40 46 TWO OF HEARTS –•– Stacey Q – 6 (40)
She had one more song squeak into the top 40 after this signature hit but then basically became a "Where are they now?" trivia question after that. Stil a fun dance hit.
39 44 DREAMTIME –•– Daryl Hall – 3 (39)
Ditched John Oates to go solo for his '86 album, and this was that album's biggest single. Good/very good.
38 25 TAKE IT EASY –•– Andy Taylor – 12 (24)
Taylor inaugurates his post-Duran Duran solo career with a moderately successful soundtrack single from a gymnastics movie that flopped (American Anthem). It's solid enough, but nowhere near as good as his classic hits with the Duran boys.
37 17 MODERN WOMAN –•– Billy Joel – 11 (10)
Another song from a movie soundtrack (Ruthless People starring Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold, and Helen Slater), and it sounds exactly like you'd expect from Billy Joel at the time. Slick, synthesized, and a first class tune.
36 21 DIGGING YOUR SCENE –•– Blow Monkeys – 16 (14)
Dr. Robert's commentary on being a gay man in the middle of an AIDS epidemic provided these guys with their only US hit. Lyrics aside this one's a fun, catchy tune that I enjoy very much.
35 35 HANGING ON A HEART ATTACK –•– Device – 10 (35)
So good I thought it deserved its own thread: https://forums.metalsludge.tv/forums/vi ... 1&t=386643 Crank this one and enjoy some great guitar-y new wave from Holly Knight, Paul Engemann, and Gene Black.
34 37 THE CAPTAIN OF HER HEART –•– Double – 8 (34)
Excellent sophisti-pop/electro soul from these Swiss one-hit wonders.
33 40 LOVE ZONE –•– Billy Ocean – 4 (33)
The title track and third top 40 hit from his 'Love Zone' album. Slick R&B with a dash of yacht rock, as was the case with pretty much all of his hits back then.
32 32 TAKEN IN –•– Mike + The Mechanics – 8 (32)
Doesn't come anywhere near close to matching the greatness that is the 1-2 punch of "Silent Running" and "All I Need is a Miracle", but it's a passable pop ballad, though by this point Rutherford was busy promoting 'Invisible Touch' with Phil and Tony, anyway.
31 36 DON’T FORGET ME (WHEN I’M GONE) –•– Glass Tiger – 6 (31)
Newmarket, Ontario's favorite sons with their biggest hit, featuring Bryan Adams on guest vocals at the end. I dig this one very much.
30 43 WALK THIS WAY –•– Run DMC & Aerosmith– 4 (30)
The Bad Boys from Beantown return to the charts for the first time in 8 years with this iconic guest spot and set the wheels in motion for plenty of Sobersmith hits to come, as well as giving Run-DMC their first crossover hit. A classic.
29 19 OPPORTUNITIES –•– Pet Shop Boys – 12 (10)
Their second top 40 single and a very worthy follow-up to "West End Girls".
28 30 RUMBLESEAT –•– John Cougar Mellencamp – 8 (28)
Weakest of the singles from 'Scarecrow', but still listenable.
27 31 MAN SIZE LOVE –•– Klymaxx – 7 (27)
R&B girl group that had a string of Hot 100 singles in the mid-80's including this dancefloor hit which reached #15. Average/good.
26 14 NASTY –•– Janet Jackson – 14 (3)
"Miss Jackson if you're nasty!" Final week in the top 40 for this Janet Jackson classic.
25 29 THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW –•– The Monkees – 7 (25)
The 1960's teen idols with their very brief mid-80's comeback that really didn't amount to much of anything beyond this single.
24 33 STUCK WITH YOU –•– Huey Lewis & The News – 3 (24)
Second #1 and quite deserving of that spot. It's a very catchy pop rock hit.
23 28 YANKEE ROSE –•– David Lee Roth – 7 (23)
I think we can sum up the greatness of this Sludge classic in a single gif:
Uh, yeah. Thanks, Dave!
22 24 ONE STEP CLOSER TO YOU –•– Gavin Christopher – 13 (22)
Highly underrated one-hit wonder written by Sturken and Rogers that sadly only got as far as this week's peak of #22, which is a shame because I quite enjoy this one.
