Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 1989

Ahh onto what I actually like talking about...the music I loved from 1989 and really, I honestly disagree with the critics assessment that it was a bad year for music, we had Madonna at her best, some pretty great pop and rock was being awesome so much so I had way too much material so because I can't make up my mind at all, there will be no less than fifteen Honourable mentions spread out through this list... yes, that's  how good 1989 was...at least to me.

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.

 

Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1989

 Ahh yes, the time has come to peruse the best and worst that 1989's pop music had to offer and to make those top ten lists although for me making this worst list felt really difficult as there just weren't that many songs that outright pissed me off as I generally liked a lot of what we got in 1989 pop music wise which basically puts me at odds with most critics who say 1989 was a baaad year for the charts however what did wind up on my worst list....whooo boy... it just stunk to high hell mostly in saccharine, clingy pop that I imagine even love song dedications radio DJs would be faintly embarrassed to play in 2022.

Regardless, here's the rules for this list, for songs to wind up here, they must debut on the ARIA year end chart for 1989 OR chart on the 1989 year end higher than it did on the 1988 year end. Also no dishonourable mentions as there just weren't enough worthy of ire, "Stop" by Sam Brown is just mediocre and really not worth hanging shit on.

So you got that? Good, now lets dump some musical garbage out at sea, beginning with...

Number Ten

If you have seen my worst hit songs lists then you will know just how much shitty cover versions piss me off, there's three covers that will make this list and we're beginning with a song that tells a year's old tale.... just a shame the late 80s had to turn it into a mess...

10. "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars

I wish artists would understand the history of the song they are covering before they go into a studio and turn it into a clusterfuck like The Belle Stars did with "Iko Iko". The song originally written and recorded in 1953 under another title "Jock-a-mo" by James 'Sugar Boy' Crawford and his Cane Cutters and then changed to the more famous title in 1965 when The Dixie Cups made it a hit. The song tells the story of a parade collision between two Indian Mardi Gras tribes and the traditional confrontation between the tribes in New Orleans so what we needed in 1989 was The Belle Stars version being this heavy drums and pretty much noise that drowns out the vocals and oh God, I feel a splitting headache coming on. The worst part is that I doubt they even understand what the effing song is even about! Ugh...

Number Nine

Say what you want about "Iko Iko", there's much worse like this wretched effort from this one hit wonder that did not ring my bell at all...

"Ring My Bell" by Collette

I may not really like Anita Ward's original "Ring My Bell" but I would take it over this overproduced train wreck of a cover from New Zealand born Aussie Collette, the song is a disaster right out of the God damn gate with what sounds like a tennis player grunting or somebody having sex...take your pick and Collette's nasal voice delivery the verses like she's in the last stages of a violent head cold!. The backing vocals are badly placed and the wail of "You can ring my bell" just gets fucking annoying. I'm only ever going to ring the bell to place it on this worst list.

Number Eight

The fact this is only number eight on this list kind of stuns me considering just how much this pisses me off. Folks, this is how you should not take a classic Carole King song and turn it into monogenre garbage.

"I Feel the Earth Move" by Martika

1989 was the year of Martika, she had two songs make the year end for 1989 with her biggest hit being "Toy Soldiers" which, I guess, is fine compared to this disaster of a cover of a really sweet Carole King love song, let's start with the fact Martika yells "I. FEEL. THE. EARTH. MOVEUNDERMYFEET" which honestly rips out the charm and soul of King's original. Oh let's not forget that the piano was replaced by tired synths and whatever the hell the rest of this is, it's clunky and paired with Martika yelling, it is a headache of a cover...Carole King deserves better.

Number Seven 

So Neighbours had spawned several singers by this time... Stefan Dennis, Kylie Minogue and this next guy on this list and if there is one thing I hate in a love song, it's the protagonist being overtly clingy or weepy when their partner wants to leave them...

"Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donavan

Let's get the first thing annoys me about this song out of the way for a guy who doesn't want this girl leave him, Donavan sounds emotionless like singing this hacked out plea for this girl to not leave him is just something to do...that said, it does have the feel of being  a Rick Astley left over that even he likely thought was bad. The music is pretty stock late 80s fare, piano, washed orfut synths and drums apart from that guitar at the beginning but the reason this song is here is because of the lyrics where she wants out of the relationship but Donavan can't let her go because he needs her body and soul and because there's too many broken hearts in the world, he is going to either fight for her to stay which is just....ugh...maybe she's had enough of being the adult in this relationship while v throw toddler tantrums and cling to her ankles like chewing gum on a shoe, Jason? Ughh, this song is just ripe with gross clingyness that it weird me out however there's another song that dips into clingy territory and is worse than this later on this list but this is still terrible.

Number Six

So I really struggled with where to place this song, I've hated it for years and it's revival in a car as where kids sang didn't help me feel anything but a deep burning desire to yell "FUCKING SAIL AWAY ALREADY, DAMN IT!" and now I have said that, you know what this it.

"Orinoco Flow" by Enya

I wish I understood the appeal of songs like this, mumbled singing until the singer, in this case, Enya squawks out "Sail away" repeatedly for a hook until your ears bleed and you realize 70s yacht rock is better than this. Yeah, give me Kenny Loggins and any of the yacht rock set over this boring chore of a song that yes, it sounds pretty but really it's also pretty much the kind of adult alternative junk that easy listening stations play to the annoyance of everyone listening. Also just the phrase 'Orinoco Flow" makes me think of toilets....flush away, flush away...

Number Five

You know, even despite how high this is, I'm not as angry at this as I am at songs lower on this list... time can manufacture distance from the song and the fact the duo didn't actually record it does dilute the anger however that doesn't stop the song from being here...

"Baby, Don't Forget My Number" by Milli Vanilli

So let's forget for the moment that Milli Vanilli didn't actually record this, they just lip synced for the public but just how clunky this whole mess is. The rapping sounds stilted, have no genuine flow and at the end, he sounds like he is asking a question rather than being firm in being there for this girl. Also has anyone associated with this mess heard of some actual drums and instrumentation that doesn't sound so watery,it literally sounds like they released the bloody demo! Thisisone of the music industry's most amateur moments ever and for somebody to have green lit this...ughhh.

Number Four

Okay, l'm not going to waste time, time to answer the central question of this song.

"Where Did I Go Wrong?" by UB40

Okay so the conceit of this song is this guy wondering what he did for his girlfriend to want to up and leave him...well maybe confront the major issues with this song like that incredibly annoying flute loop and the song lyrically makes the guy sound as clingy as Jason fucking Donavan, the song describes her as sounding completely done with the relationship so why are you whining about her being gone for good when it's likely she wants rid of your toxic ass...let her go, stop being toxic and stop making bad songs! 

Let's not talk about UB40's godawful early 90s Elvis cover... we'll pretend that never happened, okay?

Number Three

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya...just not on the back of this nightmare fuel...

"Kokomo" by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys, one of the most influential bands of the 60s outside of The Beatles, returned in 1989 with possibly their worst song since "Barbara Ann" aka "Barbar the Ants" and holy hell, instead of driving down a woman's body like her body is back road like Sam Hunt in 2017 ("Body Like A Back Road" is still fucking repulsive), the Beach Boys want to fly the 'pretty mama" to Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama (They dropped the 's' off Bahamas to make the already stinky lyrics work) and not forgetting Key Largo (Bertie Higgins already did that, guys!) and Montego before randomly settling on Kokomo and suggest having sex on the beach and fall in love which is doing it ass backwards, you are supposed to fall in love before plugging your dick into her soon to be sand filled pussy pussy but hey the song does say they'll take it fast before taking it slow....NONE OF THIS MAKES SEX ON THE BEACH ATTRACTIVE OR SAND IN THE PUSSY APPEALING.

Throw in the washed out and lazy music, sleazy vocal delivery and you have a very unattractive music advert for sex on the beach in years.

Number Two

Not much needs to be said here other than ask why did Bette Midler record cats fighting in a bag and release it as a single?

"Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler

Oh God, just whhyyy? I know funerals need their music too but if this song was meant to be uplifting or inspiring....it doesn't work. IBette Midler literally opens the song belittling the person she's talking to by singing "It must have been cold there in my shadow" before launching into this cornball chorus where with person's help she can fly high than an eagle (she also used the eagle reference in 1991's "From A Distance" which is also a bad song that is right up there for worst of 1991) over a bland piano which has about as much texture as runny baby poo except you'd swear they are trying to make this saccharine blandness sound appealing...until it gets to the breakdown and the cry of "Fly " over and over leaves the distinct feeling that innocent cats are in a bag fighting in a bland song about somebody being a hero ... My final words for this are: RELEASE THE CATS FROM THE BAG!

