30th January 1988 for three weeks

Seeing the single’s cover for the first time just now, I have realised that I had absolutely no idea what Tiffany looked like. But I clearly remember the song I Think We’re Alone Now when I was nine years old. I remember really liking it.

45 years later and I can confirm that ITWAN still sounds fabulous. It’s a true Eighties power pop single. Tiffany absolutely smashes her vocals and the production on the song is great.

10/10

16th January 1988 for two weeks

1988 started with a bang – Heaven On Earth is an absolute massive power ballad. Wow, Belinda Carlisle started her solo career off with the perfect pop song.

Heaven On Earth is still a hugely popular song, featuring in TV shows, films and still played regularly on the radio. It is a total singalong song.

I cannot really recall this song when it came out. In 1989 I loved Leave A Light On, and can vividly remember refusing to move out of Woolworths until it had finished playing. But I don’t know at which point I discovered Heaven On Earth. The song still sounds fabulous 35 years later and is rightly considered a classic.

We won’t meet Belinda Carlisle again on this blog so it is worth saying that I bought a copy of her greatest hits album in 1999 and discovered that I loved pretty much every single song on there. She was a brilliant singer.

10/10

19th December 1987 for four weeks

Always On My Mind is such a beautiful song. I haven’t yet found a recording that I don’t like.

First made popular by Elvis Presley, the song is very moving and it makes me very reflective. I discovered the Willie Nelson version as an adult – again, it’s very thoughtful and deep.

The Pet Shop Boys took a beautiful ballad and turned it into a dance floor stormer! It’s almost a different song entirely, but yet it contains the same melody and lyrics. I absolutely love this version and it is no surprising that it made Number 1. The year ends on a high, for sure.

Always On My Mind still sounds fantastic 36 years later!

8/10

14th November 1987 for five weeks

China In Your Hand is a great record and I still like it, years later. I can remember it as a child as there was something unique about the song and the way it was sung that made it stand out. It’s hard to explain why it feels like it sounds a bit different. It’s in an unusual key compared to a lot of pop songs. I think it was as an adult that I learned to like it more. 

In doing some quick research for writing this post, it seems that China In Your Hand was the 600th Number 1. 

8/10

17th October 1987 for four weeks

The Bee Gees released some great songs over their time, and wrote some classics for other artists too.

This is the first time I’ve been able to discuss them on this blog since March 1979. An eight year gap between Number 1s is quite rare, although not a record. I think it’s the longest gap so far on this blog.

You Win Again is a fabulous pop song. It is a typical Bee Gees song, immediately sounding familiar but a bit different. It is a deserved Number 1 and it still sounds good today. This was probably the start of the era of Bee Gees that I prefer – the late Eighties and Nighties Bee Gees.

8/10

3rd October 1987 for two weeks

I can imagine there was a lot of hype around this song back in 1987. It sounds like nothing else that has ever been at Number 1 before. It is made up of lots of samples from lots of different songs.

Hearing it in 2023 it just sounds like a confused mess. There is nothing appealing about this song.

1/10

29th August 1987 for five weeks

We arrive at one of the most well known songs in the world (probably).

Rick Astley stormed on to the scene with Never Gonna Give You Up in 1987. It was an absolute smash hit. I can remember it as a child, although I don’t have huge memories of the man himself.

Never Gonna Give You Up is a true classic – a song that everyone knows and everyone loves. The song still has appeal in 2023 and people still enjoy it. It is often used in memes and this gives the song a sort of cheesy but cool quality. 36 years later, it still sounds great. Rick Astley has an amazing voice.

Back in 1987, Nevery Gonna Give You Up was the first song to spend five weeks at the top since Jennifer Rush’s The Power Of Love in 1985. It was, therefore, one of the biggest hits of the Eighties.

He went on to sell lots more songs, but NGGYU is by a mile the biggest of this, eventually edging over the  million copies milestone in 2015.

In 2008 the song became an internet sensation after ‘Rickrolling‘ became a popular practical joke. People began sending people links which redirected them to the video of Never Gonna Give You Up on YouTube instead.

10/10

15th August 1987 for two weeks

I Just Can’t Stop Loving You is a good Michael Jackson song and a rare duet.

It is not, perhaps, one of his better known songs, but it is definitely enjoyable. I love it when the chorus kicks in!

This is his second Number One single on the blog and there are more to come.

I didn’t think I’d heard much from Siedah Garrett (apart from vocals on a Freemasons dance track in the 2010s) but actually we have unknowingly already heard from her on this blog – she provided backing vocals on many tracks, including, most recently, La Isla Bonita. She also co-wrote Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson.

7/10

1st August 1987 for two weeks

I have a very clear memory of this song, but it was definitely in 1988. In 1988 we went away somewhere and stayed in a guest house and can remember sitting with the family we were staying with and watching the movie La Bamba on video. I can remember hearing this song and loving it.

I can also remember seeing this song on Saved By The Bell: The College Years in a scene which makes me laugh.

(This is the scene, however the video appears to have no sound. If you can get it to work, then enjoy it!)

La Bamba is a great song and you simply must play air guitar whilst listening.

It’s not one you hear much at all these days, but if you do it is great!

7/10