CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

Before Big Day Out, there was Australian Made. This week in 1986, some of the biggest homegrown acts were making their way around the...

It didn't happen often — especially compared to the UK chart — but when a former hit song was re-released and returned to the Australian...

It's funny how so often the songs that are basically afterthoughts end up defining an artist's music career. A song that's dashed off in...

A few months earlier, Bananarama had taken a former number 1 hit, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, back to the top of the chart for seven weeks....

When a band takes a break, those that actually end up making a comeback are invariably changed when they return. That was never more the...

As great as it is when artists move with the times and develop their sound and/or image, it's sometimes nice to be able to rely on those...

I've talked before  about songs that become inextricably linked to the movie scenes they play during. If ever there was a case of song...

What do Men At Work, Culture Club and Bruce Hornsby And The Range have in common? They were all the recipients of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist — the only groups to receive it during the '80s. Bruce Hornsby And The Perms might've been a more accurate name... We've seen the first two of those bands in recent flashbacks to 1983, and this week in 1986, Bruce Hornsby And The Range made their debut on the ARIA chart with a song that would top the US chart in December. A so

Hear that sound? A perfectly formed pop nugget that is never equalled? Yep, it's one-hit wonder time on this week's look back at the ARIA singles chart from 1986. A two-hit wonder and a one-hit wonder Of this week's five new entries, three are by one-hit wonders, one is the first single from a two-hit wonder, and the other has to go and spoil things for everyone. Also this week in 1986, it was the final week at number 1 for "Venus" by Bananarama , which spent its seventh wee

Between them, Elton John and Madonna released more than 60 singles during the '80s — 25 of which made the Australian top 10. It's only understandable that a few of those hits would have become overlooked in the ensuing decades. Two of the most forgotten hits by two of the biggest acts of the '80s This week in 1986, a future top 10 single by each prolific performer debuted on the ARIA singles chart, but I'd wager neither are among the singers' most popular — or most remember

Some weeks in music are bigger than others. For every chart with only a couple of minor hits debuting, there are ones like the ARIA top 50 from this week in 1986. Two singles that would have a huge impact on music for years to come quickly made their presence felt. John Farnham: proving not all songs with bagpipes have to be awful One song was a major comeback by a singer whose first hit was way back in 1967 . His latest chart-topping single would not only kick-start his care

I've always thought that if you're going to do a cover version, you should really do something different with the song. Otherwise, people...

Changing tempo had sure worked for Berlin. This week in 1986, big ballad "Take My Breath Away" moved up to number 2 for the band better...

There's no denying Paul McCartney and Rod Stewart are music legends, but as well as both having decades-spanning careers that continue to...

Unlike TV talent quests Star Search,Pot Of Gold and New Faces , you weren't meant to take Red Faces  seriously. The Hey Hey It's Saturday...

Every pop music story has a beginning, and this week in 1986, a man synonymous with the modern era of reality TV singing competitions...

Your band's broken up? No problem... if you were the lead singer, that is. There's always the option of pursuing a solo career — and if...

It's inevitable that whenever a music artist releases a new album after even a relatively short period of time, it's classed as a...

For a song to reach number 1 once is pretty good going. For it do so twice is an even more impressive feat — and something that has...

Whatever it was that had prompted ARIA to stop producing take-home printouts of the top 50 chart back in January 1986 (an effort to be...