I last reviewed 1989 in 1995, so Ive taken that listing and amended it a bit based on some Ive grown to love since then. The second column are the Year-end positions based on chart positions at the time - so you can see how my tastes change with time.

 

1989, it must be said, is probably the least-good year of the 80's, stuck as it was back in a pure pop mode for the most part and nothing new and exciting especially going on. Still some good stuff though!

 

1 24 LIKE A PRAYER Madonna

2 1 SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE Tears For Fears

3 7 THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer

4 16 101" Sheena Easton

5 9 THIS WOMAN'S WORK Kate Bush

6 14 NOTHING HAS BEEN PROVED Dusty Springfield

7 19 STOP Sam Brown

8 21 ROOMS ON FIRE Stevie Nicks

9 13 DEAR JESSIE Madonna

10 10 IT'S ALRIGHT Pet Shop Boys

 

11 NEW WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE Billy Joel

12 47 ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan

13 3 ALL AROUND THE WORLD Lisa Stansfield

14 29 EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna

15 34 SWEET CHILD 'O' MINE Guns 'N' Roses

16 11 ROOM IN YOUR HEART Living In A Box

17 20 WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME Jason Donovan

18 8 YOU USED TO Distant Cousins

19 32 BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul/ Caron Wheeler

20 5 SACRIFICE Elton John

 

21 12 YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison

22 42 LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle

23 43 RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson

24 26 ETERNAL FLAME The Bangles

25 4 ORDINARY LIVES The Bee Gees

26 89 THE BEST Tina Turner

27 NEW BELFAST CHILD Simple Minds

28 35 RIDE ON TIME Black Box

29 27 EVERY LITTLE STEP Bobby Brown

30 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode

 

31 22 HEALING HANDS Elton John

32 18 IF ONLY I COULD Sydney Youngblood

33 28 FOREVER BLUE Swing Out Sister

34 15 IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield

35 39 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher

36 96 HELP Bananarama

37 62 PEOPLE HOLD ON Coldcut/Lisa Stansfield

38 40 LOSING MY MIND Liza Minelli

39 95 I DON'T WANT A LOVER Texas

40 41 THE SENSUAL WORLD Kate Bush

 

41 37 MY BRAVE FACE Paul McCartney

42 48 YOU'RE HISTORY Shakespear's Sister

43 80 END OF THE LINE Traveling Wilburys

44 54 AMERICANOS Holly Johnson

45 NEW SHE'S A MYSTERY TO ME Roy Orbison

46 25 ONE The Bee Gees

47 65 KYLIE SAID TO JASON The KLF

48 66 CAN I GET A WITNESS Sam Brown

49 30 CHERISH Madonna

50 90 PINK SUNSHINE Fuzzbox

 

51 33 AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW Fleetwood Mac

52 44 DON'T ASK ME WHY Eurythmics

53 61 LICENCE TO KILL Gladys Knight

54 86 PURE The Lightning Seeds

55 31 WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl

56 17 LIBERIAN GIRL Michael Jackson

57 85 INDESTRUCTIBLE The Four Tops/ Smokey Robinson

58 49 THE LOOK Roxette

59 2 I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU Gloria Estefan

60 51 TWO HEARTS Phil Collins

 

61 NEW I DON'T WANT TO GET HURT Donna Summer

62 38 THIS ONE Paul McCartney

63 75 WOMAN IN CHAINS Tears For Fears/ Oleta Adams

64 88 BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry

65 NEW TOO MUCH Bros

66 68 HOUSE OF THE BLUE DANUBE Malcolm McLaren

67 NEW DAYS LIKE THIS Sheena Easton

68 NEW EVERYDAY (I LOVE YOU MORE) Jason Donovan

69 58 MANCHILD Neneh Cherry

70 87 TOY SOLDIERS Martika

 

71 46 PUMP UP THE JAM Technoctronic

72 NEW YOU ON MY MIND Swing Out Sister

73 NEW THE SUN RISING The Beloved

74 NEW SECOND SUMMER OF LOVE Danny Wilson

75 NEW SIGN 'O' THE TIMES Simple Minds

76 NEW THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME Lisa Stansfield

77 69 SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals

78 6 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde

79 NEW WHEN I LOOKED AT HIM Expose

80 79 LEAN ON YOU Cliff Richard

 

