On September 29, 1990, our neighboring country had a big hand in the Dutch top 5. Number 1 was in the hands of the British action.

60% of the top 5 artists are from neighboring countries. Germany’s Matthias Reim climbs to second place with Verdammt – Ich Lieb’ Dich. One place lower are compatriots MC Sar & The Real McCoy with It’s On You. In the spring, Snap! spends four weeks at number one with The Power and in late 1990 Enigma will follow with Sadeness (Part 1).

At number 5 is Vaya Con Dios, a jazz trio from Brussels. They were at number one a few months earlier with What’s A Woman. Moreover, 1990 was the breakthrough year for Clouseau, who spent no less than six weeks at number 2 with Daar Gaat Ze. But number 1 is of British/American descent. And there’s more going on in the Top 40 on September 29, 1990!

1 (1) I’VE BEEN THINKING OF YOU – Londonbeat

Londonbeat were a British group, but they were still far more popular in the Netherlands than in their home country. In the 1980s, the quartet scored three Top 40 hits in the Netherlands, compared to one in the UK. I’ve Been Thinking About You stuck at number 2 across the North Sea, but spent four weeks at the top of the Top 40. It was also a number 1 hit in the United States, where band member Jimmy Helms was from.

2 (4) VERDAMMT – ICH LIEB’ DICH – Matthias Reim

Matthias Reim could be called a late bloomer. In the 1980s, the German was active as a songwriter and played in several bands, but at the age of 32 he released his debut album Reim in 1990. It was an instant hit, as the first single Verdammt – Ich Lieb’ Dich was a hit not only in German-speaking countries. In fact, the song spent four weeks at number 1 in the Top 40 and is still considered one of the most famous German-language hits ever!

5 (8) NAH NEH NAH – Vaya Con Dios

Our neighbours to the east account for 66.7% of the top 3 and our neighbours to the south rise to number 5. Brussels jazz outfit Vaya Con Dios scored a number 1 hit in June 1990 with the ballad What’s A Woman, but its follow-up Nah Neh Nah was decidedly more uptempo. This style also proved popular, reaching number three in the Top 40. In 2011, producer duo Milk & Sugar reached number 4 with a remake called Hey (Nah Neh Nah).

7 (15) TONIGHT – New Kids On The Block

Even before boy bands like Take That, Boyzone and the Backstreet Boys stormed the charts, New Kids On The Block made their Top 40 debut in 1989 with You Got It (The Right Stuff). In 1990, follow-ups I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) (#11) and Hangin’ Tough (#34) also reached the charts. All three hits were named in the first verse of Tonight, which became America’s first top 10 hit. Tonight peaked at number four.

34 (–) THE JOKER – Steve Miller Band

The openness of people to old music in the 1990s is evident in the fact that Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones easily spent four weeks at number one in the spring. In the Top 40 Classics, The Joker by Steve Miller Band is back in the Top 40, after the classic caught the attention of a Levi’s ad. While The Joker had stalled at number 13 in 1973, it spent two weeks at number one in 1990. Apparently the song was ahead of its time seventeen years earlier.

(09-26-2020)