Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
Here is the
Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.
So this is the top 30 from this week in 1990 with my verdict on each record:
The story of Bob Geldof's career is that he was the singer of the Boomtown Rats, then came Live Aid etc, then he attempted a solo career that never really got anywhere. My music memories begin when he had a solo career that never really got anywhere and remember him having lots of songs. However, it turns out he only had 2 Top 40 hits, of which this is the second, and the first came before my music memories. Basically he had lots of songs that I heard, but only this made the Top 40. A lot of people won't listen to Bob Geldof simply because he's Bob Geldof, and I understand that as I find myself reluctant to like anything he's done, though his family annoy me more than the man himself. Nevertheless it's pretty easy to say this song is shit, it's not much of a song really, more of a drunken open mike night.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the only hit for Massivo ft Tracy. I've no idea who Tracy is, but Massivo would return to the Top 40 in 1995 as Gems For Jem. They were Darren Pearce and Steve Mac. Yes that Steve Mac, the man who wrote most of Westlife's hits plus many more pop hits of the modern era. This is where it all began for him when he was just 18 years old. It's a cover of the Minnie Ripperton song and much like the Maureen record I reviewed recently, this has a nice 90s vibe to it. Just a shame Steve Mac ended the decade writing such drivel, but then I guess he's made much more money out of that than he did this.
Verdict - Good
A remix of a record that failed to make the Top 40 when it was released the previous year. It's the sort of song I'd imagine appearing on Saved By the Bell, maybe it did appear one episode. It's a bit cringe worthy, but when you consider how bad the other female pop singers from America were at the time, it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Inspiral Carpets. I like the sudden tempo changes in this record. Its not as good as "This Is How It Feels" admittedly, but it's still a good tune.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Adamski and the first for Seal, though he wasn't credited and many thought he was Adamski at the time. It's the tune Adamski is best known for, but he has done much better tunes in my opinion, but I do still like this one.
Verdict - Good
The 5th single from "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" and 5th to be written by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. This ones good in parts, but it just seems to be lacking something, so it's just an ok for this one.
Verdict - OK
My biggest memory of this record, and I'm sure many others biggest memory too, is the alternative lyrics of "Betty Boo just doing a poo". It was the debut solo effort of Betty Boo, and what else can I say apart from this is dreadful.
Verdict - Rubbish
First there was Double Trouble and the Rebel MC, then there was Rebel MC and Double Trouble, then there was Rebel MC on his own, now we have Double Trouble on their own. It's a cover of the Rose Royce song, given a 90s makeover in the same sort of way "Thinking Of You" and "Loving You" were done. I've not heard this for a long time, it's actually not as good as I remember it being but I still like it. It would be the final Top 40 hit for Double Trouble, but member Leigh Guest would be back 11 years later as part of Airheadz. Karl "Tuff Enough" Brown would go on to become a big name in UK Garage and Michael Menson tragically died in 1997.
Verdict - Good
A cover of the Sister Sledge song which is better than the original in my opinion. If you want to do a cover, this is how to do it. A nice smooth 90s vibe with a short rap thrown in, this is a seriously good record.
Verdict - Good
A remix of a number one record from 1971. I love the original of this, so a remix would have to be quite something to get my seal of approval. As I listen, I can't help but think how much better the original is. It's good in parts and obviously it retains the original vocal, but it just doesn't have enough about it to make me like it.
Verdict - OK
This is one of the songs I remember hearing on a daily basis thanks to the person giving me a lift to school playing Now 18 every day. It was the Top 40 debut for Wilson Phillips, 2 of whom are Brian Wilsons daughters and the other is John and Michelle Phillips daughter, hence the name. It's also the 2nd Top 40 hit of 1990 called "Hold On" and entered the Top 40 whilst the first song was still in it. It quite an uplifting song with a dark subject matter, not that I paid attention to that or really knew what it was about at the time. I do remember the reference to being locked in chains though. Anyway despite getting sick of this record at the time, I do quite like it.
Verdict - Good
The main criticism a lot of metal fans have about the hair metal bands is their tendency to do ballads which often become their biggest hits. I quite like a lot of these ballads myself though, on that basis it's doing it's job of appealing to a wider audience. However, a lot of the non ballad songs these bands do have very little substance to them, they just sound album filler material and this is one of them.
Verdict - Rubbish
A double a-side where I'd say "California Dreamin'" is the best known. That's probably in part to do with the lyrical content of "Carry the Blame" which is to do with abortions. This version of "California Dreamin'" was the first version I'd heard. I thought it was ok, but when I heard the original version I thought this cover sounded pretty crap in comparison. "Carry the Blame" is alright, but nothing special.
Verdict - OK / OK
Here we have the bass player from an 80s band making a name for himself in the dance music world. It isn't Norman Cook though, it's Youth, formerly of Killing Joke. This reminds me of a school trip I went on to the Science Museum around this time. Not sure why, maybe it came on the radio on the bus. Anyway, good tune.
Verdict - Good
A cover of the Sister Sledge song which is better than the original in my opinion. If you want to do a cover, this is how to do it. A nice smooth 90s vibe with a short rap thrown in, this is a seriously good record.
Verdict - Good
It's Technotronic again, with their 4th Top 40 hit. I doubt many people realised they had many, but this wasn't exactly an obscure one that scraped into the Top 40, it made the Top 10. The fact this record is long forgotten makes it alright, if I heard it too often I may think otherwise.
Verdict - OK
I don't think I've heard this record since 1990, I guess the sheer quantity of Madonna hits means there's bound to be a number that you don't hear anymore. I'd happily wait another 30 years until I hear it again, I thought it was crap at the time and my opinion hasn't changed.
