Happy New Year! In lieu of weekly 1989 charts (done 5 years ago) here's a hot-off-the-press update of all tracks that peaked in my personal charts during 1989, including remixes as new tracks and not including any sales from oldies or original runs of remixes. NOTE: weeks on chart and highest position are only for 1989, havent added others years to them yet.

 

With a Youtube link for the most-interesting or best in each batch of 10...!

 

In the bottom ten there's a first of 2 from quirky Yello and legend Tina Turner who was at her commercial peak in the 80's. Blazing saddles is great fun, referencing one of the funniest movies of all-time, from Mel Brooks & Richard Prior. There's a Rocky Horror remix of a cover that didn't catch on for a while, but was a club success. Another fab movie and stage show musical. Bananarama's & French & Saunders (& Kathy Burke) forgotten Comic Relief Beatles cover was also great fun, the video was hilarious, but the non-comedy other side of Help! is great in it's own right, with just the 'Nanas. 808 State was a terrific instrumental, Fuzzbox's joyous brand of pop was great for 12 months, US hit The Way To Your Heart is one I need to play to remind myself of, and The Four Tops comeback (yet again) Indestructible was also 60's worthy. That leaves 2 Chaka Khan remixes, updated for the new dance scene. The originals, as almost always, are better.

 

And the pick is....

 

 

 

91 (6 12) THE WAY TO YOUR HEART Soulsister 282850

92 (7 10) INDESTRUCTIBLE The Four Tops featuring Smokey Robinson 281850

93 (5 10) AIN'T NOBODY '89 Rufus featuring Chaka Khan 277600

94 (4 9) I'M EVERY WOMAN '89 Chaka Khan 269050

95 (9 11) PINK SUNSHINE Fuzzbox 266750

96 (10 9) THE TIME WARP (REMIX) Damian 265500

97 (5 7) PACIFIC - 707 808 State 264450

98 (4 9) HELP! Bananarama and La Na Nee Nee Noo Noo 263100

99 (9 10) I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU Tina Turner 260750

100 (7 9) BLAZING SADDLES Yello 255300

So we have the madness that is Edelweiss revamping Lynn Anderson's Rose Garden for the Alps, and also great fun. Can you imagine the 2021 music scene having fun? In any way? Me neither. The best you get is playful (hi Dua Lipa, Kylie...). The late London Boys Euro-anthem strides in, the good side of Eurocheese, and Bobby Brown has one of his best single with On Our Own.

 

Cliff was in his best period in the '79/'89 era as he pops in with his last non-Christmas pretty decent ballad, Lean On You, and fellow pop-legend George Harrison has a goodie with Cheer Down, very Jeff Lynne-sounding (because he produced it), and the flop Downtown from One 2 Many has a good enough run to feature, as does the House dance track from Ten City.

 

Jeff Wayne's magnificent 1978 War Of The Worlds anthem gets tarted up and survives, but it's not as good as the original (I'll stop saying that, just take it for granted), and the great Tears For Fears have a dramatic ballad with assistance from Oleta Adams, Woman In Chains. But my pick is the fab, under-rated Lightning Seeds aka Ian Broudie, who kick-started a wonderful run of singles for almost a decade with this track, Pure, tuneful and as fresh as a daisy.

 

 

 

 

81 (3 11) THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS Ten City 316050

82 (6 8) EVE OF THE WAR (DEEPSPACE MIX) Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds featuring Justin Heyward 314150

83 (5 9) WOMAN IN CHAINS Tears For Fears featuring Oleta Adams 313700

84 (5 10) PURE The LIghtning Seeds 313150

85 (9 12) DOWNTOWN One 2 Many 298350

86 (7 8) CHEER DOWN George Harrison 297850

87 (6 15) LEAN ON YOU Cliff Richard 297700

88 (7 12) ON OUR OWN Bobby Brown 293850

89 (6 10) LONDON NIGHTS The London Boys 287800

90 (5 12) BRING ME EDELWEISS Edelweiss 287700

First of 2 for Neneh Cherry popping in with her debut Buffalo Stance, "know wot ah meeeean!", c'mon Mable do a duet with mum! First of 2 for Liza Minelli too with the Pet Shop Boys produced and written Don't Drop Bombs, which would have been good advice as it promptly bombed, undeservedly for the show-legend and Chris n Neil just post-Imperial-Phase.

