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:
30. Soul II Soul ft Kym Mazelle - Missing
The first Top 40 hit for Soul II Soul not to reach the Top 10, but the album had been released a few months prior and got to number one. Kym Mazelle was already an established artist in her own right when this came out. It basically sounds like a Soul II Soul record, which is never a bad thing.
Verdict - Good
29. Malandra Burrows - Just This Side Of Love (New)
The mid-80s saw the launch of EastEnders, and not long after a number of actors from the show were having hits. Then towards the end of the 80s we had Neighbours actors in the charts. Now was the turn of Emmerdale with this. Though I caught the odd episode of Emmerdale, it's not a programme I ever watched properly and have just discovered that Malandra Burrows character, Kathy, sang this on the show itself. It wouldn't be the last we'd hear of Emmerdale in the charts, but more of that if I'm still doing these posts in 6 years time.
Verdict - Rubbish
28. 808 State - Cubik / Olympic
After a couple of hits with MC Tunes, 808 State released this double a-side by themselves. Despite the heavy guitar presence on "Cubik" it's still very much a dance record, though maybe it could get the rock crowd interested, but great tune nonetheless. "Olympic" is perhaps best known as the theme tune to The Word, that's how I first came across it and always liked it.
Verdict - Good / Good
27. Betty Boo - 24 Hours (New)
It's amazing how you can go 30 years without hearing a song, then when it comes to listening to it again it sounds quite different to how you remember it. This is one of those. My memory was this didn't sound as silly as her earlier efforts, and I guess it doesn't. Still crap though.
Verdict - Rubbish
26. Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring
After ten Top 10 hits in a row, this only just scraped into the Top 20. Apparently this is Axl Rose's favourite Pet Shop Boys song and he was disappointed they didn't play it at a gig of theirs he went to. It's not my favourite Pet Shop Boys song, but like most of their songs I do like it.
Verdict - Good
25. Twenty4Seven ft Captain Hollywood - Are You Dreaming?
This was the second and final collaboration between Twenty4Seven and Captain Hollywood to make the UK Top 40. Like with the first hit, not as cheesy as your average Eurodance record but still pretty average at the same time.
Verdict - OK
24. Snap! - Mary Had A Little Boy (New)
Was this the beginning of Toytown Techno? Maybe not, whilst it's based on a nursery rhyme it's perhaps not as blatant as actual Toytown Techno records, though it could have inspired it. Very cheesy though and the rapping is dreadful.
Verdict - Rubbish
23. Gazza And Lindisfarne - Fog On The Tyne (Revisited)
I've said this before and I'll continue to say this, football and music just don't mix. Here is Gazza attempting to rap on a remake of a 70s record with the 70s band who made it. Absolutely terrible.
Verdict - Rubbish
22. Yazoo - Situation (New)
What's this? Yazoo in 1990? Yes, although Yazoo had long split up, this record got the remix treatment and charted in 1990. It was originally the b-side to "Only You". I'd say this is an example of the b-side being better than the a-side, and I like "Only You".
Verdict - Good
21. Megabass - Time To Make The Floor Burn
This ones a megamix of dance records of the time. Like I've said previously, the only way a megamix can be truly good is if every tune in it is good. However the chopping and changing this record has means you don't really need every tune to be good, so I like it.
Verdict - Good
20. MC Hammer - Pray (New)
Mix together Prince and Faith No More, add some gospel rapping over the top and you get this. I'd rather just listen to the Prince or Faith No More songs on their own though.
Verdict - Rubbish
19. Bombalurina - Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat
Timmy Mallet is back with another hit that's just as awful as the first, but not as well remembered. It would be the final Bombalurina Top 40 hit, though I do recall their version of "Lollipop" being played on the radio at the time, but it was never a hit.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. Dimples D - Sucker DJ
Once again we have a record in the charts thanks to a remix by Ben Liebrand. This originally came out in 1983 and failed to chart. I think I liked this record at the time but don't think I've heard it since 1990. Listening to it now though I'm not so keen.
Verdict - Rubbish
17. Robert Palmer And UB40 - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Before I first heard "Saturday Night" by Whigfield, a girl at school kept singing the words "be my baby". I thought she was trying to sing this, but wondered why as it was 4 years old by then. This was originally a Bob Dylan song covered in typical UB40 style. Which probably explains why I like it.
