In 1983, Australian synthpop exploded with a surge of new bands hitting the ARIA chart, Front and centre was Melbourne's Real Life , which had been plugging away since forming in late 1980 through a couple of newspaper ads. Electronic anthem "Send Me An Angel" was a massive success locally and took off overseas, becoming a hit in North America and Europe. Singer David Sterry talks about the band's great start on Wheatley Records in Australia and Curb Records internationally, as well as the mixed...
Jul 10, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 13
She might have taken the well-worn path from soap opera to pop music, but former E Street actress Toni Pearen actually turned down the first record deal that was offered to her. The singer, actress, presenter and reality TV favourite talks about why she waited to sign with Mushroom Records and the process of putting together her back-to-back top 10 hits, "In Your Room" and "I Want You". Toni also explains why there was such a delay in releasing further music and describes how her album, Intimate...
Jun 27, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Following solo success at home in New Zealand, Tina Cross relocated to Australia in the early '80s, eventually teaming up with singer/songwriter Leon Berger , who was born in Russia but had also made the move down under. Together, they formed the foundation of synthpop band Koo De Tah , whose debut single, "Too Young For Promises", was a top 10 smash in 1985. Tina and her former band-mate John Bettison , who played guitar for Koo De Tah, reveal how some missing demos almost scuppered the band's ...
Jun 13, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Their album ...ish remains one of the all-time best-selling debuts in Australian music history, but no record company wanted to sign 1927 . Lead singer Erik Weideman talks about putting that multi-platinum album together after he was spotted on Hey Hey It's Saturday talent quest Red Faces by former Moving Pictures member Garry Frost and how it was producer Charles Fisher who took a chance on the pop/rock quartet. While the music industry might have been unsure about 1927, the Australian public w...
May 29, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In the early '90s, there was no hotter Australian pop music label than Westside Records, who pounced on Radio Freedom , a project fronted by Paul Snashall . Fresh off an appearance on talent show Star Search , the singer otherwise known as Pehl put together a track called "I Can Feel It", an infectious mix of dance, Latin and hip-hop that stormed the ARIA top 10. In our interview with Paul, he reveals all the behind-the-scenes details of what inspired that tune, how the song and his profile expl...
May 15, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In 1989, four young, energetic performers crashed onto the Australian chart with their debut single, "Say Goodbye" — an instantly catchy piece of synthpop that took them into the top 10. One of the first signings to Molly Meldrum 's Melodian Records, Indecent Obsession had the good looks that saw them regularly in the pages of Smash Hits and the killer hooks that made for some great pop tunes. But even though their second single, "Tell Me Something", was another hit in Australia and broke intern...
May 01, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 8
We continue the story of Australian girl group Girlfriend , with Melanie Alexander , Jacqui Cowell , Siobhann Heidenreich and Robyn Loau telling us about the promotional trips they made overseas, especially to the UK and Japan, in an attempt to break internationally. Back in Australia, the group moved on to second album It's Up To You , although "Heartbeat" and "Wishing On The Same Star" didn't achieve the chart highs of the singles from their debut album. But the girls had other issues to worry...
Apr 17, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Exactly 30 years ago, Melanie Alexander , Jacqui Cowell , Siobhann Heidenreich , Robyn Loau and Lorinda Noble burst onto the pop scene with their debut single, "Take It From Me". The all-singing, all-dancing girl group were like nothing Australia had seen — and they were ahead of their time internationally with their girl power message (the words were literally in the lyrics of their second single, "Girls Life") and diverse line-up. In the first episode of a two-part special, Melanie, Jacqui, Si...
Apr 10, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 6
They were at the forefront of Australia's synthpop scene and Pseudo Echo were rewarded for toughing it out on the rock-dominated live music circuit with a string of hits, including debut single "Listening", which the band played an early version of as an unsigned act on Countdown . Lead singer and principal songwriter Brian Canham tells us about that breakthrough appearance and the success that followed with albums Autumnal Park in 1984 and the next year's Love An Adventure , which yielded three...
Mar 27, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 5
From his pioneering work on Australia's dance music scene in the 1990s to becoming a pop star in the 2000s, Paul Mac has had a long and impressive career. In a candid and insightful — not to mention F bomb-laden — interview, the recording artist, songwriter, producer and remixer discusses some of his standout musical moments. Paul reflects on releasing the ARIA Award-winning club track "Sweetness And Light" as part of Itch-E & Scratch-E and what it was like as a dance artist in Australia in ...
Mar 13, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In the early '90s, indie pop band Frente! enjoyed a meteoric rise in Australia, going from the Triple J Hottest 100 to regulars in the top 5 of the ARIA chart in just a couple of releases. In this episode, we hear from singer Angie Hart about the band's early success and the backlash they suffered following the release of "Accidently Kelly Street", which was brutally parodied by The Late Show . This episode also covers a different — but linked — music industry story. In 1995, Angie provided voca...
Feb 27, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Twin sisters Sherine and Zan Abeyratne made a huge impression on the Australian pop scene in the 1980s. Individually, they were members of two of the most innovative, era-defining bands to emerge locally that decade: Big Pig and I'm Talking . In this episode, the siblings look back on their time in those groups, whose sound pushed Australian music out of its pub rock comfort zone, and talk about singles like "Hungry Town", "Breakaway" and "Holy Word". They also discuss their work — both separate...
Feb 13, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In the first episode of Chart Beats: A Journey Through Aussie Pop , we take a look at dance-pop band Euphoria , who were massively successful in Australia in the early '90s, albeit for only a brief period of time. We have a frank conversation with founding member Andrew Klippel and hear about the ill-fated decision to show model Holly Garnett lip syncing to singer Keren Minshull 's vocals in the music video for chart-topping debut single "Love You Right". Andrew discusses subsequent singles "One...
Jan 30, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 1