 

Richard Marx specialised in ballads, and this was his best slushy ballad, though not his best track (that's Hazard), and Malcolm McLaren was still into morphing modern pop with classical/opera/country/whatever and came up with a House/Strauss crossover, and as I love Strauss waltzes it appealed to me, perversely. First of 2 for Fine Young cannibals, the rocking Good Thing at 76, and the first of 2 for Joe Brown's daughter Sam, covering Marvin Gaye's Can I get A Witness from around the time her dad was going top 10.

 

The KLF have just made their back catalogue available again, and about bloody time too. I don;t know if Kylie Said To Jason is one they've let loose on the world, but it ought to be! Basically a pastiche of SAW, yet somehow much better that it sounds like it should be, Kylie Said To Jason. Traveling Wilburys makes it George Harrison & Jeff Lynne's second appearance on the list with the great End Of The Line.

 

Ih Well, do a grooved-up dance version of Fleetwood Mac, and it works rather well, one I liked more than the original (yes it can happen now and again!), and talking of jJson Donovan he's here with his not-that-bad-actually version of Sealed With A Kiss. Brian Hyland's version is way better of course, it has charm and period-appeal, but this was at least bringing the song to a new audience. And my choice is....KLF!

 

 

 

71 (5 12) SEALED WITH A KISS Jason Donovan 353350

72 (5 13) OH WELL Oh Well 351100

73 (7 11) END OF THE LINE Traveling Wilbury's 349350

74 (5 12) KYLIE SAID TO JASON The KLF 348800

75 (4 12) CAN I GET A WITNESS Sam Brown 344600

76 (5 12) GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals 341700

77 (7 9) HOUSE OF THE BLUE DANUBE Malcolm McLaren 331250

78 (9 13) RIGHT HERE WAITING Richard Marx 329600

79 (6 14) DON’T DROP BOMBS Liza Minelli 319450

80 (9 7) BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry 316900

 

 

 

John, it's great idea (without jokes) to compile retro Year-end chart.

 

 

John, it's great idea (without jokes) to compile retro Year-end chart.

 

Thanks Alex - I have them all on typed paper or in note-pads, but it takes ages to copy them over to spreadsheets. I used to review year-by-year every 5, 10, 15, 20 years and so on to see how my tastes had changed, and then it got too time-consuming to be able to carry on with more and more years to review :lol: The last full-year I reviewed was 1999. :o

The next batch starts with a Bond theme for veteran Motown/soul star Gladys Knight who can still belt it out with passion, Licence To Kill was better than the film it came from. A cool Electribe 101 dance track is at 69 featuring future solo dance act Billie Ray Martin, Tell Me When The Fever Ended. The Bangles get the first of two on the rundown, with the under-rated Be With You, one of their best singles, and the second Neneh Cherry track is very different from the first, the moody Manchild at 67.

 

Inner City's dance anthem Good Life was state of the soul art at the time and still sounds good at 66, while Michael Jackson's single-only (for vinyl album buyers like me) Leave Me Alone is the first of 2 Bad tracks on the rundown 2 years after the album came out: this one has a great video, but the single isn't his finest moment and is flattered somewhat. Coldcut also have 2 on the list, as does Lisa Stansfield, and their debut, the wonderful People Hold On is at 64.

 

Tracie Spencer's big US hit Symptoms Of True Love is one place higher, she was basically a child at the time (12 or 13 years old, I think) but this was a good slice of 80's US pre-House dance. Prince has a quiet year-end, for my lists, with just the one track from the Batman movie soundtrack, which comprised his work over an entire album. Batdance was OK, the film samples were effective, but overall it's a bit too disjointed to be one of his great records. Lastly, a minor hit in 1988, returned to a new peak for Midnight Oil, and their social commentary Beds Are Burning. Still relevant, still good.