Number One

So after all that, what could possibly be the worst hit song of 1989? Well let's go back to one of the themes of this list, clingy men not being able to let go and talk it over in bed with Grayson Hugh...

"Talk It Over" by Grayson Hugh.

So this wasn't going to be my number one at first, I thought the song was kind of bad, this weird attempt at late 80s downtuned Motown that would have seen this place low on this list but it was a closer listen to Grayson Hugh's braying delivery and the lyrics that shot this right to the top because....woooow,  he has obviously cheated or done something to upset this girl and now he is pathetically trying to beg her not to do what she probably should and leave this thinking with his dick toxic douchebag by means by gaslighting (the "I can tell you still want me" line is such blatant gaslighting, it ought to be illegal) and asking her if they can "talk it over in bed". Dude, she wants to be done with you, the last thing she wants with you is sexy time...no amount of sex will fix your failing relationship if she has her bags packed to leave, you literally only want her in your bed in the hope your dick can make her forget that you were an asshole to her

This song made me feel ill every time I heard it, from the lyrics to the high pitched female backing vocals who can't harmonise, Hugh's abrasive braying and music that pretty much represents everything that was wrong with music in 1989.

"Talk It Over" by Grayson Hugh is the worst hit song of 1989. Stay tuned for the best list!

Lookin' Fine '89. 2nd July. If Something Special Falls.

 Ughhh. Another week and the revolving door at number one continues on, Australia, please come to a fucking consensus, would you? Although the competition at the top is interesting, it'd be nice if things could just settle down a little. Anyway let's get to our top ten where we do have a new number one, it comes in the form of Swedish pop duo Roxette with "The Look", now given how shaky the number one position has been over recent weeks I am not going to make any predictions it can hold on to it next week but it got there courtesy of fantastic sales. 

To my surprise, hanging strong at number two is "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano and while I don't see it as a player for number one just yet, I am actually pleased it's sticking around.

The same can't be said for "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler...less said the better. Roxette's rise to number one though did see "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles pushed back to number four and it could come under pressure from "Express Yourself" by Madonna which rose one to number five. 

Kylie Minogue's "Hand On Your Heart" slipped back one spot to number six, kind of thought this one would fall away, I'm surprised. Unfortunately rising two places to number seven is "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars because of course it did.

Joining the top ten having risen fourt spots to number eight is "Sealed with a Kiss" by Jason Donovan (how many more sappy fucking ballads do ya all want?) while "Good Thing" by Fine Young Cannibals fell two places to number nine

Wrapping up the top ten is "Pop Singer" by John Cougar Mellencamp which fell two places to number ten.

Gains

We're starting off the gains on a not so good note because somehow "You Got It (The Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block jumped from 26 to be on the cusp of the top ten at number 11 however in much better news "Onion Skin" by Boom Crash Opera climbed twenty places to 17 while "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty climbed two places to break into the top twenty at 19.

Continuing the good news is "Telephone Booth" by Ian Moss which climbed twenty spots to 20. Def Leppard have hit take off with "Rocket" up from 35 to 21. 

The fascination with sacchairine ballads continues though because "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Simply Red gained from 31 to 23 while "Baby I Don't Care" by Transvision Vamp climbed five to 24.

"Rooms on Fire" by Stevie Nicks jumped eight places to 26 while "Satisifed" by Richard Marx climbed nine places to 27. 

"My Brave Face" by Paul McCartney jumped nine to to 30 while "I Only Wanna Be With You" by Samantha Fox rebounded six to 31.

"Bed of Nails" by Ross Wilson got an eleven place boost to 37. 

Losers

It was just as busy on the losers front so let's start with "Let Me Be" by Daryl Braithwaite which collapsed eleven places to 49 while "Change His Ways" by Robert Palmer slipped from 44 to 48 and "Compulsory Hero" by 1927 slipped six to 47. 

"Chained to The Wheel" by The Black Sorrows tumbled from 32 to 46, "Stop!" by Sam Brown got crunched down from 24 to 42 and "Lullaby" by The Cure got hit down eleven to 41.

"Hurricane" by James Freud got some penetration down from 25 to 40 this week while "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc lost twelve places to 36, "Come Anytime" by Hoodoo Gurus slipped from 27 to 34 and "Ring My Bell" by Collette is thankfully ringing a litttle quieter having plunged from 17 to 33.

Johnny Diesel & The Injectors are doing their own crying as "Cry in Shame" fell twelve places to 32, "I'll be There for You" by Bon Jovi skidded six places to 29 and finally former chart topper "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics fell twelve to 28. 

New Entries

Three new entries this week beginning with...

50. "Something Special" by Clive Young

So we're starting off with an artist that there's sweet fuck all information about Clive Young and this song on the internet so I am basically just going to deal with the song and well it's a pretty standard 1989 pop song that starts interestingly enough but devolves into the usual fare for 1989. Don't get me wrong, the song itself is fine with Young begging a girl to show him something special to turn his heart around. I don't hate this but I certainly don't love it either. 

45. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" by The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden & Stock Aitken and Waterman

So I am going to go a little easy on this one, yeah, it's a cover of "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" that was recorded and released by Gerry and The Pacemakers in 1964 but this cover has a purpose to raise money for the victims of the Hillsborough football disaster where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death during the F.A. Cup semi final against Nottingham Forrest...that's all I can really say about it.

Rest in peace to the Liverpool 96. 

43. "If A Tree Falls" by Bruce Cockburn

So final song of the week comes from Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn and wow...this is a song that really hits a mark about the environment as it asks the pertinent questions if anyone actually cares about the state of the environment or if a tree has fallen in a forest, has anyone heard it and how we're damaging our environment instead of doing what we can to conserve it over this rollicking almost country sounding guitar and that hook is fantastic. All in all, this song is an important one.

So I'm going to dispense with worst of the week because there's nothing that bad but best is going to "If A Tree Falls" by Bruce Cockburn

Lookin' Fine '89. June 25th. My Brave Onion Skin Face Sealed With a Telephone Booth Kiss.

 Another week and the revolving door at number one continues like every single pop artist turned up at Grace Brothers on "Are You Being Served" but anyway let's dive straight into this. "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles returns to the number one thanks to good sales through the week, it' got there just ahead of "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano which returned to number two. 

All this pushed "Wind Beneath My Wings": by Bette Midler down two places to number three this week as it somehow lost momentum and is facing a stiff challenge from the rising "The Look" by Roxette which jumped one place to number four. 

"Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue slipped back one place to number five while "Express Yourself" by Madonna remained steady at number six. "Good Thing" by Fine Young Cannibals also remained steady at number seven.

Rising one place to number eight is "Pop Star" by John Cougar Mellencamp. Kind of shocked this one is doing as well as it is, a good hook does a lot!

Jumping five places into the top ten unfortunately is "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars, less said the better while in better news climbing five places to number ten is "I Want It All" by Queen.

Gains

"I Drove All Night" by Cyndi Lauper had a nice six place gain to 13 while "Come Anytune' by Hoodooi Gurus gained from 31 to 27.

Tranvision Vamp also had a good gain off their debut last week up eleven placers to 29 with "Baby I Don't Care".

Simply Red's cover of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" jumped from 44 to 31 because it's probably going to be a hit somehow.

Sam Brown's awful "Can I Get a Witness" jumped six places to 42,. 

Losers

Drasgon's :"Young Years" crashed nine plac49es to 46 while "Change His Ways" by Robert Palmer slumped from 39 to 43. 

"Compulsory Hero" by 1927 tumbed from 29 to 41, "I Only Wanna Be With You" by Samantha Fox slipped ten places to 37 and former chart topper "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals plunged from 18 to 33 . The wind in the sales is starting to die down for James Freud's "Hurricane" as it fell five places to 25. 

"Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson has lost it's place in the top ten as it tumbled nine to 19,

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

47. "Onion Skin" by Boom Crash Opera

The lead single from Boom Crash Opera's second album "These Here Are Crazy Times" and well I actually like this a fair bit, sure, it's pretty heavy on the percussion but dear god is this song catchy and the chanting at the beginning of the song really is engaging. It's a song about how a person has so many layers of skin like an onion and much like an onion, peeling back those layers of skin can bring tears to the eyes with what each layer reveals about a person. Yeah, I love this, well worth checking out!

40.  "Telephone Booth" by Ian Moss

The follow up single to "Tucker's Daughter" from the album "Matchbook" and yeah, this another pretty fantastic song. It's actually a fair deal smoother than "Tucker's Daughter" but just like "Tucker's Daughter" there's an instant appeal about this song that should ensure it becomes a hit, it's sticky and melodic in just the right ways too. The lyrics seem to point to a lone telephone booth out on the side of a desolate highway, the song references religion amongst other things so yeah this is pretty damn great.

