January Charts: 1989

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. Ten City - That's The Way Love Is

2. Marc Almond - Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart ft Gene Pitney

3. Royal House - Yeah! Buddy

4. Roy Orbison - You Got It

5. Then Jerico - Big Area

6. Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy

7. The Stranglers - Grip '89 (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)

8. Rob Base And DJ E-Z Rock - Get On The Dance Floor

9. Mike And The Mechanics - The Living Years

10. New Model Army - Stupid Questions

11. Tone Loc - Wild Thing/Loc'ed After Dark

12. Will To Power - Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird

13. The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues

14. Gary Moore - After The War

15. Simply Red - It's Only Love

16. Hue And Cry - Looking For Linda

17. Holly Johnson - Love Train

18. Roachford - Cuddly Toy

19. Robert Howard And Kym Mazelle - Wait!

20. Adeva - Respect

21. Sheena Easton - The Lover In Me

22. Level 42 - Tracie

23. The Darling Buds - Hit The Ground

24. Duran Duran - All She Wants Is

25. Brother Beyond - Be My Twin

26. Cookie Crew - Born This Way (Let's Dance)

27. Michael Ball - Love Changes Everything

28. Mica Paris And Will Downing - Where Is The Love?

29. Debbie Gibson - Lost In Your Eyes

30. Samantha Fox - I Only Wanna Be With You

I have very fond memories of pop music as a kid in 1989. By this point I was reading Smash Hits magazine and listening to and taping the Top 40 countdown on Radio 1 on a Sunday.

My number one pick though isn't really connected to those memories. I do remember "That's the Way Love Is" by Ten City at the time but it wasn't until I had it on a rave compilation that it really made an impact on me. It's also one of those dance records where I even think the vocals are good.

My number two pick on the other hand is very much connected to those memories. The moment Gene Pitney sang "and a feeling unknown took my heart..." had the biggest impact on me the way he sang it. Incidentally years later the same person who got me into rave got me into Gene Pitney as well.

More rave in 3rd place with Todd Terry under the alias Royal House with "Yeah! Buddy". Then in 4th we have "You Got It" by Roy Orbison which charted just after he'd passed away, a fact I remember well from the time.

Then Jerico could of only worked in the 80s and "Big Area" was a record I loved at the time. Equally I loved the strange singing of Roland Gift of the Fine Young Cannibals on "She Dives Me Crazy" and this was also when I learned what a cannibal was.

Next up is an old punk record by The Stranglers making the Top 40 for the first time. Then we have some hip house from Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock with "Get On The Dancefloor" which is one of the good examples of the genre. 

Mike & the Mechanics may have been considered old mans music even in 1989, but my young boy self liked it. 

Down the bottom of the table we have Samantha Fox with "I Only Wanna Be With You". Even my young self could see this was a joke record and even at primary school people would take the piss out of her.

Debbie Gibson was one of those singers I couldn't stand and the only positive thing I can say about "Lost In Your Eyes" is that it's not as bad as Samantha Fox. "Where Is The Love" by Mica Paris and Will Downing is another record that's always irritated me.

I don't think I had any idea who Andrew Lloyd Webber was at the time or if I even knew there was such a thing as musicals but what I do remember was how bad "Love Changes Everything" by Michael Ball was.

Overall though I like most records in this batch so some of the lower places is simply due to the competition. We therefore end up with a decent score.

Score: 52

Now we've reached the end of the decade lets take a look at the table:

The 80s were at their best at the start, middle and end. The 60s and 70s each have a year better than the best 80s year but then the 80s have 2 in the Top 4. 7 of the Top 9 years either end with 0, 5 or 9 with the only post-Beatles year end with one of these numbers and not being in the Top 9 is 1975.

The interesting question is how will 1990, 1995 and 1999 do?

