The Beatles' Australian Singles Chart Performance 1963-1990
The capital city singles chart performance data used in this archive is compiled by Gavin Ryan, author of the Capital City Chart Books for Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. Cross-referencing and chart backgrounding by Jeffrey Black. National chart positions compiled by Jaesen Jones from Go-Set Newspapers.

It should be noted that chart figures are not perfect and there are a number of limitations, some with the source data and some with the aggregation.

Firstly, the figures were compiled from selected radio stations in each of the capital cities. In general, radio charts were compiled from a number of sources. If a chart did list its sources, it might include record sales, listener requests, or audience surveys. For example, charts from 2UE Sydney and 4BK Brisbane in the 1960s cite "public survey" as well as sales. Public survey could mean anything, and would allow leeway in constructing a chart to reflect the station's playlist and its listeners' preferences. Sales figures were based on samples rather than comprehensive data from every outlet in town. Stations would telephone selected record stores in their area that reported sales figures on records and sheet music; the ring-arounds could be as informal as asking what was selling and the response could even depend on whomever happened to answer the phone, as it wasn't unusual for that person to boost their favourite records. In addition to raw sales figures, the position or ranking of the week's 40 most popular songs was also subject to overseas sales trends and a station's own predictions.

It's largely for these reasons that it was also possible for a song to reach the charts before being released on a single or EP. In some instances this was due to radio promotion prior to release, for example, if not restricted by the publisher then radio stations could play singles or EPs acquired direct from overseas. Bob Rogers knew in June that an EP was forthcoming containing 'Matchbox' - the Long Tall Sally EP had been released in the UK on 19 June. Not surprisingly, the song charted in Sydney almost a month before the More Requests EP was released.

It could also occur through promoting songs from albums that eventually were issued on a single or EP, for example, playing 'I Saw Her Standing There' from the Please Please Me LP prior to the song being released as a single, perhaps due to listener requests. In another example, the Beatles For Sale EP was called Eight Days A Week EP in all markets except Adelaide. Maybe those stations knew that an EP was forthcoming with 'Eight Days A Week' on it, but knew no other tracks at the time, so that's what they called it. Or perhaps that was the track they promoted from the album, which had been released here by that time.

Cover versions might also hit the charts before The Beatles' originals. Most notably, 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' was released by The Marmalade some months before The Beatles' single. When The Beatles' originals did eventuate, radio stations would often drop the earlier artist from the chart listing, thus making it appear that The Beatles had been in the charts for longer than they had.

In any event, there are any number of reasons to explain why a song may have charted before released on a single or EP.

So, all in all, it was a rather rubbery process open to much subjectivity! However, it's what we had and the best we can work with.

Secondly, the primary limitation with aggregation, of course, is the loss of granularity of each individual chart. For example, a song may be listed where it reached the top 40 on one chart but not any others within the city. A song may have performed well on one chart but notso on another. A song may have performed spectacularly in a regional centre (like Canberra!) but is out of scope of the chart aggregation, which is limited to capital cities. In essence, the only way around this limitation is to include EVERY chart produced by EVERY station and list them all separately; hardly a practical task!
