28 Years Ago This Week: March 19, 1989, "Like A Prayer" Madonna's newly released single came in the charts at No3.
It wasn't every week that the biggest female artist on the planet released a brand new single - but 28 years ago this week, the Queen of Pop returned to the ARIA chart following an absence of more than 12 months.
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Madonna fans' prayers were answered this week in 1989 |
She wasn't the only star who'd risen to fame earlier in the decade to debut with a new song this week in 1989, but she was far and away the most successful of the artists returning to the chart with fresh material.
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ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart - week ending March 19, 1989 |
The best thing about Madonna's high debut was that it meant that The Proclaimers' days at number 1 were numbered. Yep, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" spent its fifth and final week atop the ARIA singles chart.
Number 3 "Like A Prayer" by Madonna
Peak: number 1
Between her 1984 breakthrough and the end of 1987, Madonna landed 17 hit singles on the Australian top 50 (including four number 1s). Then, no doubt aware that a backlash was inevitable unless she cooled it for a while, the biggest female recording artist on the planet released nothing for more than 12 months. It was just the latest move in a pretty faultless career path to that point - and one which ensured anticipation for the lead single from her fourth studio album was intense.
Musically, "Like A Prayer" was like nothing Madonna had released up until that point and was an even bigger stylistic reinvention than "Live To Tell" had been in 1986. Not only was it a more mature record than anything she'd put her name to before, but its gospel influences and big, bold sound made even naysayers sit up and take notice. "Like A Prayer" was Madonna proving she was more than just a provocative, midriff-bearing pop star.
Not that she didn't still push people's buttons, which is where the music video for "Like A Prayer" came in. Stigmata, an African American Jesus-type figure, burning crosses and Madonna's dancing-cum-writhing in church... there were plenty of things to which religious conservatives could object. And they did. As a result of the furore, Madonna's much-hyped Pepsi commercial was pulled and she was banned by the Vatican. Naturally, it all just helped "Like A Prayer" become one of Madonna's biggest hits - and, in Australia, the highest-selling single of 1989, spending five non-consecutive weeks at number 1 between late March and mid-May. Now, that's how you stage a comeback.
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