81 91 LAMBADA Kaoma

82 36 CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan

83 45 WAIT Robert Howard/Kym Myzelle

84 NEW I WANT IT ALL Queen

85 71 BEDS ARE BURNING Midnight Oil

86 NEW IT'S ONLY LOVE Simply Red

87 76 OF COURSE I'M LYIN' Yello

88 NEW LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette

89 67 GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals

90 23 I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan

 

91 63 SEALED WITH A KISS Jason Donovan

92 64 OH WELL Oh Well

93 60 TELL ME WHEN THE MUSIC ENDED Elecrtibe 101

94 NEW MISS YOU MUCH Janet Jackson

95 59 BE WITH YOU The Bangles

96 NEW TIED UP Yello

97 70 RIGHT HERE WAITING Richard Marx

98 NEW SOMETHING'S GOTTEN HOLD OF MY HEART Marc Almond/ Gene Pitney

99 NEW IF THERE WAS LOVE Liza Minelli

100 NEW OH FATHER Madonna

 

Not any surprises about my favourites here:

"Dear Jessie" is the one from my favourite Madonna songs. "Like A Prayer" is eternal pop classic. "Cherish" - amazing.

"Especially For You" was # 1 twice (second time with Denise Van Outen & Johnny Vaughan in 1999)

Original "I Don't Want A Lover", "Listen To Your Heart"

1989 was great. Doolittle, The Stone Roses, Disintegration, Technique, Voodoo Ray, Manchild.

Not any surprises about my favourites here:

"Dear Jessie" is the one from my favourite Madonna songs. "Like A Prayer" is eternal pop classic. "Cherish" - amazing.

"Especially For You" was # 1 twice (second time with Denise Van Outen & Johnny Vaughan in 1999)

Original "I Don't Want A Lover", "Listen To Your Heart"

 

Thanks Alex, yes Dear Jessie is soooo sweet, I'm mystified why it wasnt a US single (and Keep It Together wasnt a UK single). madonna continues to annoy me with her choices for greatest hits collections: omitting stuff like True Blue and Dear Jessie for 25 years deserves a slap when included are much less good tracks.

 

:)

1989 was great. Doolittle, The Stone Roses, Disintegration, Technique, Voodoo Ray, Manchild.

 

Always enjoy alternative views to my (largely pop-chart-based) lists, cheers! I don't know Doolittle, Disintegration, Technique. Voodoo Ray was OK, Stone Roses had a couple of gems (tend to think of them as 1990) but I don't get the reverence their pleasant funky rock is held in, other than as inspiration/spearhead for the madchester scene. I realise I'm in a critical minority there, but hey ho I preferred Blur, Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets at the time:)

thanks must check out those others...

john

1989 was great. Doolittle, The Stone Roses, Disintegration, Technique, Voodoo Ray, Manchild.

 

ah checked 'em out, albums not bands for Disintegration and Technique. I loved The Cure and New Order, but the singles off the (critically-acclaimed) albums under-performed in my charts of the time after years of Top 10 hits (in my charts) for some reason. Fine Time was 1988, Round & Round peaked at 17, Lullaby 10, Lovesong 21, all good and may well be in an updated 100 list at some time - I suspect they have aged well whereas Jason Donovan records might not sound quite so much fun as they did 20 years ago.

cheers!

 

 

