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| After such a big hit, the only way was down for Yazz |
I've avoided going over the same artists and songs repeatedly in this series of posts, and one artist I've completely skipped over is Kylie Minogue, since I've dealt with her releases extensively elsewhere on this blog. But, she and producers Stock Aitken Waterman dominate my top 25 - just as they dominated the UK top 40 all year.
Teen pop from the likes of Kylie, Debbie Gibson, Bros and Rick Astley enjoyed its peak in 1988, but by the end of 1989, dance music had taken over, with grunge only a few years away. Such a proliferation of pop acts would not be seen again for another decade.
Number 25 "Together Forever" by Rick Astley
After an impressive start the previous year, Rick Astley went supernova in 1988. The hits from Whenever You Need Somebody continued with this single, which gave him a second number 1 in the US, as well as (in some countries) "It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man" and "Don't Say Goodbye", which both feature in my top 200 for the year. By the end of 1988, Rick had released his second album, Hold Me In Your Arms, which contained his first self-penned single, "She Wants To Dance With Me" (number 64 on this list) and my favourite single of his, "Take Me To Your Heart" (number 4 on this list). Phew!
Writing his own songs and moving slowly away from releasing singles produced by SAW could have spelt the beginning of the end (as it had for many other artists who found that the hits dried up when they left the Hit Factory), but Rick continued to be successful into the '90s - and is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance at the moment. In fact, I'm seeing him play in Sydney this weekend. I'm interested to see just how faithfully he'll perform these old pop tracks.
Number 24 "Out Of The Blue" by Debbie Gibson
I was obsessed with Debbie in 1988 - just slightly less than I was with Kylie. She only really had the one hit in Australia that year (1987's "Shake Your Love"), but my sister brought me back the Out Of The Blue cassette when she went to the States that year and I loved every track on it. "Out Of The Blue" was another US and UK hit for Debbie, but it was with "Foolish Beat" (number 90 on this list) that she really broke records, becoming the youngest artist to write, produce and perform a US chart-topper. Listening to the album now, it hasn't aged as well as some other pop from the era - but it's still pretty fun.
Number 23 "Got To Be Certain" by Kylie Minogue
Previously featured here
Number 22 "Tell It To My Heart" by Taylor Dayne
Mentioned below
Number 21 "I Can't Help It" by Bananarama
Mentioned below
Number 20 "You Are The One" by a-ha
Ask most people and they would be quite surprised to know a-ha were still making records three years after "Take On Me". Not only did they release some of my favourite singles of theirs that year, including this track, "Touchy!" (number 43 on this list) and "The Blood That Moves The Body" (number 79 on this list), but they actually kept on recording (with a few breaks) right up until their farewell record in 2010. Unfairly branded as one-hit wonders, the Norwegian trio rank as one of my favourite groups of all time.
Number 19 "Love, Truth And Honesty" by Bananarama
If you've been following my year-by-year journey through the '80s, you'll have seen these girls pop up time and time again. Actually, not quite these girls, since 1988 was the year Siobhan Fahey left Bananarama (her last single with the group was "I Can't Help It", which is back at number 22) and Jacquie O'Sullivan joined the trio.
"Love, Truth And Honesty" was the first all-new song released by the new-look group, although Jacquie had already added her vocals to a revamped "I Want You Back" (number 3 on this list and my favourite Bananarama track of all time) and would go on to sing on a reworked version of "Nathan Jones" (number 44 on this list).
Truth be told, the switcheroo didn't make much of a musical difference, since you couldn't really say that Bananarama had very distinctive vocals in the first place, but the change was noticeable in a visual sense, since Jacquie lacked the same spark Siobhan had - and when she, too, departed the group in 1991, I can't say I was that bothered.
Number 18 "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi/Made In Heaven" by Kylie Minogue
Previously featured here
Number 17 "He Ain't No Competition" by Brother Beyond
So resounding a success had this struggling pop group's union with SAW been that all parties concerned thought it was a good idea to repeat the collaboration, and, voila, "He Ain't No Competition" came to pass. Not quite as good as "The Harder I Try" (which is at number 13 below), but another storming pop classic.
Number 16 "When Will I Be Famous" by Bros
Brother Beyond's rivals for the hearts and minds of teen girls across the UK were this trio, who also struggled with their first couple of releases. Unlike Brother Beyond, Bros didn't team up with hit producers, but just re-released this track and "I Owe You Nothing" (which is at number 8 below) until the public bought them - and buy them they eventually did.
