The UK Top 40: This Week in 1987...

[Drico One]

I thought, for reasons best known to myself, that it might be vaguely interesting if occasionally we posted a chart from the past to lament the decline of popular music as we know it, castigate the "youth of today" for a distinct lack of taste, and generally blame Thatcher for the fall of civilization.

Actually, I'm more interested in a sort of "where are they now" look at the past whilst marveling at the general superiority of the top 40 in the time of Timmy Mallet.

Anyway, here is the top 40 this week 23 *gulp* years ago.

01. Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
02. The Pet Shop Boys And Dusty Springfield - What Have I Done To Deserve This
03. The Fat Boys And The Beach Boys - Wipeout
04. Sinitta - Toy Boy
05. Wet Wet Wet - Sweet Little Mystery
06. Spagna - Call Me
07. Michael Jackson With Siedah Garrett - I Just Can't Stop Loving You
08. Black - Wonderful Life {1987}
09. T'Pau - Heart And Soul
10. Pseudo Echo - Funky Town
11. Prince - U Got The Look 2
12. Wax - Bridge To Your Heart
13. Five Star - Whenever You're Ready
14. Whitney Houston - Didn't We Almost Have It All
15. Cliff Richard - Some People
16. Linda Ronstadt And James Ingram - Somewhere Out There
17. Def Leppard - Animal
18. Then Jerico - The Motive
19. New Order - True Faith
20. Levert - Casanova
21. Squeeze - Hourglass
22. Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
23. Los Lobos - La Bamba
24. Hue And Cry - Labour Of Love
25. The Smiths - Girlfriend In A Coma
26. Madonna - Who's That Girl
27. The Housemartins - Me And The Farmer
28. Sherrick - Just Call
29. Bon Jovi - Never Say Goodbye
30. The Cult - Wild Flower
31. Heart - Alone
32. The Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone
33. Stock Aitken Waterman - Roadblock
34. Johnny Hates Jazz - I Don't Want To Be A Hero
35. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up The Volume/Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)
36. Atlantic Starr - Always
37. The Jesus And Mary Chain - Happy When It Rains
38. Jonathan Butler - Lies
39. Metallica - The $5.98 EP-Garage Days Revisited
40. WASP - Scream Until You Like It

[Drico One]

Can I be the first to pronounce in classic curmudgeonly fashion that there were at least five classic records in that top 20. I mean, you just can't argue with Sinitta and Cliff for starters. Interesting to see Hurts at 34. I have a particular fondness for Girlfriend in a Coma at number 25. It was the song title that first told me that I could never take Morrissey seriously as a songwriter. I found the whole thing utterly hilarious.

Drico.

[Patrick Bateman]

The thing that is most striking about past charts compared with the current one is how homogenous everything is now. Most chart music is pretty crap, and it was ever thus, but look at the variety in that chart. Heavy metal, poodle rock, some genuinely amazing pop singles, a smattering of 60s reissues, embryonic dance music culture, the best version of a song called Wonderful Life, and Cliff (like a pop cockroach Cliff invariably pops up in these retrospectives in one of his guises - Elvis Cliff, Rollerskating Cliff, Christmas Cliff, Cliff from the Musicals, S/A/W Cliff)

True fact: my sister's best friend was Joe Elliott's wife's beautician.

Here is the chart with pretty pictures. PSB at number 2 and 60.

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19870905

[Drico One]

You're spot on about the variety. There's all sorts in there. What strikes me as well is the predominance of "songs" and melodies. Songs seem almost old-fashioned today. Even in the late 1990s when trance took over, there was still an emphasis on the song. Even MC DJ featuring Some Anonymous Chick belted out a bit of a number under the guise of dance music. I don't know, I think it's probably a good thing that an old fart like me no longer feels an empathy with the charts. Let's face it, it's either acceptance of old fart-hood or life as a Popjustice hairdresser swooning over Theo.

*breaks wind*

Drico.

[Patrick Bateman]

It's also the culture. Back then Radio 1 was a broad church with the likes of the maiden aunt of the airwaves Simon Bates most comfortable whilst playing Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram at daytime, Peel catering for Smiths and Jesus and Mary Chain fans in the evening, and a considerable rock presence on the station. Now with demographics holding sway if something doesn't appeal to the 16-24 age group it simply isn't played, and commercial radio is even worse. Coupled with the rise of downloads I'd say that the singles chart these days is representative of an average demographic at least ten years younger than it did in 1987. Plus of course British popular culture has been completely infantilised too.

