CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

1. Sign up as a site member or log in if you are an existing member

2. Choose a monthly or annual subscription here

Subscribe to
Chart Beats in
two quick steps

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.

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

4 days ago
5 min

25 Years Ago This Week: May 12, 1996

Recap of the ARIA singles chart for the week ending May 12, 1996, including new entries from Gina G, Celine Dion, Eternal & Chynna Phillips.

6 days ago
3 min

This Week In 1981: May 10, 1981

Recap of the Australian top 50 singles chart for the week ending May 10, 1981, with new entries from Jimmy & The Boys and Christopher Cross.

May 5
5 min

25 Years Ago This Week: May 5, 1996

Every so often, a TV show comes along and turns into much more than just a series people watch in their lounge rooms. This week in 1996,...

Apr 28
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: April 28, 1996

There were some great instrumental dance tracks released during the '90s. Some, like "Offshore" by Chicane and "Flaming June" by BT, that...

Apr 26
4 min

This Week In 1981: April 26, 1981

Soundtrack singles sometimes have a very tenuous link to the film they are purportedly from; albums (especially those "inspired by"...

Apr 21
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: April 21, 1996

Last week, we took a look at the Eurodance acts that had shone brightly (and more often than not, burned out as quickly as they'd...

Apr 19
5 min

This Week In 1981: April 19, 1981

Men wearing make-up was nothing new in popular music in 1981. In the '70s alone, artists as diverse as David Bowie, Skyhooks and KISS had...

Apr 14
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: April 14, 1996

In music, one minute you're up, the next you're down. And that was never truer than for dance acts in the '90s. The ARIA singles chart...

Apr 12
5 min

This Week In 1981: April 12, 1981

Earier this year, Maroon 5's Adam Levine announced, "There's no bands anymore." Whether or not you agree with his summation of the 2021...

Apr 6
5 min

25 Years Ago This Week: April 7, 1996

One thing that has stood out for me doing these ARIA singles chart recaps is the changing nature of Australia's relationship with rap....

Apr 5
5 min

This Week In 1981: April 5, 1981

Apr 1
6 min

When Big Stars Miss The Top 50: The '90s

Just because a music act has a bunch of hits to their name doesn't mean they're immune from a flop or two. Whether it's because tastes...

Mar 31
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: March 31, 1996

Since the explosion of Bros and New Kids On The Block, boy bands had been ticking along nicely in Australia. Despite some notable peaks...

Mar 29
5 min

This Week In 1981: March 29, 1981

Barbra Streisand, Irene Cara and Diana Ross had all already done it. Cher, Tina Turner, Madonna and Whitney Houston would also do it in...

Mar 24
6 min

25 Years Ago This Week: March 24, 1996

Pop music has always shaped language, with new words and meanings entering the lexicon as a result of being used in hit songs. Terms like...

Mar 22
4 min

This Week In 1981: March 22, 1981

Last week, we saw Sheena Easton make her debut on the Australian top 50 with a song that set the women's rights movement back a decade or...

Mar 17
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: March, 17 1996

As well as obsessively following the Australian top 50, I've always paid a lot of attention to the UK chart. I can't say I've been as...

Mar 15
4 min

This Week In 1981: March 15, 1981

As I write this, massive Women's March 4 Justice protests are occuring around Australia demanding "an end to the issues of sexism,...

Mar 10
4 min

25 Years Ago This Week: March 10, 1996

The Osmonds. The Jacksons. The Pointer Sisters. Hanson. Jonas Brothers. Haim. Music history is littered with groups consisting purely of...

Mar 8
4 min

This Week In 1981: March 8, 1981

Last week, we saw dandy highwayman Adam Ant make his Australian top 50 debut, and this week in 1981, there were new entries from another...

{"items":["6099ba08e62bdd0015814ae5","6097b2b1eb539c0015491286","6090c9b6b4bda600164d14c5","6087cd135b8ca200169866ca","6085eb704cad200015087c4c","607e6b295007790015f072dc","607794bc9ffb5b00157b4d48","6072a0d53c32e9001559fe9a","607292ff0bc5310041486a54","60698da60019050015a4629c","606983b08d2fd70016c136d8","6062b966db297f00156fb661","6062f8bc1bd9ab00412f63ea","6060f06954c7f50015f13506","60595e0d489e1800159c1248","60570a3a7362890015df36f2","60502dde4117db005796b263","604e7defd7df840016cd25a7","6046cdcb9fa2ce0015e5454c","60446ded0b6a220015ec8cab"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":1,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":1,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_THE_RIGHT","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":0,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":1,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":940,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"value":"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"targetItemSize":940,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0,"externalInfoWidth":0.5},"container":{"width":940,"galleryWidth":972,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}

2 3 4 5