You know what the world needed more than anything in 1987? A group of white Australians trying to recreate the funk rock that was The Time! Missing Morris Day? DonÁ¢€â„¢t worry, folks! Here’s Wa Wa Nee’s Paul Gray!

WellÁ¢€¦not quite. I mean, Wa Wa Nee didnÁ¢€â„¢t have a mirror-toting Jerome. Maybe that was the problem.

Wa Wa Nee hit the Australian charts in 1986 with a huge single, Á¢€Å“StimulationÁ¢€ that got to number two there. The next year, they had another hit, this time in America, with Á¢€Å“Sugar FreeÁ¢€. Ah, Á¢€Å“Sugar FreeÁ¢€¦Á¢€

Wa Wa Nee

Fire in your head, river in your bed
Two hundred dollar, see his face go red
Lost in a world where nothin’ is nothin’
Burnt pretty bad, can’t get another hit-ah

Oh, my love and me, oh, we’re sugar free
Oh, this oughta be, burnin’ up, breakin’ down
Oh, my love and me, oh, we’re sugar free
Oh, ever wanna be, burnin’ up, breakin’ down

Is it about a hooker? A proponent of Sweet Á¢€ËœnÁ¢€â„¢ Low? Who the fuck knows. It was catchy and goofy fun, though. Unlike the Time, however, it hasnÁ¢€â„¢t aged well. Á¢€Å“Sugar FreeÁ¢€ scraped the lower reaches of the Top 40, so it came time to release their secret weapon, their big Australian hit Á¢€Å“StimulationÁ¢€.

Nah, no one else here heard it either.

After Wa Wa Nee broke thru with Á¢€Å“Sugar Free,Á¢€ they went on to Á¢€” come on! Say it with me. We all know this by now, people. Á¢€” record one more album, then break up, forever Lost in the Á¢€Ëœ80s.

Download Á¢€Å“Sugar Free (Extended Mix).Á¢€
Download Á¢€Å“Stimulation.Á¢€

Á¢€Sugar FreeÁ¢€ peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987.
Á¢€Å“StimulationÁ¢€ failed to chart.

NOTE: I know itÁ¢€â„¢s Friday, but Lost Down Under Week will continue. We ainÁ¢€â„¢t done yet.

About the Author

John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…

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