Verdict - Rubbish
This song taught me the drawbacks of buying a single. I didn't buy it myself, but I knew somebody who did. We were going somewhere in his mums car and he played this single both there and back. The problem was there was just this song and the b-side on the tape so it only lasted about 7 minutes and the car journey was a lot longer than that. Needless to say I was completely sick of the song by the end of it. Fortunately 30 years have passed since then so it's given me enough time to appreciate it for what it is. It's a cover of the Rolling Stones song done in a 90s Madchester style, except Soup Dragons aren't from Manchester, they're from Scotland.
Verdict - Good
You see it time and time again with teenage pop singers, they start off with a clean cut image and then they go bad. That's what happened with Glenn Medeiros, except his clean cut image lasted just one song. Then 2 years later he went bad with this record, hooking up with fellow teen singer turned bad boy Bobby Brown. What we end up with is, well quite frankly crap. This would be his final Top 40 hit, his following single was slated on Juke Box Jury later on in the year and predicted to be a miss, which it was.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was an American number one and I recall hearing this was just the second reggae number one after "Red Red Wine" by UB40. The thing is though, whilst Maxi Priest is predominantly as reggae singer, this isn't really a reggae song. Still, whatever genre it's supposed to be, I like it.
Verdict - Good
The official song for the England football team at the 1990 World Cup. It is of course New Order with their name temporarily changed for the occasion and would be their only number one record. It's best known though for the John Barnes rap, which is quite frankly terrible, but then what do you expect from a footballer. Despite that though, its a great record. Best football song ever written in my opinion, but then that's not saying much.
Verdict - Good
After Snap! had a number one with "The Power" they didn't disappear until "Rhythm Is A Dancer" in 1992, they had hits in-between. I remember this coming out at the time, but for some reason I don't remember the sound of a squeaky child's toy appearing throughout the tune. I can't help but notice it's presence now and it's bloody irritating which means no matter how good the rest of the music might be, it's unlistenable. As it happens the rest of the music isn't up to much either.
Verdict - Rubbish
I always thought The Stone Roses were overhyped, yet we've had 2 Top 40 hits of theirs feature in 1990 so far and I've liked both of them. This record though is an illustration of why I think they're overhyped. It's just a nothing song. They'd recently played their Spike Island gig so clearly had a large following by this point and it's like they're now popular enough to make any old rubbish and people will like it because it's The Stone Roses.
Verdict - Rubbish
Love it or hate it, you can't deny the impact this record has had on the world. Whenever someone shouts "stop", many people no doubt at least think "hammer time". I did like this at the time, but since then it's been played to death, plus I've gone through a period of being really into rap music of a more controversial nature and resenting more party rap music like this. On that basis it gets an ok.
Verdict - OK
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Roxette, which came over a year after their first, though they tried and failed to reach the Top 40 with a couple of single in between. Their first hit "The Look" was mainly sang by Per Gessle, but in this one Marie Fredriksson takes the lead with just the occasional backing vocals from Per. This was another song I used to hear on a daily basis thanks to the person giving me a lift to school playing Now 18 every day. I like a bit of Roxette though.
Verdict - Good
Before "Toytown Techno" became a thing, we had this in the charts which is the same idea. There is nothing good about this record at all, it's so poor that it doesn't even sound as cheesy as its supposed to.
Verdict - Rubbish
Given the amount of rap music you get in the charts these days, it's hard to think that it actually got off to quite a slow start commercially in the UK. It had been 11 years since the Sugarhill Gang gave us the first rap Top 40 hit, but finally we get the first rap number one. Few would have predicted the first rap number one would be about a kids TV show. Like pretty much every boy of my age, I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I liked this record for that very reason. Do I still like it though? Well it is pretty awful, but there is that novelty factor so it gets the ok.
Verdict - OK
A record that charted 18 years after it was recorded thanks to it being used for the BBCs coverage of the World Cup. At the time I didn't know what an opera was, I just saw it as the genre of music where they sing it funny. I can't say I'm a fan of opera, but I guess thanks in part to my childhood memories of this song and watching the World Cup I thought this is a song I quite like. Listening to it now though, I'm not actually sure if I've listened to it from beginning to end before. Basically if you want to hear the good bit then just listen to the last 30 seconds. The good bit is enough to make this song good though, in the same way I like "Layla" but always stop listening when the outro comes in.
Verdict - Good
There was no escaping Craig McLachlan in 1990, first you'd see him in Neighbours, then you'd see him in Home and Away, then he'd be on Top of the Pops singing this. I always thought singing about building a house next door was ridiculous, unless Mona lived out in the middle of nowhere it's most likely there would already be a house next door to her. What I didn't realise at the time was that it's a cover. It's originally by Bo Diddley and it's a song covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album. Still, it's a pretty dreadful song.
Verdict - Rubbish
I once went to a quiz on holiday where we were asked what Elton Johns first number one was. I knew this was his first solo number one, but said "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" because he never said solo, but the official answer was "Sacrifice", whether he'd have taken "Healing Hands" as an answer, who knows. Anyway enough of crap quizmasters, what about the songs? Both were released as separate singles in 1989 and both failed to reach the Top 40, but the double a-side made number one. This was actually the record that taught me what a double a-side was. The most played of the two was "Sacrifice" and I always quite liked that record. I got a bit confused when one week on Top of the Pops when they played "Healing Hands" instead, but that's how I learned about double a-sides. Not too keen on "Healing Hands" though to be honest.
Verdict - Good / Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 17.5/30, or 58%. My childhood love of the turtles gives this week a better score than last week.