39. "My Brave Face" by Paul McCartney

So this is a single from Paul McCartney's album called "Flowers in the Dirt and was written by McCartney and Elvis Costello. Now this song could be about one of many things, Paul adjusting to life after The Beatles broke up in 1970 and realizing that the life he was living while he was in The Beatles is no longer there and now he has to confront life by putting a brave face on without his Beatles bandmates there. It's certainly got a nice guitar and backing vocals but I am going to forget this exists in record time. 

12. "Sealed With a Kiss" by Jason Donovan

I have made no secret of the fact that I've not liked much of anything that Jason Donovan has released so I was hoping that this song would be an improvement and well, turns out that it's a cover of Brian Hyland's 1962 song that reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 however the song became a hit in Australia in 1972 when it peaked at number nine on the Kent Music Report charts for Bobby Vinton. Now I should stress that I find this song to be kind of dull and dreary sound so I was hoping Jason Donovan could inject some life into the song...well nope...the song still sounds as flat and as monotonous as ever and Donovan sounds like he'd rather be doing anything other than singing this dirge. Not a fan.

Yeah, "Sealed With a Kiss" by Jason Donovan is the worst of the week. As for the best, it's tough, but I'm going to to give it to "Onion Skin" by Boom Crash Opera but it was a close run thing with "Telephone Booth" by Ian Moss right there.

Lookin' Fine '89. 18th June. Can I Get A Bed In The Air as Electric Youth's Rooms is On Fire!

Well this week was a busy one especially in the top ten and again right at the very top so let's not waste any time and get on with the top ten where the revolving door at number one continues because "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler returned to number one thanks to a sales surge this week...lovely.

Anyway, it did push "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles back to number two as it couldn't match "Wind Beneath My Wings" sales. 

Both held up over "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano stalled at number three and "Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue paused at number four.

Rising two places to number five is "The Look" by Roxette, look this is heading for number one as it stands right now, I think it's the biggest challenger to the top two as it stands right now.

Joining the top ten is "Express Yourself" by Madonna which took a six place climb to number six. Kind of annoyed that this is here tbh.

"Good Thing" by Fine Yoiung Cannibals jumped four places to number seven...kind of happy about this, I still do like the song. "Now You're In Heaven" by Julian Lennon remains steady at number eight.

Jumping from 16 to 9 this week is John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pop Singer"  as it got a surprising surge this week. Nice!

Wrapping up the the top ten is "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson which is only just hanging on at number ten.

Gains

So let's look outside the top ten, there's a twenty place gain for Queen's "I Want It All" up off it's debut of 35 to 15 while "House of Cards by James Reyne broke into the top twenty rising from 21 to 17. 

"Patience" by Guns 'n' Roses is being rewarded for it's patience with a six place gain to 21. 

"Hurricane" by James Freud rose two places to 20 while "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on The Blockc jumped from 36 to 23 and "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty scored a seven place gain to 24. 

"Come Anytime" by Hoodoo Gurus climbed from 39 to 31 and "Rocket" by Def Leppard is another to climb off its debut last week up from 46 to 32.

Losers

A song that isn't quite taking off the way I would like is "One' by Metallica which fell seven places to 50 this week while "The Crack Up" by The Black Sorrows stopped laughing down six places to 46. 

"One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite is on the way out as it is down ten places to 43 while "Help" by Bananarama is down from 37 to 42. Dragon's "Young Years" has stopped breathing fire as it tumbled twelve to 37.

It continued to not be a good week for Daryl Braithwaite as "Let Me Be" slipped nine places to 35 while Paula Abdul's is doing the straight opposite as "Straight Up" went straight down from 28 to 34.

The Black Sorrows got unchained ten spots to 33 with "Chained to The Wheel" while "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc stumbled six places to 30. "Compulsory Hero" by 1927  fell ten places to 29 and "Stop!" by Sam Brown fell from 18 to 25.

"Cry in Shame" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors cried it's way down from 15 to 22 while former number one "Like a Prayer" by Madonna fell out of the top ten down from 6 to 14. 

Two other songs also got booted from the top ten with "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics down three places to 12 and "Stuck On You" by Paul Norton down six places to 11. 

New Entries

49. "Bed of Nails" by Ross Wilson

So this is one of those rare occasions where I cannnot find too much informationn about the song but according to Google, this song is from Ross Wilson's solo album called "Dark Side of the Man" and yeah, it's fine? The chorus is catchy even if the lyrics are quite dark which can be the norm for a song written  by Ross Wilson, It's fine but it's not a song I am going to remember that much going forward.  

48. "Can I Get a Witness?" by Sam Brown

Argh. I knew given the success of "Stop!" that we were bound to get a follow up single from Sam Brown but did it have to be a cover of a 1963 hit recorded by Marvin Gaye and let's not mince words here, this cover sounds like ass, it's this thinly disguised pop slurry that sucks any element of soul out of it like a Dyson vacuum cleaner sucks up cracker crumbs after a toddler got into them. Sam Brown literally has to shout to be heard above the production in this monogenre clusterfuck of a cover. Not the biggest desecration of the soul legend that is Marvin Gaye (Hi, Charlie Puth and Megan Trainor in 2015) but man, I do not want to hear this again. 

47. "In The Air Tonight ('88 Remix)" by Phil Collins

Alright so a remix of Phil Collins 1981 hit "In The Air Tonight" and I actually like this version a bit better than the original? Yeah, the original always felt a bit too sterile and didn't quite match the content of the song which is about the grief Collins felt following his divorce with the instrumention on the remix especially the guitars and drums sounding a lot sharper and reflecting the anger and frustration that Collins felt. I don't see this being a hit but hey, it works for me, check it out.

41. "Electric Youth" by Debbie Gibson

Ahh so the latest single from Debbie Gibson, this time the title track of her sophomore album, a fizzy electro pop song that's basically an empowerment song to the youth of 1989 and how the beliefs of teenagers of the time are just as important as adults. It's just a shame the song just doesn't feel all that empowering with the generic washed out 80s pop production and Debbie Gibson having all the power in her vocals of a NSW power station in the 2020s, she can't possibly sell an empowerment song. 

40. "Baby, I Don't Care" by Transvision Vamp

The last time I wrote about this band it didn't go well but anyway this is Tranvision Vamp's second single from their album 'Velveteen' and well...at least this song feels like an improvement with Wendy James being able to work up a pretty good scream to open the song and the song has enough of a sharp guitar presence to lend the song some weight as a rock song plus the exuberant yell of "Baby, I Don't Care" on the hook is exultant and does make me think she really doesn't care all that much. Yeah, this is pretty solid. Check it out.

36. "Rooms on Fire" by Steve Nicks

The final song for this week comes from Stevie Nicks and serves as the lead single from Nicks album "The Other Side of the Mirror" and I have to say I like the slow build up before the drum beat sees the song step it's tempo up a bit, also Stevie Nicks sounds fantastic here.,..finally a song that's somewhat decently produced this week. The content also works as well with the song being about a girl accepting that with the kind of life she leads that she won't be able to experience all the stuff other people do like getting married or having children, it's a pretty devastating and sombre song despite how somewhat upbeat it is.

And yeah, it's the best of the week this week, as for the worst of the week...that's going to Sam Brown for her cover of "Can I get a Witness?",

Lookin' Fine '89. June 11th. I Want a Rocket to Come Anytime After All

 So this week finally feels some form of normal even if there's not really any consistency with the revolving door going on number one and that's evident this week because if we look at the top ten, "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles returned to the number one spot thanks to a decent sales week but it's all margins because right behind it "Wind Beneth My Wings" by Bette Midler, this is still a player to return to the top spot.

This all pushed "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberanp back to number three, it's not really as competitive for the top spot though, it did hold up over "Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue which remains at number four and "Stuck On You" by Paul Norton which rebounded one place to number five.

The same goes for "Like a Prayer" by Madonna which moved up one spot to number six however it could come under pressure from our latest arrival in the top ten which is Roxette's "The Look" which leapt nine places ti number seven...I'm not complaining about this, the song is fantastic.

All it did was help further push "Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon back three places to number eight while former number one "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics slipped back one to number nine.

Returning to the top ten is "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gubson which rebounded two places to number ten.

Gains

Outside of the nine place gain into the top for "The Look" by Roxette, what else gained? Madonna's "Express Yourself" made one of the biggest gains in a while leaping from 36 to 12 while "Iko Iko" bt The Belle Stars climbed five places to 14

"I Drove All Night" by Cyndi Lauper climbed six places to 20 while "Let Me Be" by Daryl Braithwaite climbed from 32 to 26.