 

and the pick is...

 

 

 

 

 

61 (6 13) BEDS ARE BURNING Midnight Oil 381250

62 (5 15) BATDANCE Prince 379800

63 (2 9) SYMPTOMS OF TRUE LOVE Tracie Spencer 371550

64 (3 9) PEOPLE HOLD ON Coldcut featuring Lisa Stansfield 371000

65 (8 11) LEAVE ME ALONE MIchael Jackson 370850

66 (4 10) GOOD LIFE Inner City 369500

67 (4 13) MANCHILD Neneh Cherry 365100

68 (4 13) BE WITH YOU The Bangles 364350

69 (4 8) TELL ME WHEN THE FEVER ENDED Electribe 101 362150

70 (7 14) LICENCE TO KILL Gladys Knight 361900

 

 

 

 

oops! forgot to keep going with this! Sorry....

 

We start with Martika's dramatic Toy Soldiers, even a Prince gifted song couldn't extend her career by much sadly, US hit Grayson Hugh (a holiday hit for me Ottawa/Niagara/Boston/New York touring) and another Kim Wilde Close cut. Holly Johnson had a brief chart-hitting solo post-Frankie Goes To Hollywood career, and Americanos was his best single, quite the shame he couldnt sustain it.

 

S'Express' run of hits continues with the fun Hey Music Lover, and the track that got revamped after they got big gives Texas a debut at 55, I Don't Want a Lover has such a sense of space to it, while also echoing rootsy southern-USA rock. Malcolm McLaren has a second on the list with Something's Jumpin In Your Shirt, and ex-Nana Siobhan teams with Marcella Detroit for a second chart run of success with fab debut You're History, quirky and stand-out thanks to Marcella's unusual vocals.

 

That leaves two famous tracks, Tina Turner's solo anthem The Best, with those sax riffs and pounding rhythms, and Kylie & Jason's love-fest ballad, which is a great song despite all the cheesy-naffness accusations, and it was great having a male-female duet back as a format, now pretty much a dead format.

 

 

and the pick is....

 

 

 

 

51 (2 9) ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan 439100

52 (6 9) THE BEST Tina Turner 438700

53 (3 13) YOU'RE HISTORY Shakespear's Sister 435350

54 (4 11) SOMETHING'S JUMPIN' IN YOUR SHIRT Malcolm McLaren featuring The Bootzilla Orchestra and Lisa Marie 405150

55 (11 11) I DON'T WANT A LOVER Texas 403650

56 (5 12) HEY MUSIC LOVER S'Express 396600

57 (5 13) LOVE IN THE NATURAL WAY Kim Wilde 389950

58 (4 12) AMERICANOS Holly Johnson 386000

59 (4 17) TALK IT OVER Grayson Hugh 384700

60 (6 11) TOY SOLDIERS Martika 381350

The Blow Monkeys main man does a cool House dance duet with soulstress Kym Mazelle, Wait, and Eurythmics are heading towards the tail end of their great 80's phase with a nice ballad Don't Ask Me Why at 49, and Phil Collins Motown-ish Two Hearts from the Buster movie also makes the year-end 50 thanks to a recent chart boost revival, while a remix of M's wonderful 1979 number 2, Pop Musik, does a decade-on one-better in hitting the top spot.

 

Roxette debut with The Look, and they'll be back in 1990 big-time, Janet Jackson's title album track with great rhythms punches in at 45 where the lead track Miss You Much missed the list by much, another track that boosted it's chart sales in 2020 jumps in at 44 for Yello's second, Of Course I'm Lyin'. Oh no I'm not!

