like I mentioned in the comment section of Cozamacoatl's post, I don't like the fact that this boing is based on a US chart. call me a snob but that means very little to me. so I found a nice site that had records from the Australian, the UK and the US charts. very handy. I have no inclination to list all Top 100 from all three countries, because that would be stupidly dull, so here's the Top 25 from the year I left high school: 1986
Australia:
2 WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING Billy Ocean
3 TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) Samantha Fox
4 VENUS Bananarama
5 STIMULATION Wa Wa Nee
7 LIVING DOLL Cliff Richard & the Young Ones (compulsively silly)
8 A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
10 ADDICTED TO LOVE Robert Palmer
13 STUCK WITH YOU Huey Lewis & the News
17 DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY The Communards(I was a fag hag, oh yes I was, well after I left school)
18 A MATTER OF TRUST Billy Joel
19 TRUE COLORS Cyndi Lauper
20 HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat (deliciously suspicious)
21 YOU CAN CALL ME AL Paul Simon
23 CONCRETE & CLAY Martin Plaza
25 KISS Prince & the Revolution
United Kingdom:
1 DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY The Communards (impossible not to dance to you know)
4 LIVING DOLL Cliff Richard & The Young Ones (a classic I tell you)
7 WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE TOUGH GET GOING Billy Ocean
10 SO MACHO c/w CRUISING Sinitta (don't know this one)
13 ROCK ME AMADEUS Falco(strange and yet funky)
14 WE DON'T HAVE TO Jermaine Stewart (don't know this one but anyone called Jermaine is suss)
15 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Dr & the Medics
17 REET PETITE Jackie Wilson
19 CARAVAN OF LOVE The Housemartins
20 THE CHICKEN SONG Spitting Image
21 THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V. a-ha
25 LESSONS IN LOVE Level 42 (secret revealed: I loved white boy funk like Level 42 and Curiosity Killed the Cat)
United States:
3 I MISS YOU Klymaxx (don't know this one) (don't want to)
7 PARTY ALL THE TIME Eddie Murphy (don't know this one)
10 ADDICTED TO LOVE Robert Palmer
11 GREATEST LOVE OF ALL Whitney Houston
12 SECRET LOVERS Atlantic Starr (don't know this one) (don't make me)
13 FRIENDS AND LOVERS Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson (don't know this one)
14 GLORY OF LOVE Peter Cetera (don't know this one)
15 WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
17 ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
19 KISS Prince & the Revolution
23 SLEDGEHAMMER Peter Gabriel
24 SARA Starship (don't know this one)
25 HUMAN Human League (I heart haircut bands. except Thompson Twins. pah!)
as you can see, most of it is boring pap. I didn't listen to much of it. ta Meg for showing me how to cross things out... if you compare it to charts by the likes of The Face, Melody Maker, and NME, found at this site called Alaska Jim, you can see there were heaps more interesting bands charting, like The Smiths, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, Big Audio Dynamite, PiL, The Jam (turning into The Style Council), Talking Heads, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cocteau Twins, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, New Order, The Triffids, Kraftwerk... ahhh bloody hell I could go on forever...
by 1986, Countdown was still a phenomena - I will never say a bad thing about Countdown, although Countdown bloody Revolution was another matter altogether. burn in hell, Tanya Lacey! I watched Rock Arena religiously, a great show because they nearly always played a block of 3 or more songs by the one band. it was so cool. am pretty sure that Sounds Unlimited was still on telly by then, and I really enjoyed that on the weekends. there was also a programme late at night on (I think) channel 10 (Sydney) called Nightmoves. or did that start later in the 80's? very suss. later on of course was Rage and the ill-fated MTV. I watched them all with the video remote glued to my fisties in case of a cool song being played. I still have the VHS tapes.
following the lead of some of the other kids I knew, I used to get the UK Smash Hits ordered into my local newsagents. up until the mid-80's it was funny, quirky, and was jam-packed with all the important things for a teenager girl - lyrics and posters of haircut bands. I also read NME, the Face, Melody maker and the likes occasionally but in the world of music journalism I was naive. I was a video-clip junkie. once, after school, I found a stash of Stiletto that someone was throwing out. I knicked them out of the top of the bin and read every word. it was so cool.
also, by 1986, my friends and I were going through the ubiquitous Retro phase, in our case, the 1960's. we collected some really good vinyl at op-shops - Small Faces, Easybeats, cheesy compilations - and some unbelievable clothes. my 18th was a 60's party. for the party I wore a gold and cream paisley lurex ensemble: full-length A-line skirt with matching bell-sleeved and funnel-necked A-line top. so wonderful. also, the Easybeats reformed for a short tour and my best friend and I saw them. despite the fact it was at the Entertainment Bunker of Doom and Anti-Atmosphere, it was still one of the most amazing gigs I've ever been to.
there you go.
as far as passing the buck, I'd like to tag DestructoMeg, and Charkey, aka The Man From Portland(tm), although that might be a bit harder cos he doesn't have a blog!
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