July 1, 1989.

There’s only one problem with this song. It conjures up images of Cher straddling a cannon whilst wearing an outfit that left nothing to the imagination. Not exactly what you want in your head first thing on a Sunday morning, well, some might, but not me.

Written by songwriter Diane Warren, especially for Cher, this was the lead single from the 1989 album Heart of Stone. Originally though, Cher didn’t actually like it and had to be persuaded by Warren to record the song.

Despite her reluctance, the song turned out to be huge, a major come-back for Cher, and reached the top ten around the globe, including number one in Australia and Norway. It reached number three in the US whilst here in the UK, it spent fifteen weeks on the chart and peaked at number six.

As for the video, well, that caused all kinds of controversy. Filmed on board the USS Missouri, there was criticism of the US Navy for letting it happen whilst Cher’s outfit meant that a good many TV networks refused to show the video. Even MTV banned it originally, although they later relented to airing it only after 9pm.