1 24 LIKE A PRAYER Madonna

2 1 SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE Tears For Fears

3 7 THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer

5 9 THIS WOMAN'S WORK Kate Bush

6 14 NOTHING HAS BEEN PROVED Dusty Springfield

7 19 STOP Sam Brown

8 21 ROOMS ON FIRE Stevie Nicks

12 47 ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan

14 29 EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna

15 34 SWEET CHILD 'O' MINE Guns 'N' Roses

17 20 WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME Jason Donovan

19 32 BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul/ Caron Wheeler

21 12 YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison

22 42 LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle

23 43 RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson

25 4 ORDINARY LIVES The Bee Gees

27 NEW BELFAST CHILD Simple Minds

28 35 RIDE ON TIME Black Box

29 27 EVERY LITTLE STEP Bobby Brown

30 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode

31 22 HEALING HANDS Elton John

34 15 IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield

35 39 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher

36 96 HELP Bananarama

38 40 LOSING MY MIND Liza Minelli

39 95 I DON'T WANT A LOVER Texas

40 41 THE SENSUAL WORLD Kate Bush

42 48 YOU'RE HISTORY Shakespear's Sister

43 80 END OF THE LINE Traveling Wilburys

44 54 AMERICANOS Holly Johnson

52 44 DON'T ASK ME WHY Eurythmics

54 86 PURE The Lightning Seeds

58 49 THE LOOK Roxette

59 2 I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU Gloria Estefan

61 NEW I DON'T WANT TO GET HURT Donna Summer

63 75 WOMAN IN CHAINS Tears For Fears/ Oleta Adams

64 88 BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry

65 NEW TOO MUCH Bros

68 NEW EVERYDAY (I LOVE YOU MORE) Jason Donovan

69 58 MANCHILD Neneh Cherry

70 87 TOY SOLDIERS Martika

73 NEW THE SUN RISING The Beloved

77 69 SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals

78 6 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde

82 36 CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan

86 NEW IT'S ONLY LOVE Simply Red

88 NEW LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette

89 67 GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals

90 23 I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan

91 63 SEALED WITH A KISS Jason Donovan

92 64 OH WELL Oh Well

94 NEW MISS YOU MUCH Janet Jackson

98 NEW SOMETHING'S GOTTEN HOLD OF MY HEART Marc Almond/ Gene Pitney

99 NEW IF THERE WAS LOVE Liza Minelli

100 NEW OH FATHER Madonna

 

Ah 1989, ther height of my 7" single buying days when the record shop was a magical place! My tastes were VERY commercial bcak then and I loved a lot of the S/A/W stuff I'm afraid- good list on the whole though I have to say! :D

ah checked 'em out, albums not bands for Disintegration and Technique. I loved The Cure and New Order, but the singles off the (critically-acclaimed) albums under-performed in my charts of the time after years of Top 10 hits (in my charts) for some reason. Fine Time was 1988, Round & Round peaked at 17, Lullaby 10, Lovesong 21, all good and may well be in an updated 100 list at some time - I suspect they have aged well whereas Jason Donovan records might not sound quite so much fun as they did 20 years ago.

cheers!

 

 

I look back on 1989 as been a huge leap on from the rest of the 80s, yous see. Dance was becoming very credible and because of the albums I mentioned above, very influential. Rap, too, was becoming more mainstream. A really exciting time for music, for me, in retrospect and as a kid.

I look back on 1989 as been a huge leap on from the rest of the 80s, yous see. Dance was becoming very credible and because of the albums I mentioned above, very influential. Rap, too, was becoming more mainstream. A really exciting time for music, for me, in retrospect and as a kid.

Well Said, and I LIVED for the "ITV Chart show" top 10 on a Saturday morning! :lol:

