1989 Points Chart

[Panda]

We reach the end of the 1980s. Stock, Aitken and Waterman were still a force to be reckoned with but their dominance was coming to an end. Kylie had an amazing 1988 and was still hugely popular in 1989, as was her on-screen husband and real-life boyfriend Jason Donovan, who would firmly establish himself as pop star in his own right this year. By the end of the year though, Kylie would be in a relationship with INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, and the sweet, innocent pop persona would soon be cast aside.

Dance music's popularity continued to grow with several huge hits. We'd also see several big names from the past make a comeback, and the debut of a boy band who, for a short time, became the biggest act on the planet. And I don't mean Big Fun.


A reminder of the points system: 1 point for no.40 in the singles chart, 2 points for no.39, all the way up to 37 points for no.4, then it's 40 points for no.3, 45 points for no.2 and 50 points for no.1.


Before the countdown, here are some of the songs that didn't make the top 40:


(as ever, position in the end-of-year sales chart is in brackets)


42(26) SIMPLE MINDS - Belfast Child (237 points)



This haunting track was the band's only UK no.1 single.


44(50) BELINDA CARLISLE - Leave A Light On (235 points)



"Heaven Is A Place On Earth" might've been her biggest solo single but for me, this was the best.


57(62) MARTIKA - Toy Soldiers (220 points)



The US singer's debut hit, it spent three weeks at no.5 and the chorus was later pillaged by Eminem. This was the first of five top 20 hits she would have in two and a half years.


60(58) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS - She Drives Me Crazy (216 points)



The biggest UK hit for Roland Gift and the boys, it topped the charts in the US, as did the follow-up "Good Thing". The album "The Raw And The Cooked" was no.1 on both sides of the Atlantic and the band won Best Group and Best Album at the 1990 Brit Awards. It should come as no surprise that the video was directed by Philippe Decoufle, who also directed the video for New Order's "True Faith".


75(65) ROACHFORD - Cuddly Toy (193 points)



If you've seen Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, you'll never see this song in the same light again. This song reached no.4 early in the year and while the group had a number of top 40 hits over the following decade, nothing ever came close to matching this. Andrew Roachford is now the lead singer of a band we'll see during the countdown and was made an MBE in 2019.


78(76) TEARS FOR FEARS - Sowing The Seeds Of Love (191 points)



The duo's first brand new track in four years, this should've been absolutely massive. The fact it wasn't is probably down to its radio-unfriendly length and the general pop climate of the time, which had seen a clear shift away from artistry. It did manage to spend five weeks inside the top 10 but then dropped down the chart like a stone, though the "Seeds Of Love" album did top the char. It reached no.2 in the US, which was still very receptive to British acts at the time before several severe dry spells during the 1990s.


79(99) MIDNIGHT OIL - Beds Are Burning (190 points)



One of the most popular Australian bands of the era but they only had one further top 40 hit in the UK after this.


83(-) GUNS 'N ROSES - Sweet Child O' Mine (187 points)



First released in 1988, reaching no.24, it was re-released after the success of "Paradise City", with both tracks peaking at no.6.


108(75) BROS - Too Much (158 points)



Now a duo after the departure of Craig Logan, this lead single from their second album, saw a more rock-based sound with the Goss twins co-writing tracks for the first time and manager Tom Watkins no longer involved in the creative process. It was a gamble but the single reached no.2 and the subsequent album peaked at no.4. The other singles performed respectably but they were never able to match the success they had in 1988. They were also part of the Band Aid II line-up at the end of the year, with Luke Goss playing drums on the new version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Bros reunited a few years ago, with the whole thing captured on film for the unintentionally hilarious documentary "After The Screaming Stops".

[Panda]

Part 1 (40-36):

40(51) BIG FUN - Blame It On The Boogie (241 points)
Top 40 run: 25-8-8-6-4-6-12-21-38



Christ. What a start.


39(55) PRINCE - Batdance (241 points)
Top 40 run: 3-2-4-10-14-24-23-31-30-36



Taken from the Batman film starring Michael Keaton (which was the first film to be given a 12 certificate in the UK), the fact this song was cobbled together from several others Prince was working on at the time shows how talented he was.


38(29) JASON DONOVAN - Sealed With A Kiss (241 points)
Top 40 run: 1-1-2-5-14-21-31-38



A rare new entry at no.1, this was Jason Donovan's second no.1 hit of the year. By now, he'd actually learned to sing a bit too. He would feature on the SAW-produced Band Aid single at Christmas. As would Big Fun.


