CHART BEATS: A JOURNEY
THROUGH POP

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Nov 20, 20165 min read

This Week In 1983: November 20, 1983

Every summer needs a party anthem. A song like "Love Shack", "Funky Town" and "Ice Ice Baby" that dominates the number 1 spot, and...

Nov 17, 20165 min read

This Week In 1991: November 17, 1991

By November 1991, it'd been more than four years since Michael Jackson had released his last album. Of course, given the fact he lifted...

Nov 16, 20165 min read

This Week In 1986: November 16, 1986

I've talked before about songs that become inextricably linked to the movie scenes they play during. If ever there was a case of song and...

Nov 13, 20164 min read

This Week In 1983: November 13, 1983

What a week it's been, right? As luck would have it, today's look back at the ARIA singles chart from 1983 allows us to draw a neat...

Nov 10, 20164 min read

This Week In 1991: November 10, 1991

To say Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham had dominated the Australian music scene in the late '80s and early '90s would be a massive...

Nov 9, 20163 min read

This Week In 1986: November 9, 1986

What do Men At Work, Culture Club and Bruce Hornsby And The Range have in common? They were all the recipients of the Grammy Award for...

Nov 6, 20165 min read

This Week In 1983: November 6, 1983

Between them, they'd pretty much defined pop music since the '60s, paving the way for countless other acts and recording numerous songs...

Nov 3, 20164 min read

This Week In 1991: November 3, 1991

It had happened twice already — once in 1985 and again in 1988. And so Australia was pretty much due for another record to debut at...

Nov 2, 20165 min read

This Week In 1986: November 2, 1986

Hear that sound? A perfectly formed pop nugget that is never equalled? Yep, it's one-hit wonder time on this week's look back at the...

Oct 30, 20165 min read

This Week In 1983: October 30, 1983

Our family didn't own a VCR until around 1986. I can't remember exactly when it was but we got a free copy of The Last Starfighter on...

Oct 27, 20166 min read

This Week In 1991: October 27, 1991

Australia had taken its time getting into hip-hop music and, up until mid-1991, the big rap hits had pretty much been the obvious ones....

Oct 26, 20163 min read

This Week In 1986: October 26, 1986

Between them, Elton John and Madonna released more than 60 singles during the '80s — 25 of which made the Australian top 10. It's only...

Oct 23, 20164 min read

This Week In 1983: October 23, 1983

"Endless Love" . "Up Where We Belong" . "Save Your Love" . The '80s had already provided some monster ballad duets — and two more...

Oct 20, 20164 min read

This Week In 1991: October 20, 1991

There have been plenty of successful partnerships between songwriters and female singers over the years. Bacharach & David and Dionne...

Oct 19, 20167 min read

This Week In 1986: October 19, 1986

Some weeks in music are bigger than others. For every chart with only a couple of minor hits debuting, there are ones like the ARIA top...

Oct 16, 20166 min read

This Week In 1983: October 16, 1983

Back in the pre-digital era, you couldn't just buy whatever song you wanted whenever you wanted. And so, for a single that'd already been...

Oct 13, 20167 min read

This Week In 1991: October 13, 1991

First impressions are everything — and this week in 1991, the debut singles by three quite different acts arrived on the ARIA top 50. All...

Oct 12, 20167 min read

This Week In 1986: October 12, 1986

I've always thought that if you're going to do a cover version, you should really do something different with the song. Otherwise, people...

Oct 9, 20164 min read

This Week In 1983: October 9, 1983

Apart from half-time shows and the odd sportsperson who makes an ill-advised attempt at a recording career, music and sport don't often...

Oct 6, 20164 min read

This Week In 1991: October 6, 1991

This blog is, in theory, a journey through pop. But, sometimes the ARIA top 50 from years past isn't very helpful in that mission. Case...

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.

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About Chart Beats

Chart Beats: A Journey Through Pop has been looking back at music from the '80s, '90s, 2000s and 2010s since 2012. Run by freelance journalist and content creator Gavin Scott in Sydney, Australia.