ENTRY TRACK/S CAT# CITY HP WI
1963-03-17 Please Please Me A8080 BRI 26 06
1963-04-13 Please Please Me A8080 MEL 29 06
1963-03-10 Please Please Me A8080 HOB 21 08
1963-03-23 Please Please Me A8080 ADE 13 11
1964-02-22 Please Please Me (RE) A8080 MEL 22 12
1964-02-21 Please Please Me (RE) A8080 HOB 02 12
1964-02-29 Please Please Me (RE) A8080 ADE 08 13
1964-05-02 Please Please Me (RE) A8080 BRI 27 03
1964-05-08 Please Please Me (RE) A8080 SYD 44 03
1964-05-23 Ask Me Why A8080 BRI 26 02
1963-05-26 From Me To You A8083 BRI 10 16
1963-06-14 From Me To You A8083 SYD 08 15
1963-05-25 From Me To You A8083 MEL 04 14
1963-05-26 From Me To You A8083 HOB 05 11
1963-06-15 From Me To You A8083 ADE 05 15
1963-07-19 From Me To You A8083 PER 10 10
1964-02-22 From Me To You (RE) A8083 MEL 04 13
1964-02-22 From Me To You (RE) A8083 HOB 13 07
1964-02-22 From Me To You (RE) A8083 ADE 05 12
1964-03-14 From Me To You (RE) A8083 BRI 05 12
1964-03-29 Thank You Girl A8083 SYD 24 09
1963-09-15 She Loves You A8093 BRI 08 14
1963-09-20 She Loves You/I'll Get You A8093 SYD 02 46
1963-09-14 She Loves You A8093 MEL 01 48
1963-09-13 She Loves You A8093 HOB 20 08
1963-08-31 She Loves You A8093 ADE 01 15
1963-09-27 She Loves You A8093 PER 03 30
1964-01-11 She Loves You/I'll Get You (RE) A8093 BRI 01 21
1964-01-24 She Loves You (RE) A8093 MEL 02 16
1964-01-15 She Loves You (RE) A8093 HOB 03 25
1964-04-04 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 BRI 36 03
1964-01-10 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 SYD 08 34
1964-04-04 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 MEL 02 21
1964-04-24 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 HOB 01 08
1964-02-29 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 ADE 01 31
1964-01-10 Twist And Shout GEPO-8882 PER 15 18
1963-12-21 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 BRI 01 23
1963-12-20 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 SYD 01 31
1963-12-21 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 MEL 01 40
1963-12-20 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 HOB 01 14
1963-12-14 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 ADE 01 29
1963-12-20 I Want To Hold Your Hand A8103 PER 01 19
1963-12-14 I Saw Her Standing There A8105 BRI 02 26
1964-01-24 I Saw Her Standing There/Love Me, Do A8105 SYD 01 27
1964-01-25 I Saw Her Standing There A8105 MEL 01 27
1964-01-24 I Saw Her Standing There/Love Me, Do A8105 HOB 01 20
1964-01-18 Love Me, Do/I Saw Her Standing There A8105 ADE 01 22
1964-01-17 I Saw Her Standing There A8105 PER 01 16
1964-01-25 Love Me, Do A8105 BRI 10 14
1964-02-08 Love Me, Do A8105 MEL 03 17
1964-02-21 The Beatles Hits E.P. GEPO-8880 SYD 34 04
1964-03-07 The Beatles Hits E.P. GEPO-8880 ADE 05 13
1964-03-21 My Bonnie NH24-673 BRI 27 04
1964-02-28 My Bonnie NH24-673 SYD 21 06
1964-02-29 My Bonnie NH24-673 MEL 19 10
1964-02-22 My Bonnie NH24-673 ADE 17 08
1964-05-30 Cry For A Shadow NH52275 BRI 21 09
1964-04-24 Cry For A Shadow NH52275 SYD 10 16
1964-04-17 Cry For A Shadow NH52275 HOB 24 04
1964-05-02 Cry For A Shadow NH52275 ADE 22 07
1964-03-13 Roll Over Beethoven A8107 BRI 01 17
1964-03-13 Roll Over Beethoven/Hold Me Tight A8107 SYD 02 18
1964-03-14 Roll Over Beethoven A8107 MEL 01 19
1964-03-13 Roll Over Beethoven A8107 HOB 01 13
1964-03-14 Roll Over Beethoven A8107 ADE 02 17
1964-03-13 Roll Over Beethoven A8107 PER 01 15
1964-03-21 Hold Me Tight A8107 MEL 16 09
1964-03-07 The Beatles featuring Anna (Go To Him)/Chains/Misery GEPO-8883 ADE 13 10
1964-03-21 All My Loving GEPO-8891 BRI 01 20
1964-03-20 All My Loving GEPO-8891 SYD 01 30
1964-04-04 All My Loving GEPO-8891 MEL 01 27
1964-04-03 All My Loving GEPO-8891 HOB 01 14
1964-04-28 All My Loving GEPO-8891 ADE 02 27
1964-03-20 All My Loving GEPO-8891 PER 01 15
1964-04-25 Can't Buy Me Love A8113 BRI 01 19
