Getting his start in a blue-eyed soul group called The Q-Tips, English singer and songwriter Paul Young had a run of US chart hits in the 80s. His first arrived in 1983 when he took the Marvin Gaye song "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" to #70. In 1985, Young topped the chart with his #1 smash "Everytime You Go Away," written by Daryl Hall. He followed this up with "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down," which reached #13. In 1990, he was back in the Top 10 with his version of "Oh Girl" (a #1 hit by The Chi-Lites in 1972), which reached #8. Young's final chart appearance in the US occurred in 1992 when his rendition of "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" peaked at #22 (it was used in the film Fried Green Tomatoes). The original was taken to #7 in 1966 by Jimmy Ruffin. While he is best known for his soulful ballads, Young tried to mix things up with an occasional upbeat track like "A Little Bit Of Love" from his 1990 record "Other Voices."
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, INXS slowly but surely crept their way into the US charts in the early 80s with now-classics like "The One Thing" (#30), "Don't Change" (#80), "Original Sin" (#58 - little known fact: Daryl Hall sang backup vocals on this track), and "This Time" (#81). Everything changed in 1986 when the band broke through in a big way with the smash hit, "What You Need," which sailed to #5. The track comes from arguably one of the best records INXS ever made: "Listen Like Thieves." This record, along with their follow-up, "Kick," are two that I can listen the whole way through without wanting to skip any tracks. While "Listen Like Thieves" should have produced more hit singles for the band, that moment had to wait until "Kick" came out in 1987. "Kick" produced a remarkable occurrence: the first single, "Need You Tonight" went to #1, the second single, "Devil Inside," went to #2, and the third single, "New Sensation," went to #3. The pattern ended there when the great "Never Tear Us Apart" went to #7. Despite yielding two more top 10 hits, the band's next record, "X," was a big disappointment. Admittedly, "Kick" was going to be nearly impossible to follow, but I think the paucity of radio-friendly hits alienated many fans. I had high hopes that would change in 1992 with the release of "Heaven Sent." What a terrific rocking song! But it did not make an appearance on the Top 100. The band fizzled with a handful of other modest singles before the tragic suicide of sultry vocalist Michael Hutchence in 1997.
Few people realize that Daryl Hall has released five solo records outside of his longtime partnership with John Oates. Born Daryl Hohl in Philadelphia, Hall has scored only one top 10 hit outside of Hall & Oates. "Dreamland" went to #5 in 1986, still hot off the heels of the duo's staggering success. The subsequent singles, "Foolish Pride" and "Someone Like You," reached #33 and #57, respectively. All of these charting hits came from his second solo effort, "Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine," which got to #29 on the Top 200. He saw a final chart appearance in 1993 when "I'm In A Philly Mood" hit #82. "Let It Out" is another upbeat offering from his most successful solo work, "Three Hearts."
