|
The The: Infected
|
40. Was (Not Was) - Out Come the Freaks
This quirky slice of leftfield funk-pop originally appeared in early 1984,
heralding the Was "brothers" Don and Dave's arrival on the scene. Confusion
reigned over the exact pronunciation of the moniker; was it "vas"? "wass"?.
Out Come The Freaks came agonisingly close to the Top 40, falling just short
at #41. Four years later, when the augmented duo had begun to clock up a
few decent-sized hits like Walk The Dinosaur and Spy In The House
Of Love, a reworked version of the song was issued. Yet again though,
it couldn't make the cut, peaking second time around at #44.
39. Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait
The Complete Book Of The British Charts claims this song was from the City Of
Angels film. It wasn't, instead being used over the opening credits of
teen drama Dawson's Creek (although it wasn't specifically written for that
purpose).
Taken from Cole's breakthrough 1997 set This Fire, which also included
the #14 UK hit Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?, the album's second
single did the business Stateside but could only manage #43 in Britain. For
the record Feelin' Good, from the same album, was the track used in
City Of Angels.
38. The The - Infected
One of several The The singles which could have made this rundown
(This Is The Day, Uncertain Smile and Sweet Bird Of Youth being
the others), Infected was a #48 hit at the back-end of 1986.
Its sleeve artwork, depicting the devil masturbating, caused a furore and
sales were doubtless hampered by the removal of copies while the offending
covers were withdrawn and replaced by a sanitised version. The album of the
same name which soon followed didn't suffer, however, being certified Gold on
release and making the Top 20 in the busy pre-Christmas market.
37. Prefab Sprout - Cars & Girls
Paddy McAloon's scathing critique of the Springsteen aesthetic that informed
much of The Boss' output in the 70s and early 80s ("some things hurt more,
much more than cars and girls... I guess this world need its dreamers; may
they never wake up"), Cars & Girls should have been a guaranteed
Top 40 entry in Februray 1988, if only for the fact it was the first new
Prefab Sprout material in almost three years.
Since 1985's celebrated sleeper hit album Steve McQueen, and the
thrice-issued classic When Love Breaks Down (which finally made #25 at
the third time of asking), several bands with shades of the Prefab sound had
enjoyed some chart success; Deacon Blue and Danny Wilson chief among them.
Anticipation surrounding From Langley Park To Memphis, the follow-up
to Steve McQueen, allied to rumours of a shelved album called Protest Songs
had created quite a buzz upon their return to the fray with Cars & Girls.
A #44 debut left the possibility of the Top 40 open, but the single then went
into immediate reverse. From Langley Park To Memphis, on the other hand,
entered at #5, the next single The King Of Rock'n'Roll - the one about
the jumping frogs and Albequerque - became a surprise Top 10 smash, and the
almost-mythical Protest Songs eventually gained an official release in the
summer of 1989.
36. Eurythmics - Shame
Once they finally broke through in early 1983 with Sweet Dreams Are Made Of
This, only two Eurythmics singles did not make the UK Top 40. Julia,
from their soundtrack to the film version of 1984, surprisingly made #44
in January 1985.
Almost three years later, the second single from the dark and wonderful Savage
album narrowly missed out by one place. In some ways, Julia's failure was more
startling, given that Eurythmics were still a singles force at that time and
came immediately after the Top 5 exploits of Sexcrime (Nineteen-Eighty-Four).
By 1987, their popularity had become predominantly as an albums act, with the
odd Top 10 hit here and there, but a loyal fanbase usually ensured at least a
Top 30 berth. Shame was the obvious single from Savage; a gorgeous
chiming melody and lyrics that were at the core of the album's commentary on
society and the media.
After two albums of American-friendly rock (Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge),
it seems the public jusy wasn't ready to embrace the darker side of Eurythmics
again; it took the 4th single You Placed A Chill In My Heart to ostensibly
rescue Savage's dwindling sales.
|