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> Seven years ago I bought this yellow chart-book of Kent, even had a little
> conversation with him. It was somehow clear for me, that he took most of
> his investigations out of airplay.
I think that was defintely true for the charts before 1982. The printed ARIA charts (which used the Kent Report chart from April 1983-June 198
had a disclaimer at the bottom of the chart that the chart was compiled from sales data across Australia.
> So all about this time (1983 & 1986) everything in his book is standing
> somehow on "shaky feeds".
I do think that the charts fromt this time were definitely sales-based. Australian FM radio before about 1995 (at least in Melbourne) very rarely played any pop or dance music. So, for example, even Kylie Minogue was hardly touched by radio here until then! If our charts from that period were based on airplay, most of these artists would not have charted at all! The radio instead would play 'classic rock', rock, or what I refer to as 'pub rock' music.
> One thing still confuses me: "Rock Me Amadeus" reached #2 for several
> weeks on "3XY" in Melbourne for exampel, but nationwide there was "only a
> minor goal" peaking at #15". Ok, somebody could say this radio-station is
> i.e. "alternative" or whatever, but all in all it`s very strange seeing
> the big global impact of this song.
I think that in Australia, in the 1980's, songs often peaked on the state-specific charts at different times. So, for example, a single might have been in the top 10 in Victoria, but barely scraping the top 50 in Western Australia, or vice versa. This would mean that the single might not reach a high position overall on the national chart.
> 3) So I may come to the conclusion, that there was only "Countdown", and
> nothing more, not even a competitive programm.
There were many other music and music video shows from around that time (although I was too young to have watched most of them regularly), such as Rock Arena (but focused mainly on alternative music), but Countdown was the most popular/well-known.
> For 1986, I am not familiar, if they showed the video-clips beyond the Top
> Ten. So if anyone likes to help me (even from this flashback music
> show "Rage")
Countdown played many videos from outside the top 10, as did other music video shows.
> 4) Here is the simple question for a "unknown foreigner" like me: Could
> anyone give me names of these papers printing on Monday? It doesn`t matter
> if from Melbourne, Sidney or wherever! Perhaps I could get original papers
> from that time, who knows. Or somebody is having original "Aria charts"
> (big posters) at home and likes to sell them. I am having only few..Also
> clippings about him in mags. or papers.
There is a thread on this forum from earlier this year with links to some scanned ARIA charts. The full chart was not published in any newspaper that I am aware of, but the top 10 might have been.