37(21) KYLIE MINOGUE - Wouldn't Change A Thing (243 points)
Top 40 run: 2-2-3-6-10-14-26-36



A summer hit that gave Kylie a seventh top 2 hit in a row. She would also feature on the SAW-produced Band Aid single, along with Jason Donovan. And Big Fun.


36(41) TINA TURNER - The Best (249 points)
Top 40 run: 31-16-10-5-5-7-12-19-24-32



One of the most incorrectly-named songs of all-time, with the word "Simply" often included in the title. This was actually a cover of a song originally recorded a year earlier by Bonnie Tyler. The song has also been a popular sports anthem, with boxer Chris Eubank using it as his entrance music as well as Rangers FC, whose fans managed to get it back into the top 10 on downloads after an internet campaign in 2010.

[rubcale]

I like Belinda's Summer Rain and I Get Weak better but I do prefer Leave A Light On to Heaven but they're all crackers.

[Whitneyfan]

Toy Soldiers should be #1, and Leave A Light On #2

2 of the absolute best songs of all-time!

[Earl Purple]

I saw Jason Donovan perform live in Joseph & His Technicolor Dreamcoat and he had to sing live in that and his singing wasn't that terrible actually. I felt on the whole though he wasn't a particularly good singer and much of the time wasn't given very good songs.

[Panda]

Aug 17, 2020 10:43:23 GMT 1 Earl Purple said:

I saw Jason Donovan perform live in Joseph & His Technicolor Dreamcoat and he had to sing live in that and his singing wasn't that terrible actually. I felt on the whole though he wasn't a particularly good singer and much of the time wasn't given very good songs.

His voice certainly improved as time went on but he shouldn't have been anywhere near a studio when he recorded "Nothing Can Divide Us".

[Panda]

Part 2 (35-31):

35(36) SAM BROWN - Stop (250 points)
Top 40 run: 37-17-5-4-4-5-9-12-26



The husky-voiced Sam Brown is the daughter of 60s star Joe Brown. This track was first released in 1988, missing the top 40 but became a big hit second time around. She had two further top 40 hits and continued to record in addition to having a successful career as a backing singer for, among others, Pink Floyd, George Harrison and Nick Cave, as well as being part of Jools Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.


34(33) ROY ORBISON - You Got It (252 points)
Top 40 run: 24-7-4-3-3-7-11-27-35



Having helped revive the career of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne formed the Traveling Wilburys with Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison. He also worked on solo albums for Orbison and Petty, with both set for release in 1989. Sadly, Orbison died of a heart attack in December 1988, just weeks before this single was released. It reached no.3 in the UK and no.9 in the US, his first top 10 hit in the US for 25 years.


33(66) KON KAN - I Beg Your Pardon? (256 points)
Top 40 run: 32-17-10-8-5-5-6-15-23-33



A pleasant surprise in the top 40, this electro-pop banger was the only UK hit for the Canadian duo.


32(34) KAOMA - Lambada (256 points)
Top 40 run: 40-27-11-7-4-5-5-7-7-



A staple for drunk 50-somethings on holiday, this was a hit at the end of the year for the French-Brazilian group. It was actually a cover of a Bolivian song released at the start of the decade and was later borrowed by Jennifer Lopez for her single "On The Floor".


31(56) HOLLY JOHNSON - Americanos (260 points)
Top 40 run: 28-14-9-4-4-6-10-13-24-38



After a few quiet years following Frankie Goes To Hollywood's split, Holly Johnson returned in 1989 with his successful solo album "Blast", which reached no.1. The first two singles both reached no.4, with this track following the lead single "Love Train". Johnson also sang on the charity version of "Ferry 'Cross The Mersey", which reached no.1 after the Hillsborough disaster.

[Earl Purple]

For me the strings on "Stop" by Sam Brown are very reminiscent of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World".

[Panda]

Part 3 (30-26):

30(39) LONDON BOYS - London Nights (260 points)
Top 40 run: 19-3-3-2-4-8-12-27



This was the second big hit of the year for the German-based British duo. It charted higher than its predecessor but appears lower on this list...


29(30) RICHARD MARX - Right Here Waiting (265 points)
Top 40 run: 32-15-3-2-2-5-11-18-30



This slushy piano ballad was the first of two huge UK hits Marx would have, three years apart. His previous single "Satisfied" was used as the theme tune for Eurosport's boxing coverage before Sky Sports came along. My sister was probably Richard Marx's biggest fan during her teenage years.


