Apparently Driving Home For Christmas came out in 1986, but I totally missed that at the time! 88 was when I noticed it first, and it's been one that's grown in stature with time. Just brilliant, and it's back again this xmas too... :)

 

 

Chris Rea never wanted it released as a single as he thought it was more an album track.

Looking at your top 20 'Rhythm Is Gonna Get You' is my favourite, its a great 80s freestyle dance song. I thought it charted in summer 1987 though?

Edited December 18, 20204 yr by Road Salt Mixer

great debut for Buffalo Stance, was a big fan of Neneh Cherry, so talented

I saw her live in the mid 90s, one of my first concerts ever

 

was also a fan of Eagle Eye Cherry, love that Save Tonight song

but funnily I kinda hate Mabel :D

Looking at your top 20 'Rhythm Is Gonna Get You' is my favourite, its a great 80s freestyle dance song. I thought it charted in summer 1987 though?

 

I think it depends on where you live - the UK took a lot of convincing to buy Gloria/Miami SM tracks and some of them needed a second go round to make the chart. I used to get quite peeved that obviously great singles were UK flops, and then in 1988 she finally broke through proper :cheer:

great debut for Buffalo Stance, was a big fan of Neneh Cherry, so talented

I saw her live in the mid 90s, one of my first concerts ever

 

was also a fan of Eagle Eye Cherry, love that Save Tonight song

but funnily I kinda hate Mabel :D

 

I'd liked to have seen Neneh. Mabel I took a bit of convincing but she's had 3 or 4 great singles this year :D

Hi Steve, didnt know that bit about the Four Tops! I went to see the original line-up in concert around March 1989, still fab they were.

 

Apparently Driving Home For Christmas came out in 1986, but I totally missed that at the time! 88 was when I noticed it first, and it's been one that's grown in stature with time. Just brilliant, and it's back again this xmas too... :)

 

Yeh that must have been the Christmas show then the 4/1/89 was the first with the new set and intro!

Looking at your top 20 'Rhythm Is Gonna Get You' is my favourite, its a great 80s freestyle dance song. I thought it charted in summer 1987 though?

 

 

I was a big Gloria Estefan fan at the time. Two huge selling albums, Anything For You and Cuts Both Ways.

Did the Boney M remix get a lot of airplay in 88?

I never understood/shared the love for Gloria Estefan, I'm originally from Spain so no language barrier

There's something too cheesy about her music although I like her as a person

She got 3 US #1s I think

Yeh she’s lovely looking, can’t say I’m a massive fan but she has made some great pop cheese but nothing consistent!

great debut for Buffalo Stance, was a big fan of Neneh Cherry, so talented

I saw her live in the mid 90s, one of my first concerts ever

 

Buffalo Stance I only discovered quite recently and didn't like it that much on first listen but after a few listens I thought it was great, it really is one of those 'you can tell the 90s are nearly here' tracks in the late 80s along with tracks like Inner City - Good Life.

Yeh I mentioned that a lot in TOTP 1988-89

Yeh I mentioned that a lot in TOTP 1988-89

 

I remember you mentioning that yes, there is also Sydney Youngblood - if Only I Could which was a hit in 1989 which sounds very 90s and not very 80s in my opinion.

Yeh absolutely it’s a huge hit in the current TOTP episodes I’m watching. Always think back to ‘Temptation’ by Heaven 17 a lot earlier in the decade!

Did the Boney M remix get a lot of airplay in 88?

 

I don;t recall it getting pushed a lot, but the original version would have been played over the Xmas period quite a bit - and they may have had a knock-on effect on sales.

I never understood/shared the love for Gloria Estefan, I'm originally from Spain so no language barrier

There's something too cheesy about her music although I like her as a person

She got 3 US #1s I think

 

It was the ballads that did it - certainly for me it was all about the ballads. She's great, emotes tastefully vocally, and it was fab to see Latin music get success in the UK - see Pet Shop Boys Domino Dancing for the more cutting edge dance side of stuff/Expose etc, where Miami Sound Machine were more traditional Cuban-heritage-based, I think. I never liked the dance stuff anywhere near as much, Dr Beat excepted :)

So, this is it, Xmas 1988, and the end of the late 80's - My 1989 charts are already done and can be seen....

