Introduction
In this series I will be looking back at each year on the charts between 1986 and 1996 and asking the question "When did the Eighties actually end?" The background to this is a research project that focuses on the proliferation of Greatest Hits album in the early 1990s. The assumption is that the shift from vinyl to CD, the influence of Baby Boomers and the value offered by compilation albums, reframed the way people thought about Pop.
More specifically, I want to explore the idea that this more retrospective sensibility curtailed the evolution of the Pop mainstream in the UK as a forward-looking culture. And, to this end, it concluded a period of innovation that began in the aftermath of Punk and saw the charts embrace New Wave, Hip Hop, Reggae, Synth-pop and House Music. For some, that end came with Live Aid in 1985; for others, the release of Nirvana's Nevermind (1991) marks a key moment of departure.
I am not suggesting that music did not develop after either of those points; but rather, as the 1990s progressed, the "mainstream" culture fragmented, and became less resonant. In the 21st Century, Pop is horizontal: every flavour is on the menu and no style seems to clash. In this sense, it is arguably "Very Eighties". But, with seventy-plus years of back catalogue to navigate, how we understand that is complicated. The canon has always been contested and revisionist, reflecting developments in both technology and wider cultural narratives. Sidestepping this, today we often just use the term 'banger' to refer to a recording that remains potent regardless of era, genre or cultural politics.
My intuition, however, is that this process of revision first occurred somewhere at the beginning of the 1990s with the proliferation of Greatest Hits albums. A moment of pause. And, as such, it is a good talisman of when the Eighties really did end. To trace that arc, however, we must return to the middle of the decade that preceded it...
The 1986 Album Chart
Beginning in January there are 13 Top 10 albums that fall into this category of Greatest Hits over the course of 1986 (if we include the album Live Magic by Queen). None of these recordings made the end of year Top 10, and only four the Top 20: Wham’s The Final (#13); The Police’s Every Breath You Take (#15); Kate Bush’s The Whole Story (#16); and Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music’s Street Life (#18).
These are the only placings in the Top 30: constituting 13% of the End of Year Chart. The contemporaneous feel of the chart is compounded by the prevalence of “Hits” compilations, which are still included in the album chart at this point: Now 8 (#3) ; Now 7 (#6); Hits 5 (#11); and Hits 4 (#12). From a 21st Century vantage point there is also a sense of perpetuity to the 'current' albums listed: many would go onto to become a staple part of the pop music canon:
Madonna’s True Blue (#1) and Like A Virgin (#28);
Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms (#2);
Paul Simons’ Graceland (#4);
Whitney Houston’s Whitney Houston (#5);
A-Ha’s Hunting High and Low (#7);
Eurythmics Revenge (#10);
Genesis’ Invisible Touch (#14);
Peter Gabriel’s So (#19);
Simply Red’s Picture Book (#20);
Simple Minds’ Once Upon a Time (#21)
Phil Collins No Jacket Required (#22);
Lionel Ritchie’s Dancing on the Ceiling (#24);
Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet (#26).
Beyond being just “classic albums” by heritage artists, in the 21st Century many of these acts would continue to be big players in the live music arena, with ticket prices swelling to accommodate the disposable income of affluent Baby Boomers: Bon Jovi; Phil Collins, Simply Red, Lionel Ritchie, Madonna etc.
The 1986 Singles Chart
On the singles chart the picture is far less coherent: a reworking of Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way” (#1) by The Communards was the best selling single of the year, closely followed by Eastenders star Nick Berry with "Every Loser Wins” (#2) and Boris Gardiner’s "I Want to Wake Up with You” (#3).
The kitsch continues with Cliff Richard & The Young Ones’ comedy reworking of his own 1959 hit "Living Doll” (#4), Diana Ross’s Motown-pastiche “Chain Reaction” (written by The Bee Gees), and Chris de Burgh’s mawkish "The Lady in Red” (#6). That is not to say that 1986 is without "classic singles"; however, there is significant roll-call of one-off hits, and novelty records:
Sinitta's "So Macho”/“Cruising" (#10);
Falco’s "Rock Me Amadeus”(#13);
Doctor and the Medics’ "Spirit in the Sky” (#15);
Europe’s "The Final Countdown” (#16);
Spitting Image’s "The Chicken Song” (#20);
Status Quo "In the Army Now” (#24);
Samantha Fox’s "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)”(#30);
Su Pollard's "Starting Together" (#47).
Pop music history is inherently revisionist and there is a clear division between the album artist’s that go onto influence the rock canon (cohered around the CD), and the transience of dance tracks curated in the live culture of the DJ mix. In the former category we have:
Madonna’s "Papa Don't Preach” (#8), ”True Blue” (#11) and "Borderline" (#50);
George Michael’s "A Different Corner” (#12);
A-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (#21)
The Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian” (#23) and Manic Monday (#37);
Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer" (#28);
Queen’s "A Kind of Magic”(#32);
Simply Red’s "Holding Back the Years”(#33);
Paul Simon "You Can Call Me Al” (#40);
Bon Jovi’s "Livin' on a Prayer” (#41);
Erasure's “Sometimes” (#42).
