A quick reminder of the rules that in order for a song to make this, it must have debuted on the ARIA year end chart for 1989 or appear higher on the chart in 1989 than it did in 1988.
Let's not waste anymore time and look at our first five honourable mentions...
HM1: "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers
I know this will piss people off that this isn't in the top ten proper but it just doesn't click for me as much as it does for everyone else. Still is a good song though, I'll take it.
HM2: "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton
Australia's answer to Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp that probably doesn't get the attention that other more easily recognisable Australian songs do but honestly in a year where The Boss was quiet, this kicked a lot of arse. Nice song
HM3: "Wait" by Gyan
Another song that doesn't get a whole lot of attention but this works for that sweeping piano and Gyan's vocals which blew me away. She apparently re recorded "Wait" for her 2015 album This Girl's in Love" replacing the vastness of the original with a smaller cozy version using an acoustic guitar...well worth checking out both versions though.
HM4: "She Makes My Day" by Robert Palmer
It's actually really nice to see a less bombastic Robert Palmer song become a hit because yeah this is just a really nice love song that just feels easy to listen to and go back to unlike "Simply Irresistible" which felt kind of over the top in 1986 but not this song which makes my day whenever I hear it.
HM5: "Poison" by Alice Cooper
I was going to leave this off the list but I can't, that hook just goes off and Alice Cooper's charisma does wonders. Also, why isn't this song played at Halloween more often? It's made for it!
Let's start the list proper now...
Number Ten
You know it's noticeable these days that acts from New Zealand don't break through in Australia like they used to...sure, there's Lorde but L.A.B and Six60 are yet to break into the Australian market despite notching considerable success in their homeland however in 1989, this female artist continued to notch success on the Australian charts and...yeah...no wonder...
"She Has To Be Loved" by Jenny Morris
This is definitely a song that the critics wouldn't pick for their best lists, the hook is nauseatingly repetitive so I can see how how some would hate it but here's the thing, I love it because Jenny Morris is making it believable that this guy will one day find his perfect girl who wants to be loved and appreciated because it makes her feel loved and wanted...she needs that!
I also love the production which gives the vocals room to breathe and the sinuous bass that's just enough to keep the song moving. Can also hear potential for a country cover from somebody like Kelsea Ballerini. Great song!
Number Nine
This next pick might piss my mum off, she cannot stand this song but hey I am not doing this list for my mum's happiness soooo...
"She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals
I know what you are all thinking but when you have a hook that's incredibly infectious and makes you want to sing along to the point where I can overlook the background noises on the chorus that sounds like people being repeatedly jump scared but I get it? The song is about him being head over heels in love with a woman but the fact she isn't reciprocating those same feelings for him is driving him crazy however he can't help being in love with her.
Throw in that spasmodic guitar riff that's some off kilter enough to stick in the mind for days on end and paired with that falsetto that might be a little creepy but still works in the context of the song.
Number Eight
Alright, rugby league fans you all know this next one...
"The Best" by Tina Turner
So I had a rough time with placing it on the list mainly due to the fact I am a rugby league fan, this song basically being synonymous with that code and is pretty much still the best anthem rugby league has ever had. I love Tina's somewhat raw yet powerful vocal delivery and the production that allows her to belt on the chorus in what is actually a love song that isn't sappy or over the top unlike a lot of love songs in 1989 (looking at you, Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting") and yeah, it's sweet and really kind of understated...I get why it's easy to forget it's actually a cover of Bonnie Tyler's song because yeah, Tina made this her own.
In 1992, Tina Turner would turn this song into a duet with Jimmy Barnes (a perfect duo...lol) for the Winfield Cup rugby league competition which didn't make my best hits list for 1992 but was damn close. Awesome song.
Number Seven
Speaking of Jimmy Barnes, it's time to talk about his bandmate from Cold Chisel who was notching his own solo success in 1989...
"Telephone Booth" by Ian Moss
"Whaaaaat? Where's 'Tucker's Daughter"?" I hear you cry, well as much as I think that song is pretty great, "Telephone Booth" is just slightly better in that it's a song that gives off all kinds of imagery and the appeal of this song does not need explaining the song is instantly as catchy as "Tucker's Daughter" maybe even more so.
The song finds the protagonist out on some lonely highway somewhere, none of the issues he would have to confront at home to confront but along that drive on this desolate highway are these telephone booths reminding him tat he will have to confront the issues eventually after his escape from the horrors is over. Fantastic songbthat gets nowhere close to the attention it deserves.
Number Six
This was the last slot to fill on this list and yeah, I considered several songs but the one that felt the most right was this one....
"Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows
For the past couple of years, I have been in love with this song and yet if you listened to Joe Camilleri talk about it on ABC radio in April 2020, the song very nearly didn't make the cut which blows my mind because "Chained to the Wheel" is incredible from start to finish from the very unmistakeable opening to the brilliant interplay between Camilleri and Vika and Linda Bull, they trade verses on the song and wow, it's impressive
The song really does pack a punch lyrically though with a family on the breadline and chained to the wheel purely just survive with all the mouthes to feed am stuff going.
Either way, it says a lot about this song that in 1991, John Denver chose to cover the song...it's a solid cover as you'd expect from someone the calibre of John Denver. Fantastic song.
So before we get to the top 5, let's have five more honourable mentions...starting with...
HM6: "If I Could" by 1927
1989 was a great year for 1927 and with a song that has this much of a propulsive hook, it's no wonder!
HM7: "Cherish" by Madonna
I've always felt like this was a guilty pleasure song for me but yeah, I just find this really sweet even though, it's a bit ironic coming from Madonna of all people.
