Maple Deep Cuts

80s CanCon tracks that charted low but hit hard!

Starting in the summer of 1984, the RPM charts were expanded to a weekly 100, up from the previous 50.

As you might expect, this change saw more exposure for newer artists who could now have a moment on the lower reaches of the weekly rankings.

And for more established acts, we got to see some deeper album cuts get recognition as well.

This new Maple Mixtape feature will appear from time to time, and I hope you enjoy it!

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What were the hits of 1987?

Of the 321 tunes that hit the top 100 of the year, these five songs reigned supreme:

1. La Bamba - Los Lobos 🇺🇸

2. Mony Mony - Billy Idol 🇬🇧

3. Lean On Me - Club Nouveau 🇺🇸

4. (I Just) Died In Your Arms - Cutting Crew 🇬🇧

5. Faith - George Michael 🇬🇧

Our man Corey Hart did hit #1 with his cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’.

Who scored with Deep Cuts?

#97 Kim Mitchell - In Your Arms | From his huge album ‘Shakin’ Like A Human Being’

#93 Saga - Only Time Will Tell | Last hit of the 80s for the long-running Ontario rockers.

#85 - The Northern Pikes - The Things I Do For Money | Pikes deserved better here, this song slaps.

#78 - Gowan - Living In The Golden Age | Last single from ‘Great Dirty World’.

#67 - Paul Janz - One Night (Is All It Takes) | Still more in the tank for Janz, his biggest hit is yet to come.

Who the heck is that?

#88 - NEOa4 - Desire

The first of a modest 4-single streak by the indie band from Edmonton.

Seems like they never got the support they wanted from their label, despite good reviews from opening slots with Thomas Dolby, The Cure, and The Thompson Twins.

#74 - Jato - She’s Got

According to Discogs, JATO is an acronym for Jet-Assisted Takeoff. The more you know.

Also hailing from my home province of Alberta, the band would have one more ripple with ‘Lake Of Fire’ hitting #90 in ‘88.

This is catchy as hell, nice bridge. One critique - could have been 30 seconds shorter.

#72 - Bündock - American Singer

First, even as a hobby drummer I know you should never play your snare with a bullwhip.

In any event, this song is why you dig through the depths of the charts. It’s the best kind of offbeat.

These fine young men hail from Montréal and never had an English chart hit again. Mainly because this was so hard to top, I suspect…

⚠️ CAUTION: Ear Worm

#72 - Body Electric - Strangers In Love

Body Electric were the next project for Bob Buckley and David Sinclair after the demise of their Straight Lines project.

Another minor hit was ‘Do You Think They Can Tell’ which hit #88 in ‘85.

#44 - Véronique - Make A Move On Me

Before her appearance on the Canadian famine relief single ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ Véronique Béliveau had carved out a respectable French-language career as far back as 1973.

She also charted at #94 in 1987 with ‘I Can’t Help It’.

Hope you enjoyed this first of our new series.

Please, take a moment to leave some feedback in the comments - hopefully about the tunes, and not how much of a bad idea this is… 😉