Here is the Top 40 in full.
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. Halo James - Could Have Told You So (New)
In 1991, when "Sit Down" by James was a big hit, I thought that James were originally called Hello James, but had dropped the "Hello" part of their name, a bit like MC Hammer dropping the "MC" part to be simply called Hammer. As James made a name for themselves in the 90s, I found nothing to suggest they were previously called Hello James, nor did I encounter any other bands of that name. However, when trawling through the Top 40 archives on the internet years later I discovered I was actually thinking of Halo James, who were a completely different band. Having got to know the distinctive voice of Tim Booth and given the Halo James singer sounds nothing like him its pretty obvious now that they are different bands, though I do think the music style is quite similar. This was the only Top 40 hit for Halo James, I'd say it's pretty average.
Verdict - OK
29. Tina Turner - I Don't Wanna Lose You
As a young boy in 1990, my understanding of singers in the pop charts was that they were all young adults except Cliff Richard. What I didn't realise was that Tina Turner was older, she was 50 at the time. I thought this song was alright at the time, but years later it was on a compilation I owned and I started to appreciate it a lot more. The best thing about it in my opinion is that way it sounds like its become a completely different song once the vocals begin after the intro.
Verdict - Good
28. Bros - Sister
This was the last Top 10 hit for Bros, and it only just scraped into the Top 10. They were a duo by now, the question I've always asked regarding that is how can you have a band that consists of just a singer and a drummer? To the song itself though, it's a bit boring, the most interesting thing about it is that it's a band who's name means brothers having a song called sister.
Verdict - Rubbish
27. Erasure - You Surround Me
Not really your typical Erasure record but still very much sounds like them. Then main difference I think with this one is that there's more emphasis on the vocals, you can't fail to notice the change from deep singing to high pitched singing. Guess that's what makes the song really.
Verdict - Good
26. New Kids On The Block - You Got It (The Right Stuff)
At the start of 1990 I was still at primary school, so I was probably too young to realise that New Kids On The Block were a boy band that only girls were supposed to listen to. Therefore I had no shame whatsoever singing this in the playground at school, even making up my own lyrics to fit "First time was.....", "Second time was..." etc. There did come a time when I learned the concept of a boy band and therefore hated everything New Kids On The Block ever did, but actually I think this is alright, maybe for sentimental reasons if anything else.
Verdict - OK
25. Fish - Big Wedge
I'll begin with a story. Several years ago I went to a quiz where there was an opportunity for a team to get bonus points by writing down 10 music acts related to water. We were the first to do this and hand the list to the quizmaster, but he didn't give us the points because he'd never heard of Fish and that meant we didn't win the quiz overall which we should have. This is what has come to mind whenever Fish is heard or mentioned since. Despite that, I quite like this record.
Verdict - Good
24. Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (New)
This was the first version of this record that I heard, though I don't think it sounds that different to the original. It was also the 2nd solo hit for Jimmy Somerville who I assumed to be foreign after his first solo hit "Comment te dire adieu" and I was kind of disappointed this was being sung in English. I guess it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
23. Sydney Youngblood - Sit And Wait
For obvious reasons, I've always thought of Sydney Youngblood as being Australian, but he isn't. This was his other hit which I think I prefer to the one he's most famous for.
Verdict - Good
22. Happy Mondays - Madchester Rave On (EP) (New)
When doing my Top 20 reviews in 1999, I hit a bit of a snag when I came across the first double a-side to review. But now for the first time, I've hit a bigger snag, the EP. However, the hope is that each EP I encounter will have what's considered to be the lead song and simply review that. In the case of this one, it's "Hallelujah". This was the Top 40 debut for the Happy Mondays and my memories of it were of the actual song rather than the band, later realising it was the Happy Mondays after they'd become a household name.
Verdict - Good
21. Deacon Blue - Queen Of The New Year
A great start to the decade, and most likely released when it was because of the song title. Also quite fitting that we kick of with Deacon Blue given singer Ricky Ross is the first person I remember seeing with the curtains haircut, a hairstyle I'd have of varying lengths for the bulk of the decade. A few years ago, may have been the queens jubilee, we had a party of that theme at work and could nominate royal related songs for the playlist and I nominated this. Many people I spoke to had never heard it before, or even heard of Deacon Blue for that matter. Hopefully this was good education for them.
Verdict - Good
20. Quireboys - Hey You
This was the first song of the 90s to be played on Top of the Pops but sounds more like the decade just left behind than the decade to come. I do remember loving this record at the time, but I don't think I've heard it since. I'd completely forgotten the verses so it took till the chorus for it to ring any bells. I wouldn't say I love it anymore, but it's still a decent song.
Verdict - Good
19. Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers - Let's Party
I quite liked the concept of Jive Bunny, their first 2 hits were a good way of introducing kids like me to a variety of music from the olden days in 5 minutes. With this one though it didn't work, it was just a mix of 3 Christmas songs I'd hear every Christmas in living memory.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. Andy Stewart - Donald Where's Your Troosers?
A novelty hit from 1960 which was re-released in 1989 thanks to Simon Mayo playing it on Radio One. What annoyed me at the time was the word "Troosers" being used instead of "Trousers", it doesn't bother me now but I still don't like the song.
Verdict - Rubbish
17. The Mission - Butterfly On A Wheel (New)
This is one of those songs you think will never get properly started, then after around 3 minutes it suddenly bursts into life. However it doesn't really get much better, but even if it did you'd still have 3 boring minutes in a 5 minute song.
