Never much of a T'Pau fan and actually think China In Your Hand is very overrated.

Never much of a T'Pau fan and actually think China In Your Hand is very overrated.

 

Hi Chris :) I think they started out fab, had an anthem monster which they were never going to follow-up anywhere near as popular and so just fizzled out gradually with mostly ballads when they could have done more in the way of Heart And Soul pop stormers. China In Your Hand was prob their bit of pop history but also their curse .... (It won't top my charts, oops! :D )

 

 

they always tried upbeat numbers, the lead singles from albums 2 and 3 were all upbeat (Secret garden and Whenever you need me)

it's. pity they never realised the title track from their debut as single, Bridge of spies, thats was a grat song too

they always tried upbeat numbers, the lead singles from albums 2 and 3 were all upbeat (Secret garden and Whenever you need me)

it's. pity they never realised the title track from their debut as single, Bridge of spies, thats was a grat song too

 

Never heard Bridge Of Spies before, but it seems quite pleasant, just played it :)

China In Your Hand is a classic 80s moment for me - the ultimate power ballad. Loved the totp performances as well, reminded of the build up to Xmas 87. The group seemed to enjoy being no1 with it due to the fact they were looked at as an old fashioned band compared to pet shop boys and the like.

 

Did 'Dude Look Like A Lady' get much airplay? Aerosmith were credited on Walk This Way in 1986 weren't they?

 

Seen in their chart history 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing' only peaked at 4 for them too which is surprising thought it was a huge no1. They did go against the chart grain in 1998 thoigh by entering at 12 and rising to No4!

China In Your Hand is a classic 80s moment for me - the ultimate power ballad. Loved the totp performances as well, reminded of the build up to Xmas 87. The group seemed to enjoy being no1 with it due to the fact they were looked at as an old fashioned band compared to pet shop boys and the like.

 

Did 'Dude Look Like A Lady' get much airplay? Aerosmith were credited on Walk This Way in 1986 weren't they?

 

Seen in their chart history 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing' only peaked at 4 for them too which is surprising thought it was a huge no1. They did go against the chart grain in 1998 thoigh by entering at 12 and rising to No4!

 

Hi Steve :)

 

Carol always looks like she's having a ball, even these days, I think she just enjoys the live performance :)

 

Dude got some airplay first time round but it wasn't a big record as such, the reissue got more. Aerosmith got no credit on Walk This Way at all - though they got a huge amount of publicity around the video and it broke them in the UK after ten years of doing nothing at all. I was aware of them in the 70's, but rarely got to hear them - UK radio avoided them like the plague, bar Paul Gambaccini's US countdown. The mega-ballad that is the movie theme was a slow burner that hung around, unusual in the those days, so it seemed bigger than it was, but it kept on selling and selling into the 21st century till it hit a million! It must be one of the lowest-charting actual million sellers (as opposed to streaming tracks that get pushed on playlists for lazy people to use as background music while they pick their nose) :lol:

China in your Hand might be your typical ballad but it's not like all the other super melodramatic ballads about heartbreaks and you know don't leave me llama

the lyrics are kinda bizarre and the song is about Mary Shelley and her writing of Frankenstein

so in that sense it's kinda unique

China in your Hand might be your typical ballad but it's not like all the other super melodramatic ballads about heartbreaks and you know don't leave me llama

the lyrics are kinda bizarre and the song is about Mary Shelley and her writing of Frankenstein

so in that sense it's kinda unique

 

I don't think I knew about the Mary Shelley link!

1st November 1987

 

It's a 3rd week on top for Fleetwood Mac's Little Lies, and The Christians manage to break up the top 5 a bit, no finger-pointing but it's their second top 5. Sly & The Family Stone reach a new peak for Family Affair 15 years on, but Runnin' Away originally peaked at 2. The Nana's make it 2 top 10's in a SAW row, and George Michael gets his first solo top 10 since A Different Corner and his 3rd in total. Cliff makes it 3 top 20's in a row as Remember Me shoots up to 14. Ironically, I remember it much less well than the first 2 singles, though the album they came from was probably his best one since I'm Nearly Famous.

