Compilation: Smash Hits '89
Released: 1989 – CBS
Number of tracks: 17
Number one singles: 1 – "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles (though the chart info supplied states 3, as according to the Kent Music Report — alternate chart to ARIA)
Other top ten singles: 12
Best track: "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry
Hidden gem: "Hurricane" by James Freud
The last year of the eighties, according to Australia's best and brightest pop magazine, as they liked to describe themselves. Well, it's a varied bunch. You can rock out with Poison ("Fallen Angel), Mental As Anything ("Rock And Roll Music") or Indecent Obsession ("Say Goodbye"), or wuss out with Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan or New Kids On The Block. But the wussy stuff is just as important as the rockin' stuff. Not only does it provide some contrast (you don't really want to listen to 65 minutes of squealing guitars do you? And if so, please seek help now), but it's all about painting the picture of the pop landscape that prevailed at the time.
I owned a single issue of Smash Hits from 1989. I didn't buy it new, I picked it up in some second hand shop somewhere just out of curiosity. It had Kate Ceberano on the cover who I think was reviewing the singles. Anyway, it was interesting to see what was dominating the charts in the last few months before the start of 1990 when I became an avid chart follower (and Smash Hits reader soon after). I miss those times!
Rating: 6/10
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