I think 'Never Trust A Stranger' is Kim Wilde's best, what an absolute belter!

 

'A Little Respect' is definitely Erasure's signature song, and one where everyone knows the words if I hear it out anywhere. There's a few songs of theirs I prefer over it but it's still total brilliance.

Never Trust A Stranger has a much less cheesy chorus than You Came, it also sounds more like 1984 Hi-NRG.

 

We Call It Acieed is good but this #23 peaking hit from around the same time is more reflective of the acid house bassline sound:

 

 

Also, not really acid house, but there was this piano house track that peaked at #22 that I really like! It's produced by Todd Terry under a different name.

 

Edited February 17Feb 17 by TheSnake

29TH OCTOBER

 

 

For just the second time in chart history (and the second time in 1988!) all the top 3 comprise of female solo acts, that doesn’t mean that Whitney gets a third week at No 1 however, she actually slides 1-3 (47,957) after putting up a brave defence to her crown and unusually for a chart topper actually lost her lead after this week’s TOTP being the only act who wasn’t live in the studio. Instead it falls to Enya whose “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” proves the favourite with the UK public as it sails past the opposition and docks 5-1 (58,510), she’s the second entirely Irish act to top the charts of 1988 after U2 a matter of weeks ago, prior to that you have to go back to 1986 and Chris De Burgh to have an Irish chart topper. On the albums chart her LP “Watermark” cruises 24-10, she’ll be hoping that she can replicate the album success of both U2 and De Burgh’s recent albums which have topped the charts in the last 3 weeks!

 

 

 

That just leaves the track which this week vaults 11-2 (54,264) and it comes from the woman of the year Kylie Minogue, “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” is a fourth cut from the singer’s debut album “Kylie” which has spent a month at No 1 already and is now well over the 800,000 and on track for the million before the end of 1988. The promo takes its cue from the famous picture “The Last Waltz on Bastille Day, 1945” by Robert Doisneau to give it a suitable Gallic flavour and comes with some critical acceptance for a change. Though not listed as such plans are that following in both Wham!’s and Rick Astley’s footsteps the single will be flipped and current B-Side “Made In Heaven” will be the main single when sales for this start to dwindle given that the latter track is a non album single. Seems to be doing just fine on its own at present but keep an eye on it- Kylie now has the best start to a career ever by a female vocalist with all four of her singles so far making the top 2 and only Gerry & The Pacemakers and Frankie Goes To Hollywood have ever had a brighter start in the charts.

 

 

 

Long time pop Svengali Frank Farian has a long history of being the puppet master behind pop groups, most notably Boney M and Far Corporation and now he’s the guy behind duo Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan who go by the name of Milli Vanilli and has produced “Girl You Know It’s True” for them. The song was originally recorded and released by Numarx whose members wrote the track but it bombed pretty much everywhere but in a sleeker package it hits the spot topping the German charts for 6 weeks this summer and now jumping 20-10 (23,409) here.

 

 

Despite increasing sales to 39,389 D-Mob fall 3-4 amid claims of glamorising drugs and Erasure similarly dip a spot 4-5 (34,136) again with a better week at retail. More fallers to report, Bobby McFerrin dives 2-6 (32,980) as he proves too marmite, Wee Papa Girl Rappers dip 6-7 (30,498), and Kim Wilde collapses 7-9 (26,571), only The Christians have a good week but still struggle 9-8 (28,985).

 

1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (58,310)

2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (54,264)

3- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (47,957)

4- WE CALL IT ACIEED- D Mob Featuring Gary Haisman (39,389)

5- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (34,136)

6- DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY- Bobby McFerrin (32,980)

7- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (30,498)

8- HARVEST FOR THE WORLD- The Christians (28,985)

9- NEVER TRUST A STRANGER- Kim Wilde (26,571)

10- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (23,409)

 

'Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi' is a little gem, I always thought the production on it was quite advanced and intricate for PWL of that time.

By far Kylies best on her debut album - classy production!

finally a good song from kylie ;) very eclectic top 2 and really loved both songs

 

never super super liked Milli Vanilli, but this is their best song probably

 

All of Me, Sabrina's follow up to Boys

being written by SAW and only peaking at #25!! :o

Je Ne Sais Pas... is a really good Kylie song and backed with Made In Heaven was a good move for another big hit.

 

I like the video too with a little bit of acting at the start

Kylie's first single that I proper rated after liking then getting fed up with Lucky, and the best track on the album. Never heard that B side though.....

 

Milli Vanilli - The record was pretty good at the time, not so fussed now though. Odd how there's a lot of European models popping up fronting European acts around this time..... :teresa: Frank Farian of course vocally behind the male bits on Boney M records, mimed to by former model Bobby Farrell.