28(38) SIMPLY RED - If You Don't Know Me By Now (265 points)
Top 40 run: 19-2-2-2-3-12-15-28



This Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes cover gave the group a second UK no.2 hit and topped the US chart. They would have to wait another six years for their only UK chart-topper.


27(49) TRANSVISION VAMP - Baby I Don't Care (267 points)
Top 40 run: 33-16-7-3-3-4-9-11-20



Wendy James... The group's second top 10 hit after "I Want Your Love" the previous year and the first of four top 40 hits they had in 1989. This track would later be covered by helium-voiced ex-soap star Jennifer Ellison, whose version reached no.6 in 2003.


26(47) BEAUTIFUL SOUTH - Song For Whoever (268 points)
Top 40 run: 35-23-11-8-3-2-4-8-19-37



After the Housemartins split when at their peak, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway formed the Beautiful South. Who'd have known that the new group would go on to be even more successful than its predecessor? This song reached no.2 and even better was to come the following year.

[Panda]

Part 4 (25-21):

25(28) LIL' LOUIS - French Kiss (268 points)
Top 40 run: 10-5-3-2-4-8-13-27-37



Another huge house hit. It didn't get much airplay for obvious reasons.


24(40) ALICE COOPER - Poison (272 points)
Top 40 run: 34-13-5-4-2-4-8-15-23-36



In a year that saw several comebacks, this was possibly the most surprising of them all as the legendary rocker had a no.2 hit, 15 years after his last top 40 appearance.


23(27) LONDON BOYS - Requiem (289 points)
Top 40 run: 38-24-11-5-4-4-4-6-13-21-32



This was the breakthrough hit for the duo of Edem Eprahim and his childhood school friend Dennis Fuller. While they had no further UK hits after 1989, they sold 4.5 million records worldwide. Sadly, they were killed, along with Eprahim's wife, in a car crash in 1996, when they collided with a drunk driver on a mountain road in the Austrian Alps. Both were just 36.


22(25) REBEL MC & DOUBLE TROUBLE - Street Tuff (292 points)
Top 40 run: 12-5-6-3-4-5-10-16-22-37



Infectious rap/dance crossovers like this were the primary staple of the British rap scene in these early days, with the likes of the Cookie Crew also enjoying a degree of chart success. This was as good as it got for the Rebel MC in terms of chart success though he later went on to become one of the pioneers of jungle music.


21(10) KYLIE MINOGUE - Hand On Your Heart (293 points)
Top 40 run: 2-1-2-2-4-11-18-29-35



The lead single from her second album "Enjoy Yourself", this track gave Kylie her third number one hit. Another would follow early in 1990 but she'd have to wait over a decade for the fifth...

[Earl Purple]

Lil' Louis doesn't get airplay because it's dull, just the same bit of music on a riff, and the "background noises" which of cousre are just manufactured in the studio but supposed to resemble an intimate act is possibly the "thrill" here if there is any at all.

Sorry I don't buy this. Not keen on sugary boy-bands doing cover ballads but at least they make songs and I can sort-of appreciate how others like it. I really can't see what people would like about this kind of thing, other than it's supposedly "cool" with a label. Emperor's New Clothes - you're told you should like it so you have to in order to feel you are cool.

Simply Red: have no idea why that was the biggest hit of the year for them, it's a poor cover but "A New Flame" was a decent album and only pipped at the end of the year to being the biggest selling album in it. Whilst waiting for their first #1 single they managed a #8 and a #9 hit single, but an album that ended up the biggest seller in both 1991 and 1992. Simply Red had hit singles too, but it was in the album chart where they were totally massive.

[Panda]

Part 5 (20-16):

20(23) LINDA RONSTADT & AARON NEVILLE - Don't Know Much (298 points)
Top 40 run: 25-6-3-2-2-7-9-9-22



Linda Ronstadt was one of the biggest female stars of the 1970s in the US but made little impression in the UK. She scored a UK top 10 hit in 1987 with "Somewhere Out There", a duet with James Ingram that was taken from the animated film "An American Tale". It was another duet that brought her back to the UK chart, this time with soul singer Aaron Neville. The song reached no.2 on both sides of the Atlantic in December.


