Before taking a look at this week in 1993's new entries peaking outside the top 100, I have updated an earlier post:
* 8 January 1990 - new bubbling WAY down under entry from Ed Kuepper and The Yard Goes On Forever.
Gary Clail: these low chart positions are worth fighting for.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 125 “U R the Best Thing” by D:Ream (1993 release)
Peak: number 117 (1993 release); number 9 (1994 release)
Peak dates: 26 July 1993 and 2 August 1993 (1993 release); 27 June 1994 (1994 release)
Weeks in top 150: 25 weeks (6 weeks 1993 chart run; 19 weeks 1994 chart run)
Top 150 chart run: 125-124-117-117-130-134
Re-entry 2 May 1994: 39-25-29-28-26-19-17-13-9-12-17-27-35-37-50-74-49-93-91
Weeks on chart: 29 weeks (1993 and 1994 chart runs combined)
Mancunian band D:Ream previously visited us in May 1993.
“U R the Best Thing” has a convoluted release history. First released in mid-1992, including a July 1992 Australian release on 12” vinyl, “U R the Best Thing” - promoted by the first of three different music videos filmed for the song - was D:Ream’s debut release, peaking at number 72 in the UK in June 1992.
The single was re-released in 1993, with a new music video to boot (embedded below). This time, “U R the Best Thing” peaked at number 19 in the UK for two non-consecutive weeks in April-May 1993, number 6 in Ireland, number 50 in the Flanders region of Belgium in July 1993, and number 1 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in July 1993.
After the success of the remixed and re-released “Things Can Only Get Better” (number 9 in Australia, March 1994), “U R the Best Thing” was remixed by Perfecto (Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne) and given a third release, and another music video. The 1994 release of “U R the Best Thing” peaked at number 4 in the UK in April 1994, number 6 in Ireland, number 25 in the Netherlands in May 1994, number 35 in Switzerland in June 1994, number 65 in Germany for two non-consecutive weeks in June-July 1994, number 46 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1994, and number 9 in Australia in June 1994.
On the state charts, “U R the Best Thing” performed equally strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory and Victoria/Tasmania, where the 1994 release reached number 8.
Before D:Ream hit it big with “Things Can Only Get Better”, another single, “Unforgiven”, was released in Australia in September 1993, but failed to chart.
I like both the original and Perfecto-remixed versions of “U R the Best Thing”, but like the Perfecto version slightly more.
We’ll next see D:Ream in 1995.
Number 133 “With One Look” by Barbra Streisand
Peak: number 129
Peak date: 2 August 1993
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 133-130-131-129-133-138
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Babs last paid us a visit in 1992.
“With One Look” was the lead single from Babs’ twenty-sixth studio album Back to Broadway (number 3, July 1993), consisting of songs from Broadway musicals. “With One Look” originally appeared in the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical Sunset Boulevard.
Internationally, “With One Look” peaked at number 30 in the UK in May 1993. Domestically, the single was most popular in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 113 on the state chart.
We’ll next see Babs in 1999.
Number 140 “Make You a Believer” by Sass Jordan
Peak: number 140
Peak date: 12 July 1993
Weeks in top 150: 2 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 140-(out of the top 150 for one week)-141
Quebec-based singer Sass Jordan was born Sarah Jordan in England, with her family emigrating to Canada when she was 3 years old. She launched her recording career in 1988, releasing her debut album Tell Somebody that year.
“Make You a Believer” was the lead single from her second album Racine (released in Australia in August 1993, missed the top 150). Internationally, "Make You a Believer" peaked at number 12 in Canada in April 1992, and number 51 in the Netherlands in October 1992. The song also reached number 11 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
This was Sass's only top 150 appearance on the Australian charts.
Number 146 “In All the Right Places” by Lisa Stansfield
Peak: number 132
Peak date: 19 July 1993
Weeks in top 150: 5 weeks
Chart run: 146-132-135-134-138
Weeks on chart: 5 weeks
English songstress Lisa Stansfield last paid us a visit in February 1993.