 

There's a rock top 20 invasion from Aerosmith, Whitesnake, a 60's vet as George Harrison gets his first in a few years, Donna Summer ditto, and Bryan Ferry still manages to keep the 20's going with the right stuff 15 years on from Virginia Plain - the last time he made my chart was with an actual '20's styled cover of Love Is The Drug. T'Pau replace themselves in my 40, and highest new entry is from The Party Boys. It's Alan Lancaster ex-Quo and some Aussie mates, and their stomping cover of the brilliant tribal John Kongos 1971 hit. Either version is better than the spaced-out Happy Mondays most-famous version Step On, which is limp in comparison.

 

Future Olympic themed-reissued hit Barcelona pops in for Freddie Mercury doing a double diva operatic effort, Cher rocks it up and is most-welcome-returnee after a bit of a drought music-wise (not that she was bovvered what with the acting career and all), as she finds someone, and Bryan Adams, Dream Academy, Rick Astley, and Wax all follow-up in minor ways. Nina Simone brings a jazz oldie into the charts, her first appearance since 1969 in my charts, missed out the 70's entirely! Cybill "Moonlighting" Shepherd covers 1934 classic ballad Blue Moon, following co-star Bruce Willis into my chart, and much-covered over the decades - but this was the first version to chart.

 

Rush are back after a lengthy gap, Earth, Wind & Fire go all late 80's in sound and it doesn't quite work as well as the 70's disco funk-outs, and I am clearly playing my USA holiday albums again as my playlist lists The Way You Make Me Feel for the first time, possibly aware it's the next single, and brings back One More Chance for the Pet Shop Boys, and Another Part Of Me for MJ for the 5th time - yet it wouldn't be a single for knocking-on 2 years!

 

 

 

1 ( 1 ) LITTLE LIES Fleetwood Mac

2 ( 2 ) YOU WIN AGAIN The Bee Gees

3 ( 3 ) BAD Michael Jackson

4 ( 5 ) RENT Pet Shop Boys

5 ( 7 ) WHEN THE FINGERS POINT The Christians

6 ( 13 ) FAMILY AFFAIR/RUNNIN’ AWAY Sly & The Family Stone

7 ( 4 ) PUMP UP THE VOLUME M/A/R/R/S

8 ( 15 ) LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE Bananarama

9 ( 9 ) MONY MONY (US SINGLE VERSION/LIVE VERSION) Billy Idol

10 ( 12 ) FAITH George Michael

 

11 ( 8 ) CROCKETT’S THEME Jan Hammer

12 ( 6 ) HOLIDAY The Other Ones

13 ( 11 ) WHAT HAVE I DONE (TO DESERVE THIS) Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

14 ( 48 ) REMEMBER ME Cliff Richard

15 ( 23 ) DINNER WITH GERSHWIN Donna Summer

16 ( 27 ) THE RIGHT STUFF Bryan Ferry

17 ( 53 ) HERE I GO AGAIN Whitesnake

18 ( 26 ) DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY) Aerosmith

19 ( 22 ) MAYBE TOMORROW UB40

20 ( 39 ) GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU George Harrison

 

21 ( 20 ) BEETHOVEN (I LOVE TO LISTEN TO) Eurythmics

22 ( 17 ) SUGAR SUGAR (CANDYFLOSS MIX)/(ORIGINAL VERSION) The Archies

23 ( 19 ) CARS (E REG MODEL)/ ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

24 ( 33 ) SILVERMAC Westworld

25 ( 10 ) COME SEE ABOUT ME Shakin’ Stevens

26 ( 34 ) THE CIRCUS Erasure

27 ( 30 ) NEED YOU TONIGHT INXS

28 ( 16 ) THIS CORROSION Sisters Of Mercy

29 ( 21 ) THE NIGHT YOU MURDERED LOVE ABC

30 ( 18 ) I NEED LOVE LL Cool J

 

31 ( 31 ) LOST IN EMOTION Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

32 ( 24 ) THE REAL THING Jellybean featuring Stephen Dante

33 ( 14 ) MY BAG Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

34 ( 43 ) CHINA IN YOUR HAND T’Pau

35 ( NEW ) HE’S GONNA STEP ON YOU AGAIN The Party Boys

36 ( 29 ) LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING Climie Fisher