21 11 INVISIBLE TOUCH –•– Genesis – 12 (1)
Speaking of "Invisible Touch", here it is now just under a month removed from its rise to the top of the charts. An absolute Phil Collins/Genesis classic.
20 27 WORDS GET IN THE WAY –•– Miami Sound Machine featuring Gloria Estefan – 10 (20)
One of Gloria and MSM's more underrated (IMO) pop ballads. Still went top five, though.
19 22 ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD –•– The Outfield – 11 (19)
Doesn't match the greatness of "Your Love", but it still does the trick for AOR fans.
18 26 BABY LOVE –•– Regina – 9 (18)
Freestyle singer who started out as new wave. Here's her only hit which squeaked into the top ten and filled up the dancefloors of America.
17 20 SUZANNE –•– Journey – 9 (17)
Second single off of 'Raised on Radio', and Steve Perry never sounded better. Stay for a very tasty Neal Schon solo as well while you're listening to this one.
16 7 DANGER ZONE –•– Kenny Loggins – 15 (2)
From Journey to Kenny Loggins' iconic Top Gun hit. Take a ride into the danger zone, Sludgers!
15 23 FRIENDS AND LOVERS –•– Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson – 7 (15)
They should have unofficially named this one "Love Song for a Soap Opera Couple", because that's basically what this song is, having been used on Days of Our Lives where Loring played a character. I like it enough, though.
14 16 YOU SHOULD BE MINE (THE WOO WOO SONG) –•– Jeffrey Osborne – 13 (14)
"And you woo-woo-woo should be mine!" Great slick R&B tune!
13 4 SLEDGEHAMMER –•– Peter Gabriel – 15 (1)
Gabriel with his biggest solo hit and its classic dancing chicken-filled stop-motion video. Very good/Excellent.
12 15 SWEET FREEDOM –•– Michael McDonald – 10 (12)
Yacht rock as only Michael McDonald, one of the all-time yacht rock gods, can do it.
11 6 LOVE TOUCH –•– Rod Stewart – 12 (6)
Sir Rod's '86 album kind of flopped commercially in between a pair of better albums ('Camouflage' and 'Out of Order'), but he was still able to go top ten with this slightly reggae-ish tune which also got used in the movie Legal Eagles, and it's quite good.
10 12 THE EDGE OF HEAVEN –•– Wham! – 7 (10)
Wham!'s last taste of the top 40 before George split for the greener pastures of 'Faith'. It's got a very danceable groove to it.
9 18 TAKE MY BREATH AWAY –•– Berlin – 9 (9)
Terri Nunn's #1 Top Gun ballad. That whole soundtrack was full of great tunes, wasn't it?
8 10 RUMORS –•– Timex Social Club – 10 (8)
Awesome R&B dance hit, but they split pretty much immediately after this and moved on to Club Nouveau and their classic cover of "Lean on Me"...
7 13 DANCING ON THE CEILING –•– Lionel Richie – 5 (7)
"Oh, what a feeling!" You probably just sang that in your head and finished the lyric, too--It's THAT catchy.
6 9 VENUS –•– Bananarama – 8 (6)
Bananarama brings the Dutch one-hit wonders' signature 1970 tune to the dancefloor for a second time after the Stars on 45 medley first did it in '81, and of course it results in a #1 hit like the previous two.
5 5 WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF –•– Jermaine Stewart – 14 (5)
Great advice for anyone in a relationship, and it gave Jermaine Stewart his "signature" hit. He would reach the top 40 one more time in '88, but he never bettered this one.
4 8 HIGHER LOVE –•– Steve Winwood – 10 (4)
Winwood's first solo #1 and a great reggae-influenced tune.
3 3 MAD ABOUT YOU –•– Belinda Carlisle – 14 (3)
Belinda began her post-Go-Go's solo career in earnest here with this fine pop rock number.
2 1 GLORY OF LOVE –•– Peter Cetera – 11 (1)
Speaking of beginning solo careers, Cetera's post-Chicago solo career-jumpstarting Karate Kid: Part II soundtrack hit drops to the second spot after sitting at the top for two weeks prior.
1 2 PAPA DON’T PREACH –•– Madonna – 8 (1)
Ol' Madge takes on teen pregnancy and abortion and gets rewarded for it with her fourth #1 hit. Probably my second favorite all-time Madonna hit after "Vogue".
