15TH AUGUST

 

 

Though it was out in front from the off Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett’s lead was never commanding and indeed shortened toward the weekend with “La Bamba” get the usual No 1 boost from TOTP and in the end only triumphed by 5,000 copies. A victory is however a victory and this week Jackson can celebrate his third No 1 single and the perfect start to his “Bad” campaign, of course proof that you can still make No 1 without a promo vid or TOTP in fact, it sold 63,631 copies last week to Los Lobos’ 58,854. Further trouble could be brewing for Jackson in the form of Spagna who flies 8-3 (47,906) in her bid to become the first Italian to top the UK singles chart, the only Italian to chart higher is Ennio Morricone who made No 2 in 1981. New Order also advance 7-4 (41,242) but are too far off the pace to worry Jackson.

 

 

 

Already a major rock act in the US after their last album “Pyromania” sold in its millions and made No 2 there whilst being roundly ignored by the UK, Def Leppard finally have something to show for their efforts in their own country. Leppard started out in Sheffield in the late 70s but didn’t enamour themselves to the UK public by choosing a more American feel to their music when British Rock music was sounding very British indeed (Iron Maiden, Gillan, Motorhead) which led to a rather hostile performance at Reading 80 which resulted in them being pelted by bottles. Now that the charts are much more accepting of US Rock Def Leppard find themselves with a hit on their hands in “Animal” and should improve albums wise when “Hysteria”, their fourth album, is out in a fortnight and will seek to top the No 18 peak of “Pyromania”. The single moves 16-9 (25,959) to become a top 10 single, the first time they’ve ever been in the top 40.

 

 

 

After hitting the heights of No 2 with last year’s “So Macho/ Cruising” Sinitta’s chart career had faltered with follow up “Feels Like The First Time” bottoming out at No 45, but like Bananarama, Dead Or Alive, and Sam Fox, she’s turned to hot producers Stock Aitken & Waterman to put her back on track and they pulled it out of the bag with “Toy Boy” which now rockets 22-10 (24,956) in part thanks to a memorable TOTP performance.

 

 

Heart rock out at No 5 (33,643) while Hue & Cry are static at No 6 (30,124) and there are more fallers, Atlantic Starr 4-7 (27,540) and Madonna 2-8 (26,554) as she climbs to No 2 in the US.

 

 

1- I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU- Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett (63,631)

2- LA BAMBA- Los Lobos (58,854)

3- CALL ME- Spagna (47,906)

4- TRUE FAITH- New Order (41,242)

5- ALONE- Heart (33,643)

6- LABOUR OF LOVE- Hue & Cry (30,124)

7- ALWAYS- Atlantic Starr (27,540)

8- WHO’S THAT GIRL- Madonna (26,554)

9- ANIMAL- Def Leppard (25,959)

10-TOY BOY- Sinitta (24,956)

 

Toy Boy is even cheesier than the classic Stock Aitken Waterman sound but yes with that and, a few weeks back, Sam Fox's Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now, the classic SAW sound has arrived, love it or hate it.

 

'Animal' is quite a good rock track.

Toy Boy is such a guilty pleasure :D never a big fan of Def Leppard even their rock ballads were not as good as Heart or Whitesnake

That’s less than I expected for MJ, especially for the lead single following the Thriller album

I think the no video thing affected seriously its sales, managed #1 but not with flying colours

also being a ballad and not an upbeat track ala Beat it/Billie Jean

'I Just Cant Stop Loving You' I remember as a child as one of the songs I listened to sped up with an audio program for a laugh, that was way before speeded up versions of songs became popular on TikTok!

 

Toy Boy is such a guilty pleasure :D never a big fan of Def Leppard even their rock ballads were not as good as Heart or Whitesnake

 

 

Love Bites

is brilliant I think way better than their other songs, will talk about it more when it comes.

Edited February 6, 20241 yr by TheSnake

I don’t want to spoiler… but… it won’t.