Just listening to the embedded video of the Kylie track as haven't heard it since about 1989... it's okay. Still not mad on it but it does sound a bit better than the other singles from the debut album

5TH NOVEMBER

 

 

An easy week at the top for Enya as she gets a firm grip on the top spot with 71,604 copies being purchased last week which along with the album’s rise 10-5 would indicate that she’s on a roll at present. She leaves Kylie eating dust as “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” lingers on at No 2 (62,067) but both tracks are well clear of the pack with Milli Vanilli trundling 10-3 (38,794) a distant third plus Minogue and Enya will have TOTP to help them this week.

 

 

 

She’s lost the Plastic Population but Yazz continues unabated and is hoping to leave Minogue at No 2 again with her new song “Stand Up For Your Love Rights” which charges 11-4 (37,094) in its second week. Her last single was of course “The Only Way Is Up” which topped the charts for 5 weeks and sold 624,478 to become the biggest seller of 1988 thus far, it also condemned “The Loco-Motion” to four weeks in the runner up spot, Yazz’s debut album “Wanted” arrives in three weeks for those Christmas stockings. Incidentally The Beatmasters are the producers on this one fresh from their PP Arnold assisted single “Burn It Up”.

 

 

 

Tom Jones’ revival continues apace after his No 2 hit last year “A Boy From Nowhere”, he provides guest vocals on Art Of Noise’s cover of Prince’s “Kiss” which was only in the top 10 for the man himself 2 years ago when it hit No 6. Well the cover has already done better as it saunters 19-5 (35,938) to become AON’s third top 10 single and Tom’s 15th, the horns and guitar breakdown in the middle of the song is of course an opportunity to insert a few of Art Of Noise’s previous hits including “Close (To The Edit)” and “Peter Gunn” in case you thought they sounded familiar.

 

 

 

Robert palmer’s last album “Riptide” saw him grab his first top 10 singles in the form of “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” and “Addicted To Love” two years ago but his follow up album “Heavy Nova” has so far underperformed peaking at No 17 and spending just 9 weeks on the charts since its release back in July. In part that’s due to the released singles “Sweet Lies” and “Simply Irresistible” failing to go top 40 though the latter was a No 2 hit Stateside, the album returns 59-45 this week in the wake of the success of “She Makes My Day” which continues to improve 18-8 (26,707) this week.

 

 

Four fallers to cover briefly, Whitney’s former chart topper “One Moment In Time” descends 3-6 (31,756), Wee Papa Girl Rappers give up 7-9 (25,925) and Erasure tumble 5-10 (25,194). D-Mob fall 4-7 (31,467) but were instrumental in the decision this week by TOTP to not play or promote any record containing the word "Acid" ("aceed") in either its title or lyrics due to complaints after showing the D-Mob promo.

 

 

1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (71,604)

2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (62,067)

3- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (38,794)

4- STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS- Yazz (37,094)

5- KISS- Art Of Noise Featuring Tom Jones (35,938)

6- ONE MOMENT IN TIME- Whitney Houston (31,756)

7- WE CALL IT ACIEED- D Mob Featuring Gary Haisman (31,467)

8- SHE MAKES MY DAY- Robert Palmer (26,707)

9- WEE RULE- Wee Papa Girl Rappers (25,925)

10- A LITTLE RESPECT- Erasure (25,194)

 

really like She makes my day but so strange that the album lead Simply Irresistible flopped

when it was huge everywhere, #2 in the US

@Gezza don't think Sweet Lies is in the album, sure it's not on mine :) but maybe I got an EU release version

 

not crazy about the other newbies, I liked Yazz debut single but not this one or anything else after this

Edited February 19Feb 19 by Bjork

Yazz's newie was OK, not as good as the previous 2 nor some of her later solo stuff but not a bad record. The cover of Kiss was quite chunky in comparison to prince's more delicate original, but I think it gave a bit of oomph to it and Tom some street-cred setting up his move to become more relevant musically, ably assisted by his son/manager. I thought the previous album singles were weaker than the monster hits and his early stuff, but Robert's She Makes My Day is quite nice, a change of pace that might well pay dividends in the 90's...

