Decade Stations
It’s all about 10 years worth of songs… to be honest there’s not much to see here from the bar chart and graphs point of view, it’s just Global v Bauer with not many songs on Heart’s mostly automated and/or voice tracked selection against Bauer’s larger collection of decades, and larger record collection too (!!), but it’s always interesting to see what everyone else considers to be THE songs of a decade, because every music buff has their own ideas!
…Of course one can speculate as to whether the songs selected were chosen by someone who’s musical memories were formed with love in the decade concerned, or whether someone “looking in from outside” was given the task – the results can be quite different… An obvious illustration of this being Bryan Adams – Summer of 69 – a total non event when recklessly released in the 80’s, it didn’t even make the top 40 at the time, but in later times has become considered to be one of the biggest and best songs of the 80’s, clearly by people who weren’t there at the time!!
The Absolute family of decade stations used to play a lot more credible and “edgy” selection of tracks, but since they have become part of the Bauer family, the mix of tracks in the 60’s to 90’s section has been ‘dumbed down’ and features a lot more of a “range” of music genres – there’s certainly more pop dance and slightly cheesey offerings than would have been considered acceptable before. The 00’s and 10’s stations have not had much of that happen to them though, but to be honest, with less than 500 songs each on these later additions, it seems that not much time has been spent digging up many nuggets from those decades either – clearly the 80’s and 90’s are the ones that the effort has been put into as far as the music variety is concerned!
Global added Heart 00s to their roster of Decade Stations in May 2022, and more recently Greatest Hits radio has added some decade stations for it’s premium subscribers, providing some interesting comparisons between the big groups.
Analysis: 27 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9402
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 587
Variety factor for this station is : 6.2%
50% OF PLAYS is 161 Songs (27.4% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 102 MOST played songs (17.3% of the total)
or 350 LEAST played songs (59.6% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 16h 36m
10th most played song airs every: 19h 3m
102nd most played song airs every: 23h 8m
161st most played song airs every: 1d 1h 55m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 100 (17%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 13 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 587
..in 3 months: 603, in 6 months: 639
..in 9 months: 649, in 12 months: 659
Top 14 Most Played:
1 [39 plays] Buffalo Springfield and Neil Young – For What It’s Worth
2= [36 plays] each for…
+ Band The – The Weight
+ Johnny Cash – Ring Of Fire
+ Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman
5= [35 plays] each for…
+ David Bowie – Space Oddity
+ Stevie Wonder – I Was Made To Love Her
7= [34 plays] each for…
+ Arthur Conley – Sweet Soul Music
+ Edison Lighthouse – Love Grows
+ James Brown – I Got You
+ Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
+ Sandie Shaw – Always Something There To Remind Me
+ The Contours – Do You Love Me
+ The Kingsmen – Louie Louie
+ The Ronettes – Be My Baby
Analysis: 23 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 6262
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 546
Variety factor for this station is : 8.7%
50% OF PLAYS is 139 Songs (25.4% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 88 MOST played songs (16.1% of the total)
or 350 LEAST played songs (64.1% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 19h 42m
10th most played song airs every: 21h 13m
88th most played song airs every: 1d 1h 5m
139th most played song airs every: 1d 3h 36m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 212 (38.8%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 15 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 561
..in 3 months: 606, in 6 months: 701
..in 9 months: 732, in 12 months: 838
Top 12 Most Played:
1 [28 plays] Toto – Hold The Line
2= [27 plays] each for…
+ Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
+ Free – All Right Now
+ The Knack – My Sharona
5= [26 plays] each for…
+ Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap
+ Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love
+ Dave Edmunds – Girls Talk
+ Isaac Hayes – Theme From Shaft
+ Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
+ M – Pop Muzik
+ The Stranglers – No More Heroes
+ The Undertones – Teenage Kicks
Analysis: 23 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 5732
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 946
Variety factor for this station is : 16.5%
50% OF PLAYS is 219 Songs (23.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 129 MOST played songs (13.6% of the total)
or 618 LEAST played songs (65.3% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 2h 17m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 6h 40m
129th most played song airs every: 1d 22h
219th most played song airs every: 2d 7h 12m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 444 (46.9%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