HM8: "I Don't Want a Lover" by Texas
This song just bangs! Sharpen Spiteri sounds incredible as she vows she just needs friendship not a romantic partner. Yeah, it sounds a little choppy but it works for me
HM9: "Onionskin" by BOOM Crash Opera
These here are crazy times so try keeping in mind that this unconventional song from BOOM Crash Opera is ridiculously catchy and so much fun so keep it in but don't cut it up and kick it out, okay?
HM10: "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite
This is one of those songs that is justbperfect for marking the end of summer with, it just sounds like a breezy late summer anthem as Daryl Braithwaite reminisces about a summer fling. Just competition for spots squeezed this one out
Now back to the list proper...
Number Five
I've said before how some songs don't hit me properly until I am adult which is how the passage of time did this song a favour or two and thus...
"The Living Years" by Mike + the Mechanics
This song just didn't do much for me as a kid but holy shit...as an adult, it packs a freaking hard punch. A song that starts small in terms of the production but whenthat chorus hits and that backing choir start singing...yeah, it's genuinely beautiful. The song just progressively gets bigger as the song goes.
However what hits the hardest is the content, a father-son relationship that's combustible and they have never seen eye to eye on much of anything, then one day, the father has died and the son is now realising that he has no chance to talk to his father again to sort things out, build a better relationship and introduce that granchild.
Yeah, it's powerful stuff and worthy of being here.
Number Four
This is one of my favourite songs this band ever recorded and I am so beyond thrilled it was a hit in 1989...yeah, I want it all and I want it now...
"I Want It All" by Queen
I can't be the only person who kind of hears this song and hears it as a theme for the state of our society, right? Anyway all that set aside, "I Want It All" is truly an under rated Queen gem, written by Brian May about a somebody who is determined to achieve everything they want and in a hurry, most often not caring who they hurt.
I also love that Freddie Mercury and Queen embody the I want it all attitude in the delivery of the lyrics, seriously, Freddie had enough charisma for three trap rappers and then some, dude just nails it. Oh and the guitar solo bangs too. Just a shame, AIDS robbed us of hearing Freddie sing this live.
Number Three
Super groups are often hit and miss with me, sometimes there's the talent there but the song doesn't come to much or in this particular case you put former Beatle George Harrison, Roy Orbison, ELO's Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan in room together and they come up with magic like this...
"Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys
I mean this is a case of a song where there's almost too much talent for it too fail, that guitar riff that permeates through the song so much so the song is really comforting until you realize the lyrics are actually about somebody who is struggling looking for somebody who cares enough about them to talk to about their problems that yes can even come with success and asking this person to be compassionate and handle them with care as they are feeling particularly fragile.
Yeah, this is a song I can relate to a little too closely which is why it's so high on this list.
Number Two
So I don't always agree with the year end number one (see 2021 as proof) but for 1989, I can't disagree, this song is extraordinary and 1989 would prove to be one of the last years this artist released anything of genuine great quality...but just like a prayer, let her take us there...
"Like A Prayer" by Madonna
Let's just forget about the controversy around the music video because all that forgets that "Like a Prayer" is fucking awesome right from the electric guitar riff that opens the song before it stops and the organ and choir start then Madonna takes all the attention, she's the star of this song and she sounds incredible alone or harmonising with the choir.
I guess it can be interpreted as a love song which actually makes the lyrical duality of the song damn clever because according to Madoonna, it's about this girl who feels religious figure so close to her, she believes that this figure is a father figure in her life. Now I am not religious but I do kind of it get it. Normally a track this awesome would top this list, so what beat it?
Well before we find out, let's get to our final batch of honourable mentions, shall we?
HM11: "You Got It" by Roy Orbison
A song released after Roy Orbison died and its just a gorgeous love song. The music industry today could only dream of handling posthumous releases this well. Great song.
HM12: "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty
Yeah, this song has more resonance now than when it was released in 1989. Holy hell, a song about not backing down hits hard for me.
HM13: "Cry in Shame" by Johnny Diesel and The Injectors
Lots of love songs in 1989, yet this was as nasty a break up song as we got on the year end list, blame being apportioned for the bitter break up of a relationship and the realisation that there's truly no one else to blame but yourself for where it went wrong. Also that sax solo is awesome.
HM14: "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss
What? Did you think I'd leave this off the list entirely? I was never going to do that, this song is a bonifide 80s Australian classic! Duh!
HM15: "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry
The most excruciating cut I had to make, God damn it, consider this my unofficial number eleven.
So back to the list proper, what topped this list?
Number One
Ahh the Swedes, they've done it again!
"The Look" by Roxette
I am going to say it... Roxette are the most under rated pop act to come out of Sweden, "Listen to Your Heart" only barely missed the cut for this list and they would go on to release one of my all time favourite songs in 1991 but oh gosh, "The Look" is just 80s pop perfection from the actual music with synths, guitar and drum that sound fresh, also helps the opening line of the song is memorable "Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer" sure is one hell of a way to draw people into a pop song.
Then throw in that instantly sticky chorus that will not ever leave your head for days, it's incredibly infectious and fun in ways I cannot possibly explain here. The song refers to a woman who has this particular confident look about her that makes her extremely attractive and sexy...hey, kind of a call back to "She Has To Be Loved" by Jenny Morris!
Now, I will say that this song was nearly ruined by an ad for blinds and awnings in the 90s especially during cricket season but thank goodness, time and returning to the song helped me to love this amazing slice of pop music.
"The Look" by Roxette the best hit song of 1989.
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