19(18) MIKE + THE MECHANICS - The Living Years (298 points)
Top 40 run: 17-4-2-2-2-4-7-22-29



Mike + The Mechanics was formed in the mid 80s a side project by Genesis member Mike Rutherford, with vocals coming from Paul Carrack and former Sad Cafe singer Paul Young (not to be confused with the singer of the same name who enjoyed huge success in the 80s). This track became a huge hit at the start of the year, spending three weeks at no.2 (and may well have been one The Chart Show's many "phantom" no.1s) and reaching no.1 in the US. The group enjoyed sporadic success during the 90s but split in 2004. In 2010, Rutherford resurrected the name and recruited a new line-up with Andrew Roachford now the lead vocalist.


18(22) DONNA SUMMER - This Time I Know It's For Real (299 points)
Top 40 run: 30-11-4-3-3-4-8-10-19-29-35



Another 1989 comeback that saw the disco legend return to the top 10 for the first time in a decade with some help from Stock, Aitken and Waterman.


17(13) SYDNEY YOUNGBLOOD - If Only I Could (307 points)
Top 40 run: 36-17-6-4-3-3-5-10-15-20-29



A huge club hit across Europe, this was the first of two top 40 hits for the US singer. More recently, he took part in the German version of "I'm A Celebrity..."


16(31) PAULA ABDUL - Straight Up (309 points)
Top 40 run: 34-15-6-4-4-3-4-7-16-20-31



Paula Abdul managed to get a record deal despite being a choreographer (she'd choreographed videos for Janet Jackson, as well as the piano scene in the film "Big") rather than a singer, and it kind of shows on this song though she did improve over time and achieved two further top 10 singles over the following years. In the US, her debut album "Forever Your Girl" was a massive success and this track was the first of six no.1 singles in a row.

[rubcale]

Requiem was my favourite London Boys song.

Never knew about the tragedy in the Austrian Alps. RIP

[Earl Purple]

Requiem was a fun song, it took a while to become a hit having flopped on first release, and on TOTP they were doing backflips on stage to it.

This Time I Know It's For Real: It felt almost like this was what Stock Aitken Waterman had done it all for - so they could write a song for Donna Summer. She co-wrote the lyrics with them. If you take a selection of Stock Aitken Waterman songs and discard the rest, you get a reasonably decent collection, it was all the second-rate stuff they threw out that just followed a formula and seemed to chart anyway that gave them a bad reputation with many.

[Whitneyfan]

Aug 24, 2020 9:54:26 GMT 1 rubcale said:

Requiem was my favourite London Boys song.

Never knew about the tragedy in the Austrian Alps. RIP

Their debut album, which features Requiem and London Nights is up there with my favourite albums of all-time - it really is that good!

[Panda]

Part 6 (15-11):

15(14) MICHAEL BALL - Love Changes Everything (313 points)
Top 40 run: 24-12-3-2-3-2-8-11-18-30



Taken from the musical "Aspects Of Love", this hit brought the young Michael Ball to a wider audience beyond the stage. It hit the no.2 spot twice, first denied by Simple Minds, then by a song we'll see later in this part of the countdown. Ball finally hit the no.1 spot 31 years later with his charity version of "You'll Never Walk Alone", which featured Captain Tom Moore.


14(7) JIVE BUNNY & THE MASTERMIXERS - That's What I Like (321 points)
Top 40 run: 4-1-1-1-3-8-14-18-33-38



The Jive Bunny premise was simple. Take a load of old songs (mainly 50s and 60s rock & roll) and stitch them together to make a new medley and stick a cartoon rabbit in the video. It had been done before but no-one had done it with as much success as the Mastermixers. This was the second of three no.1s they would have during 1989 and they became only the third act in UK chart history (after Gerry & The Pacemakers and Frankie Goes To Hollywood) to reach the top with their first three singles. Numerous producers worked under the name over the years but during their early success it was father and son John and Andy Pickles behind the mixing desk. Each track seemed to have a base sample that the rest would be based around. In this instance, it was the theme from Hawaii-Five-O.


13(11) MADONNA - Like A Prayer (321 points)
Top 40 run: 2-1-1-1-3-8-18-25-27



A triumphant return after taking a break during most of 1988. This was the lead single from the album of the same name and was a huge worldwide hit, despite the yanks getting all up in arms about the video. It remains arguably the finest work of her career.