I think I'll make a double compilation of 1989 singles

1 24 LIKE A PRAYER Madonna

2 1 SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE Tears For Fears

3 7 THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL Donna Summer

5 9 THIS WOMAN'S WORK Kate Bush

6 14 NOTHING HAS BEEN PROVED Dusty Springfield

7 19 STOP Sam Brown

8 21 ROOMS ON FIRE Stevie Nicks

12 47 ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan

14 29 EXPRESS YOURSELF Madonna

15 34 SWEET CHILD 'O' MINE Guns 'N' Roses

17 20 WHEN YOU COME BACK TO ME Jason Donovan

19 32 BACK TO LIFE Soul II Soul/ Caron Wheeler

21 12 YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison

22 42 LEAVE A LIGHT ON Belinda Carlisle

23 43 RHYTHM NATION Janet Jackson

25 4 ORDINARY LIVES The Bee Gees

27 NEW BELFAST CHILD Simple Minds

28 35 RIDE ON TIME Black Box

29 27 EVERY LITTLE STEP Bobby Brown

30 NEW PERSONAL JESUS Depeche Mode

31 22 HEALING HANDS Elton John

34 15 IN PRIVATE Dusty Springfield

35 39 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Cher

36 96 HELP Bananarama

38 40 LOSING MY MIND Liza Minelli

39 95 I DON'T WANT A LOVER Texas

40 41 THE SENSUAL WORLD Kate Bush

42 48 YOU'RE HISTORY Shakespear's Sister

43 80 END OF THE LINE Traveling Wilburys

44 54 AMERICANOS Holly Johnson

52 44 DON'T ASK ME WHY Eurythmics

54 86 PURE The Lightning Seeds

58 49 THE LOOK Roxette

59 2 I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU Gloria Estefan

61 NEW I DON'T WANT TO GET HURT Donna Summer

63 75 WOMAN IN CHAINS Tears For Fears/ Oleta Adams

64 88 BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry

65 NEW TOO MUCH Bros

68 NEW EVERYDAY (I LOVE YOU MORE) Jason Donovan

69 58 MANCHILD Neneh Cherry

70 87 TOY SOLDIERS Martika

73 NEW THE SUN RISING The Beloved

77 69 SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals

78 6 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde

82 36 CAN'T STAY AWAY FROM YOU Gloria Estefan

86 NEW IT'S ONLY LOVE Simply Red

88 NEW LISTEN TO YOUR HEART Roxette

89 67 GOOD THING Fine Young Cannibals

90 23 I BEG YOUR PARDON Kon Kan

91 63 SEALED WITH A KISS Jason Donovan

92 64 OH WELL Oh Well

94 NEW MISS YOU MUCH Janet Jackson

98 NEW SOMETHING'S GOTTEN HOLD OF MY HEART Marc Almond/ Gene Pitney

99 NEW IF THERE WAS LOVE Liza Minelli

100 NEW OH FATHER Madonna

 

Ah 1989, ther height of my 7" single buying days when the record shop was a magical place! My tastes were VERY commercial bcak then and I loved a lot of the S/A/W stuff I'm afraid- good list on the whole though I have to say! :D

Thanks Dasher, yes I used to scour all the local record shops for 7" bargains in those days too. There's now only one in the County now (independant record shop). Boo!

Thanks for the list, you like a lot of them!

cheers

John:)

I think I'll make a double compilation of 1989 singles

 

I'd be interested to see what you put on it Anthony...:)

cheers:)

john

To be honest chart music was pretty awful in 89 but along with Tony there was awesome stuff out there:

 

Disintegration - The Cure

Doolittle - The Pixies

The Sensual World - Kate Bush

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

L'eau Rouge - The Young Gods

The Trinity Sessions - The Cowboys Junkies

Technique - New Order

Automatic - Jesus And Mary Chain

Hup - The Wonder Stuff

I - AR Kane

Superfuzz Bigmuff - Mudhoney

Spike - Elvis Costello

Playing With Fire - Spaceman 3

Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry

Scarlet And Other Stories - All About Eve

Bizarro - The Wedding Present

Pump - Aerosmith

Louder Than Love - Soundgarden

 

And although I didn't buy it at the time (coz no-one rated them!) Bleach by Nirvana was released. (I actually bought Soundgarden - didn't have money for both)

 

Then you had De La Soul with their trio of brill singles, Can't Be Sure by The Sundays (which still sends shivers up my spine), Spacemen 3, PWEI with Can U Dig It? and Wise Up Sucker and Never and I Don't Know Why I Love You. The indie/alternative scene was in fine fettle and I've barely scraped the surface. Forget turgid toss like Belfast Child (I so used to love Simple Minds - incredible fall from grace)

To be honest chart music was pretty awful in 89 but along with Tony there was awesome stuff out there:

 

Disintegration - The Cure

Doolittle - The Pixies

The Sensual World - Kate Bush

The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

L'eau Rouge - The Young Gods

The Trinity Sessions - The Cowboys Junkies

Technique - New Order

Automatic - Jesus And Mary Chain

Hup - The Wonder Stuff

I - AR Kane

Superfuzz Bigmuff - Mudhoney

Spike - Elvis Costello

Playing With Fire - Spaceman 3

Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry

Scarlet And Other Stories - All About Eve

Bizarro - The Wedding Present

Pump - Aerosmith

Louder Than Love - Soundgarden

 