37 ( 25 ) JUST LIKE HEAVEN The Cure

38 ( 46 ) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE The Communards

39 ( 28 ) I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW Tiffany

40 ( 50 ) NO MEMORY Scarlet Fantastic

 

41 ( 35 ) HEART AND SOUL T’Pau

42 ( 38 ) LOVE POWER Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osbourne

43 ( 63 ) WANTED The Style Council

44 ( 41 ) I HEARD A RUMOUR Bananarama

45 ( 52 ) DANCE LITTLE SISTER Terence Trent D’Arby

46 ( 32 ) MONY MONY Amazulu

47 ( 37 ) ONLY IN MY DREAMS Debbie Gibson

48 ( 36 ) WALK THE DINOSAUR Was (Not Was)

49 ( 45 ) SKELETONS Stevie Wonder

50 ( 72 ) NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE Labi Siffre

 

51 ( 47 ) I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garrett

52 ( 61 ) (I’VE HAD THE) TIME OF MY LIFE Jennifer Warnes & Bill Medley

53 ( 68 ) WHEN SMOKEY SINGS ABC

54 ( 67 ) I DON’T THINK THAT MAN SHOULD SLEEP ALONE Ray Parker Jr

55 ( NEW ) BARCELONA Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe

56 ( 44 ) SOME PEOPLE Cliff Richard

57 ( 40 ) BETCHA SAY THAT Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine

58 ( NEW ) I FOUND SOMEONE Cher

59 ( 54 ) PAPER IN FIRE John Cougar Mellencamp

60 ( 51 ) SOMETHING IN YOUR EYES Dusty Springfield & Richard Carpenter

 

61 ( 59 ) IT’S A SIN Pet Shop Boys

62 ( 70 ) SO THE STORY GOES Living In A Box

63 ( NEW ) VICTIM OF LOVE Bryan Adams

64 ( 64 ) ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE The Beatles

65 ( 62 ) NEVER LET ME DOWN David Bowie

66 ( 66 ) HUMAN Human League

67 ( NEW ) INDIAN SUMMER Dream Academy

68 ( NEW ) BLUE MOON Cybill Shepherd

69 ( 75 ) SHO YOU RIGHT Barry White

70 ( NEW ) WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY Rick Astley

 

71 ( NEW ) TIME STAND STILL Rush

72 ( 65 ) U GOT THE LOOK Prince featuring Sheena Easton

73 ( NEW ) MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME Nina Simone

74 ( NEW ) AMERICAN ENGLISH Wax

75 ( NEW ) SYSTEM OF SURVIVAL Earth, Wind & Fire

76 ( RE ) ANOTHER PART OF ME Michael Jackson

77 ( RE ) ONE MORE CHANCE Pet Shop Boys

78 ( NEW ) THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL Michael Jackson

great for Bananarama

really liked the Cher track out of all the newies

and thew new Rick Astley was a decent followup

great for Bananarama

really liked the Cher track out of all the newies

and thew new Rick Astley was a decent followup

 

Thanks Bjork, you'll like the Nana's new position even more :D Sadly I got into Cher a bit early, heard it once and then that was it for a while, I think, but she'll be back after a short run, like most of the Jacko and Pet Shop Boys album tracks...

8th November 1987

 

It's back on top for The Bee Gees, winning again for the 3rd week in total spread out over 6 weeks as George Harrison gets his first top 5 in 6 years, since All Those Years Ago topped my chart - that was in effect a Beatles record, it had Paul & Ringo on it and it was about John. Bananarama make it 2 top 5's in a row, Whitesnake get a first (and last) top 10, and Donna Summer adds to her total of top 10's which started in 1977.

 

Tiffany leaps up and overtakes the other Tommy James cover, as loads of US hits that had charted for me in September start to hit in the UK or get airplay and re-enter, Cutting Crew at 27, Expose at 30, Jellybean at 20 reaching a new peak, leaving the highest actual new track from Heartbeat entitled Tears From Heaven - I had to youtube this one as it's been utterly lost from my memory banks, and it was even a hit!