Verdict - Good
16. Dream Warriors - My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style
These day's it's hard to listen to this record with it's sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones without thinking of Austin Powers. It was a different story back in 1990, a few years before Austin Powers. My main memory of it was mishearing the lyrics, I didn't know what this was called at the time and heard "I've got permission". Still, a good record.
Verdict - Good
15. Jimmy Somerville - To Love Somebody
Another Jimmy Somerville record that's a cover, this time of a Bee Gees record. This is done in a reggae style and I think this was the first version I heard. It's not bad.
Verdict - OK
14. The Proclaimers - King Of The Road (EP)
It's quite a strange dynamic really, a band who are so blatantly Scottish singing a song that's very American. This was the first version of "King Of The Road" I heard, which was originally a number one for Roger Miller in 1965. Can't say this is really my cup of tea.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. New Kids On The Block - This One's For The Children (New)
The 7th New Kids On The Block hit of 1990. Picture the scene, you're at a work Christmas party having a sit down meal, a pianist is playing as you eat, then I come up to the piano and start singing this. Fortunately that never happened, but a work colleague of mine once suggested I did that. She was the New Kids On The Block fan, I was just someone who knew enough New Kids On The Block songs to be able to converse with her about them.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. The Farm - All Together Now (New)
One could argue this is a Christmas song. It was to do with the Christmas truce during the First World War. This is one of those tunes that I like which also has a happy hardcore version that I like, "Together In Wonderland" by Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo, and I like playing them back to back.
Verdict - Good
11. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
This has one of the most famous music videos of all time, the one with Helena Christensen in it with him. Maybe it's just as well for Chris Isaak that this video has made such an impact because it diverts the attention away from the fact it's a very dull song.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Black Box - Fantasy
A cover of the Earth Wind & Fire record. I used to like it, but over time it's started to make me cringe. Had I not bought a Black Box CD several years ago I may have still liked it, but I just can't listen to it anymore.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Madonna - Justify My Love (New)
Many people had never heard of Lenny Kravitz until he did "It Ain't Over Til It's Over", but they would likely have heard one of his compositions in this song. I wonder how many Lenny Kravitz fans actually like this song though.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. Julee Cruise - Falling
When a song is most famous for being a theme tune to a TV show it's often crap. Not always though. This was the theme tune to "Twin Peaks", a fact I did not know at the time. To this very day I still haven't watched an episode so to me this is still simply a song, and one I like.
Verdict - Good
7. Rod Stewart And Tina Turner - It Takes Two
It's the king of crap covers doing a crap cover in collaboration with Tina Turner. It must have been the big names that sold this because why anyone would listen to this over the original Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston version is beyond me.
Verdict - Rubbish
6. Cliff Richard - Saviour's Day (New)
I prefer this to "Mistletoe & Wine", probably because you don't hear it as much at Christmas. That's the only positive thing I can say about it though.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Patrick MacNee And Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots
This song is from 1964 but was never a hit. Thanks to Simon Mayo though this finally became a hit in 1990. I wonder how many people who bought it actually liked it though.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Kim Appleby - Don't Worry
Ever wondered what Craig Logan did after he left Bros? Well here's your answer, he was co-writer on this record. Kim Appleby was of course one half of Mel & Kim, something I didn't realise at the time. Mel had died earlier on in the year and this was Kim's solo debut. She no longer had involvement with Stock Aitken & Waterman, which explains why I quite like this.
Verdict - Good
3. EMF - Unbelievable
The normal way to wear a cap was with long bit to the front, but it was cool to wear a cap backwards. EMF singer James Atkin on the other hand wore his cap to the side. Everyone was singing this at the time, but I don't recall the cap wearing style catching on. I was one of those singing it, good record.
Verdict - Good
2. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
I remember seeing this video on Top of the Pops and what confused me was that they were called The Righteous Brothers but there was only one of them. I soon discovered there were two of them, but only Bobby Hatfield featured on this particular record. It was originally released in 1965 but was re-released thanks to it featuring in the movie "Ghost". There are lots of versions of this song, but this is the best one in my opinion.
Verdict - Good
1. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
I liked this one at the time, but then the following year I became a Queen fan and this famously sampled "Under Pressure". After hearing Brian May say it was crap, I decided it was crap too. I was easily influenced back then. Amongst rap music fans, of which I was one a number of years later, this never had much credibility. Now I'm older and have my own opinions what do I think? Well it is a bit crap to be fair.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 13/30, or 43%. The lowest score of the year, could it be Christmas bringing out the crap music?
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