Verdict - Rubbish
16. D:Mob - Put Your Hands Together (New)
D:Mob were of course best remembered for "We Call It Acieed" which you're pretty much guaranteed to hear in any documentary that features Acid House. However, that wasn't his only hit, this was in fact his 4th hit and he'd have one further hit in 1994. It's not a bad record, but there's nothing about it that makes me think it's a good record.
Verdict - OK
15. Electronic - Getting Away With It
The debut Top 40 hit for Electronic, the side project of Bernard Sumner from New Order and Johnny Marr from The Smiths. What else can I say other than this is an absolute classic.
Verdict - Good
14. FPI Project - Going Back To My Roots/Rich In Paradise
I'm treating this as one entity as "Going Back To My Roots" is basically a vocal version of "Rich In Paradise". This was the first version of "Going Back To My Roots" I heard, but years later heard the Odyssey version which I assumed to be the original, but it's actually originally by Lamont Dozier. A nice bit of Italo House that manages to avoid sounding cheesy like some of the other records from that genre at the time.
Verdict - Good
13. Latino Rave - Deep Heat '89
The start of this sounds very much like "Pump up the Jam" by Technotronic, basically because it is. This is a megamix of various rave tunes and begins with this. Generally the tunes in this megamix a pretty good, but the problem is cramming so many tunes in just under 4 minutes means you don't hear enough of many of them to feel the benefit.
Verdict - OK
12. Mantronix ft Wondress - Got To Have Your Love (New)
This is the record Mantronix are most famous for, but it's not their first. They first hit the charts in 1986 with "Bassline" and then in 1987 with "Who Is It" which were both Hip Hop records. This was a change in direction and member Kurtis Mantronik said he wrote this because he wanted a song played on the radio. I could imagine people who liked the Hip Hop records by Mantronix would have hated this, but this was the first Mantronix record I heard and I liked it.
Verdict - Good
11. Silver Bullet - 20 Seconds To Comply
"Ahead of it's time" is an expression that's used too often in my opinion, but with this record I genuinely think it was. It doesn't really sound that different to the UK Garage music coming out a decade later. Ok this does sound a bit older, but not 10 years.
Verdict - Good
10. Sonia - Listen To Your Heart
Not only did Sonia have other hits that weren't "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" but she also managed 2 more Top 10 hits, this being the first of them. I was well aware that she wasn't a one hit wonder, but most of her other hits to me were just generic Stock Aitken & Waterman pap that's just formulaic and not very memorable and this is one of them.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Kaoma - Lambada
A Brazilian song by a French group which is a blatant rip off of "Llorando se fue" by Los Kjarkas, a group from Bolivia who successfully sued Kaoma when this was released. My memory of this song as a kid was being fascinated by a song being sung in a foreign language and was the 3rd one I remembered hearing after "La Bamba" by Los Lobos and "Comment te dire adieu" by Jimmy Somerville. I've listened to the original and to be honest I think this version is a big improvement. I always found it a fun song and still like to listen to it every now and then, usually before or after listening to "La Bamba".
Verdict - Good
8. Rob 'N' Raz ft Leila K - Got To Get
How many of you thought this was by Neneh Cherry? I don't think I ever did, but I can see a lot of similarities and they are also both Swedish. I'm not that keen on the rapping to be honest, but I like the backing track enough to like the tune.
Verdict - Good
7. De La Soul - The Magic Number / Buddy
It didn't take long for the first double a-side to come along. The one I remember from the time is "The Magic Number", some may criticise it for being a bit childish, but I was a child at the time and liked it. I first came across "Buddy" when I bought the "3 Feet High and Rising" album and like that one too.
Verdict - Good / Good
6. 49ers - Touch Me
An Italo House record that samples "Rock-A-Lot" by Aretha Franklin and the Alisha Warren record of the same name. It's one of those records that's appeared on loads of old skool rave compilations and I've probably heard it too many times in my life, but it's still a good record.
Verdict - Good
5. Madonna - Dear Jessie
A lot of Madonna's hits from the 80s have been played to death since then, but not this one (it entered the charts in 1989). That's probably a good thing as this was a record I loved at the time, and by only listening to this at my own leisure since, it's legacy hasn't been ruined.
Verdict - Good
4. Band Aid II - Do They Know It's Christmas?
Oh dear, I don't think I've heard this for 30 years and I forgot just how dreadful it was. I always thought of this as being the Bros version, Matt Goss does sing a lot on this version and Luke Goss plays the drums. I'm no fan of the original so they've done a great job of making a crap song sound even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
3. Soul II Soul - Get A Life
This was the second highest charting single for Soul II Soul after the number one single "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)". This one seemed darker than the previous singles and I remember finding it quite odd seeing Jazzie B rapping and seeing a singer that wasn't Caron Wheeler. I'd say this is probably my favourite Soul II Soul hit, helped by the fact it's not that's been played to death since like "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" and "Keep on Movin" have.
Verdict - Good
2. Jason Donovan - When You Come Back To Me
Up to this point, Jason Donovan's chart record was very good. This was single number 6 and he'd had 3 number ones, 2 number twos and a number five. It was after this, the lead single from his 2nd album, that his music career would start to slide, having made the Top 5 with all singles to date he'd only make the Top 5 once more following this. It was also his final Top 40 hit in his native Australia making number 40. You can understand why this became a turning point, whether you like his first album or not, what we have here is more of the same, so no real point in buying it.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. New Kids On The Block - Hangin' Tough
Entering the charts at number 9 when "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" was at number 10, showing that multiple Top 10s by the same act was already happening before Ed Sheeran was even born. Whilst I liked "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" at the time, I always found this one a bit crap. To me it was like they were doing a poor job of trying to be a rock band but seeming a bit wimpy in doing so. My opinion hasn't really changed since then.
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 19.5/30, or 65%. Slight improvement over last week.
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