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Jason Maloney reviews

Tears For Fears: The Collection A cursory glance at the top 5 of the chart for this week in 1989 reveals the twin evils of Black Box and Jive Bunny at #1 and #2 respectively, and all of the other 3 positions at the business end of the Top 40 hailing from the rampant SAW conveyorbelt; Jason Donovan's Every Day the highest entry at #3, Big Fun's Blame It On The Boogie peaking at #4 and the evergreen Cliff Richard down to #5 with his 101st UK single I Just Don't Have The Heart. As a result, Sowing The Seeds Of Love - the much anitcipated return of Tears For Fears after a four year absence - had to settle for a #6 peak. The single, a kitchen-sink pastiche of Beatles-esque psychedelia, had debuted strongly at #9 a week earlier, but it would be the only one of four singles from the accompanying Seeds Of Love album to even crack the Top 20. Tears For Fears had been one of the most successful chart acts of the early-to-mid 1980s, but the rest of the Top 20 from 15 years ago consisted of primarily new names on the scene. The sadly short-lived careers of Betty Boo and Martika were just beginning; Boo's guest appearance on the Beatmaster's Hey DJ (still at #7) made her name, while Martika's US #1 Toy Soldiers was the first in a brief run of hits that lasted until early 1992. Meanwhile, Alyson Williams and the rather scary Adeva were crossing over from clubland to the main chart with I Need Your Lovin' (up to #11) and Warning (down from #17 to #19).

The Best Of Shakespear's Sister Bon Jovi (at #18 with Lay Your Hands On Me), Guns 'N' Roses (up 9 to #17 with Night Train) and a rejuvenated, MTV-friendly Alice Cooper (down to #8 with the shock - or should that be shlock? - #2 smash Posion) flew the Heavy Rock flag in the top 20. Poison came from the pen of Desmond Child, co-writer of Bon Jovi's big-haired hits from the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey albums. More big hair came in the shape of Richard Marx, the obscenely successful US songsmith whose much-deserved UK breakthrough had finally happened with the ballad Right Here Waiting (climbing 17 to #15 on its way to #2), and the unstoppable Tina Turner, back with The Best - the first single from yet another multi-platinum monster album, Foreign Affair - and soaring to #16 after just 2 weeks on the chart. The big summer movie was Tim Burton's bold take on the Batman comics starring Michael Keaton as the caped crusader and Jack Nicholson as his meglomaniacal nemesis The Joker. Soundtrack duties were performed by none other than Prince, but Party Man (new at #20) was one of the few Prince tracks from his Batman album to actually feature in the film. Perhaps because most of the tracks weren't really up to much. Batdance had somehow reached #2 in May on the back of the publicity surrounding the film, but Party Man - despite being superior - only made #14 in the end. Shakespear's Sister, the new project for ex-Bananarama girl Siobhan Fahey, were now falling out of the Top 20 down to #21 with their debut hit You're History, but - eventually, give or take the odd flop or three - they would be back for even greater success. For all-American 80s teenpop queen Debbie Gibson, We Could Be Together (up 5 to #22) would prove her final brush with the British Top 40 as a solo artist; there was just the matter of a duet with Craig McLachlan to come in the mid-90s thanks to the stage production of Grease - The Musical.

Eurythmics: We Too Are One The most startling record of the week was Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, in at #25. To casual observers, their metamorphosis into purveyors of dirty blues-guitar licks and neo-religious lyrical subject matter might have come as something of a shock, but in truth the band had been touring extensively in America's Deep South through 1988 and early 1989, with the earthier style first aired on a cover of Route 66 for the B-side to their 1988 hit Behind The Wheel. Many years later, the great Johnny Cash would record a brilliantly minimalistic version of Personal Jesus for his final album American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2003 and, along with its AA-side Hurt would reach #39 at the second time of asking (having just missed the Top 40 when first issued). Janet Jackson had been no stranger to the UK Top 10 during 1986 and 1987 with three of her singles from her Control album reaching the upper echelon. Strangely, however, not one of the seven releases taken from the 1989 follow-up Rhythm Nation 1814 managed to progress higher than #15 but all of them made the Top 30; a sequence unlikely to ever be repeated, not least because the era of so many singles from one album has long since passed. Miss You Much, Rhythm Nation's introductory hit, was starting its modest ascent to #22 with a 5 place rise from #30. Eurythmics were also languishing mid-chart with their latest effort Revival, up 4 to #26. Again, the chart performance of all the singles from its parent album (in their case, the #1 We Too Are One) were consistently underwhelming; the other three would reach #25, #29 and #23 to leave We Too Are One with the dubious honour of being the first Eurythmics album not to produce a UK Top 10 single since 1981's debut In The Garden.

Rolling Stones: Forty Licks After parting company with charismatic frontman Fish, recently seen in ITV's drama Quite Ugly One Morning, after 1987's Clutching At Straws album, Marillion brought in a new vocalist and hit the Top 40 with their first Steve Hogarth-era single, Hooks In You. New at #32, the rather self-conscious rocker was merely a taster for what was to come, as the band comprehensively reinvented themselves with a series of sophisticated, compelling albums in the 1990s. A trio of future US Billboard Top 5 hits also arrived in the 30s; The Cure's Love Song (in at #33) fared much better across the water, where it went all the way to #2, while Aerosmith's raunchy anthem Love In An Elevator entered close to the chart's ground floor but ultimately rose as high as #13. Finally, debuting at #39, The Rolling Stones rolled on, announcing their comeback after 3 years of bitching and so-so solo projects with the lauded Steel Wheels album, from whence came Mixed Emotions. The album sold more than respectably; the single peaked at a disappointing #36.

