The Friday 5×2: 3FOX (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990

We visited 3FOX, the most listened-to radio station in Australia, last February, and pretty much everything still applies here. Here’s their Top 10 from this day in 1990.

1. M. C. Hammer, “U Can’t Touch This” I’m not much of a rap fan, but I’m fond of this video because, for a midyear meeting with my old company, they made a video that interspersed this video with videos of the senior management of the company saying “can’t touch this!” Trust me, it was funny. Whatever you think of Hammer, you have to admit he dances well, and no one did more for parachute pants… This ultimately reached #1 in Australia, going to #8 in the US.
2. New Kids On The Block, “Step By Step” 1990 was in the midst of the “boy band” period (which I think is still going on), and NKOTB were definitely teen idols. One of the NK’s, Donnie Wahlberg, has gone on to fame and fortune as one of the stars of the TV series Blue Bloods, but is still with them, touring (I would guess) around the filming schedule. Yes, they got back together in 2007 and are still active, and probably will be well into their dotage, at which point hey’ll be the New Old Farts On The Block. This went to #8 in Australia and #1 in the US.
3. Kylie Minogue, “Better The Devil You Know” Kylie’s a local girl, having been born in Melbourne, though she’s spent most of her career in England. I never knew that… anyway, this reached #4 in Australia and #2 in the UK, and didn’t chart in the US.
4. Guru Josh, “Infinity” Wikipedia tells us that Guru Josh was born Paul Walden and that he was from Jersey (the island, not the state). This reached #5 in the UK and #4 in Australia.
5. Absent Friends, “I Don’t Want To Be With Nobody But You” A short-lived band from Sydney (they formed in 1989 and disbanded the following year) that included former members of The Models, they released four singles, and this was the only one to reach the Top 10, making it to #4 in Australia.
6. Hi Tek 3 with Ya Kid K, “Spin That Wheel” From what I can piece together, Hi Tek 3 was a side project of Technotronic, an electronic music project from Belgium that was formed by Jo Bogaert, who was big in the New Beat movement. This was recorded for the 1989 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where it had the subitile “Turtles Get Real.” It reached #5 in Australia and #2 on the Canadian dance chart, but didn’t make the Top 40 in the US.
7. Wilson Phillips, “Hold On” The vocal group formed by The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson’s daughters Carnie and Wendy and The Mamas And The Papas’ John and Michelle Phillips’ daughter Chynna, who sang together beautifully and still do. This went ti #1 in the US and #2 in Australia.
8. Heart, “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” Another set of Wilson sisters (no relation), Ann and Nancy, and the rest of Heart took this to #1 in Australia and Canada and #2 in the US. (Wonder what song was in the way?)
9. Tina Arena, I Need Your Body” Another Melbourne local, Tina’s one of the most-popular female Australian singers in the world (and, until I did this, I had never heard of her). Went to #3 in Australia.
10. Roxette, “It Must Have Been Love” Roxette is a Swedish pop duo, Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessel. They’re the second most-popular band from Sweden (three guesses as to who’s #1). This reached #1 in the US and Australia, and again, I never heard of them.

So that’s The Friday 5×2 for July 5, 2019.