1964-05-08 Can't Buy Me Love A8113 SYD 01 22
1964-04-25 Can't Buy Me Love A8113 MEL 01 25
1964-05-01 Can't Buy Me Love A8113 HOB 01 12
1964-05-02 Can't Buy Me Love A8113 ADE 01 23
1964-04-24 Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That A8113 PER 01 14
1964-07-11 You Can't Do That A8113 BRI 34 03
1964-06-20 Ain't She Sweet NH52317 BRI 19 10
1964-06-26 Ain't She Sweet NH52317 SYD 21 08
1964-07-04 Ain't She Sweet NH52317 MEL 11 07
1964-06-19 Ain't She Sweet NH52317 HOB 22 08
1964-07-04 Ain't She Sweet NH52317 ADE 30 08
1964-05-30 Requests featuring Long Tall Sally GEPO-70013 BRI 01 20
1964-06-05 Requests featuring Boys/Long Tall Sally GEPO-70013 SYD 01 18
1964-06-06 Requests featuring Long Tall Sally GEPO-70013 MEL 07 14
1964-04-17 Requests featuring Long Tall Sally GEPO-70013 HOB 01 14
1964-05-30 Requests E.P. GEPO-70013 ADE 01 23
1964-06-19 Requests featuring Long Tall Sally GEPO-70013 PER 03 11
1964-06-06 I Call Your Name GEPO-70013 BRI 32 05
1964-06-20 Please Mr Postman GEPO-70013 BRI 29 05
1964-07-24 Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand A8117 HOB 20 05
1964-07-11 A Hard Day's Night A8123 BRI 01 20
1964-07-17 A Hard Day's Night A8123 SYD 01 20
1964-07-18 A Hard Day's Night A8123 MEL 01 19
1964-07-17 A Hard Day's Night A8123 HOB 01 14
1964-07-11 A Hard Day's Night A8123 ADE 01 21
1964-07-10 A Hard Day's Night A8123 PER 01 13
1964-07-25 Things We Said Today A8123 BRI 14 07
1964-07-24 Things We Said Today A8123 PER 11 10
1964-08-22 I Should Have Known Better/If I Fell A8125 BRI 01 16
1964-08-28 I Should Have Known Better/If I Fell A8125 SYD 01 22
1964-08-22 I Should Have Known Better/If I Fell A8125 MEL 01 25
1964-08-21 I Should Have Known Better/If I Fell A8125 HOB 01 11
1964-08-22 I Should Have Known Better/If I Fell A8125 ADE 01 21
1964-08-28 I Should Have Known Better A8125 PER 05 12
1964-08-21 If I Fell A8125 PER 01 12
1964-08-01 Till There Was You GEPO-70014 BRI 09 13
1964-07-31 Matchbox GEPO-70014 SYD 11 11
1964-08-08 Till There Was You/Slow Down GEPO-70014 MEL 07 13
1964-08-07 Till There Was You GEPO-70014 HOB 21 05
1964-08-01 Till There Was You GEPO-70014 ADE 04 15
1964-11-28 I Feel Fine/She's A Woman A8133 BRI 01 18
1964-12-04 I Feel Fine/She's A Woman A8133 SYD 01 16
1964-12-05 I Feel Fine/She's A Woman A8133 MEL 01 22
1964-12-04 I Feel Fine/She's A Woman A8133 HOB 01 11
1964-12-05 I Feel Fine/She's A Woman A8133 ADE 01 17
1964-12-04 I Feel Fine A8133 PER 01 15
1964-12-11 She's A Woman A8133 PER 02 05
1964-12-25 And I Love Her/Tell Me Why E.P. GEPO-8920 SYD 17 08
1965-03-20 Rock And Roll Music/Honey Don't A8143 BRI 03 14
1965-03-19 Rock And Roll Music/Honey Don't A8143 SYD 01 16
1965-03-20 Rock And Roll Music A8143 MEL 01 17
1965-03-09 Rock And Roll Music/Honey Don't A8143 HOB 01 12
1965-03-13 Rock And Roll Music/Honey Don't A8143 ADE 01 19
1965-02-05 Rock And Roll Music/Honey Don't A8143 PER 01 23
1965-04-17 Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is A8153 BRI 01 15
1965-04-23 Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is A8153 SYD 01 14
1965-04-24 Ticket To Ride A8153 MEL 01 17
1965-04-23 Ticket To Ride A8153 HOB 01 10
1965-04-17 Ticket To Ride A8153 ADE 01 18
1965-04-23 Ticket To Ride/Yes It Is A8153 PER 01 14
1965-03-13 Eight Days A Week E.P. GEPO-70019 BRI 21 15
1965-06-18 Eight Days A Week E.P. GEPO-70019 HOB 03 09
1965-06-12 Beatles For Sale E.P. GEPO-70019 ADE 41 07
1965-02-19 Eight Days A Week E.P. GEPO-70019 PER 15 13
1965-07-24 Help!/I'm Down A8163 BRI 01 18
1965-07-30 Help!/I'm Down A8163 SYD 01 24
1965-07-31 Help!/I'm Down A8163 MEL 01 18
1965-07-30 Help!/I'm Down A8163 HOB 01 12
1965-07-31 Help!/I'm Down A8163 ADE 01 24
1965-07-30 Help! A8163 PER 01 15
1965-10-16 Yesterday/Act Naturally A8173 BRI 05 13
1965-10-22 Yesterday/Act Naturally A8173 SYD 03 17
1965-10-23 Yesterday/Act Naturally A8173 MEL 04 20
