Love them or hate them, soap stars have been visiting the Australian singles chart for decades, with the profile provided by a hit primetime drama proving to be a huge springboard for actors hoping to make a career transition into pop. Ever since Kylie Minogue really set the trend in chugga chugga motion in 1987, there has been a seemingly endless stream of Neighbours and Home And Away cast members launching music careers… with mixed success (sorry, Stefan Dennis).
Here is a list of the 10 highest-charting singles by soap stars who began releasing music after finding fame on their respective series. This means Delta Goodrem doesn’t count since she is actually a pop star turned soap star, with her Neighbours role coming after she had already released her first single, the unsuccessful “I Don’t Care”. One more thing: each actor/singer only appears on this list with their biggest hit (otherwise it would pretty much be a Kylie clean sweep).
10. “I Want You” by Toni Pearen
Released: 1993
Peak: number 10
The former E Street star’s second hit just nudges out her earlier single, “In Your Room”, as well as Abigail’s 1973 cover of “Je T’aime (I Love You)” and “All Seats Taken” by Home And Away’s Bec Cartwright, all of which also peaked at number 10. With “I Want You” giving Toni back-to-back top 10 singles, it seemed like the future Australia’s Funniest Home Videos host might have a bright career as a pop star ahead of her. But an 18-month gap until her third release put paid to that momentum.
9. “Someday Soon” by Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Released: 2009
Peak: number 7
Prior to her solo music career, Neighbours femme fatale Natalie Bassingthwaighte had been the frontwoman of dance act Rogue Traders for a couple of albums and reached the top 5 with the Elvis Costello-sampling “Voodoo Child” – the first of a run of seven hits together. She also peaked at number 2 alongside Shannon Noll on a cover of “Don’t Give Up” in 2006. Heading out on her own, Natalie’s biggest solo hit was “Someday Soon”, the second track lifted from 1000 Stars.
8. “Pointless Relationship” by Tammin Sursok
Released: 2004
Peak: number 5
Before she followed the well-worn path from Summer Bay to Hollywood, Home And Away’s Tammin Sursok diversified with the release of her one and only album to date, Whatever Will Be. The lead and most successful single was “Pointless Relationship”, which was co-written by M2M singer Marion Raven and originally intended for the Norwegian star’s own solo album.
7. “Nothing Can Divide Us” by Jason Donovan
Released: 1988
Peak: number 3
It had worked pretty well for his cast-mate and girlfriend, Kylie Minogue, and turning to producers Stock Aitken Waterman also did the trick for Neighbours heartthrob Jason Donovan, who recorded two albums at the Hit Factory. Jason’s career quickly ran out of steam in Australia, but he continued scoring major hits in the UK until 1991. Locally, his debut single – a song previously demoed by Rick Astley – was Jason’s best-performing solo effort, although he peaked one place higher alongside Kylie on duet “Especially For You”.
6. “Mistake” by Steph McIntosh
Released: 2006
Peak: number 3
Next up, Jason Donovan’s half-sister, who appeared on Neighbours a decade-and-a-half after her brother as the grown-up version of Sky Mangel (a character born on the show during Jason’s tenure). Like Jason, Steph went to some of the top pop producers of the day for her debut single – “Mistake” was produced by Arnór Birgisson, who’d been behind hits by Janet Jackson, Jessica Simpson and Samantha Mumba.
5. “Mona” by Craig McLachlan & Check 1-2
Released: 1990
Peak: number 3
Original track “Rock The Rock” had tested the top 50 water, but it was the Neighbours (lovable larrikin Henry Ramsay) and Home And Away (teacher Grant Mitchell) star’s cover of Bo Diddley’s “Mona” that turned him into a chart presence… albeit briefly. Not even ditching backing band Check 1-2 for his second album could help Craig get anywhere near the top 5 again.
4. “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
Released: 1997
Peak: number 2
Arguably the most credible soap star to pop star transition was that of Neighbours actress Natalie Imbruglia, whose cover of an obscure song by American band Ednaswap (itself a remake of the Danish original by Lis Sørensen) not only became a worldwide hit, but was nominated for a Grammy Award. Eschewing pure pop for a sound influenced by alternative rock, Natalie enjoyed a number of well-received – both critically and commercially – releases over the next decade.
3. “Kiss Kiss” by Holly Valance
Released: 2002
Peak: number 1 (one week)
Five years after “Torn”, fellow Neighbours star Holly Valance followed a similar path to chart success, updating an English version of a foreign language song for her debut single. In this case, Holly took on “Kiss Kiss”, the English translation of 1997 Turkish hit “mark”, and found herself at number 1 in Australia and the UK. Two number 3 hits (“Down Boy” and “Naughty Girl”) were then lifted from debut album Footprints, but follow-up State Of Mind found a less receptive audience.
2. “Read My Lips” by Melissa
Released: 1991
Peak: number 1 (two weeks)
Produced by Koo De Tah’s Leon Berger and featuring the immortal line “hands off my detonator”, the debut single by teen E Street actress Melissa Tkautz became the biggest hit by a soap star since Kylie’s “I Should Be So Lucky” in 1988 when it finished 1991 as the year’s sixth highest-selling single. Follow-up “Sexy (Is The Word)” also reached the top 3, but the hits had dried up a couple of years later.
1. “Locomotion” by Kylie Minogue
Released: 1987
Peak: number 1 (seven weeks)
The song had been a hit more than once previously, most recently in 1980 for disco group Ritz, but something about the version by the actress known to millions as tomboy mechanic Charlene Mitchell really connected with the Australian public, with Kylie’s take on “Locomotion” speeding to number 1 three weeks after release and staying there for seven. The following year, a re-recorded version of the song produced by Stock Aitken Waterman became a top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