In Australia, Bros' five singles from Push all hit the chart in 1988 and a visit down under caused all sorts of mayhem. I distinctly remember buying the album at my local record shop - in fact, I bought it the same day I bought Kylie. And although I liked "Drop The Boy" (number 82 on this list), "I Quit" (number 148 on this list) and "Cat Among The Pigeons" (number 176 on this list), they weren't a patch on this song or "I Owe You Nothing", a song for which the Smash Hits songwords phrase "ad lib to fade" was invented.
Number 15 "First Boy In This Town (Lovesick)" by Scritti Politti
Their 1988 album Provision was nowhere near as successful as 1985's Cupid & Psyche 85, but it's one of my top 10 albums of all time - and it contained this pop gem as well as "Boom! There She Was" (number 113 on this list) and "Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)" (number 119 on this list). There could have been any number of other singles taken from Provision but the public clearly wasn't very receptive to the new music by Green and co., and the band spluttered to an end in 1991 with a couple of reggae-fied cover versions. Green returned many years later, but Scritti Politti never recaptured the highs of their mid-'80s success.
Number 14 "Prove Your Love" by Taylor Dayne
The New York native born Leslie Wunderman became a bit of a chart juggernaut in the late '80s, especially in the US, where she enjoyed seven consecutive top 10 hits, including number 7 placings for both this second single and her debut, "Tell It To My Heart" (number 23 on this list). With a shock of bright red hair, huge equally bright red lips and a voice that blasted away most of her contemporaries, Taylor was a force to be reckoned with and carried on being successful well into the 1990s. These days, she occasionally pops down to Australia to tour and still releases the odd record here and there.
Number 13 "The Harder I Try" by Brother Beyond
Mentioned above and previously featured here and here
Number 12 "Who's Leaving Who" by Hazell Dean
After years of trying to follow up her 1984 success, SAW's original hitmaker finally cracked the UK top 10 again with this song, a cover of an Anne Murray track from 1986. I always feel like poor Hazell is a forgotten part of the SAW legacy. Out-glamoured by Sinitta and Kylie, out-camped by Dead Or Alive and Divine, out-sold by Rick Astley and Bananarama, she did, however, have a better voice than most of the artists the producers worked with. Thanks to the top 5 performance of this song in the UK chart, Hazell enjoyed a bit of a career resurgence, with other singles "Maybe (We Should Call It A Day)" (number 31 on this list) and her version of the Kylie track "Turn It Into Love" (number 85 on this list) performing moderately well.
Number 11 "I Should Be So Lucky" by Kylie Minogue
Previously featured here
Number 10 "Waiting For A Star To Fall" by Boy Meets Girl
Boy (George Merrill) met girl (Shannon Rubicam) 13 years earlier and together they'd written two of Whitney Houston's biggest hits ("How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)") but when this track was turned down by Clive Davis for Whitney's third album, the duo decided to record it themselves and released it as the lead single from their second album, Reel Life. The song was a smash around the world (although it only got to number 35 in Australia) - and was one of my 7" purchases that year. 17 years later, three songs based on "Waiting For A Star To Fall" emerged - "Star2Fall" by Cabin Crew (which featured re-recorded vocals by George), "Falling Stars" by Sunset Strippers and Mylo's "In My Arms", a mash-up with "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes.
Number 9 "Rush Hour" by Jane Wiedlin
The guitarist for The Go-Go's had attempted a solo career in 1985 with her self-titled album, but in 1988, this track by Jane made a big splash, hitting the US and UK chart. An awesomely catchy song, it would be her one and only hit - later covered by British rock act Joyrider.
Number 8 "I Owe You Nothing" by Bros
Mentioned above and previously featured here
Number 7 "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz & The Plastic Population
Born Yasmin Evans, Yazz had previously appeared on the Coldcut track "Doctorin' The House" before this song, a cover of an Otis Clay record, took her straight to the top of the UK chart, where she stayed for five weeks. The Plastic Population were never heard of again, since her follow-up track, "Stand Up For Your Love Rights" (number 53 on this list) was credited solely to Yazz. The hits dwindled, but as late as 1994, she released "Have Mercy", a song I liked and which had moderate UK success - but there was never going to be any topping this joyous pop classic. There's a link to the music video in the song title above and a Top Of The Pops performance below.