6 after 16 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 1007
..in 3 months: 1401, in 6 months: 1852
..in 9 months: 2220, in 12 months: 2528
Top 17 Most Played:
1= [21 plays] each for…
+ Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
+ Starship – We Built This City
3 [20 plays] Nik Kershaw – Wouldn’t It Be Good
4= [19 plays] each for…
+ Europe – Final Countdown
+ Feargal Sharkey – A Good Heart
+ Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
+ Talking Heads – Road To Nowhere
+ Ultravox – Vienna
+ Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart
10= [18 plays] each for…
+ Bonnie Tyler – A Total Eclipse Of The Heart
+ Climie Fisher – Love Changes
+ John Farnham – You’re The Voice
+ Mental As Anything – Live It Up
+ Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters
+ The Waterboys – Whole Of The Moon
+ Thompson Twins – Hold Me Now
+ Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
Analysis: 27 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 6633
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 888
Variety factor for this station is : 13.3%
50% OF PLAYS is 229 Songs (25.7% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 146 MOST played songs (16.4% of the total)
or 561 LEAST played songs (63.1% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 10h 6m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 14h 7m
146th most played song airs every: 1d 22h 17m
229th most played song airs every: 2d 6h
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 375 (42.2%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
2 after 11 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 897
..in 3 months: 1160, in 6 months: 1398
..in 9 months: 1609, in 12 months: 1730
Top 18 Most Played:
1= [19 plays] each for…
+ Deep Blue Something – Breakfast At Tiffany’s
+ PM Dawn – Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
3= [18 plays] each for…
+ Barenaked Ladies – One Week
+ Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
+ Guns N Roses – You Could Be Mine
+ Moloko – Sing It Back
7= [17 plays] each for…
+ Atb – 9pm Till I Come
+ Blackstreet and Dr Dre – No Diggity
+ Blur – Country House
+ Bon Jovi – Keep The Faith
+ Catatonia – Road Rage
+ Divinyls – I Touch Myself
+ Emf – Unbelievable
+ Grace – Not Over Yet
+ James – She’s A Star
+ Len – Steal My Sunshine
+ Republica – Ready To Go
+ The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris
Analysis: 27 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7490
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 506
Variety factor for this station is : 6.7%
50% OF PLAYS is 173 Songs (34.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 107 MOST played songs (21.1% of the total)
or 256 LEAST played songs (50.5% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 22h 20m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 0h 55m
107th most played song airs every: 1d 8h 24m
173rd most played song airs every: 1d 12h
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 27 (5.3%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 8 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 508
..in 3 months: 513, in 6 months: 540
..in 9 months: 573, in 12 months: 581
Top 15 Most Played:
1 [29 plays] The Chemical Brothers – Galvanize
2= [28 plays] each for…
+ Puddle Of Mudd – Blurry
+ The Dandy Warhols – Bohemian Like You
4= [27 plays] each for…
+ Elbow – One Day Like This
+ Evanescence – Bring Me To Life
+ Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl
+ Primal Scream – Country Girl
+ The Darkness – I Believe In A Thing Called Love
9= [26 plays] each for…
+ Automatic The – Monster
+ Daft Punk – One More Time
+ Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Going Down
+ Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict A Riot
+ Oasis – The Importance Of Being Idle
+ Train – Drops Of Jupiter
+ U2 – Beautiful Day
Analysis: 26 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7153
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 459
Variety factor for this station is : 6.4%
50% OF PLAYS is 111 Songs (24.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 68 MOST played songs (14.8% of the total)
or 296 LEAST played songs (64.4% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 11h 33m
10th most played song airs every: 15h 36m
68th most played song airs every: 20h 7m
111th most played song airs every: 1d 0h 57m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 129 (28.1%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 12 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 476
..in 3 months: 512, in 6 months: 597
..in 9 months: 635, in 12 months: 740
Top 11 Most Played:
1 [54 plays] Catfish and The Bottlemen – 7
2 [48 plays] Passenger – Let Her Go
3 [47 plays] Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know
4= [43 plays] each for…
+ Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
+ Fun – We Are Young
+ Walk The Moon – Shut Up And Dance
7= [42 plays] each for…
+ Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne – Rather Be
+ Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
9 [41 plays] Vance Joy – Rip Tide
10= [40 plays] each for…
+ One Republic – Counting Stars
+ Weeknd The – Can’t Feel My Face
Analysis: 27 days, up to 18-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9640
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 189