"Lullaby" by The Cure jumped from it's debut of 37 last week to 32 while "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" bb New Kids On the Block jumped from 44 to 36.

At least "The Crack Up" by The Black Sorrows gained ten places to 40. 

Re Entries

Just the one return this week courtesy of Jason Donovan's former top ten hit "Too Many Broken Hearts" at number 47

Losers

So unfortunately most of the good songs took hits this week starting with "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson which tumbled from 49 to 43 while "When Love Comes to Town" by U2 with B.B. King tripped over twelve places to 33.

Mercifully some crap did take a hit with "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison down nine places to 48 and "Help" by Bananarama down ten places to 37. 

"I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers is on it's way out of the top fifty as it tumbled twelve places to 42 while "How'm I Gonna Sleep" by Tim Finn slid from 35 to 41.

Daryl Braithwaite's "One Summer" looks set to be coming to a close as it stumbled nine places to 33 unfortunately but in better news Samantha Fox's terrible cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You" tumbled nine placess to 29. 

The Black Sorrow's former top ten hit "Chained to the Wheel" slipped from 18 to 23 while "Stop!
 by Sam Brown hit an eight place skid to 18 and "Ring My Bell" by Collette stumbled five places to 13.

New Entries

Four new entries this week starting with...

50. "After All" by Cher & Peter Cetera

Ugh...what a way to start the new entries this week, Anyway, we've got Cher and former Chicago frontman Peter Cetera collaborating here on the love theme for the film "Chances Are" a nd make no mistake, the song sucks..the piercing flute or recorder that opens the song, Cher and Cetera have about as much chemistry as a bowl of oatmeal with no milk or anything else substantial to flavour it, Also why does this sound like both of them recorded the song in separate rooms and it sounds like the instrumentation is overpowering the vocals...yeah, no chance in hell, will I be coming back to this...hit the fast forward on this one. 

46. "Rocket" by Def Leppard

Well we can only go up from here, I doubt we'll hear anything as bad as that love ballad so what do Def Leppard bring us with the sixth single from "Hysteria"...well turns out they bring a pretty damn catchy song even if the chorus is as basic as hell and yeah the guitar solo does sound pretty lazy but I do think this is a song that could play well to a live audience hence I really don't hate this as much as the critics do because I don't think it's designed to be an overt serious slice of music, I enjoyed this for what it is. 

39. "Come Anytime" by Hoodoo Gurus.

The lead single from the Hoodoo Guru's fourth album "Magnum Cum Louder" and on a 2022 sidenote: I am now really fucking nostalgic for "Thank God You're Here" but anyway back to the actual business of talking about the song and yeah, it's good but it's also exactly what you'd expect from a band in their fourth album cycle  with that pretty damn awesome guitar riff that opens the song before the song goes into full gear. The lyrics being quite romantic about a rather unromantic subject according to Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner, this is pretty damn good, check it out.

35. "I Want It All" by Queen

Ahh I have been looking forward to this one, this is the lead single from Queen's album "The Miracle, it was written by Brian May but credited to the band and yeah...it's everything I expected with the defiant tone of the production with the instrumentation sounding overall rather defiant and Freddie Mercury just taking an infinitely more defiant tone in his voice, May says the song is more about having ambitions and individuals fighting to achieve their own goals, All in all this is one of my favourite Queen songs because I do love what it represents in many ways and it can be argued that it reflects the time that it was made with the political upheaval recently in China and other places. 

And yeah, Queen's "I Want It All" easily wins the best of the week. Worst also falls out easily "After All" by Cher and Peter Cetera...I have no use for flavourless mush.

Lookin' Fine '89. 4th June. If You Don't Know You Express Yourself with a Heart Lullaby

 Wow....1989, you are just exhausting at this point, we have got several major stories within our top ten and large number of new entries. One of those stories is right at the very top because leaping five places to take the number one position is..."Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler because somehow some Australians think the sound of horny cats in a bag sounds good...ugh...anyway it got to number one thinks to strong sales.

Those sales were enough to stop a quite amazing surge from "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano which jumped nine places to take the number two slot this week. The song definitely worthy of being a hit however it is still a surprise it jumped to number two this fast.

Last week's number one "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles got pushed back to number three but remains a strong chance of returing to number one next week as it's still as strong as the two songs above it right now.

There's a new entry to the chart at number four via Kylie Minogue with "Hand on Your Heart", we'll talk more about the quality of the song later but it had good enough sales to ensue a top five debut.

Rising three places to number five is "Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon. Now I am happy to see this doing so well, the song has only gotten better every week it's spent on the chart.

From there it's a bit of a mess with Paul Norton's "Stuck On You" slipping two places to number six, "Like A Prayer" by Madonna slumped from number two to number seven and "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics tumbled five places to number eight.

Mercifully "Ring My Bell" by Collette got thumped down four places to number nine while "Stop!" by Sam Brown tumbled three places to number ten.

Gains

On the cusp of the top ten is "Good Thing" by Fine Young Cannibals which climbed four places to number eleven.

The big surprise this week is "Pop Singer" by John Mellencamp which jumped from it's debut of 46 last week to number 15! Seems like this song is connecting with the public which is nice to see.

Also connecting with the public is "The Look" by Roxette which climbed from 23 to 16 while 
"Patience" by Guns 'n' Roses climbed from 34 to 29.

 "I'll be There for You" by Bon Jovi got a nine place gain to 31...ugh...less said the better...the same goes for the six place gain for "Satisfied" by Richard Marx and for the eight place gain for "Changed His Ways" by Robert Palmer to 42.

Losses

Alright, "Fire Woman" by The Cult tumbled from 36 to 49 this week as interest in this song ebbs away while "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond and Gene Pitney tumbled six places to 47.

Former number one, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers stumbled 16 places to 46 this week while mid chart hogger "Veronica" by Elvis Costello sliped twelve to 45.

"Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson tripped down from 39 to 43 while former top ten hit 'Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss fell from 35 to 41.

Sam Kinison's cover of "Wild Thing" got hit with a plunge from 32 to 39 while "When Love Comes to Town" by U2 with B.B King slid from 26 to 33. 

The Proclaimers other hit "I'm on Way" collapsed from 16 to 30 while "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite took a dip from 17 to 24 and "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc fell from 18 to 22.

New Entries

Six new entries thss week beginning with...

48. "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Simply Red

You know I am beginning to think that it's almost guaranteed that I will have to cover a cover version every week in the new entries with this one coming from Simply Red who have covered Philadelphia soul group Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes 1972 single "If You Don't Know Me By Now", the song was originally written by Labelle but they never recorded it so what we needed was Simply Red in 1989 to record a new version of the song so how did it pan out?

I don't know, there's something special about the original version in there's passion in the vocal delivery with the pent up frustration with this partner and I do love the backing vocals on the original as well, Mick Hucknall and Simply Red do try hard wuth the more beefed up late eighties production but I feel like Hucknall isn't quite there on the emtional level for cover to connect for me, it's not bad but it's also not a cover that I am actively going to seek out. 

44/. "You Got It (The Right Stuff" by New Kids On The Block

The second single from the boy band's second album "Hangin' Tough" and wow, the production is more percussion than melody that's not even close to the mood that New Kids on the Block are going for with the drums and oh the lyrics are the usual pandering to their fanbase of teenage girls who no doubt will love this song, also it took this dude three dates to actually fall in love with this girl and now he is getting clingy? Ew. Look, it's a catchy pop song if you ignore the blatant fangirl pandering that every boy band is guilty of, it's just not my thing at all.

37. "Lullaby" by The Cure

This is the latest single from The Cure's eighth album "Disintegration" and wow, I actually like the production here with the guitars and piano combining to create a calm and actually serene atmosphere even as Robert Smith's hushed vocal delivery paints an uneasy picture of the songs that his father used to sing to him at night before he went to sleep and how these songs would have a horrific ending so yeah this is very much one of those very unnerving songs despite how bright the production is but it's still worth checking out.

36. "Express Yourself" by Madonna

The follow up to "Like A Prayer" from the album called "Like a Prayer" and it's a song all about female empowerment,, to never settle for sloppy seconds and to always express her inner feelings and look while I get and like the song's message in the lyrics, the music doesn't feel as empowering especially with that production that is becoming so god damn overused in 1989.  Not saying this is bad by any matter of means but I definitely wouldn't place this among Madonna's best songs this decade.

34. "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty

Uhh...this was released in April and is only now just charting? What the hell? Anyway this is the lead single from Petty's solo album "Full Moon Fever" and was co written by Petty with ELO's Jeff Lynne and this sounds exactly like a Travelling Wilbury's song which is maybe why I like it so much. Lynne's production gives this a solid heartland rock vibe that really matches the message of the song which is defiant and standing against oppression and difficulty, a message that in 1989 resonates pretty loudly and it's a message I hear loud and clear because yeah, this song is excellent.