Number 6 "Especially For You" by Kylie Minogue / Jason Donovan
Previously featured here and here
Number 5 Crackers International EP by Erasure
Mentioned below
Number 4 "Take Me To Your Heart" by Rick Astley
Mentioned above and previously featured here
Number 3 "I Want You Back" by Bananarama
Mentioned above and previously featured here
Number 2 "You Came" by Kim Wilde
Like Bananarama, Kim is an artist I'd long been a fan of, and although her fortunes had gone up and down over the previous seven years, I thought she'd always released quality pop singles. In 1988, she not only unleashed a string of great singles (including "Never Trust A Stranger", which is at number 49 on this list), but the album they were all taken from, Close, was also her best LP to date (and still is, actually).
"You Came" was the second single from Close and quickly became a huge favourite of mine. After starting to buy 7" singles in 1987, I bought them a little more frequently in 1988, and this was one I snapped up as soon as I heard it. The best single she's ever released and a song that I could still listen to every day all these years later. Kim re-recorded the song in 2006, giving it more of a pop/rock feel - and I liked that version, too.
Number 1 "Chains Of Love" by Erasure
I've discussed previously how Erasure had a slow start to their career with first album Wonderland, but by 1988, they were unstoppable in the UK. Their third album, The Innocents, became the first of five straight chart-topping albums and their singles all shot towards the upper reaches of the chart as well.
As it turned out, my favourite song of theirs from 1988 (and of all time), "Chains Of Love", was actually their least successful UK release that year, only reaching number 11. In the US, however, it became their first hit, reaching number 12. More successful in the UK were "Ship Of Fools" (number 121 on this list), "A Little Respect" (number 32 on this list) and the Crackers International EP (number 5 on this list), which contained four songs (including lead track "Stop!") and came agonisingly close to giving the duo their first number 1, stalling a place behind. "Chains Of Love" is my favourite song from the 1980s and remains my second favourite song of all time.
My top 200 for 1988 in full:
1 CHAINS
OF LOVE Erasure
2 YOU
CAME Kim Wilde
3 I
WANT YOU BACK Bananarama
4 TAKE
ME TO YOUR HEART Rick Astley
5 CRACKERS
INTERNATIONAL (EP) Erasure
6 ESPECIALLY
FOR YOU Kylie Minogue / Jason Donovan
7 THE
ONLY WAY IS UP Yazz & The Plastic Population
8 I
OWE YOU NOTHING Bros
9 RUSH
HOUR Jane Wiedlin
10 WAITING
FOR A STAR TO FALL Boy Meets Girl
11 I
SHOULD BE SO LUCKY Kylie Minogue
12 WHO'S
LEAVING WHO Hazell Dean
13 THE
HARDER I TRY Brother Beyond
14 PROVE
YOUR LOVE Taylor Dayne
15 FIRST
BOY IN THIS TOWN (LOVESICK) Scritti Politti
16 WHEN
WILL I BE FAMOUS Bros
17 HE
AIN'T NO COMPETITION Brother Beyond
18 JE
NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI / MADE IN HEAVEN Kylie Minogue