 

Belinda Carlisle's second year of Year-End 100's continues with the catchy Leave A Light On, and Fine Young cannibals best track is at 42, She Drives Me Crazy. Love those guitar riffs! Which leaves the track to just miss out on the top 40...poor old Kate Bush, though that makes 10 years of regular appearances on year-end lists for the unique wondrous Ms Bush, The Sensual World being her latest seductive offering.

 

and the choice this time is....

 

 

 

 

 

41 (3 15) THE SENSUAL WORLD Kate Bush 477350

42 (5 12) SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals 470700

43 (3 15) LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle 468800

44 (4 9) OF COURSE I'M LYING Yello 457350

45 (3 11) RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson 456550

46 (4 14) THE LOOK Roxette 454800

47 (1 17) POP MUSIK '89 M 449350

48 (5 8) TWO HEARTS Phil Collins 449150

49 (4 16) DON’T ASK ME WHY Eurythmics 448950

50 (2 14) WAIT Robert Howard and Kym Mazelle 448550

John, Is it a calendar year format of your weekly charts or 1990 "sales" for late 1989 releases also were counted ?

 

I remember that "Dear Jessie" was # 1 in your chart, but possibly this single is not here, because was released in December 1989.

 

In three first years of her career (1988-1990) Kylie had 5 number one singles in my chart (I Should Be So Lucky, Got To Be Certain, Especially For You, Tears On My Pillow, Better The Devil You Know).

 

Edelweiss :lol: I didn't know that it was a worldwide hit.

Hi Alex, you got a good memory! :lol: Yes Dear Jessie topped my chart and will appear in the list. I hate splitting sales over 2 calendar years it just looks so wrong and it's unfair on great records getting 2 low places in 2 years instead of one big place as it deserves. I also hate a record appearing in the charts, say of 1989, if it topped my chart or peaked higher in 1990 - so I've always used 1st jan as the split-point - if a record peaks higher in 1989 it goes in 1989, if it peaks higher in the following year it goes in that one. :D

 

Kylie didn't get her first chart-topper till 1994 in my charts, but she did really well on the whole with her early stuff, most of them went top 10, and one of them hit a peak of 2 (Especially For You). :) She's made up for it since....!

Liza Minelli gets a 2nd slot at 40 with a Pet Shop Boys-produced single, the fab Losing My Mind, a cover of a showtune by Stephen Sondheim from Follies. It sounds pure PSB though. Then it's Macca's 2 singles off his album collaboration with Elvis Costello, an interesting mix of the 2 styles, although the melodic strength of This One was very Beatles-ey circa 1967. Cher has another big ol rock diva comeback, astride massive cannons in the video, and another USA trip biggie.

 

The UK Record of 1989 manages to bring Italian House act Black Box to 36 for the year, with Ride On Time being one of the best tracks of the year and on a par with some tracks which topped my charts where they had to make do with 3 as I was out the country for part of it's UK run on top which dented it's chart positions a bit as I didn't get to hear it for over 2 weeks. Ya Kid K sings on Technotronic's debut fab hit, Pump Up The Jam, and the Madonna inrush starts at 34 with Cherish, which had a lovely video and was big around the time I was on a boat watching Whales and dolphins. See the video for the link...

 

Then Madonna's back again at 33, by virtue of Express Yourself topping my chart where Cherish was forced to peak at 5 and had a longer chart run. In retrospect I think that's the right order, actually. We then have the little-known wonderful ballad from Swing Out Sister, Forever Blue was just a very minor chart hit, annoyingly. Pure class. That leaves Bobby Brown and his best track, Every Little Step at 31, with the possible exception of the fab Two Can Play That Game.

 

And the pick, just for Suedey, is....

