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A cursory glance at the top 5 of the chart for this week in 1989 reveals the
twin evils of Black Box and Jive Bunny at #1 and #2 respectively, and all of
the other 3 positions at the business end of the Top 40 hailing from the
rampant SAW conveyorbelt; Jason Donovan's Every Day the highest entry at #3, Big
Fun's Blame It On The Boogie peaking at #4 and the evergreen Cliff Richard
down to #5 with his 101st UK single I Just Don't Have The Heart.
As a result, Sowing The Seeds Of Love - the much anitcipated return of Tears
For Fears after a four year absence - had to settle for a #6 peak. The
single, a kitchen-sink pastiche of Beatles-esque psychedelia, had debuted strongly
at #9 a week earlier, but it would be the only one of four singles from the
accompanying Seeds Of Love album to even crack the Top 20.
Tears For Fears had been one of the most successful chart acts of the
early-to-mid 1980s, but the rest of the Top 20 from 15 years ago consisted of
primarily new names on the scene. The sadly short-lived careers of Betty Boo and
Martika were just beginning; Boo's guest appearance on the Beatmaster's Hey DJ
(still at #7) made her name, while Martika's US #1 Toy Soldiers was the first
in a brief run of hits that lasted until early 1992. Meanwhile, Alyson
Williams and the rather scary Adeva were crossing over from clubland to the main
chart with I Need Your Lovin' (up to #11) and Warning (down from #17 to #19).
The Best Of Shakespear's Sister
Bon Jovi (at #18 with Lay Your Hands On Me), Guns 'N' Roses (up 9 to #17 with
Night Train) and a rejuvenated, MTV-friendly Alice Cooper (down to #8 with the
shock - or should that be shlock? - #2 smash Posion) flew the Heavy Rock flag
in the top 20. Poison came from the pen of Desmond Child, co-writer of Bon
Jovi's big-haired hits from the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey albums. More
big hair came in the shape of Richard Marx, the obscenely successful US
songsmith whose much-deserved UK breakthrough had finally happened with the ballad
Right Here Waiting (climbing 17 to #15 on its way to #2), and the
unstoppable Tina Turner, back with The Best - the first single from yet another
multi-platinum monster album, Foreign Affair - and soaring to #16 after just 2 weeks
on the chart.
The big summer movie was Tim Burton's bold take on the Batman comics
starring Michael Keaton as the caped crusader and Jack Nicholson as his
meglomaniacal nemesis The Joker. Soundtrack duties were performed by none other than
Prince, but Party Man (new at #20) was one of the few Prince tracks from his
Batman album to actually feature in the film. Perhaps because most of the tracks
weren't really up to much. Batdance had somehow reached #2 in May on the back
of the publicity surrounding the film, but Party Man - despite being
superior - only made #14 in the end.
Shakespear's Sister, the new project for ex-Bananarama girl Siobhan Fahey,
were now falling out of the Top 20 down to #21 with their debut hit You're
History, but - eventually, give or take the odd flop or three - they would be
back for even greater success. For all-American 80s teenpop queen Debbie Gibson,
We Could Be Together (up 5 to #22) would prove her final brush with the
British Top 40 as a solo artist; there was just the matter of a duet with Craig
McLachlan to come in the mid-90s thanks to the stage production of Grease -
The Musical.
Eurythmics: We Too Are One
The most startling record of the week was Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, in
at #25. To casual observers, their metamorphosis into purveyors of dirty
blues-guitar licks and neo-religious lyrical subject matter might have come as
something of a shock, but in truth the band had been touring extensively in
America's Deep South through 1988 and early 1989, with the earthier style first
aired on a cover of Route 66 for the B-side to their 1988 hit Behind The
Wheel. Many years later, the great Johnny Cash would record a brilliantly
minimalistic version of Personal Jesus for his final album American IV: The Man Comes
Around in 2003 and, along with its AA-side Hurt would reach #39 at the second
time of asking (having just missed the Top 40 when first issued).
Janet Jackson had been no stranger to the UK Top 10 during 1986 and 1987
with three of her singles from her Control album reaching the upper echelon.
Strangely, however, not one of the seven releases taken from the 1989 follow-up
Rhythm Nation 1814 managed to progress higher than #15 but all of them made
the Top 30; a sequence unlikely to ever be repeated, not least because the era
of so many singles from one album has long since passed. Miss You Much,
Rhythm Nation's introductory hit, was starting its modest ascent to #22 with a 5
place rise from #30.
Eurythmics were also languishing mid-chart with their
latest effort Revival, up 4 to #26. Again, the chart performance of all the
singles from its parent album (in their case, the #1 We Too Are One) were
consistently underwhelming; the other three would reach #25, #29 and #23 to leave We
Too Are One with the dubious honour of being the first Eurythmics album not
to produce a UK Top 10 single since 1981's debut In The Garden.
Rolling Stones: Forty Licks
After parting company with charismatic frontman Fish, recently seen in
ITV's drama Quite Ugly One Morning, after 1987's Clutching
At Straws album, Marillion brought in a new vocalist and hit the Top 40 with
their first Steve Hogarth-era single, Hooks In You. New at #32, the rather
self-conscious rocker was merely a taster for what was to come, as the band
comprehensively reinvented themselves with a series of sophisticated, compelling
albums in the 1990s.
A trio of future US Billboard Top 5 hits also arrived in the 30s; The Cure's
Love Song (in at #33) fared much better across the water, where it went all
the way to #2, while Aerosmith's raunchy anthem Love In An Elevator entered
close to the chart's ground floor but ultimately rose as high as #13. Finally,
debuting at #39, The Rolling Stones rolled on, announcing their comeback
after 3 years of bitching and so-so solo projects with the lauded Steel Wheels
album, from whence came Mixed Emotions. The album sold more than respectably;
the single peaked at a disappointing #36.
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Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