 

At 37, the brilliant Jam & Lewis track for Alexander O'Neal, worthy of no Criticism whatsoever, and Aztec Camera get another sweet ballad in at 49. Eric B & Rakim debut with the unusual and fab Paid In Full, heavy on sampling and a sign of hip-hop things to come, Voice Of The Beehive start a great little run of singles, of which I shall Say Nothing yet. Double get that follow-up entry and it's pretty good, The Smiths sneak in with something they couldn't finish, and isn't that just so Morrissey?! Maxi Priest also starts a good run with the 3rd cover (reggae this time) of Some Guys Have All The Luck, all very different, and all in a 5-year period.

 

The La's debut 2 years before their classic is released, and The Proclaimers debut with their best track (excepting the gorgeous Sunshine On Leith) the storming Letter From America, Glen Goldsmith pops in tears-free, and Pet Shop Boys enter with the top album track of the week Heart - future remixed single in 1988, but I'd somehow not spotted it's potential up to this point. It would, had I allowed album tracks higher than 76, in all likelihood have been topping the chart this week - which Rent singularly had failed to do for the first time since Love Comes Quickly also didn't get on top.

 

1 ( 2 ) YOU WIN AGAIN The Bee Gees

2 ( 1 ) LITTLE LIES Fleetwood Mac

3 ( 3 ) BAD Michael Jackson

4 ( 8 ) LOVE IN THE FIRST DEGREE Bananarama

5 ( 20 ) GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU George Harrison

6 ( 4 ) RENT Pet Shop Boys

7 ( 10 ) FAITH George Michael

8 ( 17 ) HERE I GO AGAIN Whitesnake

9 ( 7 ) PUMP UP THE VOLUME M/A/R/R/S

10 ( 15 ) DINNER WITH GERSHWIN Donna Summer

 

11 ( 5 ) WHEN THE FINGERS POINT The Christians

12 ( 14 ) REMEMBER ME Cliff Richard

13 ( 6 ) FAMILY AFFAIR/RUNNIN’ AWAY Sly & The Family Stone

14 ( 13 ) WHAT HAVE I DONE (TO DESERVE THIS) Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

15 ( 39 ) I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW Tiffany

16 ( 11 ) CROCKETT’S THEME Jan Hammer

17 ( 27 ) NEED YOU TONIGHT INXS

18 ( 9 ) MONY MONY (US SINGLE VERSION/LIVE VERSION) Billy Idol

19 ( 12 ) HOLIDAY The Other Ones

20 ( RE ) WHO FOUND WHO Jellybean featuring Lisa Fiorillo

 

21 ( 38 ) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE The Communards

22 ( 50 ) NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE Labi Siffre

23 ( 22 ) SUGAR SUGAR (CANDYFLOSS MIX)/(ORIGINAL VERSION) The Archies

24 ( 34 ) CHINA IN YOUR HAND T’Pau

25 ( NEW ) TEARS FROM HEAVEN Heartbeat

26 ( 23 ) CARS (E REG MODEL)/ ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

27 ( RE ) I’VE BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE Cutting Crew

28 ( 16 ) THE RIGHT STUFF Bryan Ferry

29 ( 35 ) HE’S GONNA STEP ON YOU AGAIN The Party Boys

30 ( RE ) LET ME BE THE ONE Expose

 

31 ( 25 ) COME SEE ABOUT ME Shakin’ Stevens

32 ( 47 ) ONLY IN MY DREAMS Debbie Gibson

33 ( 33 ) MY BAG Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

34 ( 43 ) WANTED The Style Council

35 ( 18 ) DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY) Aerosmith

36 ( 36 ) LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING Climie Fisher

37 ( NEW ) CRITICIZE Alexander O’Neal

38 ( 29 ) THE NIGHT YOU MURDERED LOVE ABC

39 ( 31 ) LOST IN EMOTION Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

40 ( 71 ) TIME STAND STILL Rush

 

41 ( 24 ) SILVERMAC Westworld

42 ( 28 ) THIS CORROSION Sisters Of Mercy

43 ( 19 ) MAYBE TOMORROW UB40

44 ( 40 ) NO MEMORY Scarlet Fantastic

45 ( 52 ) (I’VE HAD THE) TIME OF MY LIFE Jennifer Warnes & Bill Medley

46 ( 30 ) I NEED LOVE LL Cool J

47 ( 54 ) I DON’T THINK THAT MAN SHOULD SLEEP ALONE Ray Parker Jr

48 ( 26 ) THE CIRCUS Erasure

49 ( NEW ) DEEP AND WIDE AND TALL Aztec Camera

50 ( 69 ) SHO YOU RIGHT Barry White

 