 

here

 

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=162229

 

Just 1980 to finish off, 1981 and 1982 to do, and 1983 to re-do as a weekly, and an actual complete decade is done :cheer: :lol:

 

25th December 1988

 

It's John & Yoko back on top - Image and Jealous Guy are really just along for the ride on the CD, though Imagine topped my chart in 1980, hit 2 in 1975, and Jealous Guy topped for Roxy Music in 1981. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) was the first Xmas record I ever bought, in December 1972, and hit my number one for Xmas. And in 1976. 1980. 1982. So a 5th time on top, and a 7th year in the top 10. Boney M, meanwhile, almost match their 1978 peak of 2. Phil Collins rounds of a good year with another top 10, Two Hearts, and Kylie & Jason make a late spurt for the top (or not) at 7. Not. They peak at 2.

 

The Escape Club's fab Wild Wild West goes top 10, too, Buffalo Stance top 20 on the way to a top 10, and Chris Rea makes my top 20 for the first time, and def not the last - the track has charted more times than any other Xmas record I think, and over 5 consecutive decades. Highest new entry at 22 is the late Roy Orbison and his new lead track off his comeback album, Jeff Lynne's terrific gift to him, You Got It. Had I been charting in 1964, Pretty Woman would have been the first chart-topper giving Roy 24 years of number ones - You Got it will hit the top in January.

 

Fine Young Cannibals return with a revamp, She Drives Me Crazy kick-starting a golden year, in at 40, as Yello are Tied Up at 43. In the real world I went to see Boy George in concert. Sadly Mr. Dowd had gone all hippy-trippy, and seemed to be going through a trial run for Jesus Loves You with extended jamming versions of tracks that gave a new meaning to the phrase "self-indulgent". He paid no attention to finishing times, and in the end people started leaving to catch the bus home or just out of sheer boredom. I persevered, figuring eventually he'd have to do a short sharp Greatest Hits section for an encore. And on he plodded with his band, boring the shit out of everyone even further. In the end I couldn't take it anymore. The only "moment" had been a restrained version of Victims, and a cover of T.Rex's Life's A Gas. So I also left. When Culture Club reformed in 1998, I did go to see them, as it was a hits tour as well as to promote the new stuff over Christmas, and it was much better. George got hit by something from the audience at one point, and a hanging big ol glitterball hanging above fell on his head at another point. I did wonder if there were other people in the audience and backstage crew who'd decided to take revenge for the 1988 gig.....! :o

 

 

1 ( 2 ) IMAGINE/ JEALOUS GUY/ HAPPY CHRISTMAS (WAR IS OVER) John Lennon / John & Yoko

2 ( 1 ) KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE Freiheit

3 ( 9 ) MARY'S BOY CHILD '88 Boney M

4 ( 3 ) DOWNTOWN '88 Petula Clark

5 ( 5 ) FOUR LETTER WORD Kim Wilde

6 ( 13 ) TWO HEARTS Phil Collins

7 ( 17 ) ESPECIALLY FOR YOU Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan

8 ( 7 ) LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES Pet Shop Boys

9 ( 16 ) WILD WILD WEST The Escape Club

10 ( 6 ) THE AIR THAT I BREATHE The Hollies

 

11 ( 4 ) NOTHING LESS THAN BRILLIANT Sandie Shaw

12 ( 8 ) TRUE LOVE WAYS Buddy Holly

13 ( 11 ) PHIL SPECTOR'S CHRISTMAS MIX The Ronettes, The Crystals and Darlene Love

14 ( 14 ) AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW Fleetwood Mac

15 ( 28 ) BUFFALO STANCE Neneh Cherry

16 ( 18 ) RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine

17 ( 12 ) AIN'T NO SUNSHINE '88 Bill Withers

18 ( 41 ) DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Chris Rea

19 ( 29 ) BURNING BRIDGES (ON AND OFF AND ON AGAIN) Status Quo

20 ( 10 ) HEART OF STONE Bucks Fizz

 

21 ( 15 ) SMOOTH CRIMINAL Michael Jackson

22 ( NEW ) YOU GOT IT Roy Orbison

23 ( 37 ) YOU ARE THE ONE a-ha

24 ( 26 ) GOOD LIFE Inner City

25 ( 34 ) STOP Erasure

26 ( 19 ) PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART Annie Lennox/ Al Green

27 ( 23 ) LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS Human League

28 ( 22 ) I WISH U HEAVEN Prince

29 ( 33 ) TAMA Mory Kante

30 ( 40 ) LOCO IN ACAPULCO The Four Tops

 

