nope, was 89-94.

27TH MAY

Scouse Aid (as it’s become colloquially known) spends a second week at No 1 shifting a further 96,373 copies last week and can be considered to be selling at a good pace for 1989 and may even be able to crack the YTD update next month, Kylie is again the nearest challenger but she herself loses 50% in sales terms dropping to 45,424 though she has sold 314,823 copies in her first month and is already the 7th biggest selling single of the year so far.

Bobby Brown recovers from peaking at No 13 in April with “Don’t Be Cruel” by seeing his next single “Every Little Step” power 20-6 (23,834), it’s co-written by LA Reid and Babyface and reflects Reid’s current romance with the singer Pebbles (whom you may recall for her No 8 hit last year “Girlfriend”). It sits at No 8 in the US at present where Brown has had a phenomenal year topping both singles and albums chart and putting him in the frame for the theme to “Ghostbusters II” which will be his next single this summer.

Roxette rise 10-7 (21,267) and one place below them is Neneh Cherry who is of course Swedish herself, it marks the first time in UK chart history that two Swedish acts are in the top 10 simultaneously, and along with Edelweiss at no 5 (28,628) who are from Austria, then the top 10 has a very continental feel this week. For Cherry it is her second top 10 single following the No 3 success of “Buffalo Stance” which has sold over 250,000 copies, new track “Manchild” rockets 26-8 (21,131) and works as a precursor for her debut album “Raw Like Sushi” which is out in 3 weeks.

Natalie Cole and London Boys are again bound together in battle ending in stasis with Cole at No 3 (43,146) and “Requiem” at No 4 (37,485) both are in retreat in sales terms, Queen falter 5-9 (19,890) and Chaka Khan dips 8-10 (19,346).


1- FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY- Paul McCartney/ Gerry Marsden/ Holly Johnson/ The Christians/ Stock, Aitken & Waterman (96,373) 
2- HAND ON YOUR HEART- Kylie Minogue (45,424)
3- MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY- Natalie Cole (43,146)
4- REQUIEM- London Boys (37,485)
5- BRING ME EDELWEISS- Edelweiss (28,628)
6- EVERY LITTLE STEP- Bobby Brown (23,834)
7- THE LOOK- Roxette (21,267)
8- MANCHILD- Neneh Cherry (21,131)
9- I WANT IT ALL- Queen (19,890)
10- I’M EVERY WOMAN (REMIX)- Chaka Khan (19,346)

Manchild is all kinds of amazing, what a career start with Buffalo Stance-Manchild

for some reason I always thought Neneh Cherry was UK/Swedish

the Bobby Brown one is ok too

Yesss another fan of 'Manchild' here! The more trip-hop leaning pivot for this single is gorgeous.

It was good that 'Ferry Cross The Mersey' sold a lot despite some of the media at the time.

Roxette I mostly associate with ballads The Look is a refreshing upbeat first hit from them.

The original I'm Every Woman is a classic, I shall have to listen to the 1989 version!

Edited April 21Apr 21 by TheSnake

Roxette had great ballads but also many good upbeat numbers

I think they got the balance right

This week Debbie Gibson peaked at #14 with the great single Electric Youth, title track from her 2nd album

De la Soul was also peaking at #22 with the classic Me, Myself & I

I noticed Swing Out Sister's comeback didn't set the world on fire and the lead single from album 2

You on My Mind peaked at #28 only, despite being pretty great, love them and their sophisticated jazz pop.

I love love love Manchild. Way better than Buffalo Stance.

Every Little Step is a tune as well.

2 hours ago, Bjork said:

This week Debbie Gibson peaked at #14 with the great single Electric Youth, title track from her 2nd album

Love Electric Youth. Best Debbie Gibson song. Deserved Top 10

Forgot all about Neneh's Manchild. That's a great track.

Every Little Step is a tune, but Bobby Brown seems a bit of a div, to be honest.

Edited April 21Apr 21 by ChrisJK

3RD JUNE





Though its pace may be slackening “Ferry Cross The Mersey” remains at the top with some ease convincing 63,427 buyers in the last week to bring its three week haul to 259,148, certainly not bad given the market we’re in. Its winning margin was reduced to 25,000 against Natalie Cole who was very much the last challenger standing with just 38,165 sold, a lesser sale week on week, it’s still her biggest single so she won’t care I’m sure.

So here’s a case of the UK playing catch up once again, this time not on our US brothers but on those Aussies who gifted Lynne Hamilton a no 2 hit over there back in 1979 with the theme to “Prisoner Cell Block H” called “On The Inside”. Naturally the series took time to make it onto our shores but it is now what they term a “cult hit” on late night ITV schedules though it finished airing down under three years ago, Hamilton was a singer back in the 60s even mixing with the Beatles at one point before she gave singing up and emigrated to Australia. The opportunity to record the theme to the show proved too tempting and Hamilton has waited 10 years to score a hit but the song flies 13-3 (33,133) and must fancy its chances to hit the top next week!