4. "Hand On Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue.

Alright, the biggest new release of the week comes from Australia's own pop princess and it's yet again another Stock, Aitken and Waterman effort, it comes from Kylie's second album "Enjoy Yourself" with the song being where Kylie wants this guy to be honest with her about where their relationship is at, is it over or what and if it's over does he truly mean it  or is he trying to convince himself that the relationship is done hence Kylie not believing him and wanting him to say the relationship is over with his hand on his heart. 

It's a pretty cute pop song from Kylie, she definitely has the habit of releasing pretty good without being excellent pop songs but hey, check this one out.

And that ends our week, the best falls out pretty easily here with that going to "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty. As for the worst? Ugh, nothing to egregiously bad but I'm giving it to "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block for basically being a piece of pandering. 

Lookin' Fine '89. 28th May. Satisfied Patience Changed His Ways For You

Well knock me over with three dozen bulldozers, we've got a doozy of a week here and it all starts right at the very top where out of it seems completely nowhere, "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles has taken the number one spot, it stormed six places to the top of the chart thanks to sales that were strong enough to unseat "Like A Prayer" by Madonna back one to number two and "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics back to number three as both songs are weakening and both ready to gracefully slide their way out of the top 50.

It also meant that "Stuck On You" by Paul Norton took a one place to number four while "Ring My Bell" by Collette remains steady at number five somehow.

What I am not thrilled about is the continued rise for Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" which climbed three places to number six and looks unfortunately well positioned for a run at the top five.

All that did was help send "Stop!" by Sam Btown on a three place plummet to number seven and it's going to come under threat from our latest arrival to the top ten "Now You're In Heaven" by Julian Lennon up three places to number eiight.

At least it pushed "Lost in Your Eyes" Debbie Gibson back one place to number nine while "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals gets a three place push down to number ten. 

Gains

Kate Ceberamo's "Bedroom Eyes" have the attention of the charts this week, it's darting up five to number eleven this week. 

Breaking into the the top twenty this week is "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars which climbed one place to twenty

"The Look" by Roxette is up ten places to number 23 as it looks set for a run toward the top ten while "House of Cards" by James Reyne climbed big off it's debut as it climbed from 50 to 26!

"Straight Up" lived up to it's name for Paula Abdul as it rose from 34 to 27 while "I Drove All Night" climbed from 35 to 28.

Daryl Braithwaite's "L:et Me Be" rose ten places to 29 and "One" by Metallca jmped nine places  to 38 while "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond feat. Gene Pitney rebounded back to 41...shame, thought that song was done.

Losers

We start with "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors which stumbled down from 41 to 49 this week while "Twist in My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram slipped eleven places to 43.

"She's A Mystery To Me" by Roy Orbison slipped twelve places to 42 while "Belfast Child" by Simple Minds fell back from 31 to 37 and "Fire Woman" by The Cult slimped nine places to 36.

Fprmer top five hit "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss slid ten places to 35 and former number one "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers slipped six places to 30.

New Entries

Six pieces of fresh meat in the top fifty this week, let's begin with...

50. "Change His Ways" by Robert Palmer

So we're starting with the fifth single from Robert Palmer's album "Heavy Nova" and this is not one of Palmer's better singles to date, it's messy conglomeration of genres into something that doesn't work at all and then there's Palmer yodelling which doesn't even fit with the vibe he is going for here! Yeah, not good!

47. "Simple Man" by Noiseworks

Hopefully this third single from Noisework's second album "Touch" is better than what we've heard from Robert Palmer and yeah, it is but that's mostly because the instrumentation is more organic and sounds really damn good but why is Jon Stevens placed that low in the mix and the lyrics incredibly basic? I get he is just a simple man wanting the touch of another human but I am going to struggle to remember any of this song going forward. 

46.  "Pop Singer" by John Cougar Mellencamp

So I actually really like John Cougar Mellencamp's brand of heartland rock and I was looking forward to hearing his new single from album "Big Daddy" and yeah, this is a sassy clapback at a music industry that was more interested in burying Mellencamp's identity and turning him into their ideal pop singer and that he realized he couldn't be himself with all the deals that were being made. The song is definitely catchy and sounds great even if it does sound like somewhat of a detour from Mellencamp's usual sound even if it makes sense for this sort of song. Check it out.

44. "Satisfied" by Richard Marx

Brand new single from Richard Marx coming from his album "Repeat Offender" and oh wow...this sounds as dated to 1985 or 1986 in the production, sure that hint of guitar on the end of the hook sounds nice but dear god, this song could have used some genuine rock energy and some fire in the belly because yeah this ain't doing it for me especially if Marx isn't going to stop until he is satisfied. Sadly he'll be waiting awhile to satisfy me.

40. "I'll Be There For You" by Bon Jovi

Sigh...I miss the Bon Jovi that made songs like "Livin' On a Prayer" and "Bad Medicine" because this third single from "New Jersey is the corniest simp song I have ever heard. You'll be the air she breathes for her? Did nobody realize how desperate and pandering that sounds or that you might actually be smothering her with unwanted affection? This isn't good either...NEXT!

34. "Patience" by Guns 'n' Roses.

Okay so we wind up a pretty rough week with a single from Guns 'n' Roses which comes from the album "G N' R Lies" and much to my surprise, it's a gentle acoustic guitar ballad and features. Axl Rose whistling and not yetlling for once, he actually sounds great in this vocal timbre and it kind of makes sense when the song is about a relationship that's on the brink of falling apart and how he and this woman need a little time and patience to sort things out. I needed Guns 'N' Roses to come through with a good song and they have...check this song out.

Of course, "Patience" is the best of the week ahead of John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pop Singer". As for the worst of the week, monogenre clusterfuck v simp anthem, I think I'll give it to the monogenre clusterfuck that is "Changed His Ways" by Robert Palmer.

Lookin' Fine '89. 21st May Help Good Thing Crack Up One House Of Cards.

 Well the unpredictability of the chart at the moment is kind of starting to drive me a little crazy especially as there was one particularly bad song that entered the top ten this week in a really bad sign of what's ahead but anyway speaking of the top ten, let's as usual start there because "Like A Prayer" by Madonna returned to number one yet again much to my surprise, it had strong enough sales to deny "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics a second week at number one with "The Living Years' slipping back to number two.

The surprise is that "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton rose three places to number three this week which is really good to see as I still like this song.

However "Stop!" by Sam Brown at number four and "Ring My Bell" by Collette stalled at four and five respectively. 

Rising two places to number six is "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles, this song always set to be a surefire hit. 

All this caused "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals slip four places to number seven, it's coming under pressure from "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson which rose one spot to number eight.

What I am not thrilled about is the eight place gain for the cats in heat strangulation song "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler to number nine. Really? We really want sappy crap like this in the top ten...that Debbie Gibson song was more than fucking enough without adding this shit to it.

Wrapping our top ten is "Cry in Shame" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors rising one place to number ten,

Gains

So apart from Bette Midler's cats in heat in a bag song, Most of last week's debuts gained hard beginning with  "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano rose nine places to 16 which yeah is great to see.however I am not thrilled that "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars got a boost from 37 all the way to 21...can we not do this?.

Thankfully Roxette's "The Look" is on the rose as well as it climbed twelve places to 33 and even if I don't think it's Simple Minds best song, I am most okay with "This is Your Land" rising nine places to 38.

Losers

Let's start with "Something's Got a Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond feat. Gene Pitney which slipped from 35 all the way down to 49, it's really had quite the abortive run. 

Then there's "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack which tumbled from 39 to 46 and "Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 down from 35 to 43. 

Former top ten hits took a massive plunge this week like "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan which skidded down 12 places to 42. 

"Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors tumbled from 34 to 41 while "End of the Line" by The Traveling Wilburys fell seven to 40  "Belfast Child" by Simple Minds skidded from 23 to 31 and "She's A Mystery To Me" by Roy Orbison tumbled eight to 30. 

"Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison fell nine places to 28 while former chart topper "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" slid from 16 to 24 and former top ten hit "I'm On My Way" skidded from 7 to 13 both for The Proclaimers.

New Entries

Seven new entries beginning with...

50. "House of Cards" by James Reyne

So we're starting this week off with the lead single from James Reyne's album entitled "Hard Reyne" and look I am not the biggest fan of James Reyne so I was kind of dreading this song and yeah this isn't for me at all in that there's barely a sticky melodic hook here and Reyne sounds like he woke up in the morning with a mouth full of marbles, it's not the worst thing in the new entries this week (we'll get to that) but it's the one song this week that I am not going to remember going forward. Next!