Eurythmics "Thorn in My Side” (#48);
Dire Strait’s "Walk of Life” (#49).
These are all clustered very much at the lower reaches of the End of Year Top 50. Though MTV was yet to launch in Europe, the music video is central to the success of these artists. Madonna, George Michael (Wham!) and Eurythmics all made a big impact in the USA embracing this medium at its inception. Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon and Queen had also all experimented with music television since the 1970s; however, by this point the creativity of their music videos was arguably as memorable as their musical recordings. Juxtaposing this, in the category that we can loosely describe as Dance, we have the following:
Jermaine Stewart "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes off” (#14);
Five Star’s "Rain or Shine” (#18);
Sly Fox’s "Let's Go All the Way” (#35);
Cameo’s “Word Up” (#36);
Nu Shooz’s "I Can't Wait” (#38);
Mel & Kim "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)” (#43);
A remix of The Real Things 1976 recording "You to Me Are Everything" (#45).
Other Top 10 listings over the course of the year in the emerging House genre (but not featured in the end of year Top 50) include:
Janet Jackson "What Have You Done for Me Lately”(#3);
Five Star’s "Can't Wait Another Minute” (#7) and “Find the Time” (#7);
Jaki Graham’s "Set Me Free” (#7);
Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent” (#5);
Run-D.M.C "Walk This Way” (#8);
Farley "Jackmaster" Funk "Love Can't Turn Around” (#10);
Midnight Star’s "Midas Touch” (#8).
The sound of these tracks is perhaps more indicative of the direction of travel as the Eighties progressed. They arguably a had a far greater influence on the way in which pop music developed in the 1990s and beyond. However, thirty-plus years later they are relegated to be footnotes in the history of Pop.
Interestingly, a significant trend evident in 1986, that recurs in the subsequent decade, is that of the 'timely rerelease': Jackie Wilson’s 1957 recording "Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)” (#17) and Sam Cook’s 1960 recording “Wonderful World” (#31). The latter attributable to its use in an advert for Levi-jeans: an influential cultural force that asserted itself the previous year with the use of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" in a commercial featuring Nick Kamen. Going forward Levi's adverts would make hits out of old recordings by Ben E King, The Steve Millar Band and The Clash; as well as making household names of Babylon Zoo and Stiltskin in the 1990s.
Another trend evident is the Greatest Hits compilation trailered with a “new hit” in Wham’s “The Edge of Heaven” (#27) from The Final. This was not a new phenomenon per se: Abba recorded Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) for their Greatest Hits Vol 2 in 1979. However, as we shall go on to see, by the mid 1990s this became industry-standard, with the singles charts invaded by compilation trailers from Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Michael Bolton and even The Beatles. This trend culminated in 1995 with Michael Jackson appending a whole new album to his HIStory: Greatest Hits anthology, which then went on to produce three number one singles.
Conclusion
Nineteen Eight-Six shows a real division between the aesthetics of singles and albums. The end of year singles' chart is heavily dominated by Novelty hits and sentimental Easy Listening. Only when we get to the lower half of the Top 50 do we see recordings that remain staples of modern heritage radio stations and the musical canon. These are then divided between Adult Orientated Rock and Dance.
The album charts are comparatively "grown-up", with high levels of original "classic albums", usually in the Rock idiom, by acts who would go onto become heritage artists. The Greatest Hits package features, but is balanced by the presence of contemporary Various Artists compilations: Hits and Now. In this sense, 1986 may seem a bit stodgy; however, it is also a culture that is still evolving and communicating in terms of its own definition.
The legacy of Live Aid arguably infuses some Pop acts with Stadium Rock pomposity (Simple Minds/Eurythmics/Bon Jovi). The significance of the CD can also be felt in the rehabilitation of classic acts (Genesis/Queen/Paul Simon/Dire Straits) and 'quality' male solo artists (Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel). Pop is relatively peripheral (Madonna/A-Ha/Pet Shop Boys), with black artists less visible (Whitney Houston/Lionel Ritchie); while 'beige' white soul is beginning to proliferate (Simple Red/Go West).
HIV anxiety can also be felt in the sexlessness of Jermaine Stewart "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes off” and the Carry On-film sauce of Samantha Fox's "Touch Me". Nineteen Eighty-Six, is perhaps not a classic year in Eighties Pop, but it is certainly a product of its time. And, as such, it hangs together as a coherent body of work to be historicised as a part of the Eighties as a whole.