22ND AUGUST

 

 

Michael Jackson just can’t stop loving the top slot as he moved a further 66,215 to being his three week tally to 163,081 (129,846 whilst at No 1) which is less than impressive for a No 1 single whose sales are already peaking it seems. The obvious explanation is that the lack of a promo video is affecting the single, its total whilst at No 1 is the lowest tally for a miultiweek No 1 since Madonna sold 96,849 in her fortnight on top, odd that these rather low sales accompany two of the biggest stars of the 80s though both are easily explained, Jackson enters the top 10 in the US in the bottom position while Madonna sits at the top so no need to write either off just yet. With no promo going to be made the track is the first chart topper never to be played by TOTP (trivia fans) as on previous occasions when a promo/ artist not available the show used Go-Jo's/ Pan's People/ Legs & Co/ Ruby Flipper/Zoo but with these gone there isn't an option!

 

 

 

Jackson’s main opposition this week came from Spagna who rises 3-2 (47,821) despite posting a sales loss of roughly 100 copies and only just clung onto the No 2 position against Rick Astley who is the newest star in the charts. The Lancashire 21 yr old was spotted singing by Pete Waterman and asked to come to the Stock Aitken & Waterman studios to be the “tea boy” as Waterman has revealed but his voice was too good. First single “When You Gonna” with Lisa Carter failed to do any business but a further stab with “Never Gonna Give You Up” proves a triumph as it flies 14-3 (47,243) to become the 12th S/A/W production to make the top flight.

 

 

 

Yielding its first hit the hit single the animated film “An American Tail” is in cinema’s now and helping to promote the Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram duet “Somewhere Out There” from 11-8 (31,773). It is already the biggest hit by either act beating Ronstadt’s No 35 and Ingram’s No 11 best who must be thankful to Steven Spielberg who only wanted a few songs for the film but thought this one had hit potential, in the film itself the track is actually sung by Phillip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart and has already hit US No 2 back in March behind Bon Jovi.

 

 

 

Proving rather a hit with the teenage girls of the UK Wet Wet Wet continue their lucky streak with a second top 10 single in just a few months. The rather infectious “Sweet Little Mystery” lifts 12-9 (31,637) to illustrate that the Glasgow boys are no one hit wonder, with a promo filmed in Ghana to remind us just how awful this summer has been it brings a little sunshine into the top 10 and should help shift those albums when their debut set “Popped In Souled Out” gets its release next month. It's helped of course by the boys supporting Madonna on her world tour (UK leg) this week though they've also stumbled into a row with some who suggest that this sails too close to Van Morrison's "Sense Of Wonder".

 

 

 

If anything can stop the ascendancy of Rick Astley next week then it’s the record that debuts at No 10 this week. One of the more unusual collaborations of 1987 The Pet Shop Boys have managed to coax Dusty Springfield back into the studio to record a new song “What Have I Done To Deserve This”, it’s been 19 years since Springfield was last in the top 10 with “Son Of A Preacher Man” though rather shorter for PSB who were only at No 1 2 months ago for a second time with “It’s A Sin”. All of this is of course gearing up to the release of the boys second LP “Actually” next month, though they’ve chosen the same release week as the new Jackson album causing an interesting chart battle! At any rate the new single sold 29,002 to announce its arrival.

 

 

Stock Aitken & Waterman can claim production rights over two of the top 5 records of the week with Sinitta powering 10-4 (38,862) with her “Toy Boy” which pushes New Order down a slot to No 5 (38,624). Two animals are back to back next, Def Leppard are on the prowl 9-6 (34,391) with “Animal” whilst those wolves Los Lobos limp 2-7 (33,439).

 

 

1- I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU- Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett (66,215)

2- CALL ME- Spagna (47,821)

3- NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP- Rick Astley (47,243)

4- TOY BOY- Sinitta (38,862)

5- TRUE FAITH- New Order (38,624)

6- ANIMAL- Def Leppard (34,391)

7- LA BAMBA- Los Lobos (33,439)

8- SOMEWHERE OUT THERE- James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt (31,773)

9- SWEET LITTLE MYSTERY- Wet, wet, wet (31,637)

10- WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS- Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield (29,002)

 

PSBs and Dusty

 

Rick Astley is a good addition too, it’s a shame we turned the forum’s auto play off or I’d have been editing your post to Rick roll everyone!

True Faith is the best song of the decade.

'True Faith' and 'What Have I Done To Deserve This' in the same Top 10 :wub:

Sinitta and Spagna the only non classics in that top 10!