1965-10-21 Yesterday/Act Naturally A8173 HOB 03 11
1965-10-23 Yesterday/Act Naturally A8173 ADE 03 16
1965-10-01 Yesterday A8173 PER 02 14
1965-12-11 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 BRI 01 18
1965-12-17 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 SYD 01 20
1965-12-18 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 MEL 01 17
1965-12-16 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 HOB 01 13
1965-12-11 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 ADE 01 20
1965-12-10 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper A8183 PER 01 16
1966-03-22 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 BRI 02 16
1966-03-25 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 SYD 01 15
1966-04-02 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 MEL 04 14
1966-03-31 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 HOB 02 11
1966-03-26 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 ADE 01 14
1966-03-18 Nowhere Man/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) A8193 PER 01 13
1966-06-18 Paperback Writer/Rain A8203 BRI 02 11
1966-06-24 Paperback Writer/Rain A8203 SYD 03 10
1966-06-25 Paperback Writer A8203 MEL 02 09
1966-06-16 Paperback Writer/Rain A8203 HOB 03 09
1966-06-18 Paperback Writer A8203 ADE 01 10
1966-06-17 Paperback Writer/Rain A8203 PER 01 12
1966-08-27 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 BRI 01 11
1966-08-26 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 SYD 01 14
1966-09-03 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 MEL 01 19
1966-09-01 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 HOB 01 12
1966-08-27 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 ADE 01 14
1966-08-26 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 PER 01 11
1966-10-05 Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby A8213 AUS 01 10
1967-03-11 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 BRI 01 16
1967-03-24 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 SYD 01 15
1967-03-25 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 MEL 01 17
1967-03-22 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 HOB 01 12
1967-03-18 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 ADE 01 14
1967-03-17 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 PER 01 15
1967-03-29 Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane A8243 AUS 01 14
1967-07-15 All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man A8263 BRI 01 15
1967-07-14 All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man A8263 SYD 01 13
1967-07-22 All You Need Is Love A8263 MEL 01 13
1967-07-19 All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man A8263 HOB 01 12
1967-07-15 All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man A8263 ADE 01 13
1967-07-21 All You Need Is Love A8263 PER 01 12
1967-07-26 All You Need Is Love/Baby, You're A Rich Man A8263 AUS 01 13
1967-07-28 Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band PMCO 7027 PER 12 09
1967-08-16 Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band PMCO 7027 AUS 40 02
1967-12-09 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 BRI 01 15
1967-12-08 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 SYD 02 16
1967-12-09 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 MEL 02 16
1967-12-13 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 HOB 02 11
1967-12-09 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 ADE 01 14
1967-12-09 Hello, Goodbye A-8273 PER 03 14
1967-12-13 Hello, Goodbye/I Am The Walrus A-8273 AUS 01 15
1968-03-16 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 BRI 04 10
1968-03-22 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 SYD 02 15
1968-03-23 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 MEL 06 14
1968-03-20 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 HOB 06 09
