Robbed hit of the week 10/31/16 - Stage Dolls' "Love Cries"...
from the album Stage Dolls (1988, 1989 US)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46
This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Norwegian hard rock band Stage Dolls, who hailed from the central city of Trondheim. As opposed to the synth-pop of a-ha, the group, who got together in the early 80s, performed more harder pop-metal, like Def Leppard or their Swedish counterparts Europe. In 1985, they had their first top-10 hit in their home country with "Soldier's Gun" (#10), which was followed in 1988 with "Wings Of Steel" (#10). That latter single came from their self-titled 1988 album, which was released a year later in the States. The song that got airplay from the set was the uptempo glam-metal pastiche of "Love Cries". Written by lead singer/guitarist Torstein Flakne and Bob Icon, it got play on pop and rock stations...
"Love Cries" became the Stage Dolls' sole pop hit in America, but although it climbed to #14 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart, it stalled right under the pop top-40 in September of 1989. A follow-up single, "Still In Love", missed the Hot 100 but slipped onto the rock list at #37. They released another album in 1991, and though it was passed over in the U.S., they had their biggest hit in Norway with "Love Don't Bother Me". They continues to tour and record.
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