 

 

 

 

31 (1 18) EVERY LITTLE STEP Bobby Brown 609575

32 (4 19) FOREVER BLUE Swing Out Sister 590300

33 (1 14) EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna 581250

34 (5 18) CHERISH Madonna 576600

35 (3 15) PUMP UP THE JAM Technotronic featuring Felly (Ya Kid K) 514025

36 (3 16) RIDE ON TIME Black Box 512300

37 (3 17) IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher 511350

38 (1 13) MY BRAVE FACE Paul McCartney 492750

39 (2 12) THIS ONE Paul McCartney 491300

40 (2 13) LOSING MY MIND Liza Minelli 482000

 

 

 

The Bangles biggest track is at 30, Eternal Flame being the Big Ballad in their pretty good poprock back catalogue, and the 2nd of the year on the list. Let's not mention that cover version. The Bee Gees commercial fortunes fade in and fade out depending on what's popular at any given time, and I fail to see any drop in quality regardless, though they were in a more sombre reflective mood following the early death of younger brother Andy Gibb, such as One at 29. Waiting For A Star To Fall is a big ol' slick pop tune, and the various sampling hitmakers in later years haven't improved on the original. On the contrary I got sick of the hook to the detriment of the original.

 

Kon Kan, well, what can you say about a record that samples Rose Garden, a country classic, and turns it into pure cheese? Well done, actually! Still catchy and amusing. Stevie Nicks a legend these days, but shockingly Rooms On Fire was her only significant UK single solo hit. Absolutely criminal, her stuff outside Fleetwood Mac was often as good as her songs within! Rooms On Fire is her best solo record, possible exception of Edge Of Seventeen. Gloria Estefan gets a second of the year with the rather nice Can't Stay Away From You, classy ballading.

 

Jason Donovan was mostly at the disposable end of SAW songs and productions, but they did bung him the odd pop gem, and this was the best one, When You Come Back To Me at 24. Back To Life announced Soul II Soul as a significant black soul music force, cos it's great, though contrary to popular opinion they weren't the first British black-music-based act to cross over worldwide, but they did move the style on influentially.

 

Sydney Youngblood came out of nowhere doing his own thing, was big for a few months, and then faded into obscurity, and this was a radio monster of the time, If Only I Could. Liberian Girl was one of the sweeter songs off Bad, and it's odd including a 2-year old track in 1989's list, but I didn't allow album tracks in 1987, or else the entire album would have made my charts and lost out on several number ones like this one. Maybe. The video is fun, spotting famous people, though it signalled the increasing ego and divorce from reality that was MJ's future.

 

and the pick is...

 

 

 

 

21 (1 19) LIBERIAN GIRL Michael Jackson 759650

22 (1 17) IF ONLY I COULD Sydney Youngblood 753550

23 (3 22) BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler 708550

24 (2 10) WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME Jason Donovan 706800

25 (3 15) CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine 705350

26 (1 16) ROOMS ON FIRE Stevie Nicks 697900

27 (2 15) I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan 639000

28 (2 12) WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl 627650

29 (4 24) ONE The Bee Gees 619400

30 (2 14) ETERNAL FLAME The Bangles 618200

 

 

 

So we start with double Dusty at the bottom end of the top 20 of 1989, hot on the heels of her monster Pet Shop Boys duet in 1987, Chris & Neil had done an album with Dusty & Liza, which explains their relatively low-profile 1989. Both tracks were themed on the Scandal movie about the Profumo Affair, In Private a cheerful upbeat popdance tune, and the even-better news-event lyrics ballad Nothing Has Been Proved, on which Dusty showed she was still the best at interpreting. Nobody could sing like Dusty, still the greatest-ever, soulful, female pop singer - she just knew how to work the lyrics flawlessly, she really worked at getting perfection. Her live version (with Burt Bacharach) of A House Is Not A Home in 1970 is jaw-droppingly great.

 

Not to be outdone, Madonna also has 2 in the top 20, at the top of her game, and 4 on the list, starting with the sweetest record she ever made, the UK-only Xmassy single Dear Jessie (the US went for the less-good Keep It Together off Like A Prayer), all swirling strings and childhood lyrics, just adorable. 4 places higher at 14, her title track didn't top the chart like 2 of the other album cuts, but has done better over-all. It's a classic, only under-rated due to my grandma dying when it came out, and it was just too sad for me to cope with, what with the funeral and loss. I took refuge in 60's oldies in happier times.