47. "One" by Metallica

Ahh so next up, we have the third and final single from Metallica's "...And Justice for All" with this song portraying a World War I soldier who sustained serious wounds to his arms and legs, had his jaw blown off by a landmine and is thus rendered blind and unable to speak or move and is left begging for a higher power to take his life. 

It's a dark, sad song that really does paint war and the impacts of it it on individual human beings in a dark but extremely powerful light, it's almost as though the song was designed for the music and the lyrics to take a backseat to the recordings that are played through out the song. May we never forget the horroes that war brings with it and is never the answer. Great song by Metallica, check it out. 

45. "The Crack Up" by The Black Sorrows

Ahh finally a song with some groove to it! Well here's the latest single from The Black Sorrows from their 1987 "Hold Onto Me" and wow...I hear the Fleetwood Mac influence here with the guitar work and also some of the harmonies, I also appreciate that this has a really damn strong hook with it that gives people something to sing along with so yeah I really actually enjoyed this a lot even though I wouldn't say it's better than "Chained to the Wheel", check it out

39. "Let Me Be" by Daryl Braithwaite

Newest sungle from "Edge" hits the charts and it's actually a Daryl Braithwait song I've never heard before that was in part co written by David Reyne so this could be interesting. Turns out that "Let Me Be" is your very definition of 80s ballad just with enough spare guitar to keep it the song moving, it's also following the pattenr of songs that Braithwaite has released before (even if this one wouldn't sound out of place on a Phil Collins record). The song is about a man questioning why people won't leave him alone and let him live in his life in peace, it's not bad but I'm not going to remember this one much, Daryl has done better previously.

35. "I Drove All Night" by Cyndi Lauper

So the first of two covers to hit the chart new this week with this one being a cover of a song that was originally recorded by Rob Orbison in 1987 but wasn't released until 1992 so Cyndi Laurper took the song and recorded it for her album "A Night to Remmber" and honestly while I think the song sounds like something that would have worked for somebody like a Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper sounds better than I thought here helped by production that ampeds up some rock in the drums and the guitars on the hook. The song being all about escaping a busy city even just for a bit of respite even if it meant driving all night to do it to just get to a loved one so yeah in other words I think I liked this more than I thought would. 

26. "Help" by Bananarama

Okay...what the hell? Why are Bananarama reducing themselves to recording a cover of The Beatles 1965 hit "Help" which went on to be a number one hit in 1965? Turns out they recorded the song for the UK Comic Relief charity where they teamed up with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Kathy Burke to record this and yeah, this is exactly what I expected...a washed out 80s cover where nobody sounds like they are having any fun and some od them sound just plain bored to be on the song...this sounds dreadful...next!

18. "Good Thing" by Fine Young Cannibals

So here's the follow to "She Drives Me Crazy"...a song that I still really like by the way. and yeah "Good Thning" is that perfectly servceable follow up. Catchy and really kind of fun. My only quibble with the song is that the vocals on the verse could have been turned up a little but othrwise I am absolutely fine with this song doing well (I kind of expect it to do alright). Well worth checking out.

However it's not getting best of the week with that going to "The Crack Up" by The Black Sorrows. Worst of the week is going to that wretched cover of "Help" by Bananarama. 

Lookin' Fine '89. 14th May. This Is Your Bedroom Eyes Look

 Well then...we've got a pretty interesting week to wade through including some rises that are getting disturbing to say the least and some promise in the new entries but first let's talk about the big news in our top ten which is after sitting back and watching the battle raging ahead of it, "The Living Years" by Mike + the Mechanics reached number one thanks to a massive sales surge, it absolutely roared past "Like a Prayer" by Madonna which got pushed back to number two and is starting to look like it's weakening but we'll have to see.

What is most definitely weakening is "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals which remained at number three but it's done as a contender for number one.

Unfortunately that can only mean that "Stop" by Sam Brown can probably continue its rise as it climbed one place to number four this week while the even worse "Ring My Bell" by Collette also jumped one to number five because Australia is fucking confused right now or think it sounds like Anita Ward's version...ugh.

However in much better news, "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton got a two place gain to number six however I think that may have been helped by the three place collapse to number seven by "I'm on My Way" by The Proclaimers. 

Then much to no one's surprise is the new arrival to the top ten of "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles up four places to number eight. Happy to see it here!.

Hell, it pushed back the increasingly frustrating ballad "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson back two places to number nine while "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows fell back one place to number 10 but I am just happy the latter made the top ten at all.

Gains

The hot streak of 1927 singles doing well continues with "Compulsory Hero" up six to twenty.. 

Also rising unfortunately like the malodorous fart that hasn't quite unleashed it's full stench yet is "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler which climbed from 22 to 17. 

Meanwhile breaking into the top ten is "Young Years" by Dragon up three places to 18 and Samantha Fox's awful cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You" leapt six places to 20.

Rising 12 places to 21 is "Hurricane" by James Freud, kind of surprised by this one if I can be honest.

"Fire Woman" by The Cult jumepd seven places to 24 while rising twenty places to 26 is "When Love Comes to Town" by Us with B.B. King. "How'm I Gonna Sleep" by Tim Finn rose nine places to 27 and "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul got a straight boost from 39 to 31.

Finally "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack  had a nice ten place gain to 39/

Re Entries

Just the one re entry with "So Good" by Wa Wa Nee back at 49. 

Losers

"Like the Way I do" by Melissa Etheridge is on the way out having dropped six places to 50 while "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown also slipped six places to 46. 

Poision are finding out their song "Your Mama Don't Dance" is dancing it's way out of the chart and it tangoed down twelve places to 44 while "You'll Never Know" by 1927 slumped from 37 to 43.

Unfortunately "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry limped down seven places to 41 while former top five hit "You Got It" by Roy Orbison tumbled nine places to 38 and "End of the Line" by Traveling Wilburys is heading for Destination Chart Exit as it slipped eight places to 33.

The same could said for "Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan which took a fourteen place hit to 30 while "Tuckler's Daughter" by Ian Moss crumbled eleven places to 27.

New Entries

47. "This Is Your Land" by Simple Minds

Kind of surprised to see a new single from Simple Minds weven with "Belfast Child" still doing reasonably well on the charts and unfortunately this really doesn't do much for me at all. Yeah, the twang of the guitar is pretty but I feel like the song is missing a cohesive melody at some points and it really does put the structure of the song out of complete whack to the point, it's confusing to listen to. I am skipping this. 

45. "The Look" by Roxette

Okay so next up a Swedish pop duo with their fourth single from thier second studio album "Look Sharp!" and look, what to do want me to say? This song positively drips with appeal! Its outrageously catchy and an extreme amount of fun...it's almost so infectious it should probably be illegal with that hook allowing call and response. This is a great song, check this out!

40. "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson

Latest single from 1987 album "Bad" and features Michael Jackson taking potshots at tabloid rumours about him over a pretty jaunty piano and weird sound effects which I will admit that I am not a huge fan of but it does allow Jackson to plead with the tabloids to leave him alone and to stop making up stuff about him.even if I think the way 'leave me alone' is sung on the hook can be thought of as a little whiny but overall it is a decent Michael Jackson song just not one of his best.

37. "Iko Iko" by  The Belle Stars

Okay so The Belle Stars are a British all girl group and for some ungodly reason we've got their cover of an already much covered song that was originally recorded by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford and Cane Cutters however it failed to chart. It wasn't until jam band the Dixie Cups recorded the song that it became a hit and now we've got this cover from the Belle Stars complete with clanking atonal percussion that makes the song sound like a prolapsed anus, hell the vocals aren't even mixed correctly here. This is flat garbage...next!

25. "Bedroom Eyes" by Kate Ceberano

It's always nice to end a week on an Australian note, this week being the lead single from Kate's third solo album "Brave" and yeah, this is a pretty damn cute song about a woman who despite telling herself that the relationship is over, she's still in love with this guy because of those 'bedroom eyes' he makes and leaves her wanting him. The song has a neat piano line too. Worth checking out.

However it's not the best of the week because that is going to "The Look" by Roxette. Worst of the week in a pretty good week generally is going to "Iko Iko" by The Belle Stars. 

Lookin' Fine 89. May 7th. The Love Generation When Jack Comes To Town

 We finally got a bit of stability right at the top of the chart this week even if the rest iof the chart feels about as stable as smebody's stomach while sick with the noro virus but anyway let's not waste any time and get started with the top ten because Madonna hangs on to number one with "Like a Prayer", it's got a decent sized sales margin ahead of our new number two that being "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics as it got a sales boost of it's own enough to oush "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals back to number three.