12(15) MILLI VANILLI - Girl I'm Gonna Miss You (328 points)
Top 40 run: 24-10-3-2-2-2-5-8-15-31



Released at the height of their popularity when the public still believed Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were singing on the records. Things started to unravel soon after this when one of the actual singers threatened to go public, only to be paid off by producer and songwriter Frank Farian. Uncomfortable with the rumours and negative publicity, Morvan and Pilatus demanded to sing on the next album, only to be fired by Farian who admitted the whole thing was a sham. The group was forced to hand back their Grammy for Best New Artist (which is kind of stupid when you think about it). The actual singers then released an album as The Real Milli Vanilli, though it was nowhere near as successful as the debut album. Morvan and Pilatus set out on their own with little success until they reunited with Farian in 1997 and recorded a new Milli Vanilli album. However, its released was cancelled when Pilatus, who suffered from an increasing number of personal problems, died of a drug overdose.


11(16) SONIA - You'll Never Stop Me Loving You (328 points)
Top 40 run: 38-12-2-1-1-3-4-10-16-24-40



Aware of how fleeting pop success can be, SAW were keen to establish new stars and 18-year-old Sonia Evans was next off the production line. The English Kylie had plenty going for her - she was a better singer than Kylie for starters - and this debut single shot to no.1. That aside though, she wasn't able to match the success of her Antipodean label mate and only had two further top 10 appearances during her career. She went on to represent the UK at Eurovision in 1993, finishing 2nd (a year after Michael Ball had done the same) and later replaced Debbie Gibson in the West End version of Grease.

[Earl Purple]

Sonia simply arrived too late. I think by the mid-1990s the public were no longer interested in this kind of music and Kylie had to change direction too and even then had periods where she wasn't that successful. Debbie Gibson couldn't find any success in the 1990s either leading her to go into musicals (Grease was her 2nd musical, before that she was in Les Miserables in the USA) although she continued to release music which wasn't commercially successful.

[Panda]

Part 7 (10-6):

10(12) LISA STANSFIELD - All Around The World (332 points)
Top 40 run: 13-3-1-1-2-3-10-21-29-32-34



A big departure from the dance sound of her early singles with Coldcut, this stormed to no.1 and reached no.3 in the US. She later appeared on the Band Aid 2 single along with Kylie and Jason. And Big Fun.


9(17) NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - You Got It (The Right Stuff) (334 points)
Top 40 run: 23-3-1-1-1-4-10-14-10



After "Hangin' Tough" had missed the top 40 a couple of months earlier, everything clicked into place for this single and NKOTB were on their way to becoming the biggest pop group on the planet. The group consisted of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Donnie Whalberg (who, for a while, was more famous than his brother Mark), Joe McIntyre and Danny Wood, who was like an early Posh Spice in terms of bringing absolutely nothing to the table whatsoever. This was the first of eight top 10 hits in a row and their sophisticated pop sound suddenly made what SAW were producing sound very dated. My sister was absolutely obsessed with NKOTB for a few years, which means I know way more about them than I would ever have wanted to.


8(8) TECHNOTRONIC - Pump Up The Jam (337 points)
Top 40 run: 37-19-4-3-2-2-4-8-11-19-26-36-39



Technotronic was the brainchild of Belgian producer Jo Bogaert. The vocals on this track were originally credited to Felly, the model who appeared in the video, but it soon emerged she didn't perform on the track at all. The vocals actually came from Ya Kid K, who would soon become the project's frontwoman in her own right. They enjoyed several more hits into the 1990s and supported Madonna on her Blond Ambition world tour.


7(20) NATALIE COLE - Miss You Like Crazy (338 points)
Top 40 run: 39-24-7-5-3-3-2-4-7-12-24-34



Hands up if you predicted this as the highest placed non-no.1 on the list. If your hand is up, put it back down because you're a liar. This song spent seven weeks in the top 10 and gave the daughter of Nat 'King' Cole the biggest hit of her career, beating the previous year's "Pink Cadillac". Her name was brought back into the UK public eye earlier this year when Jonathan Ross named her as a possible contestant on The Masked Singer, oblivious of the fact she'd died four years earlier.


6(6) MARC ALMOND & GENE PITNEY - Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart (345 points)
Top 40 run: 19-10-1-1-1-1-3-12-20-39



Originally recorded by David and Jonathan, Gene Pitney had a top 5 hit with this song in 1967. It was covered by numerous artists in subsequent years, including Marc Almond on his 1988 album "The Stars We Are". When a single release was planned, Pitney, having been impressed with Almond's version offered to record it as a duet and it became a huge hit at the start of the year. It was Pitney's first UK chart appearance since 1974.

[Smurfie]

I’d forgotten what a good chart run Natalie Cole had the time!

[Whitneyfan]

I love 'Miss you like crazy'. It's simple but really infectious.