Top 50 Albums 1986
1 True Blue Madonna 1
2 Brothers In Arms Dire Straits 1
3 Now 8 Various Artists 1
4 Graceland Paul Simon 1
5 Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 2
6 Now 7 Various Artists 1
7 Hunting High and Low a-ha 2
8 A Kind of Magic Queen 1
9 Silk & Steel Five Star 1
10 Revenge Eurythmics 3
11 Hits 5 Various Artists 1
12 Hits 4 1
13 The Final Wham! 2
14 Invisible Touch Genesis 1
15 Every Breath You Take: The Singles The Police 1
16 The Whole Story Kate Bush 2
17 Into the Light Chris de Burgh 2
18 Street Life: 20 Great Hits Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music 1
19 So Peter Gabriel 1
20 Picture Book Simply Red 2
21 Once Upon a Time Simple Minds 6
22 No Jacket Required Phil Collins 2
23 World Machine Level 42 3
24 Dancing on the Ceiling Lionel Richie1
25 London 0 Hull 4 The Housemartins 3
26 Slippery When Wet Bon Jovi 6
27 Top Gun Original Soundtrack Various Artists 3
28 Like a Virgin Madonna 3[d]
29 Fore! Huey Lewis and the News 8
30 Be Yourself Tonight Eurythmics 3
31 Scoundrel Days a-ha 2
32 Communards The Communards 7
33 Go West/Bangs & Crashes Go West 8
34 Please Pet Shop Boys 3
35 Greatest Hits Queen 17[e]
36 Different Light The Bangles 3
37 Love Zone Billy Ocean 2
38 Live Magic Queen 5[f]
39 Riptide Robert Palmer 5
40 Island Life Grace Jones 4
41 The Dream of the Blue Turtles Sting 5[g]
42 South Pacific Kiri te Kanawa/José Carreras/Sarah Vaughan/
Mandy Patinkin/London Symphony Orchestra 5
43 The Broadway Album Barbra Streisand 3
44 Rocky IV Original Soundtrack Various Artists 3
45 Luxury of Life Five Star 12
46 Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega 11
47 Hounds of Love Kate Bush 6[h]
48 Break Every Rule Tina Turner 2
49 In the Army Now Status Quo 7
50 Every Beat of My Heart Rod Stewart
Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 25.
Top 50 singles 1986
1 "Don't Leave Me This Way" The Communards 1
2 "Every Loser Wins" Nick Berry 1
3 "I Want to Wake Up with You" Boris Gardiner 1
4 "Living Doll" Cliff Richard & The Young Ones 1
5 "Chain Reaction" Diana Ross 1
6 "The Lady in Red" Chris de Burgh 1
7 "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" Billy Ocean 1
8 "Papa Don't Preach" Madonna 1
9 "Take My Breath Away" (Love Theme from Top Gun) Berlin 1
10 "So Macho"/"Cruising" Sinitta 2
11 "True Blue" Madonna 1
12 "A Different Corner" George Michael 1
13 "Rock Me Amadeus" Falco 1
14 "We Don't Have to..." Jermaine Stewart 2
15 "Spirit in the Sky" Doctor and the Medics 1
16 "The Final Countdown" Europe 1
17 "Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)" Jackie Wilson 1
18 "Rain or Shine" Five Star 2
19 "Caravan of Love" The Housemartins 1
20 "The Chicken Song" Spitting Image 1
21 "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." a-ha 1
22 "On My Own" Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald 2
23 "Walk Like an Egyptian" The Bangles 3
24 "In the Army Now" Status Quo 2
25 "Lessons in Love" Level 42 3
26 "Glory of Love" Peter Cetera 3
27 "The Edge of Heaven" Wham! 1
28 "Sledgehammer" Peter Gabriel 4
29 "All I Ask of You" Cliff Richard & Sarah Brightman 3
30 "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" Samantha Fox 3
31 "Wonderful World" Sam Cooke 2
32 "A Kind of Magic" Queen 3
33 "Holding Back the Years" Simply Red 2
34 "You Keep Me Hangin' On" Kim Wilde 2
35 "Let's Go All the Way" Sly Fox 3
36 "Word Up!" Cameo 3
37 "Manic Monday" The Bangles 2
38 "I Can't Wait" Nu Shooz 2
39 "My Favourite Waste of Time" Owen Paul 3
40 "You Can Call Me Al" Paul Simon 4
41 "Livin' on a Prayer" Bon Jovi 4
42 "Sometimes" Erasure 2
43 "Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)" Mel & Kim 3
44 "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" Cutting Crew 4
45 "You to Me Are Everything" (remix) The Real Thing 5
46 "Happy Hour" The Housemartins 3
47 "Starting Together" Su Pollard 2
48 "Thorn in My Side" Eurythmics 5
49 "Walk of Life" Dire Straits 2
50 "Borderline" Madonna 2
Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 24.
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