“In All the Right Places” was recorded for the soundtrack album of the movie Indecent Propsal (number 67, May 1993). The Soul Mix of “In the Right Places” would later appear on Lisa’s third solo studio album So Natural (number 67, November 1993).
Internationally, “In All the Right Places” peaked at number 8 in the UK in June 1993, number 8 in Ireland, number 63 in Germany in July 1993, and number 24 in the Netherlands in August 1993.
Locally, “In All the Right Places” was most popular in Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 113 on the state chart.
I first heard/saw the music video for this one on rage as a new release. During the July 1993 school holidays, I sat up to watch the Friday night new releases segment of rage from around midnight until 5 a.m. Saturday morning, in real time. Yes, I was a bit crazy, but this meant that I would get first generation VHS recordings of some music videos I wanted to keep that missed the rage top 60 chart rundown.
We shall next see Lisa in 1994.
Number 149 “Sweet Inspiration” by The Black Sorrows
Peak: number 136
Peak date: 26 July 1993
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 149-144-136-146-145-145
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
Aussie band The Black Sorrows formed in 1983. Their first charting single was "Daughters of Glory" (number 48, July 1987), and their biggest hit was "Chained to the Wheel" (number 9, May 1989). "Sweet Inspiration", The Black Sorrows' fourteenth charting single, was issued as the fourth and final single from the band's seventh studio album Better Times (number 13, September 1992). It followed "Ain't Love the Strangest Thing" (number 46, September 1992), "Better Times" (number 74, November 1992), and "Come On, Come On" (number 70, April 1993).
On the state charts, "Sweet Inspiration" performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, where it reached number 114.
We will next see The Black Sorrows in 1995.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 181 “Sleepy Head (Serene Machine)” by Ed Kuepper
Peak: number 181
Peak date: 12 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks
Australian singer-songwriter Ed Kuepper last visited us in 1992.
"Sleepy Head (Serene Machine)" was the lead single from Ed's seventh studio album Serene Machine (number 45, May 1993). On the state charts, "Sleepy Head..." was equally most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory and Victoria/Tasmania, where it reached number 176.
Listening to this track for the first time as I write this post, I liked this more than I was expecting to.
We shall next see Ed in 1995.
Number 206 “In a Word Or 2”/“The Power” by Monie Love
Peak: number 201
Peak date: 19 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 5 weeks
English rapper Monie Love last joined us in 1992.
“In a Word Or 2”/“The Power” was the third single issued from Monie’s second, and to date last, studio album In a Word Or 2 (number 147, May 1993). It followed “Full Term Love” (number 150, September 1992) and “Born 2 B.R.E.E.D.” (number 98, May 1993). “In a Word Or 2” was produced and co-written by Prince. The single version of “The Power”, the Junior Style Edit, is the first track in the second video embedded below, which plays three mixes of the track.
Internationally, “In a Word Or 2”/“The Power” peaked at number 33 in the UK in June 1993. In Australia, “In a Word Or 2”/“The Power” performed strongest in South Australia/Northern Territory, reaching number 159 on the state chart.
We shall see Monie one more time, in September 1993.
Number 216 “Boom the Future” by Ugly
Peak: number 216
Peak date: 12 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 1 week
Ugly were British trio Glenn Gregory, Ian Martin Wright and John Uriel. Glenn, who fronted the band, was the front man in Heaven 17, whom we last saw in June 1993.
The “Boom the Future” single was the only Ugly release. Internationally, the single peaked at number 89 (number 81 on the truncated chart with exclusions below number 75) in the UK in May 1993. Domestically, “Boom the Future” was most popular in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, reaching number 189 on the state chart.
I first heard this one in the early 2010s, while digitising a UK VHS compilation it appeared on. I think this could have been a hit with better promotion.
Number 226 “These Things Are Worth Fighting For” by Gary Clail On-U Sound System
Peak: number 157
Peak date: 26 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 7 weeks
We last saw English Gary Clail On-U Sound System in 1992. “These Things Are Worth Fighting For” was the second single lifted from their third album Dreamstealers (number 180, August 1993). Again, the song deals with social issues, this time “one law for the rich and another for the poor”.
