Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend (WEA/Paisley Park)

People call Boy George a "gender bender", but Prince confuses the sexes in a far more clever and subtle way. Consider: he's definitely a man, and most of his lyrics are steamy odes about how much he fancies women, yet he looks and sounds incredibly feminine and loads of blokes think he's extremely sexy. And now, to tangle the subject still further, here he is with a song about how he'd like to be his girlfriend's girlfriend, so he could help her get dressed and be privy to her innermost secrets. Which is probably a very erotic idea to the boyfriends of this world, but will leave most girls heaving a sigh of relief that, when they're squeezing their blackheads and moaning about men in the ladies' loos, their "loved" ones cannot be there to witness them. Confusing, non? (Vici MacDonald, Smash Hits, June 3, 1987)

Like it! Got a few tapes of his at home actually. Some people say that a lot of his stuff is too similar but I like that basic feel to all his songs. When you listen to the words they don't seem to go a lot of the time. Not that I'm saying he's mad or anything, he's just very creative and takes a bit of tuning into. I've never seen him live but I'm hoping to go to Wembley. Na, I'm not going to wear anything peach or black! I'll be wearing pink, dear! Don't put that bit in will you... (Neidet Salih, No 1, June 20, 1987)

Billy Idol - Sweet Sixteen (Chrysalis)

Bit too mild for me. My kind of mellow's a bit more romantic than Billy Idol. I like reggae or slow soul for relaxing to. I wouldn't buy this type of record though I expect lots of young girls will. I don't think he really knows what he's doing here. He used to be a rocker, didn't he? I wish him well, but it's just not my cuppa tea. (Neidet Salih, No 1, June 20, 1987)

What a sad tale this song tells. Sir Billiam is so bonkers about his 16 year old girlie that he builds a room for her to keep a rocking chair in (i.e. he envisages the relationship lasting quite some time), only to find that the ungrateful little vixen has scarpered with someone else. It's very weepsome, with a lolloping rhythm and a complete absence of the usual Idol rawk'n'roll screech-guitar; in fact, you can easily imagine a knicker-garlanded Tom Jones grimacing his way through a tortured version of "Sweet Sixteen" in cabaret. Could Billy Idol be the Tom Jones of the 21st century? It's not bloody impossible, as the great Welshman himself might say...  (Vici MacDonald, Smash Hits, June 3, 1987)

Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin (Parlophone)

An enormous clap of thunder, horns winking in the distance and then an absolutely huge slab of European disco drama in which Neil Tennant, sounding oddly like Princess Stephanie (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), sings 'When I look back upon my life/It's always with a sense of shame'. the tune is impossibly grand but, um, haven't we heard it somewhere before? We have. It's Cat Stevens antiquated chestnut "Wild World" almost to the note - and a very nice tune that was too. This is going to be such a massive hit - an undoubted Number One in at least 500 European countries - that it might well blow your hat off. (Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, June 17, 1987)

Sounds a bit like that "It's Raining Men" song by the Weather Girls! I think the video will have a lot to do with whether or not this record makes it - they definitely seem strong on image (two picture sleeves for the price of one!). There's a strong beat there but it gets you going in places and then suddenly dies down a bit, like a Frankie Goes To Hollywood song.Just when it was getting exciting as well! They're not the sort of band whose records I'd buy, anyway, though I might dance to them in a club. (Neidet Salih, No 1, June 20, 1987)