More songs reach number one than in any other year, a famous actor's brother and a newcomer both have big hits, and an established band sees their biggest success ever!
1990: Modern Rock's "1974"!
Those who followed the late Casey Kasem's weekly radio show American Top 10 know that the year 1974 set the record for the most songs at number one on the Hot 100 pop chart, with 36 total. What year did this happen on Billboard's Modern Rock chart? Like its sister chart, the Top Rock Tracks chart, it was 1990! Following a recent trend on Billboard's other music charts, 22 different tracks enjoyed a turn at the top, including a mix of established acts like Depeche Mode, The Cure, and INXS, and newer acts who may have scored their only modern rock number one ever during that year.
1990 also marked the last time 20 or more tracks scored number one in a single year on the Modern Rock chart, as technology was about to cause a seismic shift in the music industry over the next few years! This affected broadcasting, distribution, and even the method Billboard used to compile its weekly charts. Stay tuned...
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Stardom Runs In The Penn Family In 1990, Michael Penn emerged from the shadow of his famous brother, actor Sean Penn, with the Modern Rock hit No Myth. The song reached number 4 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, giving Michael national exposure. The Penn family had more than one talented member unleashed upon the entertainment world! |
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Peter Murphy Makes A Big Splash In a genre where established acts dominated its early history, relative newcomer to the modern rock world, Peter Murphy, enjoyed a huge hit with modern rock fans with his song Cuts You Up. The track reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock chart where it lasted 7 weeks, more than any other in 1990! Murphy's somewhat macabre baritone voice fared well with fans and put him on the map with such established artists as U2, R.E.M., Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Depeche Mode, to name a few. And speaking of Depeche Mode... |
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Depeche Mode Enjoyes Peak Success In modern rock circles, Depeche Mode remained a staple with fans for nearly a decade by 1990. With their release of the album Violator, they enjoyed their most successful album ever! With the tracks Enjoy The Silence and Policy Of Truth, they were the only band or artist to score 2 number ones during the year on Billboard's Modern Rock chart in a crowded field at the top for 1990 (see "1990: Modern Rock's '1974'" above). Later in the year, Depeche Mode scored these same 2 tracks, along with Personal Jesus as national hits on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart as well, the only album they ever released where that happened! |
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Enjoy The Silence |
Policy Of Truth |
Personal Jesus |
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| Title | Artist | Peak | Date Of Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blues From A Gun | The Jesus And Mary Chain | # 1 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Love And Anger | Kate Bush | # 1 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Proud To Fall | Ian McCulloch | # 1 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| A Girl Like You | The Smithereens | # 3 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Standing There | The Creatures | # 4 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Ouija Board, Ouija Board | Morissey | # 2 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Let Love Rule | Lenny Kravitz | # 5 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| House | The Psychedelic Furs | # 1 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Roam | The B·52's | # 6 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| No Myth | Michael Penn | # 