Page Content copyright © Jason Maloney, 2004.

The following is a list of Jason's Jukeboxes online for week ending:

Vol.40: The 40 Best Singles That Missed The UK Top 40 (20/12/2004)
Vol.39: November 12th 1977 (12/11/2004)
Vol.38: October 29th 1984 (29/10/2004)
Vol.37: October 15th 1987 (15/10/2004)
Vol.36: October 6th 1973 (08/10/2004)
Vol.35: September 30th 1995 (30/09/2004)
Vol.34: September 22nd 1979 (24/09/2004)
Vol.33: September 13th 1986 (16/09/2004)
Vol.32: September 9th 1989 (09/09/2004)
Vol.31: September 4th 1982 (02/09/2004)
Vol.30: August 26th 1978 (26/08/2004)
Vol.29: August 21st 1976 (19/08/2004)
Vol.28: August 13th 1983 (12/08/2004)
Vol.27: August 3rd 1985 (06/08/2004)
Vol.26: July 25th 1981 (29/07/2004)
Vol.25: July 21st 1979 (22/07/2004)
Vol.24: July 4th 1992 (08/07/2004)
Vol.23: June 24th 1965 (01/07/2004)
Vol.22: June 16th 1984 (17/06/2004)
Vol.21: June 11th 1977 (10/06/2004)
Vol.20: June 8th 1967 (03/06/2004)
Vol.19: May 29th 1971 (27/05/2004)
Vol.18: May 18th 1991 (20/05/2004)
Vol.17: May 14th 1969 (13/05/2004)
Vol.16: May 8th 1982 (06/05/2004)
Vol.15: May 3rd 1980 (29/04/2004)
Vol.14: April 19th 1986 (20/04/2004)
Vol.13: April 14th 1990 (13/04/2004)
Vol.12: April 8th 1989 (08/04/2004)
Vol.11: April 2nd 1983 (06/04/2004)
Vol.10: March 24th 1979 (23/03/2004)
Vol.9: March 19th 1988 (16/03/2004)
Vol.8: March 9th 1985 (09/03/2004)
Vol.7: March 3rd 1973 (02/03/2004)
Vol.6: February 28th 1987 (24/02/2004)
Vol.5: February 20th 1993 (17/02/2004)
Vol.4: February 11th 1978 (10/02/2004)
Vol.3: February 3rd 1966 (03/02/2004)
Vol.2: January 31st 1981 (27/01/2004)
Vol.1: January 21st 1984 (20/01/2004)

And in chronological order:

June 24th 1965: Vol.23 (01/07/2004)
February 3rd 1966: Vol.3 (03/02/2004)
June 8th 1967: Vol.20 (03/06/2004)
May 14th 1969: Vol.17 (13/05/2004)
May 29th 1971: Vol.19 (27/05/2004)
March 3rd 1973: Vol.7 (02/03/2004)
August 21st 1976: Vol.29 (19/08/2004)
June 11th 1977: Vol.21 (10/06/2004)
November 12th 1977: Vol.39 (12/11/2004)
February 11th 1978: Vol.4 (10/02/2004)
August 26th 1978: Vol.30 (26/08/2004)
March 24th 1979: Vol.10 (23/03/2004)
July 21st 1979: Vol.25 (22/07/2004)
September 22nd 1979: Vol.34 (24/09/2004)
May 3rd 1980: Vol.15 (29/04/2004)
January 31st 1981: Vol.2 (27/01/2004)
July 25th 1981: Vol.26 (29/07/2004)
May 8th 1982: Vol.16 (06/05/2004)
September 4th 1982: Vol.31 (02/09/2004)
April 2nd 1983: Vol.11 (06/04/2004)
August 13th 1983: Vol.28 (12/08/2004)
January 21st 1984: Vol.1 (20/01/2004)
June 16th 1984: Vol.22 (17/06/2004)
October 29th 1984: Vol.38 (29/10/2004)
March 9th 1985: Vol.8 (09/03/2004)
August 3rd 1985: Vol.27 (06/08/2004)
April 19th 1986: Vol.14 (20/04/2004)
September 13th 1986: Vol.33 (16/09/2004)
February 28th 1987: Vol.6 (24/02/2004)
October 15th 1987: Vol.37 (15/10/2004)
March 19th 1988: Vol.9 (16/03/2004)
April 8th 1989: Vol.12 (08/04/2004)
September 9th 1989: Vol.32 (09/09/2004)
April 14th 1990: Vol.13 (13/04/2004)
May 18th 1991: Vol.18 (20/05/2004)
July 4th 1992: Vol.24 (08/07/2004)
February 20th 1993: Vol.5 (17/02/2004)
September 30th 1995: Vol.35 (30/09/2004)
The 40 Best Singles That Missed The UK Top 40: Vol.40 (20/12/2004)

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: