-Betweens;
* 14 December 1992 - with new bubbling WAY down under entry from Neil Diamond.
Sunscreem: unfortunately the record-buying public were not hooked on this track.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 123 “Irresistible” by Cathy Dennis
Peak: number 103
Peak date: 1 February 1993
Weeks in top 150: 8 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 123-103-118-132-122-119-126-134
Weeks on chart: 10 weeks
English songstress Catherine Dennis, better know as Cathy, last joined us in October 1992.
"Irresistible" was the second single released from Cathy's second album Into the Skyline (number 135, February 1993), and was second in a string of singles that missed the top 100 in Australia. I first heard this one on the UK Chart Attack radio program in late 1992. As someone who bought Cathy's debut album Move to This (number 32, August 1991), I didn't feel compelled to purchase her second album, although I liked the singles from it. Cathy even came to Australia to promote "Irresistible", performing the song live (with actual live vocals) on Hey Hey It's Saturday - not that it helped the single's chart fortunes. "Irresistible" peaked on the ARIA singles chart several weeks before this live performance.
Internationally, "Irresistible" peaked at number 24 in the UK in November 1992, number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1993, and number 23 in Canada in February 1993. The song also registered on the US Billboard Pop Airplay chart - reaching number 36 in February 1993; number 65 on the Radio Songs chart in February 1993; and number 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart in February 1993.
In Australia, "Irresistible" performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, where it reached number 81 on the state chart. The single peaked higher nationally on the Australian Music Report singles chart, where it reached number 92.
A third single from Into the Skyline, "Falling" - remixed by P.M. Dawn, was issued in the UK, reaching number 32 there in January 1993, but was not released in Australia. We will see another song from Into the Skyline bubble under in 1994, however, where Cathy is credited as a featured artist.
Number 126 “Feel No Pain” by Sade
Peak: number 107
Peak date: 8 February 1993
Weeks in top 150: 9 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 126-109-107-108-113-115-115-124-150
Weeks on chart: 10 weeks
British band Sade (yes, it's a band as well as being the name of the lead singer, Nigerian-born Helen Folasade Adu) formed in London in 1982. Despite their success on the albums chart, Sade surprisingly only landed two top 40 singles in Australia, "Smooth Operator" (number 20, December 1984) and "No Ordinary Love" (number 21, June 1993). I am surprised that their debut single, "Your Love Is King" (number 64, December 1984), was not a bigger hit here, although it may seem like it was a bigger hit to me than it was in Australia, as I was living in New Zealand (where it reached number 2 in August 1984) at the time it was on the chart.
"Feel No Pain" was the second single lifted from Sade's fourth studio album Love Deluxe (number 13, March 1993). It followed "No Ordinary Love", which initially peaked at number 95 in Australia in November 1992, but climbed to a much higher peak after re-entering the chart in May 1993, following renewed interest after being featured prominently in the movie Indecent Proposal; although the song does not appear on the soundtrack album, which peaked at number 67 in Australia in May 1993. Interestingly, another act debuting this week also had an earlier-released single climbing the chart while subsequent contemporaneous releases missed the top 100.
Internationally, "Feel No Pain" peaked at number 56 in the UK in November 1992, number 80 in Germany in February 1993, and number 48 in New Zealand in March 1993. The song also registered on the US Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it reached number 53 in July 1993, and peaked at number 59 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in July 1993.
Locally, "Feel No Pain" was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 87 on the state chart. The single peaked within the top 100 on all five of the ARIA state charts, but could not crack the national top 100.
I have got a feeling that "Feel No Pain" may have performed better on the chart had it been titled "Papa Been Laid Off" (though that's not exactly a great song title), as the actual title only appears in the lyrics twice and is not immediately obvious.
Sade will join us again in May 1993, with a single that missed the top 100 just as "No Ordinary Love" was finally taking off in Australia.
Number 138 “Surround Me” by G. W. McLennan
Peak: number 122
Peak date: 15 February 1993
Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 138-126-132-122
Grant William McLennan was one of the founding members of Australian band The Go-Betweens, whom we saw bubble under back in 1989. He shared lead vocal duties in that band, and played guitar, harmonica, and also bass during their early years. The Go-Betweens' biggest 'hit' single on the Australian chart was "Streets of Your Town" (number 68, October 1988).
The Go-Betweens disbanded in December 1989, and Grant launched his solo career in 1991, with his debut solo album Watershed (number 96, June 1991). "Surround Me", Grant's only solo single to dent the ARIA top 150, was the lead single from his second solo album Fireboy, which was released in November 1992 but missed the ARIA top 150 albums chart. "Surround Me" was released in early October 1992, but took nearly four months to crack the top 150. I hadn't heard this one before.
Sadly, Grant died in May 2006, aged 48, from a heart attack.
Number 149 “Fire”/“Jericho” by The Prodigy
Peak: number 138
Peak date: 1 February 1993
Weeks in top 150: 4 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 149-138-145-(out for 1 week)-150
Weeks on chart: 18 weeks
English electronic/rave band The Prodigy last paid us a visit in June 1992.
"Fire"/"Jericho" was the third single lifted from The Prodigy's debut album Experience (number 163, January 1997). "Fire" prominently samples vocals from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's 1968 single "Fire" (number 25 on the Go-Set singles chart, October 1968). I first heard The Prodigy's "Fire" on the UK Chart Attack radio show; I had not heard "Jericho" before.