The resurrection of Donna Summer’s career continues apace in the hands of S/A/W as a second single from the “Another Place And Time” album soars 19-7 (27,999). “I Don’t Wanna Get Hurt” thusly enables Summer to have back to back top 10 singles for only the third time in her career, the last time being 1978, interestingly the only other occasion where a Summer single was top 10 in just its second week? Her four week No 1 “I Feel Love”- watch out.

Becoming her 10th top 10 single to debut inside the top 10 makes “Express Yourself” another Madonna landmark release, and of course her 19th top 10 single of the decade and second from the “Like A Prayer” album which itself perks up 21-19. Interestingly the only acts to debut inside the top 10 more often than Madonna are of course The Beatles and Elvis who have both done it on 15 occasions.  Musically a nod to Sly & The Family Stone and with a “Metropolis” themed Video Madonna is certainly back on form.

Neneh Cherry powers 8-5 (29,002) but the rest are all fallers including Kylie 2-4 (31,926), The London Boys 4-6 (28,152), Edelweiss 5-8 (27,455) and Bobby Brown 6-9 (26,248)


1- FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY- Paul McCartney/ Gerry Marsden/ Holly Johnson/ The Christians/ Stock, Aitken & Waterman (63,427)
2- MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY- Natalie Cole (38,165)
3- ON THE INSIDE (THEME FROM PRISONER CELL BLOCK H)- Lynne Hamilton (33,133)
4- HAND ON YOUR HEART- Kylie Minogue (31,926)
5- MANCHILD- Neneh Cherry (29,002)
6- REQUIEM- London Boys (28,152)
7- I DON’T WANNA GET HURT- Donna Summer (27,998)
8- BRING ME EDELWEISS- Edelweiss  (27,455)
9- EVERY LITTLE STEP- Bobby Brown (26,248)
10- EXPRESS YOURSELF- Madonna (25,568)

go Manchild! Nice that it's top 5 now

back then I didn't love Express Yourself, I remember I wanted Til death do us apart to be single #2

but like it more now

'Manchild' is absolutely stunning! Much as I do love 'Buffalo Stance' I think I prefer this one.

'I Don't Wanna Get Hurt' is also a classic! and of course 'Express Yourself'.

Manchild is kinda famous cos it was written by Neneh Cherry with an "auto-chord" keyboard

so it's like a piano and when you hit a single note, it automatically generates a chord progression.

So she didn't know anything about music but the keyboard made the chords kinda automatically

Express Yourself... One of Madonna's best ever singles. The video is awesome and the performance on Blond Ambition was brilliant. Deserves to go much higher.

I was a big Prisoner Cell Block H fan and was thrilled the theme got released and was a hit

I always felt ‘Express Yourself’ sounded quite like ‘Vogue’, maybe just similar in terms of production due to the time 89/90 era.

For me Lady Gaga kinda ruined Express yourself when she released Born this way cos I really hate that one

And was too similar to Express yourself

10TH JUNE

A flop when first released in 1960 by the Four Voices it was finally a No 3 hit for Brian Hyland in 1962 and a No 7 hit when re-issued for Hyland in 1975, and now 14 years later “Sealed With A Kiss” becomes a sensational new entry at the No 1 position for Jason Donovan. He turns 21 this week and can celebrate with both crowns as he tops the album charts as well with “Ten Good Reasons” so he’s pretty much the hottest thing in the charts at present. Of course the track is produced by S/A/W and gives Donovan his third chart topper on the trot and incredibly the third straight No 1 single for S/A/W who have now helmed 5 chart toppers in 6 months meaning they have produced 66% of the chart toppers in 1989- simply incredible. They are only the fourth production team to produce three No 1’s in a row the others being Mitch Miller, Norrie Paramor and George Martin, but it’s the first time in 25 years it’s occurred, PWL are also the first label in 24 years to pull the trick. Finally "Sealed With A Kiss" is the first non charity single to debut at No 1 since "Two Tribes" almost 5 years ago exactly!