1968-03-16 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 ADE 01 12
1968-03-29 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 PER 12 06
1968-03-27 Magical Mystery Tour E.P. MMT1 AUS 03 13
1968-03-30 Lady Madonna A-8293 BRI 01 12
1968-03-29 Lady Madonna/The Inner Light A-8293 SYD 01 17
1968-04-06 Lady Madonna A-8293 MEL 02 13
1968-04-03 Lady Madonna A-8293 HOB 02 09
1968-03-30 Lady Madonna A-8293 ADE 01 12
1968-04-05 Lady Madonna A-8293 PER 09 12
1968-04-10 Lady Madonna/The Inner Light A-8293 AUS 01 13
1968-09-21 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 BRI 01 15
1968-09-20 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 SYD 01 30
1968-09-21 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 MEL 01 31
1968-09-25 Hey Jude A-8493 HOB 01 23
1968-09-14 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 ADE 01 26
1968-09-27 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 PER 01 21
1968-10-02 Hey Jude/Revolution A-8493 AUS 01 28
1969-03-01 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps A-8693 BRI 01 11
1969-02-07 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps A-8693 SYD 01 24
1969-03-01 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da A-8693 MEL 02 20
1969-01-22 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da A-8693 HOB 01 20
1969-01-18 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps A-8693 ADE 01 19
1969-02-21 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da A-8693 PER 01 12
1969-03-05 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da/While My Guitar Gently Weeps A-8693 AUS 01 19
1969-05-10 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 BRI 01 15
1969-05-09 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 SYD 01 16
1969-05-10 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 MEL 01 18
1969-05-14 Get Back A-8763 HOB 01 13
1969-05-09 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 ADE 01 12
1969-05-16 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 PER 01 16
1969-05-24 Get Back/Don't Let Me Down A-8763 AUS 01 16
1969-06-21 The Ballad Of John And Yoko A-8793 BRI 01 12
1969-06-27 The Ballad Of John And Yoko/Old Brown Shoe A-8793 SYD 01 14
1969-06-21 The Ballad Of John And Yoko A-8793 MEL 01 17
1969-06-18 The Ballad Of John And Yoko A-8793 HOB 01 12
1969-07-04 The Ballad Of John And Yoko A-8793 ADE 02 11
1969-06-27 The Ballad Of John And Yoko A-8793 PER 01 12
1969-07-05 The Ballad Of John And Yoko/Old Brown Shoe A-8793 AUS 01 13
1969-10-25 Something/Come Together A-8943 BRI 02 13
1969-10-24 Something/Come Together A-8943 SYD 01 19
1969-10-25 Something/Come Together A-8943 MEL 02 20
1969-10-29 Something/Come Together A-8943 HOB 04 12
1969-10-24 Something/Come Together A-8943 ADE 01 17
1969-11-07 Come Together/Something A-8943 PER 01 14
1969-11-08 Something/Come Together A-8943 AUS 01 19
1970-03-14 Let It Be A-9083 BRI 02 10
1970-03-20 Let It Be A-9083 SYD 01 29
1970-03-21 Let It Be A-9083 MEL 01 29
1970-03-18 Let It Be A-9083 HOB 02 14
1970-03-20 Let It Be A-9083 ADE 01 10
1970-03-20 Let It Be A-9083 PER 01 33
1970-04-04 Let It Be A-9083 AUS 01 32
1970-06-19 The Long And Winding Road A-9163 SYD 04 22
1970-07-04 The Long And Winding Road A-9163 MEL 06 13
1970-07-01 The Long And Winding Road A-9163 HOB 06 09
1970-09-11 The Long And Winding Road A-9163 ADE 32 12
1970-06-26 The Long And Winding Road A-9163 PER 02 22
1970-07-04 The Long And Winding Road/For You Blue A-9163 AUS 06 22
1976-06-04 Yesterday A-11115 ADE 30 04
1976-09-09 Got To Get You Into My Life A-11182 BRI 34 02
1982-05-28 Beatles Movie Medley A-689 BRI 38 02
1982-04-30 Beatles Movie Medley A-689 SYD 20 08
1982-05-07 Beatles Movie Medley A-689 PER 29 06
1986-12-01 Twist And Shout A-1875 BRI 10 11
1986-12-12 Twist And Shout A-1875 SYD 59 06
1986-11-28 Twist And Shout A-1875 PER 25 10