Once Upon a Time in the Top Spot: Kylie Minogue, “Tears on My Pillow”

25 years ago today, Kylie Minogue went to the pinnacle of the UK singles chart with a cover of a song made famous by Little Anthony and the Imperials and co-written by…Grandpa Munster?!?

Nah, just kidding. The lyricist was named Al Lewis, though. Just a different Al Lewis, i.e. not this guy.

“Tears on My Pillow” was the fourth and final single released from Minogue’s sophomore full-length effort, Enjoy Yourself, and from its sales, it’s clear that the record-buying public responded to its title by saying, “Don’t mind if I do,” with the album ultimately going platinum four times over in the UK while also finding significant success in Australia, France, and Switzerland, too.

In the US, though? Not so much.

Despite the success of “The Locomotion” from her debut album, Kylie, which went all the way to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, America’s love of Ms. Minogue quickly began to fizzle, with Kylie’s subsequent singles hitting #28 (“I Should Be So Lucky”) and #37 (“It’s No Secret”), and by the time Enjoy Yourself saw release, her Next Big Thing status had utterly evaporated, resulting in neither the album nor any of its singles charting in the States. It was a status quo which would remain unchanged on both fronts until 2001, when Fever and “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” finally brought her back to the upper reaches of the Billboard charts.

In the UK, though, all four singles from Enjoy Yourself – “Hand on Your Heart,” “Wouldn’t Change a Thing,” “Never Too Late,” and the song that’s brought us here today” – made it into the top five, with “Hand on Your Heart” having provided Minogue with her third #1 UK single (after “I Should Be So Lucky” and “Especially for You,” a duet with Jason Donovan). In addition to its placement on the album, “Tears on My Pillow” could also be found on the soundtrack to The Delinquents, one of Ms. Minogue’s many acting gigs around that time, which is why scenes from the film are placed prominently in the video.

When it comes to Kylie’s classic singles, “Tears on My Pillow” may not necessarily rate at the top of most fans’ lists – it’s a fine vocal performance, but it hasn’t exactly aged well – but it’s worth the occasional revisiting, particularly within the context of some of her other early hits. What’s that? You say you never really followed her career between “The Locomotion” and “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”? Well, here’s the perfect opportunity for you to play catch-up…