 

Talking of loss, and the greatest female singer of all-time, we lost the greatest male-singer of all-time in late 1988, but Jeff Lynne had joined with the brilliant Roy Orbison to gift a new album and lead single, the fab You Got It, at 17. OK, it wasn't in the same timeless league as Runnin' Scared, In Dreams, It's Over and oodles of others when he was on the top of the vocal world (Roy could SING-EXCLAMATION-MARK, he had range and power and emotion), but it was a fab goodbye, as was the album. Living In A Box, meanwhile, do an about-turn after their big self-titled debut did the biz in 1987, they go all slushy...and make it sound great. Room In Your Heart is a great song.

 

Sam Brown, 60's pop star Joe Brown's daughter, had released a soulful show-stopper in 1988 but it hadn't caught on in the charts (though it did with me), but second-time round did the trick, and Stop became the huge ballad hit it deserved to be, an amazing vocal performance on a great song, and her second on the 100. Donna Summer had been a bit out of sorts in the pop wilderness for a few years, after her ground-breaking debut and hit run of singles and albums, but SAW did us all a favour and gave her some rehabilitation and a makeover that was still dance diva, the fab This Time I Know It's For Real, her final great single.

 

That leaves another 1988 hold-over that had not been the big hit it should have been, the sheer power of Sweet Child O' Mine was a breath of fresh air, Guns 'n' Roses statement of intent that the overblown pomp-rock that dominated had just been served notice of eviction by a young punky rock act with attitude. Kim Wilde had a great 1988, and the 4th track off it started the year as the biggest single, and was also rather sweetly sad and touching, Four Letter Word taking the tempo right down after a brace of exciting uptempo hits.

 

...and the pick is....

 

 

 

 

11 (1 13) FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 999150

12 (1 12) SWEET CHILD O' MINE Guns 'n' Roses 967500

13 (1 20) THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 961450

14 (2 16) LIKE A PRAYER Madonna 868700

15 (1 16) STOP Sam Brown 866600

16 (1 14) ROOM IN YOUR HEART Living In A Box 822050

17 (1 21) YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison 817200

18 (1 15) DEAR JESSIE Madonna 813550

19 (1 25) NOTHING HAS BEEN PROVED Dusty Springfield 780250

20 (1 17) IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield 766600

 

 

"Like A Prayer" didn't age well for me, so now I prefer "Cherish" and especially "Dear Jessie" :wub: over her most signature track.

 

"Stop" wasn't a hit in my chart, but Sam will have two number ones in the next year - "Kissing Gate" (UK # 23) and "Mindworks" (UK # 77).

 

I don't have сonstant # 1 of 1989, based on the mood it's a coin flip between "Dear Jessie" and Mandy Smith - Don't You Want Me Baby.

 

Kim Wilde got two additional number ones in some last years ("F U Kristmas" in 2017 and "Kandy Krush" in 2018), so maybe only Madonna had more solo number 1 hits in my chart. "Love Is Holy" was "Song of the year" in 1992.

 

"Sales" numbers are very high, only "Dear Jessie" could have the similar numbers with your chart, if I will add "Sales" in my hitlists.

Edited January 13, 20214 yr by Last Dreamer

"Like A Prayer" didn't age well for me, so now I prefer "Cherish" and especially "Dear Jessie" :wub: over her most signature track.

 

"Stop" wasn't a hit in my chart, but Sam will have two number ones in the next year - "Kissing Gate" (UK # 23) and "Mindworks" (UK # 77).

 

I don't have сonstant # 1 of 1989, based on the mood it's a coin flip between "Dear Jessie" and Mandy Smith - Don't You Want Me Baby.

 

Kim Wilde got two additional number ones in some last years ("F U Kristmas" in 2017 and "Kandy Krush" in 2018), so maybe only Madonna had more solo number 1 hits in my chart. "Love Is Holy" was "Song of the year" in 1992.