And although I didn't buy it at the time (coz no-one rated them!) Bleach by Nirvana was released. (I actually bought Soundgarden - didn't have money for both)

 

Then you had De La Soul with their trio of brill singles, Can't Be Sure by The Sundays (which still sends shivers up my spine), Spacemen 3, PWEI with Can U Dig It? and Wise Up Sucker and Never and I Don't Know Why I Love You. The indie/alternative scene was in fine fettle and I've barely scraped the surface. Forget turgid toss like Belfast Child (I so used to love Simple Minds - incredible fall from grace)

 

Hi, I like most of these acts, apart from a couple that didnt register - I didnt search out non-chart stuff at the time, didnt buy many albums, and if radio/TV didnt play them I didnt get to hear them - and some will be listed in 1990 (aerosmith) some are in 1989 (Kate, Neneh) and some are likely to be in any updated review of 1989 (New Order, Cure, Stone Roses and especially De La Soul who had 3 top 20 singles in my charts at the time but just missed the 100). Elvis Costello is sort of in there too, as half of the Paul McCartney singles, which I preferred to Veronica (also Top 20). I don't list albums generally though, as its much harder to come up with an album full of 12 great tracks, or one that works as an entire whole. My collection is full of albums with one or two great tracks on them and a load of filler. Ive always preferred singles and the best track on any album has to stand up in it's own right and compete with everything else around.

 

Simple Minds, well the vitriol they got for changing style in the late 80's - poor ol Jim! I liked Simple Minds throughout their career, indie roots to stadium rock, didn't worry me, I like acts that are unpredictable musically B-)

cheers!

john

 

I liked Simple Minds all the way up to This Is Your Land, that one with Lou Reed on the backing vox. Even She's a River was decent enough. But Belfast Child was just woeful. I should have been delighted that they were number 1 but my goodness...

I liked Simple Minds all the way up to This Is Your Land, that one with Lou Reed on the backing vox. Even She's a River was decent enough. But Belfast Child was just woeful. I should have been delighted that they were number 1 but my goodness...

 

She's a River was a goodie, yes:) I have to admit I didnt get Belfast Child at the time, it was OK but I didn't love it. I just sort of grew to love it, oh I'm so sloppy n sentimental:)

 

cheers!

I didn't like Belfast Child at the time but I love it now.

 

Anyway,

 

Here's what might go on my Now That's What Tony Calls Music - 1989

 

CD1

1 -Pixies - Debaser

2 -Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus

3 -The Lightning Seeds - Pure

4 -The Cure - Lovesong

5 -Stone Roses - Made Of Stone

6 -Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love

7 -Simple Minds - Belfast Child

8 -Marc Almond/Gene Pitney - Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart

9 -Mike And The Mechanics - The Living Years

10 -Stevie Nicks - Rooms On Fire

11 -Martika - Toy Soldiers

12 -Gloria Estefan - Can't Stay Away From You

13 -Roxette - Listen To Your Heart

14 -Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting

15 -Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville - I Don't Know Much

16 -Kate Bush - This Woman's Work

17 -Madonna - Like A Prayer

 

 

CD2

1 -Black Box - Ride On Time

2 -Raoul Orellana - Real Wild House

3 -Jeff Wayne - Eve Of The War

4 -S-Xpress - Hey Music Lover

5 -Double Trouble - Just Keep Rockin'

6 -Lil Louis   - French Kiss

7 -The Beloved - The Sun Rising

8 -A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray

9 -Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon

10 -New Order - Round And Round

11 -Pet Shop Boys - It'S Alright

12 -Erasure - You Surround Me

13 -Holly Johnson - Love Train

14 -Jimmy Somerville - Comment Te Dire Adieu

15 -Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy

16 -Dusty Springfield - Nothing Has Been Proved

17 -Liza Minelli - Losing My Mind

18 -Yazz - Fine Time

19 -Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin

20 -Neneh Cherry - Manchild

Edited December 31, 201212 yr by AnthonyT

Tony, you missed off Sonia. That can't be right?

Oh well (1989 pun intended)

I'd have to include Transvision Vamp in there, hated it at the time but really rather like it now. I was going to also suggest including Kon Kan but I've just spotted it is indeed there, great choice!

 

ALTHOUGH, your double cd is missing Getting Away With It! :o