Official Charts Flashback 1989: Jason Donovan – Too Many Broken Hearts

It’s a quarter of a century since the former Neighbours heartthrob – and ‘secret’ boyfriend of Kylie Minogue – scored his very first solo Number 1.

Twenty-five years ago, there was only one TV show any teenager cared about. It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t cool, and it was a million miles away from their everyday life – well, 12,000 miles away. Neighbours was must-see TV in 1989, and had already produced one singing megastar. No, not Stefan Dennis, but Kylie Minogue. And now another Ramsay Street favourite was having a go at pop stardom.

Jason Donovan, who played Kylie’s on-screen husband Scott Robinson, had already had a Top 5 hit with his debut single Nothing Can Divide Us and a chart-topping duet with Miss Minogue, Especially For You. With his surfer’s tan, sun-kissed hair and perfect dentistry, Jason was a typical late ‘80s pin-up and Kylie’s producers Stock Aitken and Waterman saw the potential in creating a male version of their bankable soap starlet.

The on-screen sweethearts were also going out in real life, but even though they'd just had a Number 1 together, they publicly denied being romantically involved. It wasn't until quite a bit later the truth came out. But all secret liaisons aside, Jason was beginning a pretty intense love affair with the Official Singles Chart. And this week in 1989, Jason was celebrating his first Number 1 all by himself: Too Many Broken Hearts leapt eight places to take the top spot.

Reminiscing about Jason’s early career, PWL boss Pete Waterman says: “Jason’s first single, Nothing Can Divide Us, was one of the rare instances where a song got passed around. Rick Astley had begun recording it, then rejected it and Jason got it instead. It was a hit for him, but not a Number 1. Then, after Especially For You, we came up with this and it was perfect for him. Then we took him on the first Hitman Roadshow tour, and it was like nothing I’ve seen before or since. ‘Jasonmania’ was a real phenomenon, he was absolutely our biggest star at that point.”

In a recent reissue of Jason’s debut album Ten Good Reasons, PWL expert Tom Parker notes: “Nothing Can Divide Us had not been written for Jason and Especially For You was as much Kylie’s song as his, but with Too Many Broken Hearts, Stock Aitken Waterman perfected his sound. A classic pop production with a rocky edge, and front- loaded with Matt Aitken’s electric guitar, it could hardly be mistaken for a Rick Astley track, let alone something Kylie might have recorded. And though it might have been recorded in London on a grey January day, it was irresistible, sun-kissed Australiana for a growing army of British fans, especially accompanied with the scenic video shot in Falls Creek, Victoria. Ironically, when Jason recorded it alongside the punchy Question Of Pride and an initial version of Change Your Mind, he did not feel it was the most obvious choice of single, but for the public it immediately became his signature hit.”

Too Many Broken Hearts would stay at the top for two weeks and was the first of three solo Number 1s for our Jase. He’d follow up Too Many Broken Hearts with another chart-topper – Sealed With A Kiss went straight in at Number 1 in June. He’d have to wait another three years before Any Dream Will Do, taken from the soundtrack to Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, would complete his haul of Number 1s. Too Many Broken Hearts has sold over 465,000 copies in the UK, and was the third of ten Top 10s for Jason. Jason’s last entry on the Official Singles Chart Top 40 was in 1992, when As Time Goes By peaked at Number 26.

Watch the video for Any Dream Will Do before we take a look at the rest of our retro Top 5

2: Michael Ball – Love Changes Everything

Rising one place to Number 2 this week with his first ever single was Michael Ball, a stage actor appearing in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical Aspects Of Love. Love Changes Everything was his biggest hit – Michael has returned to the Top 40 only three more times. In 1992, Michael represented the UK at Eurovision. The song he sang, One Step Out Of Time, reached Number 20 in 1992.

3: Bananarama & Lananeeneenoonoo – Help

Climbing two places this week in 1989, legendary girl group Bananarama scoring their tenth Top 10 hit, with the official Comic Relief single, a cover of the Beatles’ classic, which reached Number 1 in 1965. Only a year before, Bananarama had gone through a line-up change when original member Siobhan Fahey left the band to be replaced by Jacquie O’Sullivan. The ladies teamed up with comedy duo French and Saunders and their mate Kathy Burke for this girl group parody. When you think of some of the dramas future girl groups would go through, it looks pretty tame, really, doesn't it? It would be their last Top 10 hit, but eight more Top 40 hits were to come. Jacquie decided she would be movin' on in 1991, leaving Keren and Sara to perform as a duo, which they still do to this day. Their last top 40 hit was Hypnotic Tango (Look On The Floor), which hit Number 26 in 2005.

4: Sam Brown – Stop

Another act enjoying their debut hit, soulful songstress Sam Brown was a non-mover at Number 4 with dramatic ballad Stop. It was second time lucky for Sam – the first release of Stop had stalled at Number 52 in 1988. Stop was to be Sam’s only Top 10 hit, but she’d have two more Top 4 entries. 15 years later, Stop got another stint in the Top 10 when it was covered by Jamelia, who took it to Number 9 in late 2004.

5: Michael Jackson – Leave Me Alone

Down three places was the King Of Pop himself, with his 22nd solo Top 10. Dubbed ‘Wacko Jacko’ by the media, Leave Me Alone was the first time the pop legend had answered his critics. The video poked fun at his supposed eccentric behaviour, including his pet chimp Bubbles, sleeping in an oxygen tank and numerous surgeries. The song peaked at Number 2, his second single to do so after his Paul McCartney duet Say Say Say from 1983, and 16 more Top 10 hits would follow in his lifetime.

See the full Top 40 from this week in 1989.