29th October 1988 for three weeks

I can clearly remember Orinoco Flow as a child. It sounded completely different to any other music I’d ever heard before. It still does! It is a really fantastic piece of music and it’s hard to comprehend that it still sounds unique, 35 years later.

When I was younger I thought Enya was singing about Gibberish. Now I can hear the words and can recognise place names within the song.

I can recall Enya singing the theme tune to the movie Far And Away (which I’ve never seen, but liked the song). But that’s about it. She never had a Number 1 single. But she should be celebrated for this wonderful timeless song.

10/10

15th October 1988 for two weeks

Whitney’s third Number 1 is another fabulous pop song. A sentimental ballad, apparently it was released to coincide with the Olympic Games in 1988 (the games must have been later in the year back then, compared to when they take place now).

Whitney has such an incredible voice. It’s hard not to stop and listen to the song whenever you hear it. It’s a good song to sing in the car when no one is listening.

These days, the radio seems to prefer Whitney’s more upbeat songs, but this one deserved its place at Number 1 back in 1988.

9/10

8th October 1988 for one week

I can remember going to Granada Studios Tour and this song, and others by U2, being used as the soundtrack to a lightshow, or something. I remember quite liking the music. But this was in around 1990.

I have no recollection of Desire when it was first out. Nothing whatsoever. I began to love U2’s music as time went on and Desire is a great song. This is the first time we’ll meet the band on this blog, although we’ll have to wait a few years before we come across them again.

7/10

24th September 1988 for two weeks

I adore this song. As one of four brothers, being a good brother is really important to me.

I can vividly remember this song being used in a beer advert and loving the song then. It was then released and went to the top of the charts.

You don’t hear the song often these days, but I don’t know why as it is a brilliant song.

I didn’t know that it was a cover version – I’ve never heard the original version by Kelly Gordon, or a version by Neil Diamond.

10/10

10th September 1988 for two weeks

Having mentioned that I can recall many of the songs over the summer of 1988, I have no recollection of A Groovy Kind Of Love when I was 9. It was some years after when I listened to more of Phil Collins’ music that I learned to love this song.

As an adult I’ve heard the original version which is more upbeat and is good – it’s by the Mindbenders and it was released in the Sixties. But I love Phil Collins’ version. There’s something about the way he sings it – almost like his voice is about to break in tears. You can feel the emotion. It’s a gorgeous song. It has aged really well as it still sounds great!

9/10

6th August 1988 for five weeks

I can remember not liking this song when I was younger. I don’t even know why as it is a great song!

The Only Way Is Up is definitely a song that, for me, has improved with age. It’s a fun song and I have hazy recollections of it being fun to dance to in a cheesy nightclub.

The song was at Number 1 for five weeks in 1988. It has occurred to me that I can vividly recall many of these songs that were in the chart over the summer of that year. I was 9 at the time and my brother was 12. This means that he was probably beginning to listen to music more and so it meant that I was being ‘exposed’ to pop music more often. 

8/10

9th July 1988 for four weeks

I can remember hearing this song – we were on holiday in a guest house in 1988. I can vividly remember hearing the song on the radio. It was the same guest house where we watched the movie La Bamba and I can also remember hearing The Loco-Motion by Kylie Mingoue whilst I was there. I can also remember hearing the song Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson which we thought was funny because my mum’s name is Diana.

NGCMLFY is a fabulous pop song. It sounded great when I was a child and I love it just as much in 2023. I am unaware of any other songs released by Glenn Madeiros, so if this was his only song then he excelled himself as it is pop perfection.

10/10

25th June 1988 for two weeks

I can remember absolutely hating Bros. It all seemed a bit weird really – twins and then one of their mates. I don’t think I liked the fact that girls apparently loved them. I can remember starting an I Hate Bros club with a friend. They had previously had a hit with When Will I Be Famous? and I Owe You Nothing became their first and only Number 1.

At the time I hated the records. As I grew older and began to like both of the songs. When Will I Be Famous? was probably the better of the two, but I Owe You Nothing is actually a great song too.

You never hear these songs any more, but that could be because Bros made numpties of themselves on a documentary in 2018.

6/10

18th June 1988 for one week

A bit of a mess of a record, Doctorin’ The Tardis was the work of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, who we’ll meet again as The KLF in a few years.

The song has some catchy elements, but unfortunately they involve a sample of Gary Glitter so we won’t discuss them too much.

Like most of the dance records at the time, Doctorin’ involves sampling various songs, including the theme tune to TV show Doctor Who, who the song celebrates.

The song hasn’t aged well. I think I thought it must have been quite fun when I was younger. As an adult, it’s not.

3/10

21st May 1988 for four weeks

I used to love watching That’s Life on Sunday evenings. Back when I was younger, That’s Life, presented by Esther Rantzen, was a magazine show which used to make my brothers and I laugh as well as teach us some serious stuff too. I can remember that Esther Rantzen launched Childine, a free phone line for children who needed help or someone to talk to. It was launched alongside a record to help raise awareness.

So, yes, another charity record was released. I can remember Wet Wet Wet’s version of With A Little Help From My Friends – I enjoyed it, although listening back to it it their version brings nothing new. It’s just a nice song. I do love Marti  Pellow’s voice though!

I cannot ever recall hearing Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey’s She’s Leaving Home until just now. And I hope that I never hear it again. Both songs were released side by side as a double A-side. WALHFLF was clearly the one that was pushed to the radio stations as I can remember hearing it a lot.

This is not the last we’ll hear of Wet Wet Wet, nor of With A Little Help From My Friends…

5/10