10 August 1989 Next time you overhear some barstool blowhard or drunken uncle opining that the charts today are rubbish, and music was far better back in their day, well - even without entering Exhibit A for the prosecution (below) that statement is always a load of rubbish and a sure sign that the opinionator … Continue reading Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers – ‘Swing The Mood’ →

27 July 1989 I've said it here before and I'll say it again: in the late '80s charts there were worse things than Stock, Aitken and Waterman records. The poster boys for that maxim are Bros, now down to the two Gosses. This called for revised branding that reduced their three-person stick-figure logo to two … Continue reading Bros – ‘Too Much’ →

20 July 1989 Succession planning is tricky for any business, but especially a self-styled Hit Machine. Teen pop idols have a short shelf-life and high turnover rate at the best of times. Soap stars as teen pop idols are fine for when you want to jump off their existing public persona, but they tend to … Continue reading Sonia – ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’ →

6 July 1989 Content warning: domestic violence; abusive relationships; male violence against women Yes, a number one single in Ireland in 1989 was a jaunty, ersatz trad-Irish ditty that romanticises abusive relationships and serial male violence against women, with no sign of any remorse or comeuppance. The male narrator is also a musician, so we … Continue reading The Waterboys – ‘And A Bang On The Ear’ →

15 June 1989 Those of you following the Jason Donovan: Pop Star plotline will recall how 'Especially For You' was a mid-tempo romantic duet, 'Too Many Broken Hearts' was an up-tempo number, and Jason sounded comfortable on neither. What next for our hero and the three-headed hit machine of Stock, Aitken and Waterman behind him? … Continue reading Jason Donovan – ‘Sealed With A Kiss’ →

1 June 1989 Despite the band name, Irish hard rockers No Sweat seemed to be putting in the work. It was a Saturday afternoon, so Roxy Records in the centre of my home town of Tralee was busy anyway, but the prospect of spotting an actual band off the TV was intriguing to me and … Continue reading No Sweat – ‘Heart And Soul’ →

18 May 1989 The F.A. Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was one of RTÉ's regular Saturday afternoon live English games, so I was watching it. George Hamilton and John Giles, the RTÉ commentary team that day, were quick to mention that the Liverpool supporters' end looked dangerously overcrowded, and the Liverpool players defending that … Continue reading The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, Stock Aitken and Waterman – ‘Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey’ →

11 May 1989 If you'd asked me in 1989 which we would have in twenty years' time, flying cars taking us to the moon or Kylie elevated to icon status with a slew of brilliant hits, I would have said... the Kylie one, obviously. She was clearly a great pop star, her then-suppliers Stock, Aitken … Continue reading Kylie Minogue – ‘Hand On Your Heart’ →

4 May 1989 I don't remember 'Far, Far From Home', though of course this may also be the case for most of Daniel's elderly fanbase. So, as per my standard operating procedure for any tracks I find here that I don't know, I will listen to it for the first time LIVE as I write … Continue reading Daniel O’Donnell – ‘Far, Far From Home’ →