12TH NOVEMBER

 

 

“Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” starts to show signs that the tide is heading out, it clings to the top spot but only just, selling just 47,617 copies (the lowest in 21 weeks) and only managed to stay ahead of Kylie Minogue by 442 copies- that's the lowest winning margin since Gallup took over running the charts 5 years ago! Indeed the whole top 4 are tightly packed with Yazz’s “Stand Up For Your love Rights” improving 4-3 (43,877) and Milli Vanilli falling 3-4 (43,146) but still under 5,000 short of Enya. It also marks the third time this year and third time EVER that the top 3 have been all female, Kylie being present on all three occasions. Interestingly the Enya track fails to top any of the individual format charts (7”, 12”, Cassette, or CD) with Kylie, Milli Vanilli, Pet Shop Boys, and Yazz taking those honours, its time must be up! Milli Vanilli were the only act in the top 4 not to get TOTP exposure and it could be argued that such an improvement without the aid of the show might have meant that with it the track could easily have been No 1 today, making next week anyone’s call.

 

 

 

However they may all have to succumb to the record which charges 17-5 this week, Robin Beck was a backing singer in the 70s who ventured into the limelight in 1980 with a debut album which featured Luther Vandross and Irene Cara on backing vocals. They went on to successful careers in their own right leaving Beck behind as she started writing and singing jingles for radio which led to her writing for Coca-Cola and the song “The First Time” which was made into a commercial and now finally propels her into the charts and with 40,035 buyers last week and constant promotion via the advert at present- it could be unstoppable.

 

 

 

S/A/W have teamed up with Brother Beyond again to give us “He Ain’t No Competition” which skuttles 30-8 (21,386) for the group who now have named their fans Youndies and are mounting a challenge to Bros as the teenage girls band of choice, in the press at least. In terms of sales they are way behind Bros but the release of their debut album in a fortnight will be the deciding factor in who wins that battle.

 

 

 

A US #3 hit in August this year with UK still playing catch up, “1-2-3” is the new Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine single, and their second top 10 hit in a row. The album “Anything For You” is in shops this week which may hamper progress to the top but for now the single charges 24-9 (20,961).

 

 

 

After the critical acclaim for their first album “Raintown” which has become a consistent if unspectacular seller, Deacon Blue finally see singles reward with their first single from their forthcoming second album due in 1989. “Real Gone Kid” is a song written about the Lone Justice lead singer Maria Mckee’s live performance, the group supported them on tour a few years ago so much so they seem to have impressed Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross enough to inspire this song. Mckee has of course already written a No 1 herself (Feargal Sharkey’s “A Good Heart” in 1985) and been the subject of a top 10 hit (again for Sharkey this time “You Little Thief”). The band released 5 singles from “Raintown” the biggest of which was “Dignity” which scraped in at No 31 back in February, but they’ve shown improvement flying 15-10 (20,111) with their current hit.

 

 

Robert Palmer inches 8-6 (33,728) as Art Of Noise & Tom Jones fall back 5-7 (27,455).

 

 

1- ORINOCO FLOW (SAIL AWAY)- Enya (47,617)

2- JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI- Kylie Minogue (47,175)

3- STAND UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS- Yazz (43,877)

4- GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE- Milli Vanilli (43,146)

5- THE FIRST TIME- Robin Beck (40,035)

6- SHE MAKES MY DAY- Robert Palmer (33,728)

7- KISS- Art Of Noise Featuring Tom Jones (27,455)

8- HE AIN’T NO COMPETITION- Brother Beyond (21,386)

9- 1-2-3- Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine (20,961)

10- REAL GONE KID- Deacon Blue (20,111)

 

442 copies for Kylie. Argh! :(

Oh really liked The first time back then, it's a kinda forgotten song nowadays

 

also really liked Real Gone Kid, great single from Deacon Blue, didn't know the song was about Maria McKee.

 

1,2,3 is also great from Gloria, finally an upbeat hit!!

 

the BB song not the biggest fan, just ok for me, SAW on autopilot. Never heard that name about their fans, guess it didn't stick

I never knew Kylie was so close! What a shame she didn’t make it :(

 

Loved First Time back in the day, seems very dated now tbh.

 

On the other hand, despised Deacon Blue when I was 12, but love Real Gone Kid now.

Real Gone Kid is one of Deacon Blue’s best singles, really love it and easily my favourite new one

'Real Gone Kid' by Deacon Blue is iconic and has become a classic.

 

'First Time' by Robin Beck is a good song, writing a love song to a bottle of cola is interesting! Can't think of the song without thinking of the Sunblock 2006 version which to its credit used the original vocal.

 

'1, 2, 3' by Gloria Estafan is good, not as good as 'Rhythm Is Gonna Get You' though!

 

 

 

I've never been that keen on 'Real Gone Kid', but I really like 'Dignity' from Deacon Blue and how the music builds with the storytelling. That's a close knit top 4, a few songs could have nabbed #1 there!