16 July 1988
I didn’t know that this was a cover version; the original was a 1985 single by George Benson in his smooth-soul-crooner ’80s phase. After Tiffany with her two Irish number ones and Debbie Gibson with her chart hits here, Glenn Medeiros was another American pop teen to wash up on our shores in 1988. His cover of ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You’ was a US hit the year before, then topped the charts across Europe. Why it was such a global success speaks to whatever ’80s demographic always seemed to be sending this sort of schmaltz to number one: corny saxophone, saccharine keyboards, echoing drums, squealing lead guitar, simpering vocals, and don’t forget the big key change!
Medeiros in the video (below) looks and sounds like he’s about to succumb to one of those vague yet fatal illnesses at the end of a weepie romantic movie. Given that this was a summer hit, perhaps it was the ‘our song’ of many a teen holiday first love, or at least a first shift at summer camp disco. I would be concerned if any actual grown-up fell for this maudlin syrup.
