It has been quite a while since I've made a post outside of the weekly top 150 recaps. Writing this one has been on my mental 'to do' list for quite a while. Although this blog normally deals with flops that missed the ARIA top 100, for a change, in this post I will write about singles that went to number one on at least one of the five state charts, but did not top the national chart.
Avid collectors of the printed ARIA top 50 charts that used to be available freely in record stores may recall that ARIA started including the state top 10 charts on those on the chart dated week ending 29 April 1990 (which reflects the chart survey conducted 23 April 1990). Here's a refresher (hopefully it will be at a readable size font if you right click View Image, or open it in a new tab):
Then, in December 1991, ARIA switched to posting the state top 50 singles and albums chart on the reverse of the national chart, with each state having their own state chart printed on the back. I do wonder what happened at/near border towns... Here's an example I collected at the time, showing the Victoria/Tasmania state chart on the reverse. I have split the image into two halves so that it (hopefully) displays more clearly below:
Then, of course the printed top 50 chart underwent a re-design in August 1992. Here's one with a Queensland state chart, provided by the late Craig MacGregor:
Top 50 state chart information was also provided in a table within The ARIA Report, with an example below:
ARIA state chart data from June 1988 (when ARIA commenced producing the chart in-house) to December 1989 inclusive has never been publicly available. While I don't have a complete set of state charts, I am reasonably confident that I now have all of the state chart number 1 singles spanning this period.
State chart-only number one singles - June 1988 to December 1988:
1. "Blue Monday 1988" by New Order
State(s) that it went to number one in: Victoria/Tasmania
Known dates it was number one: 6 June 1988
National chart peak: number 3
National chart debut: 29 May 1988
National chart run: 31-3-4-5-7-7-13-14-14-16-20-28-35-37-54-53-72-75-96
Topping the very first Victoria/Tasmania state chart produced by ARIA is New Order's "Blue Monday 1988". During the same week, it climbed from number 31 to number 3 nationally. While the English band never scored a national number one single in Australia, "Bizarre Love Triangle" (number 5, March 1987) also topped the Kent Music Report state chart for four weeks in Victoria in 1987. Excellent taste, Victorians and Tasmanians!
2. "Underneath the Radar" by Underworld
State(s) that it went to number one in: Western Australia
Known dates it was number one: 6 June 1988
National chart peak: number 5
National chart debut: 11 April 1988
National chart run: 82-68-52-49-40-36-28-26-13-5-16-9-10-7-12-11-10-7-10-10-16-23-28-35-36-44-45-46-46-55-56-60-70-75-90
British band Underworld landed a state chart number one in Western Australia on the first chart survey ARIA conducted. Surprisingly, this one was only really a hit in Australia, where it reached number 5 nationally, and in New Zealand, where it reached number 14. "Underneath the Radar" crept into the lower region of the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 74 in May 1988. Astonishingly, the single did not even register on the UK top 200, which is quite a travesty!
3. "The Perfect Day" by Fischer-Z
State(s) that it went to number one in: Western Australia
Known dates it was number one: 13 June 1988
National chart peak: number 12
National chart debut: 2 May 1988
National chart run: 95-90-87-68-60-55-22-82-47-45-37-31-21-18-12-13-16-17-14-21-20-26-33-34-33-57-58-57-96
Like Underworld above, English band Fischer-Z were two-hit wonders in Australia, (almost) eight years apart, with "So Long" (number 15, December 1980) and this one. Also like Underworld, the line-up of the band had completely changed in between the two Australian hits, with the lead singer being the only constant. Narrowly missing the top 10 nationally, Western Australia had the good sense to make this a number one hit. The single had a rather yo yo-like chart run for a period, climbing from 55 to 22 on the second ARIA-produced chart (the week it was number one in Western Australia), before dropping back down to 82 then climbing back up the chart slowly again. I wonder what was going on there.
4. "Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House
State(s) that it went to number one in: Queensland and Western Australia
Known dates it was number one: 4 July 1988 (WA); 11 July 1988 (QLD)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 13 June 1988
National chart run: 36-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-4-5-6-6-10-17-18-23-37-43-52-62-61-71-84-96-95
Probably thought of as a number one hit by most people, "Better Be Home Soon" surprisingly only peaked at number 2. Having said that, I was not a fan of the song at the time, but have since grown to like it over the years.
