40 From 40: 1989

You know we always fill this part up by talking about how the year in question is transitional or misleading? It's not quite reflected here because of time, place, the best work coming in the previous two or three years and the ageing process as much as anything, but 1989 isn't one of those years. It was the Second Summer Of Love, the acid house and rave scene boom leading to one of the great youth culture moments, the year of smiley faces and baggy clothes, the TB-303 and breakbeats, countryside rendez-vous and overreaching hedonism comparisons. Even guitar bands started learning from it as Madchester caught on, just as Tony Wilson said it would. In time, for all the police attention and tabloid scare stories, they'd come to make documentaries about that summer. Also, Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers have three number ones, though one of the pair behind them will go on to found hard house label Tidy Trax so they still tangentially count. Like A Prayer and its religion-baiting video is the big worldwide hit of the year, cementing Madonna as the icon of the age, while in Britain it's the peak year of Stock Aitken Waterman, giving Sonia a number one, Jason Donovan the year's biggest selling album and the Reynolds Girls a shortlived career. Our biggest selling single is Ride On Time, reflecting house's commercial imperative and its habit of getting away with things, eh, Martha Wash? Then again this was the year of Milli Vanilli's secret slipping, so maybe that was just attuned to the times too. New Kids On The Block emerged as Ken left Bros, Band Aid II happened and this glorious minute's worth of TV fiasco happened. Are we going have a look at the possibilities?




Public Enemy - Fight The Power
Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump
The D.O.C. - Portrait Of A Masterpiece
Double Trouble & Rebel MC - Street Tuff
Redhead Kingpin & The FBI - Do The Right Thing
Young MC - Know How
Neneh Cherry - Kisses On The Wind
De La Soul - Me, Myself & I
Momus - Hairstyle Of The Devil
808 State - Pacific 707
Orbital - Chime
Starlight - Numero Uno
Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon
Soul II Soul - Get A Life
New Order - All The Way
Popguns - Waiting For The Winter
The Wedding Present - Brassneck
Nirvana - About A Girl
Pavement - Box Elder
Another Sunny Day - You Should All Be Murdered
fIREHOSE - Riddle Of The Eighties
Kirsty MacColl - Free World
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Madonna Of The Wasps
Yo La Tengo - Barnaby, Hardly Working
Pixies - Gouge Away
Fugazi - Margin Walker
Spacemen 3 - Revolution
Silver Bullet - 20 Seconds To Comply
Barry Adamson - Under Wraps
Happy Mondays - Hallelujah (Maccoll Mix)
Wire - Eardrum Buzz
The Sugarcubes - Regina
The Blue Nile - Headlights On The Parade
Kate Bush - The Sensual World
The Sundays - Can't Be Sure
Bob Mould - See A Little Light
The The - The Beat(en) Generation
The Cure - Lullaby
Galaxie 500 - Blue Thunder
The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection


Previously among the 40: 1970, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009