4 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Drifting, Fallling | The Ocean Blue | # 10 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Secrets | The Primitives | # 12 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Dirty Old Town | David Byrne | # 8 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Kiss It Better | Deborah Harry | # 12 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Babydoll | Laurie Anderson | # 7 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Higher Ground | Red Hot Chili Peppers | # 11 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Where Do We Go From Heaven | The Mighty Lemon Drops | # 8 | 1990-01-06 |
| Devolution Workin' Man Blues | The Alarm | # 11 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Contact | Big Audio Dynamite | # 6 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Down In It | Nine Inch Nails | # 16 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Big Man On Paper | Graham Parker | # 18 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Time And Space | Flesh For Lulu | # 9 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| I Wanna Be Adored | The Stone Roses | # 18 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Last Cigarette | Dramarama | # 13 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| On The Greener Side | Michelle Shocked | # 19 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Don't Let Me Down, Gently | The Wonder Stuff | # 11 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Radio Ass Kiss | The Wonder Stuff | # 26 | 1990-01-06 |
| Woman In Chains | Tears For Fears | # 27 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Lullaby | The Cure | # 23 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Burning Inside | Ministry | # 23 | see 1989 list for chart entry date |
| Dangerous | Depeche Mode | # 13 | 1990-01-13 |
| Carrot Head | Young Fresh Fellows | # 29 | 1990-01-13 |
| Cuts You Up | Peter Murphy | # 1 | 1990-01-20 |
| Head On | The Jesus And Mary Chain | # 2 | 1990-01-20 |
| Getting Away With It | Electronic | # 4 | 1990-01-20 |
| The Sensual World | Kate Bush | # 6 | 1990-01-20 |
| Steady On | Shawn Colvin | # 23 | 1990-01-20 |
| Testify | Eleventh Dream Day | # 26 | 1990-01-20 |
| Blues Before And After | The Smithereens | # 18 | 1990-01-20 |
| Birdhouse In Your Soul | They Might Be Giants | # 3 | 1990-01-27 |
| Here I Am (Come And Take Me) | UB40 | # 6 | 1990-01-27 |
| Razor Blades Of Love | The Silencers | # 14 | 1990-01-27 |
| The Downtown Lights | The Blue Nile | # 10 | 1990-02-03 |
| Faith And Healing | Ian McCulloch | # 10 | 1990-02-03 |
| Yesterday Girl | The Smithereens | # 16 | 1990-02-03 |
| Respectfully King Of Rain | The Rave·Ups | # 12 | 1990-02-03 |
| Nothing Compares 2 U | Sinead O'Connor | # 1 | 1990-02-10 |
| Deliverance | The Mission U.K. | # 6 | 1990-02-10 |
| A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall | Edie Brickell | # 21 | 1990-02-10 |
| Jealous Of Youth | The The | # 7 | 1990-02-10 |
| Hello | The Beloved | # 6 | 1990-02-10 |
| The Devil In Me | John Wesley Harding | # 17 | 1990-02-10 |
| Blue Sky Mine | Midnight Oil | # 1 | 1990-02-17 |
| Biting My Nails | Renegade Soundwave | # 11 | 1990-02-17 |
| I Built This Garden | Lenny Kravitz | # 25 | 1990-02-24 |
| I'm Not Scared | Raindogs | # 23 | 1990-02-24 |
| American Eyes | The Lilac Time | # 28 | 1990-02-24 |
| Metropolis | The Church | # 1 | 1990-03-03 |
| When The Lights Go Out | Oingo Boingo | # 15 | 1990-03-03 |
| Fury Eyes | The Creatures | # 12 | 1990-03-03 |
| I Don't Know Why I Love You | House Of Love | # 2 | 1990-03-03 |
| Enjoy The Silence | Depeche Mode | # 1 | 1990-03-10 |
| Bikini Girls With Machine Guns | The Cramps | # 10 | 1990-03-10 |
| Kiss This Thing Goodbye | Del Amitri | # 13 | 1990-03-10 |
| This And That | Michael Penn | # 10 | 1990-03-10 |
| Room At The Top | Adam Ant | # 17 | 1990-03-10 |
| Life In Detail | Robert Palmer | # 14 | 1990-03-17 |
| Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday | The Cowboy Junkies | # 11 | 1990-03-17 |
| Fool's Gold | The Stone Roses | # 5 | 1990-03-24 |
| You Keep It All In | The Beautiful South | # 19 | 1990-03-24 |
| Let It Be Me | Social Distortion | # 11 | 1990-03-24 |
| Driving | Everything But The Girl | # 26 | 1990-03-24 |
| Head Like A Hole | Nine Inch Nails | # 28 | 1990-03-31 |
| Forgotten Years | Midnight Oil | # 1 | 1990-03-31 |
| Come Back Down | Toad The Wet Sprocket | # 27 | 1990-03-31 |
| Pure | The Lightning Seeds | # 8 | 1990-04-07 |
| The Emperor's New Clothes | Sinead O'Connor | # 1 | 1990-04-07 |
| Show Me Your Soul | Red Hot Chili Peppers | # 10 | 1990-04-07 |
| Heavenly Pop Hit | The Chills | # 17 | 1990-04-14 |
| Twisting | They Might Be Giants | # 22 | 1990-04-14 |
| Book Of Dreams | Suzanne Vega | # 8 | 1990-04-21 |
| Downtown | Lloyd Cole | # 5 | 1990-04-21 |
| Here's Where The Story Ends | The Sundays | # 1 | 1990-04-21 |
| Pictures Of You | The Cure | # 19 | 1990-04-21 |
| Hey Venus | That Petrol Emotion | # 9 | 1990-04-21 |
| Policy Of Truth | Depeche Mode | # 1 | 1990-04-28 |
| Lightning Man | Nitzer Ebb | # 28 | 1990-04-28 |
| Butterfly On A Wheel | The Mission U.K. | # 23 | 1990-04-28 |
| Cradle Of Love | Billy Idol | # 7 | 1990-05-05 |
| Drag My Bad Name Down | The 4 Of Us | # 22 | 1990-05-05 |
| When The River Runs Dry | Hunters & Collectors | # 5 | 1990-05-05 |
| Way Down Now | World Party | # 1 | 1990-05-05 |
| Nobody But You | Lou Reed/John Cale | # 13 | 1990-05-12 |
| Love Barge | Big Dipper | # 19 | 1990-05-12 |
| Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World | Johnny Clegg/Savuka | # 27 | 1990-05-12 |
| November Spawned A Monster | Morissey | # 6 | 1990-05-19 |
| Never Do That | The Pretenders | # 4 | 1990-05-19 |
| Pretty Pink Rose | Adrian Belew & David Bowie | # 2 | 1990-05-19 |
| Flying Under Radar | Jerry Harrison: Casual Gods | # 13 | 1990-05-19 |
| Ball And Chain | Social Distortion | # 13 | 1990-05-26 |
| Tears Won't Help | Steve Wynn | # 10 | 1990-05-26 |
| Back Of My Mind | O·Positive | # 22 | 1990-06-02 |
| Pineapple Face | Revenge | # 8 | 1990-06-02 |
| We Don't Do That Anymore | Sidewinders | # 23 | 1990-06-02 |
| Staring At The Sun | Ultra Vivid Scene | # 25 | 1990-06-02 |
| Falling | Julee Cruise | # 11 | 1990-06-02 |
| Give It Up | Hothouse Flowers | # 2 | 1990-06-02 |
| All I Want | The Lightning Seeds | # 9 | 1990-06-09 |
| Joey | Concrete Blonde | # 1 | 1990-06-09 |
| Growing Old | The Origin | # 19 | 1990-06-09 |
| Let's Be Mad | John Doe | # 19 | 1990-06-16 |
| Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello... | Something Happens | # 14 | 1990-06-16 |
| Sweet Smell Of Success | The Stranglers | # 5 | 1990-06-16 |
| Onion Skin | Boom Crash Opera | # 8 | 1990-06-23 |
| Jealous | Gene Loves Jezebel | # 1 | 1990-06-30 |
| Kool Thing | Sonic Youth | # 7 | 1990-06-30 |
| King Of The Mountain | Midnight Oil | # 3 | 1990-06-30 |
| You're Still Beautiful | The Church | # 27 | 1990-06-30 |
| A Strange Kind Of Love | Peter Murphy | # 21 | 1990-07-07 |
| World In Motion | New Order | # 5 | 1990-07-07 |
| Child Of The Wild Blue Yonder | John Hiatt | # 24 | 1990-07-07 |
| I'll Be Your Chauffeur | David J | # 1 | 1990-07-14 |
| Step On | Happy Mondays | # 9 | 1990-07-14 |
| The Crying Scene | Aztec Camera | # 3 | 1990-07-14 |
| Heavy Weather Traffic | Katydids | # 17 | 1990-07-14 |
| Hold A Candle To This | The Pretenders | # 18 | 1990-07-21 |
| Every Beat Of The Heart | The Railway Children | # 1 | 1990-07-21 |
| Home | Iggy Pop | # 2 | 1990-07-21 |
| Post Post·Modern Man | Devo | # 7 | 1990-07-21 |
| God Tonight | Real Life | # 15 | 1990-07-21 |
| Put The Message In The Box | World Party | # 8 | 1990-07-28 |
| Men In Helicopters | Adrian Belew | # 17 | 1990-08-04 |
| Strawberry Fields Forever | Candy Flip | # 11 | 1990-08-04 |
| Brave New World | Michael Penn | # 20 | 1990-08-04 |
| Velouria | Pixies | # 4 | 1990-08-11 |
| Stop! | Jane's Addiction | # 1 | 1990-08-11 |