[Undertaker]

July 2nd 1989

01. - Soul II Soul - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)
02. The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever
03. London Boys - London Nights
04. Prince - Batdance
05. Pet Shop Boys - It's Alright
06. Gladys Knight - Licence To Kill
07. Queen - Breakthru'
08. U2 - All I Want Is You
09. Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night
10. Guns N' Roses - Patience
11. - Double Trouble And The Rebel MC - Just Keep Rockin'
12. Sonia - You'll Never Stop Me From Loving You
13. Sinitta - Right Back Where We Started From
14. Jason Donovan - Sealed With A Kiss
15. M - Pop Muzik {1989}
16. D Mob Featuring LRS - It Is Time To Get Funky
17. Donna Allen - Joy And Pain
18. Rufus And Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody {1989}
19. Clannad With Bono - In A Lifetime {1989}
20. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine {1989}
21. Karyn White - Superwoman
22. Monie Love - Grandpa's Party
23. - The Bangles - Be With You
24. Madonna - Express Yourself
25. Holly Johnson - Atomic City
26. A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
27. Waterfront - Cry
28. We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It - Pink Sunshine
29. Public Enemy - Fight The Power
30. Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
31. Donna Summer - I Don't Wanna Get Hurt
32. Danny Wilson - The Second Summer Of Love
33. De La Soul - Say No Go
34. Natalie Cole - Miss You Like Crazy
35. Cliff Richard - The Best Of Me
36. Kirsty MacColl - Days
37. Placido Domingo And Jennifer Rush - Til I Loved You
38. Norman Cook - Won't Talk About It/Blame It On The Bassline
39. LA Mix - Get Loose
40. Neneh Cherry - Manchild

[Undertaker]

All those songs that are still radio friendly today. I doubt you will get the current shower having such a status in 2030.

[Radiophonic]

What week were in 1988 Heart and I'm Not Scared in the chart together? That was a good week.

[Radiophonic]

Found it ...

http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19880416

[Patrick Bateman]

Here's the week that Heart went to number one. I'm not scared is up to number nine, Bros are at number two, Kylie's debut single is still hanging around in the top ten, as is the original version of this:



http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19880409

There were a load of female singers in the chart then: Tiffany, Sinitta, Patsy, Kylie, Debbie Gibson, Taylor Dayne, Whitney, Heart, Hazell Dean, Adele Bertei, Pebbles, Natalie Cole, Carol Decker, Belinda Carlisle, the girl from The Primitives, Brenda Russell , Annie Lennox, Vanessa Paradis , Bananarama, and lovely Taja Sevelle in the top forty alone.

[BlueSwan]

That chart in the OP was just from a couple of weeks before I started following the UK chart very closely. That was in late september 1987 as I recall. And yes, obviously the charts were far superior to today.

[Drico One]

Speaking of superior pop, when are BlueSwan releasing their next opus? You've become very similar to the PSBs in recent years...keeping fans waiting three years between albums.

Drico.

[BlueSwan]

Can I be the first to pronounce in classic curmudgeonly fashion that there were at least five classic records in that top 20.

At the very least.

Never Gonna Give You Up = Certified pop classic, even discounting the rick-rolling movement. Biggest classic in the top 20.

What Have I Done To Deserve This = Obviously a classic - even for non PSB fans.

Wonderful Life = As much as I like the Hurts song, Patrick is right: this is the definitive "Wonderful Life"

Toy Boy = Classic S/A/W single, if not their biggest classic

I Just Can't Stop Loving You = Would this be considered a classic? Not really sure. Personally I always felt that it was one of Jackos best singles from the 80's, but it's not one of his more popular singles today.

Some People = Best song Cliff ever did. Fact!

True Faith = This is obvious. Even recharted in the top 10 7 years later.

Several other great records in that top 20, but possibly not classics.

[BlueSwan]

Speaking of superior pop, when are BlueSwan releasing their next opus? You've become very similar to the PSBs in recent years...keeping fans waiting three years between albums.

Drico.

It's gonna take longer than three years this time seeing as we have not actually recorded one single song since the last album from the summer of 2008. Been terribly busy having one kid after another.

2012 is the year of the massive comeback. It's gonna be Take That all over again.

[Drico One]

It's gonna take longer than three years this time seeing as we have not actually recorded one single song since the last album from the summer of 2008. Been terribly busy having one kid after another.

I hope Lush and babies are doing well.

Drico.

PS You should put out a remix album to, erm, fill the gap, as it were.