Internationally, "Fire"/"Jericho" peaked at number 11 in the UK in September 1992, and at number 15 in Ireland during the same month.
In Australia, once again "Fire"/"Jericho" performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 82 on the state chart. The single debuted on the national chart on the last chart survey of 1992 at number 223, taking just over a month to crack the top 150. Interestingly, "Fire" did not peak in Queensland until all of The Prodigy's early singles were re-issued in January 1997, following the success of "Breathe" (number 2, March 1997).
The Prodigy will next join us in July 1993.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 170 “Never Let Her Slip Away” by Undercover
Peak: number 170
Peak date: 25 January 1993
Weeks on chart: 5 weeks
British dance group Undercover formed in 1991, fronted by vocalist John Matthews. Their debut single "Baker Street", a cover version of the Gerry Rafferty song (number 1 for 1 week in June 1978), was a number 2 hit in the UK in September 1992, but only managed a peak of number 100 in Australia, in October 1992.
Appropriate for a band named Undercover, "Never Let Her Slip Away", the band's second single, was another cover version, this time of a song originally recorded by Andrew Gold, which peaked at number 55 in Australia in October 1978. Undercover's version of "Never Let Her Slip Away" peaked at number 5 in the UK in November 1992, number 2 in Ireland in November 1992, number 23 in Sweden in December 1992, number 8 in the Netherlands in January 1993, number 3 in the Flanders region of Belgium in January 1993, number 23 in Austria in January 1993, and number 16 in Germany in February 1993.
In Australia, "Never Let Her Slip Away" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 156 on the state chart.
This would be Undercover's final single to chart in Australia, although their debut album Check out the Groove managed to chart locally, albeit only reaching number 213 in February 1993.
This was another one I first heard on the UK Chart Attack radio program, which, unfortunately stopped airing in my state (Victoria, on Fox FM) in January 1993. The show was replaced by Pillow Talk, hosted by a medical doctor using the pseudonym 'Dr. Feelgood', which focussed on sex and relationship issues. This also meant that the American Top 40 radio show was pushed back to starting at 1 a.m. on Monday morning, a school night, which made it impossible for me to listen to. I was gutted!
Number 184 “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths
Peak: number 176
Peak date: 1 February 1993
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks
We last saw English band The Smiths in November 1992.
Although the band split in 1987, several of their earlier singles were re-issued, or in the case of this track, issued, in 1992 in the UK to promote a pair of 'best of' compilation albums. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" was originally an album track on The Smiths' third studio album The Queen Is Dead in 1986 (number 30, July 1986), and appears on their ...Best II (number 190, November 1992) compilation. The track was a fan favourite that was not released as a single in 1986, although they did perform the song on UK music TV program The Tube at that time. The band intentionally included a non-single album track on each album that stood out as being a likely single, and this was that track for The Queen Is Dead.
Internationally, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" peaked at number 25 in the UK in October 1992, and at number 22 in Ireland during the same month.
In Australia, "There Is a Light..." was most warmly received in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 116 on the state chart.
I didn't know this song at the time, but caught the music video, which does not appear to be on YouTube, on rage in the early 2010s and liked it.
The Smiths had a later single, "The Queen Is Dead", which peaked at number 1229 in July 2017 on the ARIA singles chart.
Number 201 “Perfect Motion” by Sunscreem
Peak: number 161
Peak date: 1 February 1993
Weeks on chart: 8 weeks
English band Sunscreem last joined us in August 1992.
"Perfect Motion" was the fourth single lifted from the band's debut album O3 (number 73, March 1993), and is my favourite single of theirs. Once again, I first heard this one on UK Chart Attack. Interestingly, this single was released in Australia just as “Love U More” (number 30, March 1993) was belatedly climbing up the charts, more than four months after its Australian release. The Australian branch of their record label obviously didn't think to postpone its release, although "Perfect Motion" received next to zero promotion here, anyway.
Internationally, "Perfect Motion" peaked at number 18 in the UK in October 1992.
Domestically, "Perfect Motion" was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 105.
We'll next see Sunscreem in March 1993.
Number 204 “They’re Here” by EMF
Peak: number 195
Peak date: 29 March 1993
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks
English band EMF last graced our presence in June 1992.
"They're Here" was the second single from EMF's second album Stigma (number 143, November 1992). The single was released in Australia at the end of November 1992, but took nearly two months to debut just outside the top 200.
"They're Here" peaked at number 29 in the band's native UK in September 1992. Locally, "They're Here" performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 169.
I didn't hear this one until the music video appeared on a UK promo VHS compilation I picked up in the late 2000s, although I remember the single was reviewed in the Australian edition of Smash Hits magazine.
I can't help but wonder, given the belated peak of "They're Here" in late March 1993, whether the March 1993 re-entry of the single is an error on the ARIA database, and it should instead be EMF's next single, "It's You", which was released in Australia on 8 February 1993 and did not otherwise chart, that peaked at number 195, while "They're Here" really peaked at number 204. But we will never know...
EMF will next join us in 1995.
Next week (1 February): A bumper week with nine top 150 entries and four bubbling WAY down under debuts.
