4 Splendid 1988 No. 2 Songs That Stalled Just Shy of the Brass Ring

For most musicians, a No. 1 single is a pipe dream that stays well removed from reality. When an artist comes in the proximity of that spot, it must be a bit heartbreaking to come up just short of making it. These four songs made it to No. 2 on the pop charts in 1988 and no higher. Which means the four acts that released them knew the sting of the near miss.

“Hazy Shade Of Winter” by The Bangles

Paul Simon wrote “Hazy Shade Of Winter”, and Simon & Garfunkel first performed it as a 1966 single before including it on their 1968 album Bookends. Their harmonies captured the icy vibe of the lyrics. Two decades later, the song popped up again in vastly different form and nearly hit the top of the pop charts. The Bangles had been covering the song for years by the time they laid it down for the soundtrack of Less Than Zero. By electrifying the opening riff, they unlocked some of the song’s rocking potential. Although this one just missed for the band, they couldn’t complain too much. They had already hit No. 1 with “Walk Like An Egyptian” by that time and would reach that spot again a year later with “Eternal Flame”.

“What Have I Done To Deserve This?” by Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield

This song took a bit of a slow crawl to its peak chart position. Pet Shop Boys first released it in 1987. In addition, it could be found on their brilliant album Actually. After it made its mark in Great Britain, American audiences started to catch on to its charms. And there were plenty of them. After some urging and prodding, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys convinced Dusty Springfield, one of the 60s most iconic hitmakers, to sing on the track. “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, which was co-written by Tennant and Lowe with Allee Willis, featured Tennant’s droll half-rapped observations brilliantly interspersed with Springfield’s emotional exhortations.

“Devil Inside” by INXS

It was a slow build for INXS to break out of their Australian comfort zone and start doing chart damage in the United States. Producer Chris Thomas began to unlock their hooky quality on the 1985 album Listen Like Thieves, which included their breakout American hit “What You Need”. When the band returned with the Kick album in 1987, they were primed for an even bigger leap. By the time “Devil Inside” was released as the album’s third single, the band had already secured two more Top 5s, including “Need You Tonight”, their first US No. 1. A furiously funky track whose demonic side is more cheeky than sinister, “Devil Inside” kept the ball rolling for them by topping out at No. 2.

“I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” by Elton John

Elton John titled his 1988 collection of songs Reg Strikes Back, referring to his birth name Reginald Dwight. It was also a nod to the fact that he felt he was getting back to his A game after a few years of mediocre efforts. As the first single from the album, “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” certainly drove that point home with the flourish. Instead of settling for a ballad to introduce the album, he went with an uptempo jolt of a number that featured some of his most flair-filled piano work. John also showed on the track, which was, of course, co-written with his old buddy Bernie Taupin, that he could still bring the vocal thunder as well.

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