UK Number 40s: Nicki Minaj - FTCU (2024)

 

In early 2010 there was a Top 40 hit called "Bedrock" by Young Money, the only Top 40 hit to date for said group. What's significant was that 2 of it's members were yet to have a Top 40 hit of their own accord but would both make their respective Top 40 debuts later in the year. Furthermore both artists would clock up Top 40 hits every year between 2010 and 2024.

The artists in question were Nicki Minaj and Drake. The only other artists who can claim to of done the same is Calvin Harris.

This record was released at the end of 2023 and initially charted outside the Top 40 but scraped in at the start of 2024. Whilst it along with 2 other singles released at the same time ensured Nicki Minaj would clock up another year of consecutive hits. However she's yet to have one in 2025 but both Drake and Calvin Harris have.

Still if this is the end of her UK Top 40 career then 14 years and 46 Top 40 hits is a pretty respectable chart record even if you might struggle to name any of the 46.

UK Number 40s: Headie One - 50s (2023)

 

We're in an era where pretty much every number 40 seems to come from a rapper. This one is no exception. Headie One made his Top 40 debut at the start of 2019 with fellow UK rapper Dave with "18Hunna".

The majority of his Top 40 hits to date have been collaborations. This was his 13th Top 40 hit but only his 2nd on his own. Generally speaking his chart positions have depended on the profile of who he's collaborated with.

Top 30 in 1999 Reviewed: Week 50

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

Here is the Top 40 in full.

I've decided against repetition from previous weeks moving forward so will only feature the records I'm reviewing for the first time. I also won't repeat the reviews from the Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed posts.

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 records new to the top 30 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:

28. Leftfield/Roots Manuva - Dusted

This was the final Top 40 hit to date for Leftfield and the first Top 40 hit for Roots Manuva. I guess you could call this the 20th century handing over to the 21st century. Not a bad record but it's nothing special.

Verdict - OK

22. Salt-N-Pepa - The Brick Track Versus Gitty Up

Salt-N-Pepa finished the 20th century as the rap act with the most Top 40 hits with 14. However this would be their final Top 40 hit to date and quite a number of rap acts have since overtaken them. Like the other 13 Salt-N-Pepa hits this is shit.

Verdict - Rubbish

21. A*Teens - Super Trouper

This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Swedish group A*Teens and their 2nd Abba cover. I do recall Abba being celebrated a lot around this time and we also had the 90s version of Abba in Steps clocking up the hits. This is the last thing we needed.

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 8.5/30, or 28%. It's not likely to get much better.

Dutch Top 40 1995: Week 50

These were the new entries in the Dutch Top 40 that never made the UK Top 40:

Double Vision - All Right

To recap, Double Vision were a Spanish Eurodance act who had a big hit in Holland in 1995 with their debut "Knockin". This was the not so successful follow up which was their 2nd and final Top 40 hit in Holland. It's nowhere near as catchy.

Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo - This Christmas

Although Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo were in their prime chart wise their attempt and making a Christmas record with vocals from a Tom Jones soundalike didn't do so well only making number 19 making it their lowest charting Dutch Top 40 hit of the 90s. It also never made it's way into DJ sets at the raves here to my knowledge and I understand why. I never heard this myself until YouTube became thing, but despite that it still gives me nostalgia for 1995 and I put it only Christmas party playlists. 

January Charts: 1988

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. Jack 'N' Chill - The Jack That House Built

