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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...
