80s in the 90s: 1987

Continuing the look at whether 80s acts succeeded in the 90s here's a look at the 1987 debutants:

Public Enemy: They had 4 Top 40 hits in the 80s, all pretty well known but none of them got higher than 18 with "Don't Believe The Hype" reaching that position. In the 90s they had 5 Top 40 hits including 2 number 18s and they fared better with "He Got Game" which made 16. All their 90s Top 40 hit charted higher than their 80s hits that weren't "Don't Believe The Hype". 

Verdict: Hit

Belinda Carlisle: In the 80s Belinda Carlisle clocked up 6 Top 40 hits, 4 made the Top 10 including chart topping debut "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and the other 2 failed to reach the Top 30. In the 90s she had 13 Top 40 hits but only 3 made the Top 10. This includes "(We Want) The Same Thing" in 1990 which is one of her better known records and enough of a reason to say she succeeded in the 90s.

Verdict: Hit

Wet Wet Wet: It originally looked as though Wet Wet Wet were finished as a chart act by 1989. Although they had Top 40 hits every year in the early 90s they failed to reach the Top 10 with any of their Top 40 hits from 1989s "Broke Away" to 1994s "Cold Cold Heart" with the exception of the 1992 chart topper "Goodnight Girl". Then in 1994 they were number 1 for 15 weeks "Love Is All Around" and they were rarely out of the Top 10 with their hits after that until they broke up in 1997.

Verdict: Hit

Heart: With 6 Top 40 hits in the 80s and 2 in the 90s they're clearly more of an 80s band. However you can't ignore that one of their 90s hits was "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" which was one of their three Top 10s. It came out in March 1990 so was most likely recorded in the 80s and very much sounds like an 80s record. Their other 90s hit was "Will You Be There (In The Morning)" which made 19 in 1993. It goes without saying that wouldn't be enough to consider them a 90s act too and in the case "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" it's more the 90s coming just a little too early.

Verdict: Miss

Rick Astley: He made the Top 10 with all his hits between 1987 and 1989 and they he just disappeared. Then in 1991 a now long haired Rick Astley made a comeback with a more mature sound with the hit "Cry For Help". It too made the Top 10 but this comeback was short lived. One final Top 40 hit "Hopelessly" came in 1993 and that just made number 33.

Verdict: Miss

T'Pau: They were one of my inspirations for doing these posts because of their solitary 90s hit with "Whenever You Need Me" in 1991. An example of a pop act squeezing whatever life they have left from their chart career with one final hit that nobody remembers. 

Verdict: Miss

Def Leppard: They started out in the 70s but they never had a Top 40 hit until 1987. Even then only their debut "Animal" made the Top 10 for them in the 80s. After a 3 year gap they came back in 1992 and reached number 2 with joint biggest hit "Let's Get Rocked". The 2nd time they reached number 2 was in 1995 with "When Love And Hate Collide". They had another 9 Top 40 hits in the 90s but none of them were Top 10s. Their big hits were enough though.

Verdict: Hit

WASP: They had 5 Top 40 hits in the 80s but none of them made the Top 20. Then they had their biggest hit in 1992 with "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New York Morgue)" which made number 17 and then in 1993 came "Sunset And Babylon" which made 38. I think when your biggest hit only makes 17 it's more appropriate to measure in quantity.

Verdict: Miss

Luther Vandross: In the 80s Luther Vandross got no higher than number 13 in the charts with "Never Too Much". 6 of hit 8 Top 40 hits that decade failed to reach the Top 20. In the 90s he managed 2 Top 10s but both were duets, "The Best Things In Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson and "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey. His remaining 8 Top 40 hits of the 90s didn't make much impact with 7 of them charting at 20 and below. I'd say duets aside his 90s record and 80s record are pretty similar.

Verdict: Hit

Christians: They'd had a total of 10 Top 40 hits, 3 of which have "world" in the title and 2 have "word" in it. They topped the charts in 1989 as part of the collective who did "Ferry Cross The Mersey" and that same year they scored their biggest hit on their own with "Harvest For The World". In the 90s they had 2 Top 40 hits, "What's In A Word" which made 33 and "The Bottle" which made 39.

Verdict: Miss

Boy George: He topped the charts with his solo debut "Everything I Own" but never really had much impact on the charts with his other solo singles. In the 90s he had 2 Top 40 hits, "The Crying Game" which made 22 and "More Than Likely" with PM Dawn which made 40. Also he was known more for being a DJ in the 90s than an artist.

Verdict: Miss

Terence Trent D'Arby: He had 4 Top 40 hits in the 80s but did 1 better in the 90s with 5. However his 4 80s ones included his 3 Top 10s and if I asked you to name 4 Terence Trent D'Arby records then his 4 80s ones would probably be it.

Verdict: Miss

Beastie Boys: There was a 7 year gap between their 4 Top 40 hits of 1987 and their comeback Top 40 hit in 1994. That comeback single was the double a-side "Get It Together / Sabotage" which is one of their better known records. Then in 1998 came their biggest hit "Intergalactic". They had a total of 6 Top 40 hits in the 90s.

Verdict: Hit