Great Moments In Pop – The 80s Part 75.

This is another singer who came on to the chart in the mid-80s, whose career went on to take an unexpected twist. Suzanne Vega is an American singer/songwriter, whose songs tell stories that can sometimes contain a serious message. In November 1985 “Marlene On The Wall” was released, but missed the Top 75. This was also the year when her first album was released.

Her first hit would be in January 1986 when “Small Blue Thing” reached no. 65. In March 1986 it was decided to give “Marlene On The Wall” another go, which this time reached no. 21. In June 1986 “Left Of Centre” reached no. 32. Her career began to take off though in May 1987 when “Luka” reached no. 23. This was also her biggest hit single in America, reaching no. 3.

Also in this month, she appeared on the cover of NME. This was a weird picture where she seemed to have a really tiny head in proportion to the rest of her. I don’t know if this was some camera trickery, or it is the way she was made, either way it looked rather strange. In July 1987 “Tom’s Diner” reached no. 58. This was an acapella song, and again, it was felt that this could do better.

Although her album “Solitude Standing” had done well, (and in November 1987 she was on ITV’s The South Bank Show), her success was beginning to tail off a little. She returned in May 1990 with “Book Of Dreams” which reached no. 66. But then, in July 1990, British production group DNA released a remixed version of “Tom’s Diner”, taking the original, and adding a dance beat, Suzanne wasn’t involved in this (not even appearing in the video) and seemed to be bemused by the whole thing. Melody Maker considered this to be Single Of The Week by some distance.

But then this reached no. 2 for three consecutive weeks (and actually was a Number One on The ITV Chart Show), along with also making the Top Ten in America, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries. This was the only time she made the Top Ten in the UK, and it wasn’t expected to be with a now three-year-old song. Over the years, this has been covered and remixed by several other dance acts.

She also won the first of her two Grammy Awards in 1990. Her next four hits in 1992 and 1993 all missed the Top 40 though, then it went quiet again. She eventually returned in February 1997 when “No Cheap Thrill” reached no. 40 to become her 12th and final hit single in the UK. She did a lot of publicity for this, including TV appearances, and the video was shown a lot too. She has now made nine albums.