CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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

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

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 emerged) up until 1996. And if thumping beats and techno, techno, techno had defined the first part of the decade, a new type of dance music would shape the latter years of the '90s. The Prodigy really started to fire up in Australia This week in 1996, a British group that had emerged from the rave scene at the start of the decade completed its me

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...

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...

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...

One thing that has stood out for me doing these ARIA singles chart recaps is the changing nature of Australia's relationship with rap. After embracing early hits like "Rapper's Delight" and "Rapture" , there was a long period in the '80s where mostly novelty records ( Mel Brooks , Morris Minor & The Majors ) and only the odd non-comedy release ( "Walk This Way" , "Push It" ) did well. 2Pac had the world at his feet in 1996 Then, in the early '90s, it was the ultra-commercial

Where would popular music be if the course of true love always ran smooth? Lacking a substantial amount of classic songs, that's for...

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...

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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

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

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 couple of male artists who knew how to dress to impress. Robert Palmer and Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry brought a touch of style to the chart Despite one of them wearing the rock star uniform of jeans and a t-shirt on the cover art above, these gentlemen were more likely to be found in suits as they performed a more sophisticated style of music

It had taken a while for Take That to break in Australia and the same was true for another boy band from that part of the world —...

The new decade might have started in 1980, but it took a while for music to move beyond the sounds that had defined the late '70s,...

Earlier in the decade, we saw how second generation performers Nelson and Wilson Phillips had achieved major chart success (especially...