Donovan’s arrival is bad news for Cliff Richard who releases his follow up to “Mistletoe And Wine” with a song called “The Best Of Me” which has been extensively promoted as his 100th single release and now becomes his 56th top 10 out of that 100 with only “The Young Ones” ever debuting higher in his discography. Of course the irony is that S/A/W have composed a song for Cliff that he was going to release as his 100th single before deciding on “The Best Of Me”, and had he have chosen that then I dare say S/A/W would have delayed the Donovan single to allow Cliff a free run at the top spot. In the event he opted for the Richard Marx penned track (originally recorded by David Foster and Olivia Newton John in 1986), Marx has had a disappointing career in the UK so far not getting higher than No 50 but has already scored 5 US top 10 singles including a No 1, his new hit “Satisfied” is in shops this week. The song was picked with the help of some of Cliff's fans after he played 6 songs to them and asked them which they preferred. It is some revenge for Donovan after Cliff denied he and Kylie the festive top spot last year, this time around there wasn’t much competition with Donovan out in front from the off selling 70,261 to Cliff’s 43,894, indeed Cliff was always good for runner up being well in front of outgoing chart topper “Ferry Cross The Mersey” which dips 1-3 (38,845), recovering well from its midweek No 5 position, and of course gives S/A/W 66% of the top 3 as well for a record breaking 3rd week out of the last 4!

Not convinced by their domination? Well here’s Sinitta to prove it with her cover of Maxine Nightingale’s 1975 #8 hit “Right Back Where We Started From”. Though the track is not produced directly by S/A/W (it’s actually Pete Hammond) it of course a hit factory production and becomes Sinitta’s fourth top 10 single in three years and continues her theme of scoring them with alternate releases. The track rockets 19-6 (31,892) and don’t worry she’ll have her second album out for Christmas.

With the continued rise in stock of the Guns N Roses brand they’ve re-issued “Sweet Child O Mine” less than a year after it peaked at No 24 and hit No 1 stateside. The success of their last release “Paradise City” (No 6) has probably played a large part in the song thundering 14-8 (30,668) this week, album “Appetite For Destruction” returns to the top 10 in celebration.

Just outdoing Sinitta, Natalie Cole recedes 2-4 (37,366) and Madonna soars 10-5 (34,867) but three ladies that are in trouble are Lynne Hamilton who looks like disappearing as quickly as she arrives 3-7 (31,042), Neneh Cherry drops 5-9 (29,801) as her publicity switches to the album out this week, and Donna Summer tumbles 7-10 (28,934) even though she increases sales.


1- SEALED WITH A KISS- Jason Donovan (70,261) 
2- THE BEST OF ME- Cliff Richard (43,894)
3- FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY- Paul McCartney/ Gerry Marsden/ Holly Johnson/ The Christians/ Stock, Aitken & Waterman (38,845)
4- MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY- Natalie Cole (37,366)
5- EXPRESS YOURSELF- Madonna (34,867)
6- RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM- Sinitta (31,892)
7- ON THE INSIDE (THEME FROM PRISONER CELL BLOCK H)- Lynne Hamilton (31,042)
8- SWEET CHILD O MINE- Guns N Roses (30,668)
9- MANCHILD- Neneh Cherry  (29,801)
10- I DON’T WANNA GET HURT- Donna Summer (28,934)

I don't fully understand the idea of an artist ruining another person's song like that. Like for example, Professor Green's version of 'Need You Tonight' is one of the most heinous things I've ever heard but I can just pretend it doesn't exists and listen to the preferred version

20 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

I don't fully understand the idea of an artist ruining another person's song like that. Like for example, Professor Green's version of 'Need You Tonight' is one of the most heinous things I've ever heard but I can just pretend it doesn't exists and listen to the preferred version

Indeed so. In fact "Express yourself" was itself subject to legal proceedings in 1991 as sailing too close to this track

which happened to have been a top 10 single in 1987 as a cover for Bruce Willis. It was settled pre-litigation by giving 25% of the songwriting royalties to Luther Ingram and Mack Rice who wrote it.

I know that Staples Singers track pretty well and I've never once thought it was like Express Yourself, albeit I can kind of hear similarities when I'm listening now with that intent... but I definitely don't think the two are similar enough to justify legal proceedings. I really enjoy both tracks (and indeed Born This Way for that matter) so if there is a line of inspiration then it is certainly a good one!

Even as a kid who was quite into PWL songs, I never liked Sealed with a Kiss and I thought his album was pretty poor aside from a few key songs. Although I was pleased when something knocked that awful Ferry Cross the Mersey thing off the top, the charity aspect passed me by entirely as a kid and I just thought it simply a rubbish song!

Quite enjoy that Donna Summer track, and I don't mind the Natalie Cole one either - even if it is a bit cheesy. But, like others, the clear highlight of the past few weeks is Manchild which is brilliant, and really good to see something with that sound doing well amongst all the pure pop.

edit - oh and of course Sweet Child o' Mine is also fantastic, a genuine classic of its genre

I loved Sealed With A Kiss at the time. It’s just ok now, nothing too special.

Still love the Sinnita track though!