Week commencing 12 April 1993

This was a quieter week on the Australian chart in 1993, with only three known new entries debuting and peaking outside of the top 100.  The three entries are all new to me; perhaps they are new to you too?  Let’s take a look at them.

Martha Wash: big in every way except on the charts (in her own right).

Top 150 debuts:

Number 132 “Green Machine” by Kyuss

Peak: number 114

Peak date: 26 April 1993

Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks

Top 150 chart run: 132-118-114-129-141

American band Kyuss (rhymes with ‘bias’) formed in Palm Desert, California in 1988.  “Green Machine” was lifted from their second album Blues for the Red Sun (number 104, April 1993).

I could not find evidence of this one charting elsewhere, and was surprised to see that the music video embedded below is sourced from the long-running Australian music video TV program rage.  I don’t normally care much for metal on the heavier side, but as one of the YouTube commenters writes, “do not listen to this song while driving if you enjoy your driver’s licence”.

This would be the only top 150 single in Australia for Kyuss.

Bubbling WAY down under:

Number 173 “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” (The Rapino Brothers Remixes) by Heaven 17

Peak: number 173

Peak date: 12 April 1993

Weeks on chart: 5 weeks

English band Heaven 17 formed in Sheffield in 1980.  Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh were founding members of The Human League, but split from that group in late 1980, following personal and creative tensions.  Together, they formed the production duo British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.), and recruited singer Glenn Gregory to front Heaven 17.

“(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” was issued as the band’s first single in 1981, peaking at number 45 in the UK in March 1981, and number 72 in Australia in August 1981.  Between 1981 and 1993, Heaven 17 placed seven singles on the Australian top 100, with “Temptation” (number 38, September 1983) being the biggest of those, and the only one to make the top 50.

In late 1992, a Brothers in Rhythm remix of “Temptation” gave Heaven 17 their first UK top 10 single in nine years, and was also a minor hit in Australia, reaching number 64 in March 1993.  A compilation album Higher and Higher: The Best of (number 129, May 1993) was subsequently released, containing new mixes of a couple of the band’s early singles.  A Rapino Brothers remix of “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” was issued as the second single from the album.

Internationally, the Rapino Brothers remix of “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” peaked at number 40 in the UK in February 1993.  In Australia, the single performed strongest in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 162 on the state chart.

I hadn’t heard this remix before, but liked it.

We shall see Heaven 17 again in June 1993.

Number 179 “Give It to You” by Martha Wash

Peak: number 179

Peak date: 12 April 1993

Weeks on chart: 2 weeks

We last saw American powerhouse vocalist Martha Wash in February 1993.

“Give It to You” was released as the second single from Martha’s debut solo album Martha Wash (released in Australia in April 1993, did not chart).  Internationally, “Give It to You” peaked at number 37 in the UK in February 1993, and at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1993.  The song also registered on several US Billboard genre-specific charts, peaking at number 75 on the Radio Songs chart in March 1993, number 48 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in March 1993, and number 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart for one week in April 1993.

Domestically, “Give It to You” was most popular in Western Australia, where it reached number 167.

I hadn’t heard this one before; it’s quite decent.

Martha will next bubble under in 1999.  Before then, she’ll score her only Australian top 100 single (where she is credited as Martha Wash), duetting with RuPaul on “It’s Raining Men - The Sequel” (number 64, March 1998).

Next week (19 April): Four top 150 entries and five bubbling WAY down under debuts.

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