2. Public Enemy - Bring The Noise

3. INXS - New Sensation

4. Depeche Mode - Behind The Wheel

5. Deacon Blue - Dignity

6. The Stranglers - All Day And All Of The Night

7. Two Men, A Drum Machine And A Trumpet - Tired Of Getting Pushed Around

8. Terence Trent D'Arby - Sign Your Name

9. Luther Vandross - Give Me The Reason

10. Billy Idol - Hot In The City

11. Bourgeois Tagg - I Don't Mind At All

12. The Screaming Blue Messiahs - I Wanna Be A Flintstone

13. Sharpe And Numan - No More Lies

14. Joyce Sims - Come Into My Life

15. Motley Crue - You're All I Need

16. Black - Paradise

17. Eddy Grant - Gimme Hope Jo'anna

18. Jermaine Stewart - Say It Again

19. The Fall - Victoria

20. Lloyd Cole And The Commotions - Jennifer She Said

21. AC/DC - Heatseeker

22. Robert Plant - Heaven Knows

23. Elton John - Candle In The Wind (Live)

24. T'Pau - Valentine

25. George Michael - Father Figure

26. Aztec Camera - How Men Are

27. All About Eve - Wild Hearted Woman

28. Bananarama - I Can't Help It

29. Kylie Minogue - I Should Be So Lucky

30. The Beatmasters - Rok Da House ft The Cookie Crew

31. Sinead O'Connor - Mandinka

32. Sweet Tee - I Got Da Feelin'/It's Like That Y'All

33. Debbie Gibson - Shake Your Love

34. Taylor Dayne - Tell It To My Heart

35. Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now

Well this was a tough batch to get through. 35 records when the most we've had previously is 28. I certainly remember several of these charting the first time but to be honest it's not really given me the nostalgia I thought it would.

The top record this month is one I have fond memories of from Now 11. "The Jack That House Built" by Jack 'N' Chill was an acid house record, not something I knew anything about at the time but perhaps even back then there were signs I'd go on to be a raver.

Another acid house record was "I'm Tired Of Getting Pushed Around" by Two Men, A Drum Machine And A Trumpet which was also on Now 11 which I liked but not to the same extent. The "Two Men" were the Fine Young Cannibals members who weren't Roland Gift.

There was also what was said to be the first hip house record in the charts in "Rok Da House" by The Beatmasters ft The Cookie Crew, also on Now 11. That ones not so good, more to do with the rapping and The Cookie Crew themselves have said they don't particularly like it.

Similarly on an actual rap record I find the voice of Sweet Tee irritating on both of the tunes on her double a-side which finds itself near the bottom. Public Enemy on the other hand have an excellent record in "Bring the Noise" which comes in 2nd.

The bottom 3 records really are the worst of the worst from around this time. Even my young self couldn't stand Tiffany, Taylor Dayne or Debbie Gibson at the time. The order I've put them in more or less reflects how many times I've heard them since 1988, Tiffany gets played all the time, Taylor Dayne gets played often enough but fortunately you don't really hear the Debbie Gibson record anymore.

Back to the top and in 3rd place we have the INXS debut "New Sensation" and they were very much a band I was into as a kid. Depeche Mode on the other hand never made a big impression on me until later on in life and "Behind The Wheel" is an excellent record.

Deacon Blue made their debut with "Dignity", certainly a record I've known since the late 80s but it wasn't until "Real Gone Kid" later on in the year that they had a real impact on me. Take nothing away from "Dignity" though, a great record.

The Stranglers did a great cover of "All Day And All Of The Night" and I'm pretty sure this was the first version of this record that I'd heard. 

Being the late 80s we inevitably have Stock Aitken & Waterman records. There's the Kylie Minogue debut "I Should Be So Lucky" which even my young self thought was a bit naff. Then we have "I Can't Help It" by Bananarama which was the final Top 40 hit them before Siobhan left the group. Again even my young self wasn't a fan.

As I was discovering music for the first time there are certain cheesy pop records I'll always like as a result. Not in this batch though, the records near the top would have got their higher scores regardless.

Score: 41

UK Number 40s: Juice Wrld - In My Head (2022)

 

Juice Wrld was a rapper who's had a more successful chart career since he died than when he was alive. He died in December 2019 just after turning 21. At this point he had 3 Top 40 hits to his name that reached 10, 39 and 33 respectively. Then a month after his death he topped the charts in collaboration with Eminem with "Godzilla". 

This was his 10th posthumous Top 40 hit. He had finished recording it by August 2019 but didn't get released until 3 years later. 

Whether we'll see future hits from Juice Wrld remains to be seen. Given his young age when he died there's only going to be so much of his work that exists that the general public are yet to hear.