One more week at number one on 23rd January 1988
Throughout the Autumn of 1987 and the winter of 1988, "Birthday" was the single which just wouldn't lay down and die - modest sales of the record dripped in week after week, which meant very little in "big chart terms" but remained enough to be a threat to the Indie Number One spot.
The week it happened to reclaim the top spot in January is also a very quiet one, so sorry, but it won't take us long to peer beneath at the new entries in the lower reaches of the charts.
Peak position: 24
Another House record in the indie charts, although not one which received a great deal of commercial attention. "Do It" on first appearance feels as if it has a steady, minimal groove going on, but then it stammers, splutters and jerks rhythmically while super-random samples vomit all over the vinyl. While it on occasion has a creeping rhythmic propulsion and casual scratching similar to "Pump Up The Volume", it's ultimately more hyper than that - and I struggle to believe that Michael Jackson sample got cleared, but I'm not his lawyer, so what do I know?
Peak position: 28
Three future members of Teenage Fanclub (Blake, McDonald, McGinley) gather together with Joe McAladin for this solitary release under the Boy Hairdressers name.
While the title promises smut and innuendo, "Golden Shower" really does sound like a Baby Fanclub record with a strangely festive melody, angelic vocals, and under-produced, naive jangles. While it would be tempting to file this under C86 if you were only halfway paying attention, there's already a clear Big Star and Byrds influence running through this which goes above and beyond its underproduced nature; while many of their labelmates were scuffing and scratching away, "Golden Shower" is trying to commit to classic songwriting standards, and managing far better than most.
For the complete charts, please go to the UKMix Forums
Number One In The Official Charts
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Virgin)