The Chart Show Rock Chart (14th January 1989)

Its hard to believe that this episode was broadcast over 20 years ago. Although poodle bands were dominating the rock scene, they did make some great songs. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Bon Jovi, but their song "Born To Be My Baby" was probably one of their best tracks, even though it doesn't get much airplay on Virgin or any other middle-age radio station or digital tv.

The track was one of those up-lifting tunes that would not have had any problem in being used in a Rocky film. It was one of those tracks that I could play in the gym on my i-pod, if I wanted to run several miles on the treadmill. The song was basically like red-bull being injected in your body. It made you feel that you could do anything. Although too much of it, just like Bon Jovi, could probably cause serious harm to your health !!!

A group in this chart that pioneered a genre of metal was Helloween. Many people consider Helloween as the inventors of power metal, a music that combined keyboard symphony with speed metal. I didn't really hear much of Helloween until the mid-90's on a pirate rock radio station, which played "I Want Out". When I first heard it, I thought wow this really rocks. I've also heard other Helloween music, but unfortunately none of it really matched "I Want Out".

Helloween were basically a German group, who weren't really big in the UK. I doubt if they were big in their native Germany either. However their music was generally niche and weren't really suited for mainstream pop listeners. However they did pioneered Power Metal, which influenced many later bands such as Nightwish.

Looking at this chart, its amazing this was the first rock chart ever on the ITV Chart Show. The ghost train with the loud guitars was such a favourite chart show graphic of mine that I was really disappointed when the chart show replaced it with a robotic pinball in late 1991. It got worse when in 1996 they replaced it with a falling rock. Unfortunately for the chart show, it didn't last long, as the show was axed in 1998.