 

"Sales" numbers are very high, only "Dear Jessie" could have the similar numbers with your chart, if I will add "Sales" in my hitlists.

 

Dear Jessie is her freshest hit for sure, it almost never gets played, and would be the one I choose to hear probably of all her 80's hits :)

 

Kissing Gate is a goodie, and I'm quite surprised u like FU Kristmas :lol: It's great fun, Kandy Krush is good too, and Love Is Holy is one of Kim's forgotten goodies, again it's a record that was great but never gets played anywhere :(

 

 

Hi John!

 

Here are my favourites from your selection so far:

 

11 (1 13) FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 999150

12 (1 12) SWEET CHILD O' MINE Guns 'n' Roses 967500

13 (1 20) THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 961450

14 (2 16) LIKE A PRAYER Madonna 868700

15 (1 16) STOP Sam Brown 866600

17 (1 21) YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison 817200

20 (1 17) IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield 766600

21 (1 19) LIBERIAN GIRL Michael Jackson 759650

22 (1 17) IF ONLY I COULD Sydney Youngblood 753550

23 (3 22) BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler 708550

25 (3 15) CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine 705350

27 (2 15) I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan 639000

28 (2 12) WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl 627650

29 (4 24) ONE The Bee Gees 619400

30 (2 14) ETERNAL FLAME The Bangles 618200

33 (1 14) EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna 581250

34 (5 18) CHERISH Madonna 576600

35 (3 15) PUMP UP THE JAM Technotronic featuring Felly (Ya Kid K) 514025

37 (3 17) IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher 511350

42 5 12 SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals 470700

43 3 15 LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle 468800

45 3 11 RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson 456550

46 4 14 THE LOOK Roxette 454800

48 5 8 TWO HEARTS Phil Collins 449150

51 (2 9) ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan 439100

52 (6 9) THE BEST Tina Turner 438700

60 (6 11) TOY SOLDIERS Martika 381350

61 (6 13) BEDS ARE BURNING Midnight Oil 381250

62 (5 15) BATDANCE Prince 379800

65 (8 11) LEAVE ME ALONE MIchael Jackson 370850

66 (4 10) GOOD LIFE Inner City 369500

70 (7 14) LICENCE TO KILL Gladys Knight 361900

76 (5 12) GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals 341700

78 (9 13) RIGHT HERE WAITING Richard Marx 329600

80 (9 7) BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry 316900

91 (6 12) THE WAY TO YOUR HEART Soulsister 282850

99 (9 10) I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU Tina Turner 260750

 

Great list so far!

Hi John!

 

Here are my favourites from your selection so far:

 

