Song#: 3996
Date: 08/12/1989
Debut: 93
Peak: 46
Weeks: 17
Genre: Pop, Rock
Pop Bits: In the late 80s, there was an odd trend of reviving lesser known charting songs and giving them a second chance. Sometimes it paid off as when Sheriff's 1983 #61 Pop entry "When I'm With You" suddenly went to #1 early in 1989. Other times the venture didn't quite yield the hoped for results as with this reissue from the Australian band Moving Pictures. Originally released in 1982, the single made it to #29 on its initial run. However, it racked up an unusually long 26 weeks on the chart. Then in the summer of '89, someone somewhere began to play this tune again and it started to catch on. Geffen Records caught wind of the revival and secured the rights to reissue the single, which had originally been issued out by Elektra Records in the US. It would re-enter the Pop chart and slowly climb, but it would end up stopping short of the Top 40. However, like on its first chart run, the single spent a lengthy time on the chart. With both singles being the exact same song, the total weeks on the chart for the tune was 43. At the time, this tied the record for the song with the most weeks on the Pop chart with Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." With the song only getting to #46 Pop/#41 AC on its second run, it didn't lead to the band reuniting or prompt a re-release of the band's debut album Days of Innocence, which originally got to #101 back in 1982.
ReduxReview: It is still a mystery to me as to why this didn't go Top 10 on its first run. My guess is that the tune slowly spread across the country, which kept it active on the chart, but it was never able to find a time where it was consistently a big hit in enough markets to push it further. Therefore it had to settle for longevity rather than a higher chart position. No matter as it was still a great song and I'm glad it got a revival, but again it should have done better.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) After Moving Pictures had a bit of success in the US in '82, they had planned to do a tour in the States. However, it came along at a time when Elektra Record was going through changes and after the dust settled the tour was cancelled and their distribution deal gone. Being highly successful back in Australia, they went ahead and recorded their second album, 1983's Matinee. It didn't do as well as their #1 debut LP peaking at #16 and spawning a lone Top 40 entry. The band continued to tour for a few years, but eventually broke up in '87. 2) In 2004, this song would become a #1 hit for a second time in Australia, but by a different artist. The runner-up contestant on the finale of the first season of the competition show Australian Idol, Shannon Noll, would perform the tune on the series in September on 2003. After coming in second in the finale, Noll recorded the song and pushed it out as his debut single in January of 2004. It would debut at #1 and stay there for four weeks. It would become the best selling single in Australia that year. It was also the first time in Australian chart history that two different artists hit #1 with the same song.
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