State(s) that it went to number one in: Victoria/Tasmania and Queensland
Known dates it was number one: 29 August 1988 (VIC/TAS); 19 September 1988 (QLD)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 1 August 1988
National chart run: 57-8-4-3-3-3-3-2-3-3-7-12-13-25-35-51-52-53-78-83-94-(2 week Xmas break)-98
Another one many people probably assume was a number one hit is The Timelords' (an alias of The KLF) novelty hit, "Doctorin' the Tardis". It seemed there were more Doctor Who fans in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland than the rest of the country.
6. "Don't Be Cruel" by Cheap Trick
State(s) that it went to number one in: Victoria/Tasmania and Queensland
Known dates it was number one: 19 September 1988 (VIC/TAS); 12 September 1988 (QLD)
National chart peak: number 4
National chart debut: 27 June 1988
National chart run: 50-29-20-25-16-14-9-8-5-5-4-4-5-5-6-12-19-23-28-44-46-43-74-75-75-97-(2 week Xmas break)-96 Deciding to follow-up a massive number one hit "The Flame" (number one on the first ARIA-produced national singles chart, no less) with a safe Elvis cover was a choice... but it paid off for Cheap Trick, giving them back-to-back top 5 success in Australia.
7. "All Fired Up" by Pat Benatar
State(s) that it went to number one in: Queensland and Western Australia
Known dates it was number one: 3 October 1988 (QLD); 26 September 1988 (WA)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 1 August 1988
National chart run: 70-41-20-15-7-5-5-4-2-2-5-7-9-11-14-19-20-33-50-66-(2 week Xmas break)-71-75-83-95-101American singer Pat Benatar landed a number one hit in Australia in early 1984 with the brilliant "Love Is a Battlefield". While she never replicated that feat, she came close with "All Fired Up"; another song I wasn't particularly fond of at the time, but has since grown on me. A little known fact about this track is that it's a cover version of a 1987 single from Australian country band Rattling Sabers, which peaked at number 94 in Australia in November 1987.
8. "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz and The Plastic Population
State(s) that it went to number one in: New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory
Known dates it was number one: 17 October 1988 (NSW/ACT)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 19 September 1988
National chart run: 86-34-14-8-2-5-5-5-6-5-4-4-5-7-(2 week Xmas break)-6-9-8-13-17-21-22-36-46-48-60-65-79-83-84 English singer Yazz (born Yasmin Evans) was backed up by Coldcut, for whom she was a featured artist on "Doctorin' the House" (number 45, August 1988), using the pseudonym 'The Plastic Population', for this track, which is another cover of an obscure song, originally recorded by Otis Clay. Yazz's version spent a respectable 16 weeks in the Australian top 10. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as a one-hit wonder, Yazz had another top 30 hit in Australia, minus The Plastic Population, with "Stand Up for Your Love Rights" (number 22, December 1988), which I prefer slightly to this one, and, er, another three solo top 100 'hits'.
9. "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins
State(s) that it went to number one in: all except South Australia/Northern Territory!
Known dates it was number one: 24 October 1988 (NSW/ACT); 31 October 1988 (VIC/TAS); 31 October 1988 (QLD); 24 October 1988 (WA)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 3 October 1988
National chart run: 31-10-5-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-5-(2 week Xmas break)-8-11-14-17-23-27-64-47-45-68-81-82
Spending a mammoth seven consecutive weeks at number 2, Phil Collins' "A Groovy Kind of Love", recorded for the soundtrack of the film Buster (which Phil also starred in), somehow managed to top four of the five state charts, but not the national chart. In the odd state chart-out, South Australia/Northern Territory, "A Groovy Kind of Love" only managed to reach number 5.
10. "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Jimmy Barnes
State(s) that it went to number one in: South Australia/Northern Territory
Known dates it was number one: 14 November 1988
National chart peak: number 3
National chart debut: 31 October 1988
National chart run: 24-6-3-3-3-6-11-(2 week Xmas break)-14-20-27-39-61-63-71-77-109-97I've never been a big fan of Scottish-Australian pub rock legend Jimmy Barnes' screaming vocals, and they're cranked up to 11 on this live rendition of the Percy Sledge song, which South Australia/Northern Territory obviously loved. The song could alternatively be titled "How to Destroy Your Vocal Cords Permanently in One Easy Lesson".