'Never Gonna Give You Up' is a cheesy track that we have to thank (the much cooler) Colonel Abrams - Trapped for as it apparently was influenced by it. 'Living In A Box' (also much cooler) also owed a lot to 'Trapped', same producer.

 

I much prefer Rick Astley's other songs to 'Never Gonna Give You Up' because of the overplaying and Rick Rolling over the years!

 

'Sweet Little Mystery' is a very nice song and obviously has become a classic but nowhere near as good or as cool as 'Wishing I Was Lucky'!

 

'What Have I Done To Deserve This' is another good PSB track.

Edited February 6, 20241 yr by TheSnake

What Have I Done To Deserve This :wub: my favourite PSB song!

 

Great new top 10 entries for Rick Astley and Wet Wet Wet.

What Have I Done to Deserve This? :wub: :wub:

 

I do like a bit of 'Never Gonna Give You Up' despite how overdone it is.

Oh 'True Faith' is easily my favourite addition to the top 10 since I last popped in :wub: (I actually do prefer 'Blue Monday' though but both are all-time greats)

what a top 10, the only song that's kinda meh is Somewhere Out There, always found it too AOR

 

Never Gonna Give You Up is SAW at their best when they were still good, and love to have Spagna and Sinitta in the top 5, bought both, they're classics in a way too

 

the 2nd Wet Wet Wet single was great too, much more poppy than their 1st

 

and of course the PSB & Dusty duet is just fantastic, I do prefer it much much more than It's a Sin

Oh I just realised that around the same time, Bananarama released their best song ever and also incidentally SAW best song ever aka I Heard a Rumour, and the song went top 20 but missed the top 10 peaking at #14 I think

 

That's one of the biggest chart tragedies of the 80s to be honest :o will never understand how this missed when less good material from SAW made the top 10, ie Samantha Fox a few weeks earlier :/

 

 

only redeeming factor is it was huge in he US, #4 I think

29TH AUGUST

 

 

A bit of a summer slump this week with only one new song entering the top 10 but right at the top there’s more than enough to satisfy chart fans with Rick Astley blitzing all opposition before him and romping home to an easy victory increasing sales by a whopping 68% to 78,574, almost double that posting by pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield who despite leaping 10-2 are left eating dust on just 50,694 copies. The connection is that the Boys revealed this week that their previous single "It's A Sin" was originally offered to S/A/W to produce but they declined as they weren't too keen on the track- ad decision the trio must regret.

 

 

Elsewhere in the top 5 Sinitta holds up well thanks to a reprise on TOTP at No 4 (46,801) which is more than can be said for either Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett (1-3, 47,940) and Spagna who falls (2-5, 43,146).

 

 

Number one in Australia for 7 weeks over December/ January and now finally here is Pseudo Echo’s version of Lipps Inc’s “Funky Town” which features in the film “Revenge of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise” a fact that helped in breaking the song in the US where it made No 6 in July. The group cite their influences as the New romantic movement and include Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, and they are, at least in the confines of 1987, proving more popular than either of those acts are. The track sold 26,146 last week.

 

 

Wet Wet Wet prove the only success story outside the other acts not mentioned already as they surge 9-6 (30,974) to equal the peak of their last single “Wishing I Was Lucky” otherwise tracks are falling, New Order demise 5-7 (26,384), Def Leppard slink 6-9 (25,364) and James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt are lost 8-10 (23,018). Two of those acts, Def Leppard and New Order, went head to head in the album charts with Leppard coming out trumps and entering at No 1 two places higher than New Order.

 

 

1- NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP- Rick Astley (78,574)

2- WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS- Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield (50,694)

3- I JUST CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU- Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett (47,940)

4- TOY BOY- Sinitta (46,801)

5- CALL ME- Spagna (43,146)

6- SWEET LITTLE MYSTERY- Wet, wet, wet (30,974)

7- TRUE FAITH- New Order (26,384)

8- FUNKY TOWN- Pseudo Echo (26,146)

9- ANIMAL- Def Leppard (25,364)

10- SOMEWHERE OUT THERE- James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt (23,018)

 

Another cover of an old song in the charts in 1987, this version of Funky Town is way better than the contemporary Lean On Me and Jive Talking covers.

 

I really like that version of Funky Town it reminds me of Incommunicado by Marillion from earlier in the year, as both tracks are lively synth rock which is great.