CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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Jul 5, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: July 5, 1987

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...

Jun 28, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: June 28, 1987

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...

Jun 21, 20173 min read

This Week In 1987: June 21, 1987

It really did take ages for some songs from overseas to become successful in Australia in the '80s. For starters, there was no such thing...

Jun 14, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: June 14, 1987

In my time as a music journalist, I've read countless bios for new artists, hoping to find an interesting fact or two I can ask them...

Jun 7, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: June 7, 1987

What do Jody Watley, Terence Trent D'Arby, Cutting Crew, Breakfast Club and Swing Out Sister have in common? Besides all releasing...

May 31, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: May 31, 1987

It's called the difficult second album for a reason. When you've had major success with your debut release, it's a lot to live up to. And...

May 24, 20173 min read

This Week In 1987: May 24, 1987

V-Capri. Cattletruck. Bang The Drum. In our trips back to the ARIA charts of decades past, we've seen plenty of homegrown bands that...

May 17, 20173 min read

This Week In 1987: May 17, 1987

This week in 1987, there were only two new entries on the ARIA singles top 50, but they would both go on to be top 10 hits. They also...

May 10, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: May 10, 1987

It's always tempting fate to have a song title that top 50 countdown hosts can use against you as a pun. For example, songs called...

May 3, 20176 min read

This Week In 1987: May 3, 1987

It's not easy keeping up a consistent strike rate of hits — even the biggest artists have their fair share of flops. It was also...

Apr 26, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: April 26, 1987

If there was one thing that was in plentiful supply in the '80s, it was movie soundtrack hits. By my calculations, there were 19...

Apr 19, 20176 min read

This Week In 1987: April 19, 1987

The return of the world's soon-to-be-biggest band? An ambitious double album by music's most inventive male artist? A landmark hip-hop...

Apr 12, 20173 min read

This Week In 1987: April 12, 1987

Even the most popular bands can have off days. Or, as was the case this week in 1987, singles that don't connect for whatever reason. Two...

Apr 5, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: April 5, 1987

There are many reasons why a band's lead singer might decide to go solo, but usually somewhere in the mix is tension within the group....

Mar 29, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: March 29, 1987

It didn't have a proper music video. It was performed by a model discovered in a night club. It had some pretty dodgy lyrics. It was one...

Mar 22, 20176 min read

This Week In 1987: March 22, 1987

As well as being a big year in music, 1987 saw significant developments in music TV in Australia. While Countdown was just months away...

Mar 15, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: March 15, 1987

I love a chart week like this one. Four future top 10 singles — three of them top 5 hits. And I actually like all of them! From a Stock...

Mar 8, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: March 8, 1987

Where would generations of children be without The Wiggles? That situation might've come to pass if the band whose biggest single debuted...

Mar 1, 20174 min read

This Week In 1987: March 1, 1987

It wasn't the most auspicious of debuts. Bon Jovi's first hit single sneaked into the very bottom of the top 50 after months floundering...

Feb 22, 20175 min read

This Week In 1987: February 22, 1987

A few weeks back, I talked about how "If You Were With Me Now" by Kylie Minogue and Keith Washington shattered most of the illusions I'd...

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.