As mentioned in my 1988 post, "Especially For You" by Kylie & Jason came out late 1988 and was the first number one of 1989. This was the start of what proved to be the most successful year for Stock Aitken & Waterman with them scoring seven number ones this year.
It was February when one hit wonders the Reynolds Girls had their hit with "I'd Rather Jack". We also saw Donna Summer back in the charts with her first Stock Aitken & Waterman produced hit "This Time I Know It's For Real". Her time with Stock Aitken & Waterman was brief though with just two more Top 40 hits with them which were both this year. There was also the Comic Relief single "Help!" by Bananarama & Lananeeneenoonoo that reached number 3 and was the last Top 10 hit for Bananarama.
The second Stock Aitken & Waterman number one of the year came in March which was "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan. In the same month Pat & Mick returned with their second hit with a cover of "I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet".
The third Stock Aitken & Waterman number one of the year came in May which was "Hand On Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue. This was knocked off the top by their fourth number one, "Ferry Cross the Mersey" featuring several Liverpudlian artists including original singer Gerry Marsden for the Hillsborough Disaster.
The next number one also came from Stock Aitken & Waterman, Jason Donovan's cover of "Sealed With A Kiss". This went straight in at number one denying Cliff Richard with what was official his 100th single with "Best Of Me" which went straight in at number two.
Ending Stock Aitken & Waterman's run of number ones was Soul ii Soul who hit the top spot with their second single "Back to Life", there debut being "Keep On Movin" in March this year.
Stock Aitken & Waterman got their revenge though knocking Soul ii Soul off the top with the debut hit for Sonia "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You". In August yet another new act from the Stock Aitken & Waterman camp debuted, Big Fun with a cover of "Blame It On the Boogie".
It was also a case of if you can't beat them join them for Cliff Richard when he had a Stock Aitken & Waterman hit with "I Just Don't Have the Heart".
The seventh and final number one for Stock Aitken & Waterman of the year was the Christmas number one, a remake of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid II.
A notable absentee from the Stock Aitken & Waterman camp this year was Rick Astley. He did have one hit in February with "Hold Me In Your Arms" but this was not produced by them and we would not see him back in the charts until 1991 by which point they had gone their separate ways.
Artist wise though, the success story of the year was Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers. They became the fourth act to reach number one with their first three Top 40 hits. They began by knocking Sonia off the top with "Swing the Mood". Their follow up was "That's What I Like" and then they scored the penultimate number one of the year with "Let's Party".
It was another solid year for Bros who were now a duo with three top ten hits, but this would mark the end of their period of success with no further top tens beyond this year. This coincided with the debut of American boy band New Kids On the Block who reached number one with their debut hit "You Got It (The Right Stuff)".
Kylie and Jason weren't the only ones from Neighbours having hits this year. Stefan Dennis had his only hit with "Don't It Make You Feel Good".
Cliff Richards 100th single was actually his 92nd Top 40 hit and he had a further three hits this year bringing his total to 95, now just 6 behind Elvis. He also became the act to have the longest current streak of hits every year with Siouxsie & the Banshees not charting this year. His run dated back to 1979 and there were two more acts to have had a hit every year in the 80s, Shakin Stevens and UB40.
It's as you were from third to sixth in terms of most hits with David Bowie (44), Elton John (39), Status Quo (38) and Stevie Wonder (37) all not having hits this year. Paul McCartney had three hits this year and stayed in seventh with 36.
Queen had five Top 40 hits this year putting them in eighth with 35. Frank Sinatra was now ninth with 32 and Rod Stewart tenth with 31 with neither act charting this year. Lonnie Donegan was now joined in eleventh with 30 by Diana Ross who had a hit with "Workin Overtime" and the Rolling Stones who had a hit with "Mixed Emotions".
There was just one Motown record in the charts this year, "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. This was because it was on the soundtrack to the film "Do the Right Thing" which was on Motown.
Hip Hop was taking a back seat to Hip House this year, but there were a couple of Hip Hop acts of note to debut this year. Tone Loc had his only Top 40 hits, both double a sides with "Wild Thing / Loc'ed After Dark" and "Funky Cold Medina / On Fire". We also had De La Soul debut with "Me Myself And I" and they had a further three hits this year.
House music had a huge presence in the charts with records such as "Voodoo Ray" by A Guy Called Gerald, "French Kiss" by Lil' Louis and "Pacific" by 808 State all charting this year. We also had the likes of ABC and the Blow Monkeys making House records with "One Better World" and "Choice?" respectively.
We also had Italo House make its way into the charts with Cappella debuting with "Helyom Halib" and 49ers debut with "Touch Me". Most notable though was the debut of Black Box with "Ride On Time" which reached number one. A week after the release of "Ride On Time", Black Box went under the name Starlight and released "Numero Uno". Then later on in the year the released "Grand Piano" under the name Mixmaster.
In the world of Funk and Soul music it was all about the New Jack Swing. There were five hits for Bobby Brown, the highest charting one being "On Our Own". We also had the first singles from Janet Jacksons "Rhythm Nation 1814" album which were "Miss You Much" and "Rhythm Nation".
Aretha Franklin had a New Jack Swing record collaborating with Whitney Houston on "It Isn't It Wasn't It Ain't Never Gonna Be". Former Motown acts Diana Ross and the Jacksons also got in on the New Jack Swing sound with "Workin Overtime" and "Nothin' (That Compares 2 U)" respectively. It was also the year we saw former Motown act the Four Tops in the charts with their final hit "Indestructable".
There were some notable debutants to the Top 40 this year who had already been around for some time. REM made their debut with "Orange Crush" which made number 28. Van Morrison made his debut collaborating with Cliff Richard on "Whenever God Shines His Light". BB King made his only Top 40 appearance collaborating with U2 on "When Love Comes To Town". It was also the first official appearance of Aerosmith with "Love In An Elevator".
Returning to the charts after a 15 year absence was Alice Cooper with the number two record "Poison". Also in the hard rock world we had the debuts of Gun with "Better Days" and the Quireboys with "7 O'Clock". There was also the charity single "Smoke On the Water" by Rock Aid Armenia, a collective of rock musicians.
Heavy Metal was kept going by Iron Maiden and WASP and the only Thrash Metal record of the year was "One" by Metallica. In the Glam Metal world we had the debut of Vixen with "Cryin".
A new sound was making it's way into the charts this year, Baggy. The first band from that scene to chart was the Stone Roses with "She Bangs The Drum" and they followed up later in the year with "What The World Is Waiting For / Fool's Gold". There was also the debut of the Happy Mondays with "Madchester Rave On EP".
That was 1989, very different to the start of the decade yet still seems very 80s.
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