Making up the numbers.
20 - "Pop Musik '89," M
A remix of Robin Scott's U.K. #2 and American #1 from ten years earlier. The same basic sound, but with slicker production. I don't mind it so much.
19 - "London Nights," London Boys
A Brit and a Jamaican based in Germany, this duo scored three late-80s hits, the biggest being this dance tune pitched somewhere between Depeche Mode, Erasure, and Stock/Aitken/Waterman. The boys kept on into the 90s, but sadly, they died together in a car accident in Austria in 1996.
18 - "Atomic City," Holly Johnson
Born William Johnson in Liverpool in 1960, this singer found fame in the mid-80s fronting the outrageous Frankie Goes to Hollywood. After the group's breakup and a successful lawsuit to get out of his old recording contract, Johnson returned with a solo album that went to #1 and produced three hits, the last being this synth-dance outing about partying while the world is crumbling around you. A fun little Frankie flashback. His music career went downhill after this, but he then reestablished himself as a painter of some note.
17 - "In a Lifetime," Clannad
This Irish folk group consisting of three Brennan siblings and two of their uncles from County Donegal started in the seventies and had their biggest success in the following decade. The second of their two hits was reissued this year, and thus returned to the Top 40. It's a pop ballad about braving the trials of life. Not bad, not great. And yes, that's Bono adding lead and backing vocals. This was several years after a fourth Brennan sibling, Enya, briefly joined and left the group. She has gone on to quite a bit of success on her own.
16 - "Pink Sunshine," Fuzzbox
Formed in 1985 as We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Going to Use It!, these four ladies from Birmingham picked up four late-80s hits, the third being this poppy rocker about the ups and downs of love expressed with phrases like "Blue Jean Hamlets" and "Gun Metal Sunrise." Imagine a Bananarama/ Go-Gos collision and you've got it.
15 - "Express Yourself," Madonna "
Transatlantic Top Five for Madge. Catchy dance-pop about the importance of emotional fulfilment over the material kind. Yes, Lady Gaga kind of ripped it for "Born This Way," but she actually did it justice.
14 - "The Best of Me," Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff was still going strong, enough that this was his 100th single. It's a ballad about saving yourself for your one true love. David Foster wrote it. Meh. Well, at least now he's got the sort-of-related-to-Kylie Jenner thing going, which is nice. And the money. Lots and lots of money.
13 - "Breakthru," Queen
Their last Top Ten of the decade was this speedy rocker about trying to make one's feelings known to a lover. Very good. And notable for the fact that in the video, the band performs the song on a moving steam train.
12 - "Sweet Child o' Mine," Guns n' Roses
The Gunners breakthrough American hit didn't chart here until a year later, after it was re-released on the back of other hits. It's still the rock touchstone it's always been.
11 - "Just Keep Rockin'," Double Trouble and Rebel MC
The first of three hits for this production team/rapper combo was this okay party track. Kind of a British version of Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two."
Top Ten what?
10 - "Joy and Pain," Donna Allen
This ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader had one American hit with 1986's "Serious," but here she would have that and three more, the biggest of all being this cover of a 1980 song by Frankie Beverly and Maze. The same song whose hook was borrowed for a song of the same name by...Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock! Wow, two references to them. And this song's okay too.
9 - "It is Time to Get Funky," D Mob
The second of five hits for this house group led by Staffordshire producer Daniel "Dancin' Danny D" Poku. Again, it seems more melodic and fun than some of the more repetitive stuff that would come as the genre progressed.
8 - "License to Kill," Gladys Knight
Gladys's biggest U.K. solo hit was this theme to Timothy Dalton's second and last Bond film. Big ballad about romantic possessiveness. It has that epic Bond feel, possibly because it borrowed so much from "Goldfinger," that that song's writers got royalties from this one.
7 - "I Drove All Night," Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi's third British Top Ten was this pop-rocker about taking a road trip for a booty call. Her charisma elevates it. Roy Orbison did the same. Celine Dion, not so much.
6 - "Right Back Where We Started From," Sinitta
Seattle-born Sinitta Malone has lived most of her life in Britain, and she has had much of her success there, scoring nine Top 40s. The last of her three Top Fives was this cover of Maxine Nightingale's 1975 disco classic. Limp and unnecessary, but more because of production than Sinitta herself.
5 - "Sealed With a Kiss," Jason Donovan
Like Kylie Minogue, Aussie Donovan became a major star on the soap opera Neighbours (their characters even married each other). Also like Kylie, he left the show to become a pop singer under the Stock/Aitken/Waterman machine. And while his run hasn't been as long, he did score four #1s, the third being this cover of BrIan Hyland's 1962 hit about pledging to write a high school sweetheart during their summer separation. Even more pointless than Sinitta's effort. I hear nothing interesting in his performance here.
4 - "All I Want is You," U2
The Irish crew picked up their tenth Top Ten here with this epic devotion ballad. It's them doing what they do best, before pretension had completely swallowed them.
3 - "Song for Whoever," The Beautiful South
The group formed by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway post-Housemartins had their first hit with this cleverly deceptive ballad about a songwriter who gets his material from getting into relationships and breaking them up. Some might say this should now be known as "the Taylor Swift method." Not saying I would, but some might. This is known as "the Fox News technique." Anyway, this song is fantastic, and would be right up there with Public Enemy on that list I mentioned last time.
2 - "Batdance," Prince
Mr. Nelson's schizoid funk mishmash from the Tim Burton-Michael Keaton-Jack Nicholson flick that opened the superhero floodgates for good. Imagine if Prince had still been around to do something like this for Wonder Woman. I'm not sure if it would be good, but I'd have loved to hear it. Anyway, this is an Uneasy Rider, always and forever.
And on top over there a mere 28 years ago was...
1 - "Back to Life," Soul II Soul
The London soul-dance ensemble's only charttopper out of thirteen hits was this catchy track about moving forward in life. It's fine, but I will always like "Keep On Movin'", several thousand times better.
Done again, only to start anew. I am Sisyphus, just with a different kind of rock. See you soon.
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