31 ( 25 ) CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS Bros

32 ( 21 ) KISSING A FOOL George Michael

33 ( 38 ) ANGEL OF HARLEM U2

34 ( 31 ) KOKOMO The Beach Boys

35 ( 30 ) LOVE HANGOVER '88 Diana Ross

36 ( 32 ) HEY JUDE The Beatles

37 ( 27 ) SAY A LITTLE PRAYER Bomb The Bass featuring Maureen

38 ( 20 ) MISTLETOE AND WINE Cliff Richard

39 ( RE ) DOWNTOWN One 2 Many

40 ( NEW ) SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY Fine Young Cannibals

 

41 ( 24 ) WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl

42 ( 39 ) REAL GONE KID Deacon Blue

43 ( NEW ) TIED UP Yello

44 ( 43 ) HE AIN'T HEAVY...HE'S MY BROTHER The Hollies

45 ( 52 ) FINE TIME New Order

46 ( 35 ) ORINOCO FLOW Enya

47 ( 47 ) LITTLE LIES Fleetwood Mac

48 ( 45 ) DOMINO DANCING Pet Shop Boys

49 ( 48 ) SUGAR SUGAR (CANDYFLOSS MIX)/(ORIGINAL VERSION) The Archies

50 ( 50 ) DECEMBER '63 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) '88 The Four Seasons

 

51 ( 42 ) WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND (PURE ENERGY) Information Society

52 ( 36 ) NATHAN JONES Bananarama

53 ( 60 ) TAKE ME TO YOUR HEART Rick Astley

54 ( 53 ) YOU CAME Kim Wilde

55 ( 44 ) JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI Kylie Minogue

56 ( 58 ) INTUITION '88 David Grant

57 ( 56 ) WHAT HAVE I DONE (TO DESERVE THIS) Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

58 ( 46 ) NEED YOU TONIGHT (MENDOHLSON MIX) INXS

59 ( 54 ) LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX) Bill Withers

60 ( 69 ) BORN TO BE MY BABY Bon Jovi

 

61 ( 61 ) HELLO GOODBYE The Beatles

62 ( 49 ) TWIST IN MY SOBRIETY Tanita Tikarim

63 ( 55 ) ONE BAD APPLE The Osmonds

64 ( 63 ) YOU WIN AGAIN The Bee Gees

65 ( 57 ) LET'S STICK TOGETHER '88 Bryan Ferry

66 ( 64 ) HEART Pet Shop Boys

67 ( 70 ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR BODY Bobby McFerrin

68 ( 62 ) THE CHRISTMAS SONG Alexander O'Neal

69 ( 65 ) MONKEY (REMIX) George Michael

70 ( NEW ) JOHN KETTLEY IS A WEATHERMAN Tribe Of Toffs

 

71 ( 71 ) MINNIE THE MOOCHER Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra

72 ( RE ) I LIVE FOR YOUR LOVE Natalie Cole

73 ( 59 ) HANDLE WITH CARE Traveling Wilbury's

74 ( 75 ) TRUE LOVE Shakin' Stevens

75 ( 74 ) MAN IN THE MIRROR MIchael Jackson

 

Playlist faves of that week

1 THE HARDER I TRY Brother Beyond

2 VICTIMS (LIVE AT POOLE ARTS CENTRE) Boy George

3 LIFE’S A GAS (LIVE AT POOLE ARTS CENTRE) Boy George

Phil Collins Two Hearts is very poppy for him but it is a good upbeat song all the same. Reminds me a bit of SAW/Rick Astley in terms of reinterpreting old school pop and soul music styles for the current time but perhaps not as cheesy and with less electronics in the production.

Hi there John!

 

Nice to see John Lennon get to #1 again, as well as seeing "Two Hearts" and "Wild, Wild West" reaching the top 10 at the end of the 1988 chart!

 

From your big gains I like "Buffalo Stance" and "Driving Home For Christmas" and from your debuts I like "You Got It" and "She Drives Me Crazy"!

 

I recently finished ending my 1980s charts too and I'll start with 1981 soon, maybe even with 1982.

 

Great chart overall!

Phil Collins Two Hearts is very poppy for him but it is a good upbeat song all the same. Reminds me a bit of SAW/Rick Astley in terms of reinterpreting old school pop and soul music styles for the current time but perhaps not as cheesy and with less electronics in the production.

 

Yes it's a goodie :) I think it was aiming for a Motown vibe with 80's production values (which is basically what SAW were doing). I wouldnt be at all surprised if he'd written it with the Four Tops in mind, and instead gave them Loco In Acapulco :)