CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

I used to get quite disappointed when songs I really liked didn't go higher on the chart. And then I reached a certain point where I kind...

In 1988 and most of 1989, Bobby Brown struggled to convince Australian audiences to join the new jack swing party that was sweeping the...

You wouldn't get away with it today. If a new band wanted to call themselves The Avengers or Justice League, I'm sure lawyers would...

As we've seen over the past few years, Australia was slow to embrace hip-hop — and when we did so, it was often only the highly...

It's funny how many career-defining moments almost never happen. This week in 1984, a single debuted that would completely revitalise a...

In the five-plus years I've looked back at the ARIA charts of the 1980s and '90s, I've written about all sorts of songs. Often in the...

It only ran for 20 episodes, but ABC music drama Sweet And Sour looms large in my memories of the mid-'80s. For one thing, it had an...

Sometimes a song's chart peak isn't the full story. For example, it might reach number 1, but if it doesn't hang around very long, it...

Not everyone can claim to have a song written about them; even fewer people have one that specifically names them — although if you're famous, the chances are probably higher. This week in 1984, a British girl group entered the ARIA top 50 with a song that name-checks a world-renowned American actor. If someone writes a song about you, it's only polite to meet them The song isn't actually about the actor per se, but he figures as a fantasy in the story told by the lyrics. Alt

Girl groups, it would seem, are like buses — and after waiting for the flood of American girl groups in the late '80s and early '90s to make a connection in Australia, two hit the top 50 for the first time this week in 1992. (They both also happen to be among my favourite girl groups of all time). TLC and En Vogue made girl groups big again In doing so, they joined two local all-female groups to lend a bit of girl power to the ARIA singles chart, long before that became a th

Already on this blog, we've seen the solo debuts of locally based former backing singers Kate Ceberano, Jenny Morris and Wendy Matthews. Before any of those women hit the ARIA top 50 with their own releases, one of the most recognisable female voices in '80s pop stepped out from behind the band she performed with. Helen Terry stepped into the spotlight She had the full support of the band she'd backed — they even helped write and perform her first single. Question was: would

A brand new single by a megastar performer was always a cause for excitement. What would they do this time? Could they possibly top what...

When does a music star become a superstar? In the case of Madonna, it was with the release of Like A Virgin and her chart-dominating run...

Extended versions and dance mixes had been around for years, but as we saw when a separate single of remixes of Michael Jackson's "Black Or White" charted, they were literally coming into their own in 1992. Whether you liked your U2 traditional or remixed, there was a CD single for you This week in 1992, the biggest band in the world got in on the act, with their latest single coming with a stand-alone remix CD single. In the UK, the remixes charted higher than the standard r

Good things come in threes — apparently — and this week a very good song debuted on the ARIA singles chart, giving its artist a trio of...

If you're just joining us, where have you been the past five years? In 2012, I marked the 25-year anniversary of collecting my first ARIA top 50 chart from my local record store by starting this blog. Then, in 2015, I added a weekly 30 Years Ago... recap and have now reached the point where I began: the week ending July 5, 1987. Well, you've got to be crazy, baby, to wear a coat like that... This time around I'm going focus on the week's new entries and cover the parts of the

With great success can come great backlash. In November 1982, ABBA made their final appearance on the Australian top 50 after eight years in which they'd dominated the chart and reached the number 1 spot six times. In the decade following "The Day Before You Came", which sputtered out at number 48, the Swedish foursome became synonymous with the words "daggy" and "uncool". Without these two, the ABBA revival might never have happened By 1992, the time was right for another l

There are some songs that, even if you'd never heard them before, you would instantly know when they were released. This week in 1984, a tune that is the epitome of mid-'80s pop debuted on the ARIA singles chart. Guess who had their teeth whitened before this video shoot? Bright, upbeat and optimistic, the track bounced all the way up the top 50 to the number 1 spot. Although already successful, the duo behind the mega-hit became one of the biggest acts in the world as a resu

I've always considered any song that makes the top 50 a hit — even if it's just for one week. That's why I don't count acts like A Flock...

Rival versions of the same song are nothing new — either now or in 1987. Back in the '60s, UK stars like Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black performed their own versions of tunes that had been released in the US by other singers. And who can forget (as much as we'd all like to) when Los Del Rio went head-to-head with Los Del Mar on rival versions of "Macarena" in 1996? The Party Boys stepped all over Chantoozies' hopes for a second big hit This week in 1987, two versions of a s