4 October 1986 As we've seen so far in our '80s number ones, '60s throwbacks were all the rage. Even Motown royalty like Diana Ross with 'Chain Reaction' was in 1986 harking back to her own classic sound. And Madonna is from Bay City, Michigan, just out the road from Detroit, so when it comes … Continue reading Madonna – ‘True Blue’
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The Communards – ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’
13 September 1986 Only from seeing a Top of the Pops repeat on BBC Four recently did I actually realise, after all these years of hearing it, that there are two lead singers on The Communards' 'Don't Leave Me This Way'; the second verse is sung by a guest vocalist, Sarah Jane Morris, who also … Continue reading The Communards – ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’
Boris Gardiner – ‘I Wanna Wake Up With You’
30 August 1986 Honestly, how this got to number one—in Ireland and the UK—is a total mystery to me. Listening to it now I was almost asleep after the first minute, and there's still another three-quarters of the song to go. God knows how anyone managed to make it down to the record store to … Continue reading Boris Gardiner – ‘I Wanna Wake Up With You’
Chris De Burgh – ‘The Lady In Red’
12 July 1986 I wouldn't credit this singer or song with as much influence as to consider it a clapback or a putting-Madonna-back-in-her-box. Still, it's pretty dispiriting that a record about a strong, independent woman making her own choices is immediately followed at number one both in Ireland and the UK by a song about … Continue reading Chris De Burgh – ‘The Lady In Red’
Madonna – ‘Papa Don’t Preach’
28 June 1986 I was an innocent, unworldly nine-year-old boy when I first heard 'Papa Don't Preach', so I just assumed her 'baby' meant her guy, like the one in the video: "I'm not gonna dump my fella just because you get all preachy and disapproving, pops!" Pretty quickly, of course, even my small child … Continue reading Madonna – ‘Papa Don’t Preach’
Wham! – ‘The Edge Of Heaven’
21 June 1986 Perhaps my small-child brain only had room for the World Cup in Mexico at that time, but I don't remember 'The Edge Of Heaven' making much of an impression on me. Another explanation is that 'The Edge of Heaven' doesn't make much of an impression anyway. It's more or less the same … Continue reading Wham! – ‘The Edge Of Heaven’
Doctor and the Medics – ‘Spirit In The Sky’
14 June 1986 I was vaguely aware of this record as a child at the time, perhaps after hearing one of my primary school classmates singing it. Whatever notions this group had of being glam rock revivalists and the like, primary school children were probably the natural audience of 'Spirit In The Sky' by Doctor … Continue reading Doctor and the Medics – ‘Spirit In The Sky’
Simply Red – ‘Holding Back The Years’
7 June 1986 Falling almost halfway between Gilbert O'Sullivan and James Blunt in time, sound and fashion, Mick Hucknall in 1986 was still kind of tolerable. You can hear why 'Holding Back The Years' was such a hit. Yes, it's bland pseudo-soul like most Simply Red songs, but this one has streaks of genuine hurt … Continue reading Simply Red – ‘Holding Back The Years’
Status Quo – ‘Rollin’ Home’
31 May 1986 Status Quo had two Irish number one singles in 1986; I know the later one but not this first one, 'Rollin' Home'. So, as per my standard operating procedure, I will listen to this for the first time LIVE as I write this. I expect this to be exactly the same three-chord … Continue reading Status Quo – ‘Rollin’ Home’
Spitting Image – ‘The Chicken Song’
17 May 1986 As my mentor and life coach Hugo Drax would put it: "Not being English, I sometimes find your sense of humour rather difficult to follow". I was a bit too young at the time to watch Spitting Image's acidic British political satire. (It was eventually shown on one of Ireland's two TV … Continue reading Spitting Image – ‘The Chicken Song’