Variety factor for this station is : 1.9%
50% OF PLAYS is 29 Songs (15.3% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 15 MOST played songs (7.9% of the total)
or 143 LEAST played songs (75.6% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 2h 34m
10th most played song airs every: 2h 54m
15th most played song airs every: 5h 18m
29th most played song airs every: 6h 6m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 19 (10%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 6 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 192
..in 3 months: 254, in 6 months: 339
..in 9 months: 419, in 12 months: 479
Top 10 Most Played:
1 [251 plays] Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matter
2 [248 plays] James – Our Worl
3 [246 plays] The Black Keys – Beautiful Peopl
4 [245 plays] Teddy Swims – Lose Control
5 [243 plays] Kings Of Leon – Mustang
6 [241 plays] Noel Gallagher – We’re Gonna Get There In The En
7 [235 plays] Catfish and The Bottlemen – Showtime
8 [226 plays] Travis – Gasligh
9 [225 plays] The Black Crowes – Wanting and Waiting
10 [223 plays] Feeder – Lost In The Wilderness
Analysis: 23 days, up to 08-03-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7975
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 315
Variety factor for this station is : 3.9%
50% OF PLAYS is 124 Songs (39.3% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 80 MOST played songs (25.3% of the total)
or 143 LEAST played songs (45.3% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 14h 31m
10th most played song airs every: 15h 20m
80th most played song airs every: 17h 48m
124th most played song airs every: 19h 2m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 6 (1.9%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 6 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 316
..in 3 months: 334, in 6 months: 341
..in 9 months: 425, in 12 months: 436
Top 15 Most Played:
1= [42 plays] each for…
+ Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman
+ Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill
3= [41 plays] each for…
+ Billy Joel – My Life, Free – All Right Now
+ Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town
6= [40 plays] each for…
+ Labelle – Lady Marmalade
+ Maxine Nightingale – Right Back Where We Started From
+ The Osmonds – Love Me For A Reason
+ Toto – Hold The Line
10= [39 plays] each for…
+ Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
+ Gonzalez – I Haven’t Stopped Dancing Yet
+ Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway – Back Together Again
+ Shocking Blue – Venus
+ The Crusaders – Street Life
+ Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music
Analysis: 23 days, up to 19-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7454
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 438
Variety factor for this station is : 5.8%
50% OF PLAYS is 154 Songs (35.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 97 MOST played songs (22.1% of the total)
or 218 LEAST played songs (49.7% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 17h 15m
10th most played song airs every: 19h 2m
97th most played song airs every: 1d 0h
154th most played song airs every: 1d 3h 36m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 31 (7%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 6 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 438
..in 3 months: 450, in 6 months: 472
..in 9 months: 483, in 12 months: 577
Top 12 Most Played:
1 [32 plays] Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night
2= [30 plays] each for…
+ Mai Tai – History
+ Sharon Redd – Can You Handle It
+ Taylor Dayne – Tell It To My Heart
5= [29 plays] each for…
+ Amii Stewart – Friends
+ Bryan Ferry – Slave To Love
+ Change – Change Of Heart
+ Five Star – Rain Or Shine
+ Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
+ Kenny Loggins – Footloose
+ Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance
+ The Blow Monkeys – Digging Your Scene
Analysis: 25 days, up to 19-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 7936
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 318
Variety factor for this station is : 4%
50% OF PLAYS is 116 Songs (36.4% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 74 MOST played songs (23.2% of the total)
or 155 LEAST played songs (48.7% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 14h 38m
10th most played song airs every: 15h 23m
74th most played song airs every: 18h 10m
116th most played song airs every: 20h
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 8 (2.5%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 6 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 318
..in 3 months: 321, in 6 months: 348
..in 9 months: 356, in 12 months: 420
Top 10 Most Played:
1 [41 plays] Will Smith – Men In Black
2= [40 plays] each for…
+ Chesney Hawkes – The One And Only
+ Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise
+ Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha
+ Marc Cohn – Walking In Memphis
+ MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
+ Shabba Ranks – Mr Loverman
8= [39 plays] each for…
+ Big Mountain – Baby I Love Your Way
+ Charles & Eddie – Would I Lie To You
+ Mr. Big – To Be With You
Analysis: 26 days, up to 19-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9157
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 418