51 ( 53 ) WHEN SMOKEY SINGS ABC

52 ( 21 ) BEETHOVEN (I LOVE TO LISTEN TO) Eurythmics

53 ( 44 ) I HEARD A RUMOUR Bananarama

54 ( 42 ) LOVE POWER Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osbourne

55 ( 51 ) I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garrett

56 ( 41 ) HEART AND SOUL T’Pau

57 ( 70 ) WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY Rick Astley

58 ( 67 ) INDIAN SUMMER Dream Academy

59 ( 32 ) THE REAL THING Jellybean featuring Stephen Dante

60 ( NEW ) PAID IN FULL Eric B & Rakim

 

61 ( 55 ) BARCELONA Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe

62 ( 58 ) I FOUND SOMEONE Cher

63 ( NEW ) I SAY NOTHING Voice Of The Beehive

64 ( 73 ) MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME Nina Simone

65 ( 64 ) ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE The Beatles

66 ( 61 ) IT’S A SIN Pet Shop Boys

67 ( 66 ) HUMAN Human League

68 ( NEW ) DEVIL’S BALL Double

69 ( NEW ) I STARTED SOMETHING I COULDN’T FINISH The Smiths

70 ( 59 ) PAPER IN FIRE John Cougar Mellencamp

 

71 ( NEW ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Maxi Priest

72 ( 65 ) NEVER LET ME DOWN David Bowie

73 ( NEW ) WAY OUT The La’s

74 ( NEW ) LETTER FROM AMERICA The Proclaimers

75 ( NEW ) I WON’T CRY Glen Goldsmith

76 ( NEW ) HEART Pet Shop Boys

 

 

Playlist oldies and album tracks of that week

1 HEART Pet Shop Boys

2 HE’S GONNA STEP ON YOU AGAIN John Kongos

3 UNION SILVER Middle Of The Road

Rent is great Pet Shop Boys single, kind of disappointed it was the one to break the string of number ones for you.

 

Rent is great Pet Shop Boys single, kind of disappointed it was the one to break the string of number ones for you.

 

Yes it's fab and me too, it was a perfect song for Liza Minelli, the version they did with her was all showtune - but there were more commercial singles on both albums I felt should have been singles early on. Not that Neil & Chris have ever worried about releasing commercial singles, they go for what they believe in :) I think it was unlucky to come up against the might of The Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac both hitting their 80's peak for me - which is why they keep yo-yoing on top, I couldnt make up my mind which I loved more, ordinarily both would have had a clear 6 or 7 week run on top. The one I love most in the top end these days is Little Lies...

Great Bee Gees song and they certainly came back with a bang and a UK No.1 too. Love the Harrison track too.

 

Tiffany's song, a Troggs remake, will be a UK No.1 single and deservedly so. A good 'un.

lots of great climbers and newies

Love in the First Degree is easily the Nanas best, great it's top 5... also loved Whitesnake back in 97, Is This Los and Here I Go Again were 2 great singles in a row...

about Rent, it was the best track from Actually but was more subtle so easy to see why it charted lower everywhere than It's a sin or What Have I Done

 

I loved Voice of the Beehive, they released so many amazing singles... I Walk the Earth and I Say Nothing were my favourites, both incredible

I didn’t even notice the Beehive way down there! I Say Nothing is one of my favourite 80s pop songs, hope it climbs!

Love in the First Degree is easily the Nanas best, great it's top 5...

 

 

Yes agree that it's Bananarama's best.

did you chart All About Eve - In the Clouds?

was one of my favs from that time of the year in 87

 

Great Bee Gees song and they certainly came back with a bang and a UK No.1 too. Love the Harrison track too.

 

Tiffany's song, a Troggs remake, will be a UK No.1 single and deservedly so. A good 'un.

 

Hi Chris, glad you loving the 60's vets and songs too - that's like loving 90's acts these days :D