CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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About Chart Beats

Chart Beats: A Journey Through Pop has been looking back at music from the '80s, '90s, 2000s and 2010s since 2012. Run by freelance journalist and content creator Gavin Scott in Sydney, Australia.

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1980
1981
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1998
Chart Recap
One-Hit Wonders
Interview

Aug 9, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: August 10, 1980

The Olympic Games have always been a big deal in Australia, with the nation stopping for certain medal events and taking particular pride...

Aug 2, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: August 3, 1980

Some artists are lucky to have a hit at all, while others visit the top 50 multiple times. And sometimes, a performer will be successful ...

Jul 26, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: July 27, 1980

Sometimes even the most floundering of careers can get right back on track with one hit single - all it takes is the right song at the ri...

Jul 19, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: July 20, 1980

Sometimes a great soundtrack single can do wonders for an average film - especially in the '80s when movie songs were big business and co...

Jul 12, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: July 13, 1980

As much as I love pure pop, synthpop, R&B and dance music, I also have plenty of time for pop/rock groups. That was especially the case i...

Jul 5, 2020
5 min

This Week In 1980: July 6, 1980

Plenty of music acts gain a devoted following - in recent years, everyone from One Direction to Beyoncé has had a fanbase with a cute lit...

Jun 28, 2020
2 min

This Week In 1980: June 29, 1980

We've reached the halfway point of our look back at the Australian singles chart of 1980. And to mark the occasion... a pretty dull chart...

Jun 21, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: June 22, 1980

A couple of months earlier, disco seemed to be on its last legs, but it's not over until the fat lady sings. Or a group of six men in fan...

Jun 14, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: June 15, 1980

Australia had plenty of successful rock bands in 1980, but with the rise of synthpop and new wave, a new breed of local groups started to...

Jun 7, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: June 8, 1980

From Dragon and Mi-Sex to Sharon O'Neill and Jenny Morris, many bands and singers from New Zealand have made their way across the Tasman ...

May 31, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: June 1, 1980

There are some acts you wish would be more successful, and others where it's a blessing they haven't had more hits. This week in 1980, on...

May 24, 2020
2 min

This Week In 1980: May 25, 1980

It had to happen eventually. After weeks of seeing loads of classic tracks debut on the Australian singles top 50 from 1980, we've reache...

May 17, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: May 18, 1980

So far in our trip back to the Australian singles chart of 1980, we've seen one-hit wonders Player [1] and Fiddler's Dram - two acts that...

May 10, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: May 11, 1980

I recently posted a video of my favourite Australian bands of the 1980s on the Chart Beats Facebook page, and someone noted the absence o...

May 3, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: May 4, 1980

It's hard to think of a genre in music as divisive as disco. How many other types of music have had calls for it to be killed off? By 198...

Apr 26, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: April 27, 1980

When is a one-hit wonder not a one-hit wonder? When they actually had a second huge hit that often gets forgetten about. This week in 198...

Apr 19, 2020
4 min

This Week In 1980: April 20, 1980

As much as I've always tried to keep on top of what's going on in music, it wasn't easy in the 1980s, especially when I was very young. A...

Apr 12, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: April 13, 1980

In my 1995 flashbacks, we recently saw that despite going on to become one of this country's defining musical moments, Christine Anu's co...

Apr 5, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: April 6, 1980

Unless you happen to perform with your significant other (Sonny & Cher, Captain & Tennille) or record songs with them (Kylie Minogue and ...

Mar 29, 2020
3 min

This Week In 1980: March 30, 1980

Every so often, a band comes along that is unlike any other. Like this week in 1980, when a new wave group from the US broke into the Aus...

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