19 LOVE,
TRUTH AND HONESTY Bananarama
20 YOU
ARE THE ONE a-ha
21 I
CAN'T HELP IT Bananarama
22 TELL
IT TO MY HEART Taylor Dayne
23 GOT
TO BE CERTAIN Kylie Minogue
24 OUT
OF THE BLUE Debbie Gibson
25 TOGETHER
FOREVER Rick Astley
26 HEART
Pet Shop Boys
27 FREEMASON
(YOU BROKE THE PROMISE) Boxcar
28 LOVE
CHANGES (EVERYTHING) Climie Fisher
29 ONE
MOMENT IN TIME Whitney Houston
30 MAN
IN THE MIRROR Michael Jackson
31 MAYBE
(WE SHOULD CALL IT A DAY) Hazell Dean
32 TURN
IT INTO LOVE Kylie Minogue
33 CROSS
MY HEART Eighth Wonder
34 A
LITTLE RESPECT Erasure
35 BIG
FUN Inner City
36 MOST
OF ALL Jody Watley
37 DOMINO
DANCING Pet Shop Boys
38 BOYS
AND GIRLS Mandy
39 EVERLASTING
LOVE Sandra
40 HAZY
SHADE OF WINTER Bangles
41 THEME
FROM S-EXPRESS S-Express
42 GET
OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR Billy Ocean
43 TOUCHY!
a-ha
44 SOMEWHERE
IN MY HEART Aztec Camera
45 GOT
A NEW LOVE Good Question
46 NEVER
TRUST A STRANGER Kim Wilde
47 STAND
UP FOR YOUR LOVE RIGHTS Yazz
48 TWO
HEARTS Phil Collins
49 YES
Merry Clayton
50 INTIMACY
Machinations
51 UNDERNEATH
THE RADAR Underworld
52 BUFFALO
STANCE Neneh Cherry
53 I'M
NOT SCARED Eighth Wonder
54 IM
NIN'ALU Ofra Haza
55 I
WANT YOUR LOVE Transvision Vamp
56 SMOOTH
CRIMINAL Michael Jackson
57 GOOD
LIFE Inner City
58 LOVE
WILL SAVE THE DAY Whitney Houston
59 NATHAN
JONES Bananarama
60 GIRL
YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE Milli Vanilli
61 SHE
WANTS TO DANCE WITH ME Rick Astley
62 I
DON'T BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Sinitta
63 BROKEN LAND The
Adventures
64 MEGABLAST
/ DON'T MAKE ME WAIT Bomb The Bass
65 LEFT
TO MY OWN DEVICES Pet Shop Boys
66 ONE GOOD WOMAN Peter
Cetera
67 BLUE
MONDAY 88 New Order
68 MYSTIFY
INXS
69 BETTER
BE HOME SOON Crowded House
70 I
GET WEAK Belinda Carlisle
71 WHAT’S
ON YOUR MIND (PURE ENERGY) Information Society
72 AMAZING WORLD Venetians
73 STOP LOVING YOU Toto
74 DREAMING
OMD
75 THAT'S
THE WAY IT IS Mel & Kim
76 I
SAY NOTHING Voice Of The Beehive
77 NEW
SENSATION INXS
78 THE
BLOOD THAT MOVES THE BODY a-ha
79 MAKE ME LOSE CONTROL
Eric Carmen
80 MERCEDES
BOY Pebbles
81 WHERE
DO BROKEN HEARTS GO Whitney Houston
82 I
DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE Duran Duran
83 SEXY
GIRL Sabrina
84 SUCCESS
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
85 DROP
THE BOY Bros
86 WEEKEND
Todd Terry Project featuring Class Action
87 HEART
OF GOLD Johnny Hates Jazz
88 TEARDROPS
Womack & Womack
89 BOYS
(SUMMERTIME LOVE) Sabrina
90 THERE’S
A BRAND NEW WORLD Five Star
91 NOTHING
CAN DIVIDE US Jason Donovan
92 TURN
IT INTO LOVE Hazell Dean
93 ALPHABET
ST. Prince
94 BABY
BABY Eighth Wonder
95 TEARS
RUN RINGS Marc Almond
96 IF
I COULD 1927
97 SIGN
YOUR NAME Terence Trent D'Arby
98 FOOLISH
BEAT Debbie Gibson
99 TURN AROUND AND COUNT 2
TEN Dead Or Alive
100 GROOVE Eurogliders
101 HUNGRY EYES Eric Carmen
102 WHEN IT’S LOVE Van Halen
103 LOVE BITES Def Leppard
104 UNDER THE MILKY WAY The
Church
105 PERFECT Fairground
Attraction
106 STAYING TOGETHER Debbie
Gibson
107 NAUGHTY GIRLS (NEED
LOVE TOO) Samantha Fox
108 SOME KIND OF LOVER Jody
Watley
109 BOOM! THERE SHE WAS
Scritti Politti
110 JUST A MIRAGE Jellybean
featuring Adele Bertei
111 GIRLFRIEND Pebbles
112 VICTIM OF PLEASURE
Mandy
113 SUPERFLY GUY S-Express
114 OH PATTI (DON'T FEEL
SORRY FOR LOVERBOY) Scritti Politti
115 DON’T WALK AWAY Toni
Childs