| Halo | Depeche Mode | # 21 | 1990-08-11 |
| Blue Flower | Mazzy Star | # 29 | 1990-08-11 |
| Dreamtime | The Heart Throbs | # 2 | 1990-08-11 |
| The Only One I Know | The Charlatans | # 5 | 1990-08-18 |
| One Love | The Stone Roses | # 9 | 1990-08-18 |
| It Happens Every Time | Ultra Vivid Scene | # 19 | 1990-08-18 |
| Violence Of Summer | Duran Duran | # 13 | 1990-08-25 |
| It's Too Late | Bob Mould | # 10 | 1990-08-25 |
| I'm Free | The Soup Dragons | # 2 | 1990-08-25 |
| Leave Me Alone | The Cavedogs | # 17 | 1990-08-25 |
| Sense Of Purpose | The Pretenders | # 23 | 1990-09-01 |
| The King Is Half Undressed | Jellyfish | # 19 | 1990-09-01 |
| Tom's Diner | D.N.A. With Suzanne Vega | # 7 | 1990-09-01 |
| Down On The Riverbed | Los Lobos | # 16 | 1990-09-01 |
| Suicide Blonde | INXS | # 1 | 1990-09-08 |
| Type | Living Colour | # 3 | 1990-09-08 |
| Hippychick | Soho | # 11 | 1990-09-08 |
| Spinnin' | Soul Asylum | # 15 | 1990-09-08 |
| Ring Of Fire | Social Distortion | # 25 | 1990-09-08 |
| Iceblink Luck | Cocteau Twins | # 4 | 1990-09-15 |
| Love Or Something | Bob Geldof | # 24 | 1990-09-15 |
| Candy | Iggy Pop | # 5 | 1990-09-22 |
| Never Enough | The Cure | # 1 | 1990-09-22 |
| World In My Eyes | Depeche Mode | # 17 | 1990-09-22 |
| Everybody Knows | Concrete Blonde | # 20 | 1990-09-22 |
| So Hard | The Pet Shop Boys | # 17 | 1990-09-22 |
| Merry Go Round | The Replacements | # 1 | 1990-09-29 |
| Good Morning Britain | Aztec Camera | # 12 | 1990-09-29 |
| Been Caught Stealing | Jane's Addiction | # 1 | 1990-09-29 |
| Heart Like A Wheel | The Human League | # 17 | 1990-09-29 |
| Crystal Clear | The Darling Buds | # 5 | 1990-09-29 |
| Don Henley Must Die | Mojo Nixon | # 20 | 1990-09-29 |
| Special One | Ultra Vivid Scene | # 14 | 1990-10-06 |
| All For Love & Love For All | The Lilac Time | # 22 | 1990-10-06 |
| What's Happened To You | The Call | # 25 | 1990-10-13 |
| Celebrate | An Emotional Fish | # 4 | 1990-10-13 |
| Hello I Love You | The Cure | # 6 | 1990-10-20 |
| Don't Ask Me | Public Image LTD | # 2 | 1990-10-20 |
| Hammer And A Nail | Indigo Girls | # 12 | 1990-10-20 |
| Golden Blunders | The Posies | # 17 | 1990-10-20 |
| Dig For Fire | Pixies | # 11 | 1990-10-20 |
| She's In A Trance | The Heart Throbs | # 21 | 1990-10-27 |
| Been There Done That | Eno/Cale | # 11 | 1990-10-27 |
| Raspberry Beret | Hindu Love Gods | # 23 | 1990-10-27 |
| Then | The Charlatans UK | # 4 | 1990-10-27 |
| The Road | The Alarm | # 7 | 1990-11-03 |
| Disappear | INXS | # 10 | 1990-11-03 |
| A Life Of Sundays | The Waterboys | # 15 | 1990-11-03 |
| Stone Cold Yesterday | The Connells | # 3 | 1990-11-10 |
| Night And Day | U2 | # 2 | 1990-11-10 |
| Annie's Gone | Redd Kross | # 16 | 1990-11-10 |
| The Obvious Child | Paul Simon | # 24 | 1990-11-10 |
| Loaded | Primal Scream | # 19 | 1990-11-10 |
| Mama Help Me | Edie Brickell & New Bohemians | # 17 | 1990-11-10 |
| More | Sisters Of Mercy | # 1 | 1990-11-17 |
| Only Tongue Can Tell | The Trash Can Sinatras | # 8 | 1990-11-17 |
| Commercial Rain | Inspiral Carpets | # 27 | 1990-11-17 |
| Picadilly Palare | Morrissey | # 2 | 1990-11-24 |
| Caroline | Concrete Blonde | # 23 | 1990-11-24 |
| Heaven Or Las Vegas | Cocteau Twins | # 9 | 1990-11-24 |
| Enlighten Me | Echo And The Bunnymen | # 8 | 1990-12-01 |
| Elvis Is Dead | Living Colour | # 25 | 1990-12-01 |
| Kinky Afro | Happy Mondays | # 1 | 1990-12-01 |
| Easy Street | Soul Asylum | # 26 | 1990-12-08 |
| Tomorrow Never Knows | Danielle Dax | # 5 | 1990-12-08 |
| Tragedy (For You) | Front 242 | # 18 | 1990-12-08 |
| Someone Take The Wheel | The Replacements | # 15 | 1990-12-15 |
| Sweetness And Light | Lush | # 4 | 1990-12-15 |
| Hands Across The Ocean | The Mission U.K. | # 7 | 1990-12-15 |
| It Makes No Difference | The Darling Buds | # 13 | 1990-12-22 |
| Up & Down | The High | # 19 | 1990-12-22 |
| That Is Why | Jellyfish | # 11 | 1990-12-22 |
| Come Together | Primal Scream | # 13 | 1990-12-22 |
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