11. "Nothing Can Divide Us" by Jason Donovan
State(s) that it went to number one in: South Australia/Northern Territory
Known dates it was number one: 21 November 1988
National chart peak: number 3
National chart debut: 24 October 1988
National chart run: 4-4-4-3-4-6-8-7-10-(2 week Xmas break)-16-15-24-29-29-47-52-73-82-92-82
Rejected by Rick Astley, "Nothing Can Divide Us" was recycled by Hit Factory maestros Stock Aitken Waterman to give 'our' Jason his first hit. It's a bit of a stretch to think that Jason, who could barely hold a note at this point, could manage a song written with Rick Astley in mind, but here it is. Jason's voice sounds a bit like it came out of a computer, but this was the pre-Auto-Tune era, and the studio wizardry wasn't quite as good. Having said that, I do like this.
For years, I thought this was a legitimate national ARIA chart number one, as it was number one for a week on the chart used (based on what, I don't know) by Take 40 Australia prior to 1989. They did switch to using the ARIA chart in January 1989.
12. "If I Could" by 1927
State(s) that it went to number one in: Victoria/Tasmania
Known dates it was number one: 28 November 1988
National chart peak: number 4
National chart debut: 7 November 1988
National chart run: 64-29-9-5-5-4-4-(2 week Xmas break)-4-5-5-6-11-7-10-10-14-16-17-22-25-31-45-38-42-56-65-77-86-97
Aussie band 1927's second single seems like it was a national number one; and it indeed was... on the bogus chart used by Take 40 Australia in 1988. So, yes, it's another one that I thought was a legitimate number one for years. FM radio in Melbourne certainly loved this one, and it's quite good, if not a little on the sappy side, lyrically.
State(s) that it went to number one in: South Australia/Northern Territory
Known dates it was number one: 28 November 1988
National chart peak: number 9
National chart debut: 24 October 1988
National chart run: 55-29-24-11-10-10-9-10-13-(2 week Xmas break)-13-14-12-20-19-24-34-33-38-52-53-62-79-74
Another one FM radio in Melbourne flogged to death is American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge's "Bring Me Some Water". So much so that I believed for many years that Melissa was an Australian! Indeed, Australia seems to have given Melissa her first taste of real chart success. Fox FM were playing this one for weeks before it hit the chart, and it's one of those songs I could never work out the title to, assuming it might be "Sweet Devil's Got My Soul."
14. "Especially for You" by Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan
State(s) that it went to number one in: South Australia/Northern Territory
Known dates it was number one: 19 December 1988 (chart repeated 26 December 1988 and 2 January 1989)
National chart peak: number 2
National chart debut: 19 December 1988
National chart run: 2-(2 week Xmas break)-2-2-2-3-4-7-11-15-17-30-29-28-31-42-49-52-58-58-80-86-99
In retrospect, it seems quite shocking that a Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan duet, considering how big they were at the time, didn't go to number one in Australia. It did, however, debut at number one on the South Australia/Northern Territory state chart, the only state chart it reached the top. "Especially for You" was also number one for one week in January 1989 on the chart used by Take 40 Australia before they switched to using the ARIA chart the following week - so it's another one I assumed was a legitimate Australian number one single for years. I'm sure you've heard/seen "Especially for You" umpteen times before, so here's a parody of the video that's worth checking out (or so I think), from two British comedians who decided to make use of their wig collection during COVID lockdowns by uploading videos to YouTube.
Part two of this post will cover the state chart-only number one singles for the first half of 1989. Stay tuned!
Thanks for this. A very entertaining read. I'd forgotten that Underworld had a career pre 'Born Slippy' and indeed (via Discogs) that they previously had been part of Freur, who had a minor UK hit in 1983 with 'Doot Doot'.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I didn’t know about Freur; I will have to check that out. Thanks for your comment! One thing I forgot to mention in the article is that Australian radio at the time was often quite different/ran independently in each state (no or few national networks), so you could often have marked differences in how well particular singles performed, or when they peaked, on the state charts, given the vast geographic distances between the major cities in Australia.
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