116 ONE GOOD REASON Paul
Carrack
117 PAMELA Toto
118 EVERY GIRL AND BOY
Spagna
119 ALL OF ME (BOY OH BOY)
Sabrina
120 CROSS MY BROKEN HEART
Sinitta
121 IN YOUR ROOM The
Bangles
122 BURN IT UP Beatmasters
with PP Arnold
123 PIANO IN THE DARK
Brenda Russell
124 AGE OF REASON John
Farnham
125 DIVINE EMOTIONS Narada
126 DON'T SAY GOODBYE Rick
Astley
127 THE PERFECT DAY Fischer
Z
128 DON'T GO CHANGING Sparklers
129 SHIP OF FOOLS Erasure
130 FATHER FIGURE George
Michael
131 LOVE ME TO DEATH / BOMBSHELL
Boom Crash Opera
132 MONKEY George Michael
133 NOBODY’S PERFECT Mike
& The Mechanics
134 KISSING A FOOL George
Michael
135 LOVE IN THE NATURAL WAY
Kim Wilde
136 THAT’S WHEN I THINK OF
YOU 1927
137 JACKIE Blue Zone
138 STOP THAT GIRL 2 Brave
139 ARMAGEDDON IT Def
Leppard
140 SHE MAKES MY DAY Robert
Palmer
141 KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE
Freiheit
142 WILD, WILD WEST The
Escape Club
143 LET'S ALL CHANT Pat
& Mick
144 I'M THE ONE WHO REALLY
LOVES YOU / CLIVILLES & COLE MIX Mel & Kim
145 IT WOULD TAKE A STRONG,
STRONG MAN Rick Astley
146 BURNING FEELING
Noiseworks
147 HEY LITTLE BOY Divinyls
148 SHE'S LIKE THE WIND
Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser
149 IF IT ISN’T LOVE New
Edition
150 GLAM SLAM Prince
151 SYMPTOMS OF TRUE LOVE
Tracie Spencer
152 DON'T SAY IT'S LOVE
Johnny Hates Jazz
153 HEAVEN IN MY HANDS
Level 42
154 BEAT DIS Bomb The Bass
155 I QUIT Bros
156 HOW SHE THREW IT ALL
AWAY Style Council
157 FOUR LETTER WORD Kim
Wilde
158 THE RUMOUR Olivia
Newton-John
159 I KNOW HIM SO WELL
Whitney Houston / Cissy Houston
160 AS THE DAYS GO BY Daryl
Braithwaite
161 K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Siedah
Garrett
162 SAYIN’ SORRY (DON’T
MAKE IT RIGHT) Denise Lopez
163 JUST GOT PAID Johnny
Kemp
164 NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE
THIS Alexander O’Neal featuring Cherrelle
165 I DON’T WANNA GO ON
WITH YOU LIKE THAT Elton John
166 ROSES ARE RED The Mac
Band
167 DON'T YOU WANT ME Jody
Watley
168 NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME
Poison
169 DON'T CALL ME BABY
Voice Of The Beehive
170 A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE
Phil Collins
171 CIRCLE IN THE SAND
Belinda Carlisle
172 FINE TIME New Order
173 ANYTHING FOR YOU Gloria
Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
174 I DON’T WANT TO LIVE
WITHOUT YOU Foreigner
175 CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS /
SILENT NIGHT Bros
176 MY PREROGATIVE Bobby
Brown
177 KISS 'N' TELL Chantoozies
178 JUST LIKE PARADISE
David Lee Roth
179 REVOLUTION BABY
Transvision Vamp
180 PUSH IT Salt 'n' Pepa
181 ANOTHER PART OF ME
Michael Jackson
182 HEAVEN KNOWS Robert
Plant
183 BEHIND THE WHEEL /
ROUTE 66 Depeche Mode
184 LOVELY DAY (REMIX) Bill
Withers
185 GIVING UP ON LOVE Rick
Astley
186 INSIDE A DREAM Jane
Wiedlin
187 TAKE A LOOK Level 42
188 MY LOVE Julio Iglesias
/ Stevie Wonder
189 WHAT'S IT GONNA BE
Rockmelons
190 IT'S NO SECRET Kylie
Minogue
191 HEY MR HEARTACHE Kim
Wilde
192 LIBERIAN GIRL Michael
Jackson
193 NEVER TEAR US APART
INXS
194 GIVING YOU THE BEST
THAT I GOT Anita Baker
195 I KNOW HOW (TO MAKE YOU
LOVE ME) Nia Peeples
196 DOCTORIN’ THE TARDIS
The Timelords
197 WHERE DID I GO WRONG
UB40
198 ANGEL OF HARLEM U2
199 HALLELUIAH MAN Love And
Money
200 KISS AND TELL Bryan
Ferry
MY YEAR-END CHARTS
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