20th May 1986It's 2 weeks on top for Sandra's European anthem, holding off Peter Gabriel from topping my chart with his brilliant Sledgehammer 3 years after his Genesis mates topped with Mama. Doctor & The Medics take Spirit In The Sky, the song, into the top 5 for a second time after Norman Greenbaum's 1970 original. Jaki Graham gets a first solo, and third in total, top 10, as Madonna grabs an 8th in two years.
Sandie Shaw rockets up to 12 to give her a 3rd top 20 and a chart span of 17 years, and The B52's take Rock Lobster back into the top 20 up 30 places 7 years late and a new peak. Aretha gets a 4th top 20 in a row, Pete Wylie gets his 3rd, and ELO their final top 20 in the original line-up. Highest new entry is Icehouse, I Engineer, a fourth top 40 entry, and Joan Armatrading makes it at least 4 top 40's, while Nick Heyward keeps his run going.
In at 43 it's new Opportunities for Pet Shop Boys, a spanking new remix of a chart flop letting them make lots of money and a 3rd chart entry, while likeable Owen Paul gets his 5 minutes of fame at 44 and Culture Club bless the female of the species at 47, and that was about that for the band for 12 years or so. Black Uhuru are back, with a train robbery, Cliff is back still rockin' 18 years on from his chart debut in these parts, ditto Rod still touching love at every opportunity some 15 years on from Maggie May. I recall nothing about Perils Of Plastic, in with Ring A Ding Ding at 70 - though the name was prophetic, they included Steve Nieve of J.Ross Esq, and they sound a bit Culture Club. Mike + The Mechanics are having a miracle, and Amazulu cover The Chi-Lites to lesser effect.
1 ( 1 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
2 ( 6 ) SLEDGEHAMMER Peter Gabriel
3 ( 2 ) ON MY OWN Patti Labelle & Michael MacDonald
4 ( 3 ) A DIFFERENT CORNER George Michael
5 ( 25 ) SPIRIT IN THE SKY Doctor & The Medics
6 ( 14 ) BOYS DON’T CRY The Cure
7 ( 4 ) I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Marvin Gaye
8 ( 5 ) YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON Diana Ross & The Supremes
9 ( 18 ) SET ME FREE Jaki Graham
10 ( 12 ) LIVE TO TELL Madonna
11 ( 8 ) WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY Janet Jackson
12 ( 49 ) ARE YOU READY TO BE HEARTBROKEN Sandie Shaw
13 ( 26 ) LESSONS IN LOVE Level 42
14 ( 44 ) ROCK LOBSTER The B52’s
15 ( 10 ) E=MC2 Big Audio Dynamite
16 ( 9 ) IF YOU LEAVE OMD
17 ( 20 ) TENDER LOVE Force MD’s
18 ( 28 ) FREEWAY OF LOVE Aretha Franklin
19 ( 30 ) SINFUL Pete Wylie
20 ( 29 ) SO SERIOUS Electric Light Orchestra
21 ( 11 ) ROCK ME AMADEUS Falco
22 ( 7 ) THE BIG SKY Kate Bush
23 ( 31 ) ROUGH BOY ZZ Top
24 ( 17 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RUN/RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
25 ( 32 ) BAD BOY Miami Sound Machine
26 ( 34 ) LET’S GO ALL THE WAY Sly Fox
27 ( 39 ) ASK THE LORD Hipsway
28 ( 13 ) STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT Frank Sinatra
29 ( 36 ) XX SEX/ RULES AND REGULATIONS We’ve Got A Fuzzbox & We’re Gonna Use It
30 ( 16 ) ALL THE THE THINGS SHE SAID Simple Minds
31 ( 19 ) CAN’T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE Five Star
32 ( NEW ) I ENGINEER Icehouse
33 ( 15 ) A NIGHT TO REMEMBER Shalamar
34 ( 22 ) WHAT YOU NEED INXS
35 ( 53 ) KIND WORDS (AND A REAL GOOD HEART) Joan Armatrading
36 ( 43 ) R.O.C.K. IN THE USA John Cougar Mellencamp
37 ( 24 ) RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES Wax
38 ( 55 ) YOU AND ME TONIGHT Aurra
39 ( 21 ) THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL Whitney Houston
40 ( 62 ) OVER THE WEEKEND Nick Heyward
41 ( 50 ) ALL AND ALL Joyce Sims
42 ( 23 ) STARS Hear ‘n’ Aid
43 ( NEW ) OPPORTUNITIES (LET’S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY) Pet Shop Boys
44 ( NEW ) MY FAVOURITE WASTE OF TIME Owen Paul
45 ( 35 ) A KIND OF MAGIC Queen
46 ( 66 ) ROLLIN’ HOME Status Quo
47 ( NEW ) GOD BLESS YOU WOMAN Culture Club
48 ( 42 ) CALLING AMERICA Electric Light Orchestra
49 ( 27 ) HOME PIL
50 ( 40 ) DRIVING AWAY FROM HOME It’s Immaterial
51 ( 37 ) THE FINEST SOS Band
52 ( 33 ) JUST LIKE THAT Gemini
53 ( 70 ) IF SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WANTS The Bangles
54 ( 48 ) HOUNDS OF LOVE Kate Bush
55 ( 58 ) WICKED WAYS The Blow Monkeys
56 ( 60 ) I’M THE LEADER OF THE GANG Gary Glitter & Girlschool
57 ( 38 ) STROLLIN’ ON Maxi Priest
58 ( 41 ) PETER GUNN Art Of Noise & Duane Eddy
59 ( 71 ) THE CHICKEN SONG Spitting Image
60 ( 65 ) YOUR LATEST TRICK Dire Straits
61 ( 45 ) I CAN SEE IT Blancmange
62 ( 74 ) ADDICTED TO LOVE Robert Palmer
63 ( 59 ) THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV A-ha
64 ( 72 ) WHY CAN’T THIS BE LOVE Van Halen
65 ( NEW ) GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY Black Uhuru
66 ( 54 ) YOU TO ME ARE EVERYTHING (REMIX) The Real Thing
67 ( NEW ) BORN TO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Cliff Richard
68 ( 52 ) WONDERFUL WORLD/ CHAIN GANG Sam Cooke
69 ( NEW ) LOVE TOUCH Rod Stewart
70 ( NEW ) RING A DING DING Perils Of Plastic
71 ( 57 ) DIGGING YOUR SCENE The Blow Monkeys
72 ( 69 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
73 ( NEW ) ALL I NEED IS A MIRACLE Mike + The Mechanics
74 ( NEW ) TOO GOOD TO BE FORGOTTEN Amazulu
75 ( 75 ) LOVE MISSILE F1-11 Sigue Sigue Sputnik
PLAYLIST OLDIES THIS WEEK IN 1986
1 HELLO GOODBYE The Beatles
2 GENIUS OF LOVE Tom Tom Club
3 NEW FRONTIERS Donald Fagen
PS is it just me or is the new combined chart invisible?
Ta!