"I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers remains at number four, "Stop!" by Sam Brown stuck at number five and "Ring My Bell" by Collette at number six.

Debbie Gibson got a one place gain for her ballad "Lost In Your Eyes" to number seven while breaking into the top ten is Paul Norton's "Stuck On You" which rose from 11 to 8 and further entrenching itself in the top ten is "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows as it climbed one to number nine.

Finally falling back one is "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite to number ten.

Gains

So "Cry in Shame" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors has absolutely taken off this week as ut flew from 39 to 14! 

Tone Loc also had a top twenty break through as the good "Wild Thing" climbed from 22 to 15 and the awful  "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison climbed from 25 to 19

In good news "Compulsory Hero" by 1927 jumped from 34 to 20 while "Young Years" by Dragon but I have no idea why anyone wants the song where cats in heat are being strangled with "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler up from 38 to 22...come on, we can do better.

In more bad news Samantha Fox's cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You" is up from 32 to 26.

James Freud got a ten place gain to 33 with "Hurricane" while "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue is up seven places to 41. 

Re Entries

One re entry courtesy of Johnny Diesel & The Injectors with "Don't Need Love" back at  47

Losers

Former chart topper "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack is on the way out down 12 to 48 while "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul slipped nine places to 39.

1927's previous single "You'll Never Know" utterly collapsed from 21 to 37  while in pleasing news "Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 slipped from 29 to 35...good.

Disappointingly "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry slipped from 27 to 34 and "Your Mama Don't Dance"by Poison slipped from 26 to 32. 

Roy Orbison's "She's a Mystery to Me" slumped from 17 to 23 and "You Got it" is on the way out as it tumbled ten places to 29 while the same goes for "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors down ten to 28. 

New Entries

Three new entries this week, beginning with

50. "The Beat(en) Generation" by The The

We're starting off with British post punk courtesy of The The.with this song being the lead single from the band's third album entitled "Mind Bomb" and while this song does have an oddly lounge feel for post punk, the lyrics are no less angry as they urge people to open their eyes and see what is happening, start questioning politicians motives etc (keeping in mind that in 1989, Britain was in the final throes of the Margaret Thatcher era and the Brits had gone through some really dark times during her tenure as Prime Minister) and challenging the youth to stop believing what they see as half truths and how hatred has been sown into the hearts of a lot of Brits during that time. Not going to say it's a bad song but it's not one that I am going to remember much. 

46. "When Love Comes to Town" by U2 with B.B. King

This is a collaboration I wasn't expecting to be released as a single, Irish rock act U2 collaborating with American blues singer songwriter, guitarist and record producer B.B. King taken from U2's 1988 album "Rattle and Hum" and you know I think this song has the energy and passion that I was missing from that The The song. Bobo and B.B. King throw themselves vocally into this song that it does get impossible not to get carried away with it, it's pretty much a story about how two guys did some really awful things before the loves of their lives come along to turn them into well behaved and well heeled gentlemen. I loved this more than I expected...check this out. 

43. "I'd Rather Jack" by The Reynolds Girls

And we're ending this week with Liverpool sisters Linda and Aisling Reynolds with their breakthrough single "I'd Rather Jack" and as I suspected it's written by two of the members of Stock, Aitken and Waterman because wow it sounds like their formula just a shame the synths here are just completely annoying while the Reynolds sisters have good harmonies, there's not much by the way of interplay between the two. Really, this song is only here because of that hook and that hook alone but otherwise I see no use for this.

It's the worst of this week easily. Best of the week is also easy with that going to "When Love Comes to Town" by U2 with B.B. King

Lookin' Fine '89. 30th April Compulsory Hero Only Wanna Sleep in Shame

 Ahh...the battle for number one rages on as the rest of the chart watches in bewilderment, we've got a fair bit to discuss this week so let's get on with the top ten because re taking the top spot is "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, the question is whether or not it can get a decent margin on sales and keep the number one spot next week.

Right behind it is "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals down to number two but it's still holding it's ground and could return to number one again next week such is the competition. 

Remaining an interested spectator is "The Living years" by Mike + The Mechanics stuck at number three, it's just biding it's time now and could make a play for number one soon. Not sure if that;s the case for "I'm On My Way" by The Proclaimers which remains at number four, I feel like this has peaked somehow but we'll see.

But it also means "Stop" by Sam Brown is now a threat to move higher as it rose one place to number five and I am really not that mad about this song's climb this week only because rising six places to number six is the atrocious "Ring My Bell" by Collette....geezus, Australia.

All this meant "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers slumped two places to number seven as it fadess out naturally which could be good news for "Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson which moved up two places to number eight. 

One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite fell back one to number nine while in news that made me smile, "Chained To The Wheel" by The Black Sorrows rose place to join the top ten and I am so happy to see it here.

Gains

The Bangles "Eternal Flame" continues to burn up the charts this week up six to number 12...this is heading for the top ten, guys.

What is interesting is the gains in the twenties especially for "Twist In My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram which rose seven places to 23...honestly while I am still not a fan, I find it a interesting song and "Young Years" by Dragon rising off it's debut of 39 to 24 this week which is excllent.

Also excllent is the nine place gain for "Veronica" by Elvis Costello to 28...another pretty good song getting a decent gain is nice to see. Heck, I'll also take the twenty place gain to 30 for Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"/

Not sure how I feel about "Fire Woman" going up seven to 31 for The Cult though.

Gains

Looks we're tossing some junk...or at least the junk is on the way out, a nice example of that is Will to Power's "Baby I Love Your Way - Free Bird" which got dumped ten places to 50...good, it also took "Kiss" by Art Of Noise feat Tom Jones which plummeted from 28 to 49.

I am disappointed "Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue never really caught on as it slipped from 32 to 48 while "If I Could" by 1927 slimped from 31 to 45.

"What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians skidded from 35 to 42 while Melissa Etheridge's "Like The Way I Do" fell from 33 to 41.

Also on it's way to sailing away out of the top 50 is "Orinoco Flow" which collapsed from 22 to 40...thank god...it's safe on the year end though.

The increasingly twee "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" by Marc Almond and Gene Pitney which slipped nine to 33 and the garbage "Where Did I Go Wrong" by UB40 slimped six to 29. 

Entries

44. "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown

So this is the second single from Bobby Brown, taken from his second studio album "Don't Be Cruel" and was writtten after people openly criticised his decision to leave popular American R'n'B boyband New Edition and how it was about not caring what anyone else thinks of his decisions and making tough decisions regardless of what others think. The song is definitely one of the most catchy to hit the chart but Bobby comes across as a bit whiny rather than the strident and forceful if he is trying to defend himself against people talking smack about him. I don't precisely hate this but I don't love it either...which is weird to say the least.

39. "Cry In Shame" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors

Ahh some good old Aussie pop/rock courtesy of the third single from Johnny Diesel & The Injectors debut album and yeah I love this kind of pop/rock song where Johnny Diesel is just getting blunt about fighting with this significant other and when everything is said and done the partner left crying in shame at what they've lost as a result of the fighting. The lyrics are a bit lame but they are catchy and that sax solo is awesome, I'm taking this!

35. "How'm I Gonna Sleep" by Tim Finn

So bit of a confession...for as much as I am a fan of Split Enz, it's Neil Finn's side of Split Enz that I find myself going back to just that bit more...for as much as Tim is really good so I was curious about this song being the lead single from Tim's self titled third studio album and yeah, it's a smooth pop/rock power ballad with Tim wondering how he is going to get to sleep without this girl around and how he'd rather not be lonely. It's actually a really smooth song even if that breakdown in the middle eight doesn't serve the song all that well with the backing vocals....I'll take it.

34. "Compulsory Hero" by 1927

Alright let's move onto what is the fourth single from 1927 and is an interesting move away from the sound of their previous singles with this one taking more lead from the piano whichmakes sense when you realize the lyrics are taking about a dad's experiences of fighting in the Vietnam War and if you know your history than you'd know that Australian men were conscripted to fight in Vietnam and you had to have a pretty damn excuse to get out of it hence the title "Compulsroy Hero" and this man's family saying "Go and fight in the war but whatever you do please just try to come home and for me that sentiment makes the song hit home a far bit effectively. Good song.

32. "I Only Wanna Be With You" by Samantha Fox

Sigh...I knew there'd come a point where I'd have to talk about British model and singer Samantha Fox, she had a hit earlier in the eighties with the pretty mediocre to awful "Touch Me (I wanna Feel Your body)" and now we get a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be With You". so with much trepidation I checked the song out and holy shit, who borrowed the synths from fucking Pseudo Echo and made a sweet Dusty Springfield song into a raging headache inducing nightmare where the song's main melody songs like it's being played by god damn Alvin and the Chipmunks and when Samantha Fox sounds like she is punching time on the track...that says it all.