Variety factor for this station is : 4.5%
50% OF PLAYS is 143 Songs (34.2% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 91 MOST played songs (21.7% of the total)
or 215 LEAST played songs (51.4% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 15h 13m
10th most played song airs every: 16h 51m
91st most played song airs every: 20h 48m
143rd most played song airs every: 22h 17m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 21 (5%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 11 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 419
..in 3 months: 425, in 6 months: 443
..in 9 months: 445, in 12 months: 448
Top 12 Most Played:
1 [41 plays] Maroon 5 – Makes Me Wonder
2= [38 plays] each for…
+ Daft Punk – One More Time
+ Elton John – Are You Ready For Love
+ James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
+ Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me
+ Toploader – Dancing In The Moonlight
7= [37 plays] each for…
+ A1 – Take On Me
+ Damage – Ghetto Romance
+ Gnarls Barkley / Cee-Lo – Crazy
+ Michael Buble – Haven’t Met You Yet
+ Outkast – Ms Jackson
+ Sam Sparro – Black and Gold
Analysis: 24 days, up to 20-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9309
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 404
Variety factor for this station is : 4.3%
50% OF PLAYS is 184 Songs (45.5% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 120 MOST played songs (29.7% of the total)
or 153 LEAST played songs (37.8% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 15h 34m
10th most played song airs every: 20h 34m
120th most played song airs every: 1d 0h
184th most played song airs every: 1d 0h
No. of songs with 15 or less plays: 3 (0.7%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 5 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 404
..in 3 months: 405, in 6 months: 405
..in 9 months: 414, in 12 months: 470
Top 12 Most Played:
1 [37 plays] Elo – Mr Blue Sky
2 [30 plays] Earth Wind and Fire – September
3= [29 plays] each for…
+ Status Quo – Rockin’ All Over The World
+ The Chi-Lites – Have You Seen Her
5= [28 plays] each for…
+ Billy Joel – Just The Way You Are
+ Earth Wind and Fire – After The Love Has Gone
+ Elton John and Kiki Dee – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
+ Elvis Presley – Burning Love
+ Freda Payne – Band Of Gold
+ Gladys Knight and The Pips – Come Back And Finish What You Started
+ Neil Diamond – Beautiful Noise
+ The Sweet – The Ballroom Blitz
Analysis: 25 days, up to 20-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9106
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 542
Variety factor for this station is : 5.9%
50% OF PLAYS is 253 Songs (46.6% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 165 MOST played songs (30.4% of the total)
or 199 LEAST played songs (36.7% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 4h 34m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 6h
165th most played song airs every: 1d 9h 20m
253rd most played song airs every: 1d 11h 17m
No. of songs with 15 or less plays: 97 (17.8%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 5 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 542
..in 3 months: 542, in 6 months: 546
..in 9 months: 557, in 12 months: 611
Top 13 Most Played:
1= [21 plays] each for…
+ Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker
+ Ultravox – Vienna
3= [20 plays] each for…
+ Alison Moyet – Love Resurrection
+ Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes – The Time Of My Life
+ Chris Rea – The Road To Hell
+ Duran Duran – Girls On Film
+ Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakey – Together In Electric Dreams
+ Huey Lewis and The News – Stuck With You
+ Nena – 99 Red Balloons
+ Queen – One Vision
+ Queen and David Bowie – Under Pressure
+ Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody
+ Texas – I Don’t Want A Lover
Analysis: 27 days, up to 20-04-2024
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 9848
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 348
Variety factor for this station is : 3.5%
50% OF PLAYS is 157 Songs (45.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 102 MOST played songs (29.3% of the total)
or 134 LEAST played songs (38.5% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 17h 30m
10th most played song airs every: 19h 3m
102nd most played song airs every: 20h 54m
157th most played song airs every: 22h 20m
No. of songs with 10 or less plays: 1 (0.2%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
ZERO after 5 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 348
..in 3 months: 349, in 6 months: 399
..in 9 months: 401, in 12 months: 408
Top 17 Most Played:
1 [37 plays] Alison Limerick – Where Love Lives
2 [36 plays] Kirsty MacColl – Walking Down Madison
3= [35 plays] each for…
+ Maria McKee – Show Me Heaven
+ Shania Twain – That Don’t Impress Me Much
5= [34 plays] each for…
+ Boyz II Men – End Of The Road
+ Faith Hill – This Kiss
+ Go West – The King Of Wishful Thinking
+ Haddaway – What Is Love
+ Jon Secada – Just Another Day
+ Let Loose – Crazy For You
+ Lionel Richie – My Destiny
+ Robert Miles – Children
+ Shakespear’s Sister – You’re History
+ Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2U
+ Sting – Fields Of Gold
+ Tasmin Archer – Sleeping Satellite
+ Wilson Phillips – Hold On
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