11 (1 13) FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde 999150

12 (1 12) SWEET CHILD O' MINE Guns 'n' Roses 967500

13 (1 20) THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer 961450

14 (2 16) LIKE A PRAYER Madonna 868700

15 (1 16) STOP Sam Brown 866600

17 (1 21) YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison 817200

20 (1 17) IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield 766600

21 (1 19) LIBERIAN GIRL Michael Jackson 759650

22 (1 17) IF ONLY I COULD Sydney Youngblood 753550

23 (3 22) BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler 708550

25 (3 15) CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine 705350

27 (2 15) I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan 639000

28 (2 12) WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl 627650

29 (4 24) ONE The Bee Gees 619400

30 (2 14) ETERNAL FLAME The Bangles 618200

33 (1 14) EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna 581250

34 (5 18) CHERISH Madonna 576600

35 (3 15) PUMP UP THE JAM Technotronic featuring Felly (Ya Kid K) 514025

37 (3 17) IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher 511350

42 5 12 SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals 470700

43 3 15 LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle 468800

45 3 11 RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson 456550

46 4 14 THE LOOK Roxette 454800

48 5 8 TWO HEARTS Phil Collins 449150

51 (2 9) ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan 439100

52 (6 9) THE BEST Tina Turner 438700

60 (6 11) TOY SOLDIERS Martika 381350

61 (6 13) BEDS ARE BURNING Midnight Oil 381250

62 (5 15) BATDANCE Prince 379800

65 (8 11) LEAVE ME ALONE MIchael Jackson 370850

66 (4 10) GOOD LIFE Inner City 369500

70 (7 14) LICENCE TO KILL Gladys Knight 361900

76 (5 12) GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals 341700

78 (9 13) RIGHT HERE WAITING Richard Marx 329600

80 (9 7) BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry 316900

91 (6 12) THE WAY TO YOUR HEART Soulsister 282850

99 (9 10) I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU Tina Turner 260750

 

Great list so far!

 

Thanks for th list Sergej, glad you like so many in the list :)

 

Thanks also for letting me spot I'd forgot to put the brackets around the peak/wks column on one batch! Oops! :lol:

So the top 10 starts with Pet Shops Boys cover of It's Alright, a terrific, optimistic, socially-minded song at 10. That makes it 5 years in a row they make the year-end top 10. The second Bee Gees song in the countdown is at 9, a complete flop, but I found it quite lyrically touching, being as it was clearly influenced by their downbeat and sorrowful mood after their younger brother Andy had died aged 30. At 8, Kate Bush is back with a second top 100 entry, This Woman's Work, a heartbreaking gem about the sometimes burdens of women, again immensely touching.

 

At 7, and clearly a year in which women were getting an increasing share of the pop music limelight, Lisa Stansfield gets a second with her smash All Around The World, still her signature song, all sophisticated soul harking back to Barry White and the early 70's Philly Soul era. At 6, Sheena Easton was gifted a brilliant Prince song, her best record by a million miles, sexy, building to a climax, bursting with attitude...and 101 remains unloved by everyone but me. Play her biggest hit 9 To 5 (Morning Train) then this. No comparison.

 

Top 5, another flop, twice over it topped my chart, in this version and a revamp in the early 90's, and this old-fashioned slow soul ballad still couldn't grab a hit, leaving Distant Cousins one of the many many pop music wannabes that never got the got the hit they deserved. Top female song of the year? Gloria Estefan's I Don't Want To Lose You. I'd loved her ballads leading up to it, bought the new album, and it just clicked with me. In retrospect, my least fave of the top 10, but still a good sad love ballad.

 

Top solo star of the year is Elton John at 2 and 3, thanks largely to both tracks getting a massive reissued UK double-A-side boost in 1990 which topped the charts. as with The Bee Gees though, my rating of Elton songs was unrelated to commercial success and I was fresh off seeing Elton in concert at Wembley Arena. Healing hands topped my chart, and then Sacrifice did the same, with a boost in early 1990 as it was a big airplay hit in Florida during a holiday there. Then the UK caught up and they both benefitted on this list from that. Healing Hands is gospel-rock and inspirational, Sacrifice is overplayed and I've gone off it in the years since, though it's still sweet.

 

Top spot then, they did it in 1985, and have it again in 1989, Tears For Fears monster-length Beatles-inspired Sowing The Seeds Of Love. I bought the CD single in New York City Tower records, I bought the album, and I loved the 60's vibes, the positivity and optimism, and the singalong anthem chorus. It may well still be my fave track of 1989.

 

and the choice is...

 

 

 

 

1 (1 21) SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE Tears For Fears 1975150

2 (1 11) SACRIFICE Elton John 1963100

3 (1 18) HEALING HANDS Elton John 1657200

4 (1 25) I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU Gloria Estefan 1424200

5 (1 11) YOU USED TO Distant Cousins 1215100

6 (1 16) "101"" Sheena Easton 1176050

7 (1 13) ALL AROUND THE WORLD Lisa Stansfield 1171500

8 (1 55) THIS WOMAN’S WORK Kate Bush 1149750

9 (1 22) ORDINARY LIVES The Bee Gees 1114250

10 (1 15) IT'S ALRIGHT Pet Shop Boys 1005300