The Alternative Number Ones: The Psychedelic Furs’ “Until She Comes”

In The Alternative Number Ones, I'm reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones, and it's for members only. Thank you to everyone who's helping to keep Stereogum afloat.

OK, this is fucked up. Some coincidences are just coincidences, and some make you think that you're going crazy, that the universe is trying to tell you something. This is the second kind.

When Billboard first launched its Modern Rock chart in September 1988, its first #1 hit was Siouxsie And The Banshees' "Peek-A-Boo," and then that song was followed by Big Audio Dynamite's "Just Play Music!" and the Psychedelic Furs' "All That Money Wants." Sure. Makes sense. But then three years later, all three of those bands scored back-to-back-to-back #1 hits in the exact same order: Siouxsie And The Banshees with "Kiss Them For Me," Big Audio Dynamite with "Rush," and the Psychedelic Furs with "Until She Comes." It was Big Audio Dynamite II, not the first Big Audio Dynamite, but that only makes it freakier. Big Audio Dynamite broke up, and they still were part of this bugged-out déjà vu replay of the chart's opening months.