POP ALBUM CHART : Are the New Kids Old Hat?

No, New Kids didn’t rally to reclaim No. 1. One of the biggest surprises of the summer so far is that “Step By Step,” by New Kids on the Block, lasted only one week on top of the Billboard magazine pop album chart. For the second week in a row, it’s second to M.C. Hammer’s chart-topping “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.” But it’s too early to relegate the New Kids to the teen-idol scrap heap. For one thing, their single “Step By Step” continues to head the pop singles chart. With Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” at No. 5 and Johnny Gill’s “Johnny Gill” album, there are two albums by New Edition members in the Top 10. Faith No More’s “The Real Thing” (No. 27) is racing up the chart, buoyed by the group’s “Epic” single, which is a fast-rising No. 31 on the pop chart.

* The third album by piano-playing pop-rocker Hornsby--which some critics gush is his best yet--is roaring up the chart, climbing from No. 62 to No. 29.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “Please Hammer 1 2 19 Don’t Hurt ‘Em” M.C. Hammer (Capitol) 2. “Step By Step” 2 1 4 New Kids on the Block (Columbia) 3. “I’m Breathless” 3 3 6 Madonna (Sire/Warner Bros.) 4. “Wilson Phillips” 7 7 14 Wilson Phillips (SBK) 5. “Poison” 6 5 15 Bell Biv DeVoe (MCA) * “A Night on the Town” 62 ... 2 Bruce Hornsby (RCA)