It's easily the worst of the week this week because nothing else sinks to that level of awful.

I'm going to give best of the week to "Compulsory Hero" by 1927 for being such a dark song and it's brave to release a song like that in 1989/

ARIA Singles Top Fifty Top Ten/Chart Review. 25th April. Stagnant Chart Flowers

 So this might be the shortest ever ARIA chart upfate in this blog's short history, I have not ever seen a week like this were it wasn't just the top ten ten that didn't move AT ALL but the entire top fifteen of the chart...now that will change next week when that new Kid Laroi song turns up but wow...if there was enough evidence we need recurrency rules on the Australian charts this week was it because it was dire.

Anyway let's go through the top ten and do it quickly, for a second week, it's "First Class" by Jack Harlow that holds the number one but wow those margins on streaming are looking shaky, it is close which bringas us to his closest competitor "As It Was" by Harry Styles at number two, it's the sales leader and Coachella performance seems to have really boosted the song on streaming as a whole.

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals at number three, "Stay" by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber glued to number four, "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran remains at number five, "Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa at number six and "Where You Now" by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott.

Then completing the top ten we have "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran at number eight, "abcdefu" by Gayle at number nine and "Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow at number ten.

Gains

 "Following The Sun" by Super-Hi and Neeka broke into the top twenty rising to 18 while Lil Tjay's "In My Head" rebounded eight to 31 bur all the other gains are all older songs like "Kiss Me More" by Doja Cat feat SZA up three to 22.  "Middle of the Night" by Elley Duhe up five to 27, "Mr Brightside" by The Killers up six to 28 and "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac up thirteen to 30 and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles up eight to 37.

Re-Entries

"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I back at 49

Losses

"Nail Tech" by Jack Harlow slides 19 to 45,  "Let's Trot!" by Brothers feat Joel Fletcher down seven to 38 and "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by The Cast Of Encanto down five to 23.

Drop Outs

"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and "Better Days" by NEIKED and Mae Muller feat Polo G

New Entries.

Just the one new entry this week so let's look at...

47. "Flowers" by Lauren Spencer-Smith

I am kind of surprised this turned up after "Fingers Crossed" hype faded out really damn quickly..."Drivers License" it's not but regardless here's hjer latest single that caught attention on Tik Tok and it's a piano ballad where Lauren bemoans her past relationships and how she was treated after she discovered that it wasn't like that with her new boyfriend. I get the lyrical context of the song, it sucks to be treated badly by somebody you love but why is the production completely unsupportive here, where's the dramatic angry swell to really emphasis the song? Also why does it sound like Lauren is way too close to the microphone? Really not feeling this at all.

That wraps up a rather abortive week. As I mentioned, there's that new Kid Laroi song coming so we'll have to see when the chart updates at 5pm on Friday 

Lookin' Fine '89. 23rd April. Young Years of Fire Woman Beneath My Wings.

 So 1989 has been thus far a really competitive and interesting year at the top of the charts apart from the run of "kokomo" having its run at the top and that's typified because returning to number one is "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals, it's strong right now but it will interesting to see if it can hold on to the top spot for more than a week because right behind it at number two is last week's number one "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, believe it or not, this could still return to number one next week! It's just as strong as "She Drives Me Crazy"

Interested onlooker is "The Living Years" by Mike + The Mechanics..now this is a player for the top having rebounded one spot to number three as it could take the number one if the top two show any signs of weakness, it muscled past "I'm On My Way" by Yhe Proclaimers which fell back to number four (I'd be fine if this song left).

Staying at number five is "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers, it's starting to weaken and should be on the way out soon especially "Stop!" by Sam Brown continues its rise up the chart this week up two to number six leaving me confused and kind of bewildered that a milquetoast ballad is getting this much traction.

However it did force "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss back one to number seven, it's peaked and pretty much on its way out anyway. 

Then we have the first of two new arrivals to the top ten with "One Summer" by Daryl Braithwaite rising from 11 to number eight. Makes sense for a song reminiscing about summer to be doing well in autumn...

"Too Many Broken Hearts" by Jason Donovan suffered two broken hearts down to number nine. 

Finally the second of the new arrivals to the top ten is "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson up seven to number ten. Good for Debbie, I guess.

Gains

So I already mentioned "Lost in Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson rising seven to the top ten so let's look outside the top ten and it looks like "Chained to the Wheel" by The Black Sorrows  is headed for the top ten after it rose five to be on the cusp at number eleven and yes, it's great news!

I'll also happily take "Stuck on You" by Paul Norton up seven to number 13 and "Now You're in Heaven" by Julian Lennon climbing from 29 to 15...that's fine.

Also fine is "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles got one of the biggest gains of the week as it broke into the top twenty rising from 30 to 18. 

However I Do have to question why "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" by Marc Almond feat. Gene Pitney got a nine place boost to 24 or why "Wild Thing" by Sam Kinison jumped from 39 to 25 all of a sudden...neither are all that good.

"Wild Thing" by Tone Loc rose thirteen places off it's debut to 27 and "Twist in My Sobriety" by Tanita Tikaram climbed five places to 30

Losers

We've got almost just as many losers this week with former top ten hits headlining those moving down with "Especially for You" by Kylie Minogue falling from 42 to 49  and former number one hit "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys headed for the exit sliding nine places to 43 (thank goodness)

Unfortunately "Celebrate The World" by Womack & Womack slipped from 37 to 44 while their chart topper "Teardrops" fell away from 19 to 34 however in the best news of the week "Baby I Love Your Way - Free Bird" by Will to Power utterly collapsed sliumping from 24 to 40...thank goodness.. I really do not want that song to be a hit.

"Real Gone Kid" by Deacon Blue is kind of looking gone at this point as it tumbled from 26 to 32 while also in unfortunate news is the eight place drop of "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry (Come on the song is awesome, Australia!)

"Orinoco Flow" by Enya is thankfully sailing down the charts eight spots to 22...YAY! 

Down six to 16 is "Soul Revival" by Johnny Diesel & The Injectors while  "You Got It" by Roy Orbison fell five to 14. 

New Entries

50. "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul

Well this is a nice easy way to start the new entries...this is the third single from American singer and dancer Paula Abdul, taken from her debut album "Forever Your Girl" with the first two singles "Knocked Out" and "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me)" failing to impact the ARIA top 50 so how is "Straight Up" Well it's the sort of song that's bound to be a pop guilty pleasure in a couple of yeaes with it's new jack swing merged with dance pop sound and that chorus is catchy enough to get stuck in your head. Abdul wants this guy to be honest with her and tell her his intentions. Fun song...check it out.

47. "Hurricane" by James Freud

Lead single from former Models frontman James Freud's album "Step Into The Heat" and unfortunately I am more ehh on this song than I wasnt to be and it mostly comes down to the vocal production...I have no idea by Freud is byrued behind the guitars and drums in the mix and mixed so low even the backing vocals are louder than him! It's a shame because the instrumentation is pretty damn great but yeah just a shame that the one element here that doesn't work...

41. "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler

I am going to state this because it needs to be said, Bette Midler has a wonderful voice but frequently suffers from some of the most milquetoast material ever recorded..."The Rose" is possibly one of the dullest songs I've ever heard and so with this song originally recorded by Kamahl in 1982 with Midler recording it for the soundtrack of the awful film Beaches so how is the song?

Ugh. Lyrically its pretty generic, cliched and really damn corny not helped by the way Midler delivers the chorus and then proceeds to sound like a cat needing some barbed dick or a bunch of cats in a bag being strangled. I loathe this overwrought mess of a song....NEXT!

39. "Young Years" by Dragon

Well I got hopes for this one, the second single from Dragon's ninth album "Bondi Road". I am kind of surprised it's here as the previous"River" only peaked at number 81 so I was curious with what they'd do with this single and turns out this is pretty great! Yeah, it's a song reminiscing about the past and the stuff they used to do growing up together. I also love that saxophone that plays the lead melody in the opening part of the song. Yeah, I'll take this...Great stuff.

38. 'Fire Woman" by The Cult

Last song of this week comes from British band The Cult and is the first single from their fourth album "Sonic Temple" and while I get what they are trying to do with the roaring guitars and everything, I am not sure I am going to remember this all that much especially with the lack there of a hook which given it's a rock song, I love rock songs that leave me singing it after the song has finished so yeah while it's from an instrumental standpoint fine, it's not my thing.

So that leaves me with a pretty easy week as far as best and worst of the week goes...worst is going to "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler. Best falls the way of "Young Years" by Dragon ahead of "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul.