Description Goes Here
Top MenuEvents that shaped Alternative Rock and Modern Rock Radio during that year
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Elvis Costello Scores A Modern Rock Number One Elvis Costello previously cemented his role as both a singer and prolific songwriter in modern rock circles. With the new Billboard Modern Rock chart now published each week, Costello also scored a number one to his credit with the song Veronica. The song mixed a punk/pop beat, and its upbeat tempo proved popular with the modern rock audience. |
Established Bands Score Big Once Again
The trend from 1988 carried over into 1989, as well · established modern rock bands continued to score number ones during the first full year of Billboard's Modern Rock. In fact, 10 of the 17 songs to top the Modern Rock chart came from popular bands and artists including R.E.M., Elvis Costello (as mentioned above), Lou Reed (mentioned below), XTC, and Tears For Fears, just to name a few.
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Orange Crush |
Mayor Of Simpleton |
Sowing The Seeds Of Love |
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Guess Who? Right, It's Lou Reed! As "predicted" during the previous decade, Lou Reed found a home with alternative rock fans on Modern Rock radio! His track Dirty Blvd. was a Billboard Modern Rock chart number one in 1989, helping him to establish himself among alternative listeners, plus helped make the first year of Billboard's newest chart a successful one. |
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All tracks listed on Billboard Magazine's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year.
| Title | Artist | Peak | Date Of Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Crush | R.E.M. | # 1 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Charlotte Anne | Julian Cope | # 1 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Angel Of Harlem | U2 | # 3 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Fisherman's Blues | The Waterboys | # 3 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| The Killing Jar | Siouxie And The Banshees | # 2 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| The Great Commandment | Camouflage | # 3 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| I'm An Adult Now | Pursuit Of Happiness | # 6 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Stand | R.E.M. | # 1 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Call Me Blue | A House | # 9 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Tears Run Rings | Marc Almond | # 8 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| What I Am | Edie Brickell & New Bohemians | # 4 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Cruella Deville | The Replacements | # 11 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Fine Time | New Order | # 3 | 1989-01-07 |
| In Your Room | The Bangles | # 5 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Sweet Jane | Cowboy Junkies | # 5 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Way Behind Me | The Primitives | # 8 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| A Little Respect | Erasure | # 15 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Walking Away | Information Society | # 15 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Im Nin'Alu | Ofra Haza | # 18 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Be With You | The Jack Rubies | # 18 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Kiss | The Art Of Noise Featuring Tom Jones | # 14 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Grain Of Sand | The Saints | # 11 | 1989-01-07 |
| Cat·House | Danielle Dax | # 19 | 1989-01-07 |
| Moons Of Jupiter | Scruffy The Cat | # 23 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| I'm Sorry | Hothouse Flowers | # 24 | 1989-01-07 |
| Was There Anything I Could Do? | The Go·Betweens | # 16 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Punk Rock Girl | The Dead Milkmen | # 11 | 1989-01-07 |
| Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) | Enya | # 6 | 1989-01-07 |
| Teenage Riot | Sonic Youth | # 20 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| I Say Nothing | Voice Of The Beehive | # 11 | see 1988 list for chart entry date |
| Perfect | Fairground Attraction | # 25 | 1989-01-14 |
| When Love Comes To Town | U2 | # 16 | 1989-01-14 |
| Dirty Blvd. | Lou Reed | # 1 | 1989-01-21 |
| Dear God | Midge Ure | # 4 | 1989-01-21 |
| Little Miss S | Edie Brickell & New Bohemians | # 14 | 1989-01-21 |
| She Drives Me Crazy | Fine Young Cannibals | # 5 | 1989-01-28 |
| All She Wants Is | Duran Duran | # 24 | 1989-01-28 |
| Driven Out | The Fixx | # 11 | 1989-01-28 |
| 5 O'Clock World | Julian Cope | # 10 | 1989-01-28 |
| Nightmares | Violent Femmes | # 4 | 1989-02-04 |
| I'll Be You | The Replacements | # 1 | 1989-02-04 |
| The Music Goes Round My Head | The Saints | # 19 | 1989-02-04 |
| Veronica | Elvis Costello | # 1 | 1989-02-11 |
| Come Out Fighting | Easterhouse | # 7 | 1989-02-11 |
| The Waterboys | World Party | # 19 | 1989-02-11 |
| That Smiling Face | Camouflage | # 26 | 1989-02-11 |
| Hey Matthew | Karel Fialka | # 29 | 1989-02-11 |
| If A Tree Falls | Bruce Cockburn | # 20 | 1989-02-11 |
| Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah | The Pogues | # 17 | 1989-02-18 |
| Dizzy | Throwing Muses | # 8 | 1989-02-18 |
| The Mayor Of Simpleton | XTC | # 1 | 1989-02-25 |
| Motorcycle | Love And Rockets | # 20 | 1989-02-25 |
| Control I'm Here | Nitzer Ebb | # 25 | 1989-02-25 |
| Stupid Kids | Christmas | # 28 | 1989-02-25 |
| Angel Visit | Thrashing Doves | # 14 | 1989-03-04 |
| Stop | Erasure | # 19 | 1989-03-04 |
| Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More | The Wonderstuff | # 17 | 1989-03-04 |
| Always Saturday | Guadalcanal Diary | # 7 | 1989-03-11 |
| God Part II | U2 | # 28 | 1989-03-11 |
| Last Of The Famous Int. Playboys | Morissey | # 3 | 1989-03-18 |
| Turn You Inside·Out | R.E.M. | # 10 | 1989-03-18 |
| Madonna Of The Wasps | Robyn Hitchcock/Egyptians | # 2 | 1989-03-18 |
| Round & Round | New Order | # 6 | 1989-03-18 |
| The Good Life | Fire Town | # 18 | 1989-03-18 |
| I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) | The Proclaimers | # 21 | 1989-03-18 |
| Agent Double O Soul | The Untouchables | # 28 | 1989-03-25 |
| Good Thing | Fine Young Cannibals | # 2 | 1989-03-25 |
| Everlasting Love | Howard Jones | # 19 | 1989-04-01 |
| Mandela Day | Simple Minds | # 17 | 1989-04-01 |
| Twist In My Sobriety | Tanita Tikaram | # 25 | 1989-04-01 |
| Something To Say | The Connells | # 7 | 1989-04-08 |
| This Town | Elvis Costello | # 4 | 1989-04-08 |
| So What If We Did | The Lonious Monster | # 29 | 1989-04-08 |
| Fire Woman | The Cult | # 2 | 1989-04-15 |
| Everything Counts | Depeche Mode | # 13 | 1989-04-15 |
| Time With You | Firehouse | # 26 | 1989-04-15 |
| Witchdoctor | Sidewinders | # 18 | 1989-04-15 |
| Dancing Barefoot | U2 | # 14 | 1989-04-15 |
| Fascination Street | The Cure | # 1 | 1989-04-22 |
| Monkey Gone To Heaven | Pixies | # 5 | 1989-04-22 |
| Holding On To The Earth | Sam Phillips | # 22 | 1989-04-22 |
| Warrior | Pil | # 16 | 1989-04-22 |
| Nineteen Forever | Joe Jackson | # 4 | 1989-04-29 |
| Busload Of Faith | Lou Reed | # 11 | 1989-04-29 |
| Suboceana | Tom Tom Club | # 10 | 1989-04-29 |
| Sun Gone Down | House Of Freaks | # 23 | 1989-04-29 |
| Answers To Nothing | Midge Ure | # 26 | 1989-04-29 |
| The Sheep's A Wolf | Caterwaul | # 25 | 1989-04-29 |
| So Alive | Love And Rockets | # 1 | 1989-05-06 |
| Obsession | Xymox | # 16 | 1989-05-06 |
| Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant | Mojo Nixon/Skid Roper | # 16 | 1989-05-06 |
| She Gives Me Love | The Godfathers | # 8 | 1989-05-13 |
| Pet Sematary | The Ramones | # 4 | 1989-05-13 |
| God Is A Bullet | Concrete Blonde | # 15 | 1989-05-13 |
| Goin' Southbound | Stan Ridgway | # 8 | 1989-05-13 |
| I Won't Back Down | Tom Petty | # 29 | 1989-05-13 |
| Eardrum Buzz | Wire | # 2 | 1989-05-20 |
| Bring Me Edelweiss | Edelweiss | # 24 | 1989-05-20 |
| See A Little Light | Bob Mould | # 4 | 1989-05-20 |
| This Is Your Land | Simple Minds | # 12 | 1989-05-20 |
| Trouble Me | 10,000 Maniacs | # 3 | 1989-05-27 |
| Oh Daddy | Adrian Belew | # 5 | 1989-05-27 |
| King For A Day | XTC | # 11 | 1989-05-27 |
| Disappointed | Public Image L.T.D. | # 1 | 1989-06-03 |
| The Beaten Generation | The The | # 13 | 1989-06-03 |
| Under The God | Tin Machine | # 4 | 1989-06-03 |
| Shake That Cosmic Thing | B·52's | # 7 | 1989-06-03 |
| Saved | Swans | # 28 | 1989-06-03 |
| Pop Song 89 | R.E.M. | # 24 | 1989-06-10 |
| Back To Back | The Replacements | # 28 | 1989-06-10 |
| Closer To Fine | Indigo Girls | # 26 | 1989-06-17 |
| Hungry | Royal Crescent Mob | # 27 | 1989-06-17 |
| Waiting For Mary | Pere Ubu | # 6 | 1989-06-17 |
| Here Comes Your Man | Pixies | # 3 | 1989-06-24 |
| Take A Step Back | Simple Minds | # 14 | 1989-06-24 |
| Let The Day Begin | The Call | # 5 | 1989-06-24 |
| Praying To A New God | Wang Chung | # 22 | 1989-06-24 |
| Interesting Drug | Morissey | # 11 | 1989-07-01 |
| Love Song | The Cure | # 2 | 1989-07-01 |
| Batdance (From “Batman”) | Prince | # 18 | 1989-07-01 |
| Hard Sun | Indio | # 10 | 1989-07-08 |
| Radio Silence | Boris Grebenshikov | # 7 | 1989-07-08 |
| Don't Make Me Dream About You | Chris Issak | # 18 | 1989-07-08 |
| Everlasting Love | U2 | # 11 | 1989-07-08 |
| Channel Z | B·52's | # 1 | 1989-07-15 |
| Sun King | The Cult | # 21 | 1989-07-15 |
| You Don't Get Much | The Bodeans | # 15 | 1989-07-15 |
| When The Hammer Came To Town | House Of Freaks | # 27 | 1989-07-15 |
| Let's Go Round There | The Darling Buds | # 27 | 1989-07-15 |
| Come Anytime | Hoodoo Gurus | # 1 | 1989-07-22 |
| Don't Crash The Car Tonight | Mary's Danish | # 7 | 1989-07-22 |
| The Prisoner | Howard Jones | # 24 | 1989-07-29 |
| Eat For Two | 10,000 Maniacs | # 12 | 1989-07-29 |
| Future 40's (String Of Pearls) | Syd Straw | # 16 | 1989-07-29 |
| Look Who's Dancing | Ziggy Marley/Melody Makers | # 2 | 1989-08-05 |
| Heaven's In Here | Tin Machine | # 12 | 1989-08-05 |
| I Don't Want A Lover | Texas | # 11 | 1989-08-05 |
| Don't Look Back | Fine Young Cannibals | # 9 | 1989-08-12 |
| Calling Out To Carol | Stan Ridgway | # 13 | 1989-08-12 |
| Gravitate To Me | The The | # 15 | 1989-08-12 |
| Love Crushing | Fetchin' Bones | # 19 | 1989-08-12 |
| I've Forgotten What It Is In You | Maria McKee | # 29 | 1989-08-12 |
| Between Something And Nothing | The Ocean Blue | # 2 | 1989-08-19 |
| Compulsion | Martin L. Gore | # 18 | 1989-08-19 |
| Shakin' The Tree | Youssou N'Dour | # 9 | 1989-08-19 |
| Accidentally 4th Street | Figures On The Beach | # 14 | 1989-08-19 |
| Achin' To Be | The Replacements | # 22 | 1989-08-19 |
| In Vivo | Wire | # 24 | 1989-08-19 |
| Hey Ladies | The Beastie Boys | # 18 | 1989-08-26 |
| Smoke Rings | Winter Hours | # 12 | 1989-08-26 |
| She Bangs The Drum | The Stone Roses | # 9 | 1989-08-26 |
| Love Shack | The B·52's | # 1 | 1989-09-02 |
| Way Of The World | Max Q | # 6 | 1989-09-02 |
| James Brown | Big Audio Dynamite | # 2 | 1989-09-02 |
| Sowing The Seeds Of Love | Tears For Fears | # 1 | 1989-09-02 |
| Knock Me Down | The Red Hot Chili Peppers | # 6 | 1989-09-02 |
| Rock And Roll Babylon | Love And Rockets | # 29 | 1989-09-02 |
| Stand Up | Underworld | # 14 | 1989-09-02 |
| Happy | Public Image L.T.D. | # 15 | 1989-09-09 |
| One Little Girl | Toad The Wet Sprocket | # 24 | 1989-09-09 |
| Sold Me Down The River | The Alarm | # 3 | 1989-09-16 |
| Pictures Of Matchstick Men | Camper Van Beethoven | # 1 | 1989-09-16 |
| No Big Deal | Love And Rockets | # 19 | 1989-09-16 |
| He's Got A She | Exene Cervenka | # 17 | 1989-09-16 |
| Mixed Emotions | The Rolling Stones | # 22 | 1989-09-16 |
| Sick Of It | The Primitives | # 9 | 1989-09-23 |
| Regina | The Sugarcubes | # 2 | 1989-09-23 |
| Decline And Fall | Flesh For Lulu | # 15 | 1989-09-23 |
| If It's Love | Squeeze | # 7 | 1989-09-30 |
| I Want That Man | Deborah Harry | # 2 | 1989-09-30 |
| No Souvenirs | Melissa Etheridge | # 18 | 1989-09-30 |
| Shatter | Shelleyan Orphan | # 23 | 1989-09-30 |
| Sugar Daddy | The Thompson Twins | # 16 | 1989-09-30 |
| Self | Fuzzbox | # 16 | 1989-09-30 |
| Personal Jesus | Depeche Mode | # 3 | 1989-10-07 |
| Into The Heart Of Love | The Mighty Lemon Drops | # 5 | 1989-10-07 |
| Kingdom Of Rain | The The | # 16 | 1989-10-07 |
| Crossroads | Tracy Chapman | # 7 | 1989-10-14 |
| Black Sheep Wall | The Innocence Mission | # 22 | 1989-10-14 |
| Drama | Erasure | # 11 | 1989-10-14 |
| Love Is A Shield | Camouflage | # 23 | 1989-10-14 |
| A Girl Like You | The Smithereens | # 3 | 1989-10-21 |
| Satellites | Rickie Lee Jones | # 23 | 1989-10-21 |
| Make Believe Mambo | David Byrne | # 11 | 1989-10-21 |
| Proud To Fall | Ian McCulloch | # 1 | 1989-10-28 |
| Love And Anger | Kate Bush | # 1 | 1989-10-28 |
| Contact | Big Audio Dynamite | # 6 | 1989-10-28 |
| Let Love Rule | Lenny Kravitz | # 5 | 1989-10-28 |
| Higher Ground | Red Hot Chili Peppers | # 11 | 1989-10-28 |
| Should God Forget | The Psychedelic Furs | # 8 | 1989-11-04 |
| The Line Between The Devil's Teeth | Peter Murphy | # 18 | 1989-11-04 |
| Blues From A Gun | The Jesus And Mary Chain | # 1 | 1989-11-11 |
| Don't Ask Me Why | The Eurhythmics | # 12 | 1989-11-11 |
| Big Man On Paper | Graham Parker | # 18 | 1989-11-11 |
| Time And Space | Flesh For Lulu | # 9 | 1989-11-11 |
| Move With Sister | The Del Fuegos | # 22 | 1989-11-18 |
| Lullaby | The Cure | # 23 | 1989-11-18 |
| Last Cigarette | Dramarama | # 13 | 1989-11-18 |
| No Myth | Michael Penn | # 4 | 1989-11-18 |
| Livin' On The Edge Of The Night | Iggy Pop | # 16 | 1989-11-25 |
| Devolution Workin' Man Blues | The Alarm | # 11 | 1989-11-25 |
| Standing There | The Creatures | # 4 | 1989-11-25 |
| Roam | The B·52's | # 6 | 1989-12-02 |
| House | The Psychedelic Furs | # 1 | 1989-12-02 |
| Drifting, Fallling | The Ocean Blue | # 10 | 1989-12-02 |
| Secrets | The Primitives | # 12 | 1989-12-02 |
| Dirty Old Town | David Byrne | # 8 | 1989-12-09 |
| I Wanna Be Adored | The Stone Roses | # 18 | 1989-12-09 |
| Babydoll | Laurie Anderson | # 7 | 1989-12-09 |
| Woman In Chains | Tears For Fears | # 27 | 1989-12-09 |
| Kiss It Better | Deborah Harry | # 12 | 1989-12-16 |
| Burning Inside | Ministry | # 23 | 1989-12-16 |
| Down In It | Nine Inch Nails | # 16 | 1989-12-16 |
| Ouija Board, Ouija Board | Morissey | # 2 | 1989-12-23 |
| On The Greener Side | Michelle Shocked | # 19 | 1989-12-23 |
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