After a very weighty number one, a seven-minute treatise on political violence in Ireland, we arrive at something a little lighter…

Too Many Broken Hearts, by Jason Donovan (his 2^nd of four #1s)

2 weeks, from 5^th – 19^th March 1989

I do like the way we get teased at the start, as hard-edged guitars chime out – does anyone else hear the intro to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’?? But before we even have time to check that, yes, this is a Jason Donovan record, in comes the oh-so-familiar Stock Aitken Waterman beat. Of course.

Has there ever been a mashup of all the famous SAW hits…? They are all the same basic beat and tempo. Well in fact, yes, YouTube is your friend. There’s an eight minute mash-up of Kylie, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Sinitta and Sonia which I have to admit I enjoyed. (There’s a near twenty-minute long Part II, which I haven’t braved yet!)

What to make of Jason Donovan not making the cut for this mix? Was he not A-grade material? I can’t see a reason why this is any worse than the earlier SAW #1s, apart perhaps for SAW Fatigue (I think that ‘SAW Fatigue’ will be the catchphrase of our journey through 1989…) It’s perky, it’s catchy, the chorus is cheesy but it stays with you. The bridge is the best bit: You give me one good reason to leave me, I’ll give you ten good reasons to stay… Although, Pete Waterman claimed that he wrote it in ten minutes while on the toilet, so there’s that mental image…

The video is equally cheap and cheerful. Jason stares out from his log cabin, chops some wood, then strolls along a cliff top while strumming his guitar. His electric guitar. Maybe Slash took notes before filming the ‘November Rain’ video? (I was not expecting to make two Guns N Roses references in this post!)

The only thing I find that grates is Jason’s voice itself… He sounds a little strained, a little rushed. I think I said the same thing about Kylie’s ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, so perhaps it’s the production not getting the best out of its singers? Anyway, I can never get too exercised, in one way or the other, about disposable pop. The charts’ bread and butter. It’s a pop song. It’s catchy. It provides a reasonably pleasant diversion for three minutes of our largely humdrum existences. Next!