Internationally, “These Things Are Worth Fighting For” peaked at number 45 in the UK in May 1993. Locally, the single performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, reaching number 139 on the state chart.
This was the final Gary Clail On-U Sound System single to chart in Australia. Gary returned solo in 1996 with the single “Another Hard Man” and the album Keep the Faith, but neither charted in Australia.
Number 228 Shortsharpshock E.P. by Therapy?
Peak: number 228
Peak date: 12 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks
Northern Irish alternative rock/metal band Therapy? formed in 1989. Their first Australian release was the Caucasian Psychosis album (released locally in May 1992, did not chart), which was a compilation of their first two mini-album indie label releases.
The Shortsharpshock EP, led by the track “Screamager”, was Therapy?’s first Australian single/EP release. The song’s title, which does not appear in the lyrics, came into being when singer Andy Cairns and bass player Michael McKeegan were viewing the Smash Hits awards show on TV in a hotel room, noticing the audience of largely teenage girls who went wild screaming at the celebrities on stage. The pair commented that the audience were “screamagers” rather than teenagers, and that this would make a good song title. “Screamager” would go on to appear on the band’s second full-length album Troublegum (number 145, March 1994). It does not appear on their first album-proper Nurse (number 194, August 1993). A double pack Nurse/Shortsharpshock was released in Australia in 1995, reaching number 163 on the albums chart in May 1995.
Internationally, the Shortsharpshock EP charted at number 9 in the UK in March 1993, number 2 in Ireland, and number 22 in Sweden in June 1993. “Screamager” peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in October 1993.
Domestically, the Shortsharpshock EP was most popular in Western Australia, reaching number 188 on the state chart.
I first heard “Screamager” in the early 2010s when it appeared on a UK VHS compilation I was digitising. While I am generally not a metal/heavy rock fan, I like this one.
We’ll next see Therapy? in August 1993.
Number 231 “Dirty Money” by Dee Fredrix
Peak: number 219
Peak date: 19 July 1993
Weeks on chart: 2 weeks
English singer Dee Fredrix, real name Dee Fredericks, is a name that you are probably not familiar with. However, you have likely heard her voice before.
As Dee Lewis, she sang the “when will I, will I be famous” and “when will I see my picture in the paper” chorus lines, among others, in Bros’ “When Will I Be Famous?” (number 5 for three weeks in May-June 1988) - even though Matt Goss lip syncs those lines in the music video. Coincidentally, Luke Goss from Bros was dating Dee’s sister, Shirley Lewis, at the time, and they later married, splitting in 2020. Dee has also performed backing vocals for many artists, appearing on Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” (number 3, June 1986), and many Stock Aitken Waterman-productions, including Rick Astley’s “Whenever You Need Somebody” (number 3 for two weeks in March 1988) (I think she’s the dark curly-haired back-up singer in the video); Laura Branigan’s “Shattered Glass” (number 60, September 1987); Kylie Minogue’s “The Loco-Motion”, “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” (number 11, December 1988), “It’s No Secret”; Jason Donovan’s “Nothing Can Divide Us” (number 3, November 1988); and Donna Summer’s “This Time I Know It’s for Real” (number 40, October 1989), to name but a few.
As a solo artist, Dee released a handful of singles in the late 1980s, under the name of Dee Lewis. None achieved major commercial success, with Dee’s version of The Emotions’ “The Best of My Love” charting highest in the UK, at number 47 in July 1988. My favourite of Dee’s singles as Dee Lewis is “Stuck on Love”.
”Dirty Money” was Dee’s second release as Dee Fredrix, following the single “And So I Will Wait for You” (released in Australia in May 1993, did not chart). Internationally, “Dirty Money” peaked at number 74 in the UK in June 1993.
In Australia, “Dirty Money” performed strongest in New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory, reaching number 197 on the state chart. The single debuted at number 231 on all five state charts, as well as nationally, which makes me think that it may have been at the bottom of the national chart this week.
This was Dee’s only charting release in Australia.
Next week (19 July): Seven top 150 entries and seven bubbling WAY down under entries.
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