CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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Aug 10, 20204 min read

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 3, 20203 min read

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 27, 20204 min read

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...

Jul 20, 20203 min read

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...

Jul 13, 20203 min read

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...

Jul 6, 20205 min read

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...

Jun 29, 20202 min read

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 22, 20204 min read

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...

Jun 15, 20204 min read

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 8, 20203 min read

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...

Jun 1, 20203 min read

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,...

May 25, 20203 min read

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...

May 18, 20204 min read

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 11, 20203 min read

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...

May 4, 20203 min read

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...

Apr 27, 20203 min read

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...

Apr 20, 20204 min read

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....

Apr 13, 20203 min read

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...

Apr 6, 20203 min read

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 30, 20203 min read

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...

A Journey Through Aussie Pop - green light.png

A Journey Through Aussie Pop is shining a light on classic Australian pop artists and releases from the 1980s, '90s and 2000s.

A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman is working its way through every single produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman in chronological order.

Chart Beats subscribers have access to exclusive content, including extended interviews and extra discussion we can't fit in the regular episodes. Click here for more info.