D-MOB
(UK, three Top 40 hits, no Top 40 albums)

School chemistry lessons in '88 became distinctly more entertaining after Dancin' Danny D and his guest vocalists gave the public eye a right good shiner to present the antidote aimed at neutralising the poison of the worst year of cheesy 80s pop pap. Any mention of a substance on the pH scale and the poor old teacher was greeted with cries of "acieeed!" thanks to the high-pitched multi-track of vocalist Gary Haisman on D-Mob's ground- breaking debut hit "We Call It Acieed" which naturally was daft and new enough to start a trend among the nation's teenagers and is regarded by many as the last great musical revolution. It certainly was different, and therefore revolutionary, though whether it could be described as great or not is arguable. It peaked at No.3 and D-Mob were hoisted by their own petard in that it was always going to be nigh on impossible to follow or match. They made a good fist of it, to be fair, with the middling "It Is Time To Get Funky" reaching a decent No.9 in early '89, and they did give the world Cathy Dennis with the almost mainstream "C'Mon And Get My Love" at the end of the decade. As dance music moved into the more sophisticated world of the 90s, D-Mob were gradually phased out over the first 12 months, but left a legacy which set a big precedent still being felt to this day. Their music is laughed at now, but without it, the charts would be duller, nightclubs would be emptier and some top name DJs and producers would still be stacking shelves.

Biggest Hit: "We Call It Acieed", No.3, 1988
Defining Moment: "Acieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!"

D TRAIN
(UK, three Top 40 hits, no Top 40 albums)

Forgettable Yank soul duo whose one respectable charge into noticeability was the Paul Hardcastle-produced "You're The One For Me" in '85, which itself was a remix of an almost totally ignored No.30 hit three years earlier. You couldn't help but feel that it was anorak Harcastle fans which had allowed them this second chance. The lead singer liked white suits and, irritatingly, playing an invisible keyboard during the middle eight, a sign that he would be looked upon as nothing more than a bit of a plonker. Suffice to say, they never charted again. Their only other reasonable placing was with "Music Part 1" two years earlier, which we don't know and have no real desire to.

Biggest Hit: "You're The One For Me", No.15, 1985
Defining Moment: None.

DAMIAN
(UK, one Top 40 hit, no Top 40 albums)

Nightmare-causing transvestite dipstick with petrifying spoken style who made the Rocky Horror Show uncool in one fell swoop, namely his chronic '89 version of "The Time Warp" ("it's just a jump to the left!") which was never, ever going to be followed up successfully in a million years, no matter how many sex lives his pelvic thrust coaching may have improved. His only other release was a cover of "Wig Wam Bam". Nuff said.

Biggest Hit: "The Time Warp", No.7, 1989
Defining Moment: "drive you insay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ane!" Shut it.

DANNY WILSON
(UK, two Top 40 hits, one Top 40 album)

Confusingly-named trio led by richly piped singer Gary Clark whose vocal dexterity was amply proved in two very differing hits. The magnificent "Mary's Prayer" ("so if I said save me, save me, be the light in my life") was one of the few genuine standout songs of that shoddy '88 and projected Clark as a singer with rare ability to caress every syllable with resonance and feeling, yet the other offering a year later "The Second Summer Of Love" ("love, love, love, love, love all over me") was an example of arty chuckaway feelgood pop which Chas and Dave would have killed for and had Clark hoarsely raging through the vocal. That song was also memorable for the bizarre 'backward handclap' sequence on the video which is impossible to do without the aid of such reversible technology. We know, we tried it at the time. Clark quit the band soon afterwards and to launch a small-arena, discerning solo career of the type upon which Radio 2 base their entire public service remit.

Biggest Hit: "Mary's Prayer", No.3, 1988
Defining Moment: "What I wouldn't live to be, when I was Mary's prayer".

STEVEN DANTE
(UK, one Top 40 hit, no Top 40 albums)

Absolutely no idea about this guy, whose singular journey into the Top 40 was with "I'm Too Scared" in '88. It only just made it, so we can be forgiven for not having the faintest idea. Anyone care to assist?

Biggest Hit: "I'm Too Scared", No.34, 1988
Defining Moment: That's for you to decide.

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY
(US, four Top 40 hits, two Top 40 albums)

An absolute master at combining pretentious idiocy with awesomely devised pop songs, helped by one of the most exciting raw voices heard in years. Trent D'Arby, dreadlocked, muscular and regularly shirtless, cascaded into the Top 10 with barely a sweat broken in '87 with the massive "If You Let Me Stay" ("I'll say what I shoulda said") and suddenly a new teen fantasy figure was in town, brash and absolutely certain that he was a genius of the times. Though his arrogance ruffled the odd feather, he had a point. Following the ragey opening single, he gently brought the tempo down with the gorgeous "Wishing Well" ("underneath the sycamore tree") which exploited his fabulous range and also introduced vowels never discovered before by the world's foremost linguists. Smash Hits reported that Trent D'Arby, a former boxer and squaddie, had trained himself to pen songs in his sleep and brought the teenager's attention to his come-to-bed eyes, relabelling them "the swoonsomest peepsters in pop". D'Arby upped the ante again for the third release "Dance Little Sister" ("get out of your rocking chair grandma!") which wasn't as commercially successful, but by now his "Introducing The Hardline" album was No.1 and he was on top of the world, and knew it. He ended his 80s contribution with the orgasmic "Sign Your Name" ("slowly we make love") which was only stopped in its tracks by Belinda Carlisle and remains locked and bolted on every radio station's late-night hour sloppy feature to this day. Trent D'Arby's self-proclaimed genius status earned him much derision and hate mail, but there was no denying that we had been visited by a flabbergasting talent whose star waned in the early 90s (though he still gave us the musical aphrodisiacs that were "Delicate" and "Let Her Down Easy") but would take a long, long time to be forgotten. Loud, sassy, gobby and extraordinarily gifted.

Biggest Hit: "Sign Your Name", No.2, 1988
Defining Moment: "If you let me staaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

DARLING BUDS
(UK, one Top 40 hit, one Top 40 album)

We remember the name and their getting a fair bit of publicity during their brief run in '89, but nothing more. Just one single of penetrative value, which was "Hit The Ground" in '89. This is one band we would definitely like to know more about. We used to confuse them with the Lightning Seeds, as both started around the same time and both have flowery connections.

Biggest Hit: "Hit The Ground", No.29, 1989
Defining Moment: None as yet. Tell us more!