#1428: 1927

80s Snapshot:

• Number of songs on Hot 100: 1
• Highest peak position: 100
• Cumulative weeks on Hot 100: 1

Our journey through the 80s promises to be a global one, so it’s only right that we start thousands of miles from the United States.

Only one of the 1,400+ artists that will be covered in this project has the dubious distinction of spending just one week on the Hot 100 in its lowest rung. That honor goes to the Australian pop-rock outfit 1927, last in the rankings but first in our hearts for kick-starting this adventure.

The Sydney-based band broke out in their native Australia in a big way in 1988, scoring a pair of Top-10 hits with “That’s What I Think Of You” (#6) and “If I Could” (#4) off of their debut album …Ish. By May of 1989, the album had spent 3 weeks atop the Australian albums chart, eventually going 5x platinum. 1927 won a pair of ARIA Music Awards at the 1989 ceremony, sharing Breakthrough Artist-Album and winning Breakthrough Artist-Single outright for “That’s When I Think Of You” (they were also nominated for Album of the Year and Single of the Year).

On the strength of that award-winning start, “That’s When I Think Of You” earned a U.S. release in the summer of 1989. Despite having an upbeat sound reminiscent of fellow Aussies Icehouse and their U.S. Top 10 “Electric Blue,” 1927’s effort appeared only on the August 26th Hot 100, spending its lone week in the #100 spot. “If I Could” also got a promotional single release in the States, but failed to reach the chart.

And thus as quickly as it began, 1927’s footprint in the United States came and went. The band had a further three Top 40 singles in Australia (though only one that wasn’t on …Ish), the last of which came in 1990. Frontman Erik Weideman has remained the band’s only consistent member through the decades, but the band continues to tour Australia to this day.

Next: Britny Fox