From Britney Spears to Madonna: Radio playlists are going back to pop’s golden era

They’re the songs that make you want to dance. Now, radio station NOVA has added a new show to celebrate the best songs from years gone by.

Remember when “golden oldies” meant the classic hits of the 50s and 60?

Now it’s the throwback, with playlists dedicated to the hits of the 80s, 90s, and even the 00s, flooding radio airwaves and streaming platforms.

The NOVA Network launched their Throwback Thursday programming in late April as work-from-home listeners got a craving for nostalgia and Spotify reported a 54 per cent in retro playlists with songs from the 50s to 80s.

Increased spins and streams of not-so-guilty pleasures have pushed throwbacks back into the Music Network’s Hot 100 Airplay chart over the past couple of months.

I want it that way! Backstreet Boys are a hit with listeners. Picture: Live Nation

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Among the most played have been 80s anthems Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears and Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me), 90s pop gems Dreams by The Cranberries, Baby One More Time by Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way, and 00s “classics” including Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling, The Killers’ Mr Brightside and King of Leon’s Sex On Fire.

Even Adele’s Rolling In The Deeps sneaks onto the retro playlists despite being only 10 years old.

Even Adele’s 2010 hit Rolling In The Deep is considered an “oldie” now. Picture: Getty Images

The radio network will boost their musical nostalgia trip on Fridays, partnering with wildly popular “time-travelling” DJ Tom Loud for the Hot Dub Time Machine with NOVA set.

Loud’s show chronically rocks through the decades and has grown beyond sold-out theatre tours to the world’s biggest festivals and his Hot Dub Wine Machine tour of Australian vineyards.

NOVA Entertainment Chief Programming and Marketing Officer Paul Jackson said a downturn in new pop releases and switch in listening behaviour to favour throwbacks has motivated the programming shift.

And it’s happening across all demographics, not just the traditional listeners of golden oldies stations.

Hot Dub Time Machine's Tom Loud will bring his show NOVA radio.

“At the moment, the demand is switching towards nostalgia. Younger people who go to the Hot Dub shows want to hear the throwbacks and so do their parents,” Jackson said.

“We’ve seen up upswing in pop songs from the 80s on playlists and we’re seeing audience crossover between NOVA and Smooth stations.”

The nostalgia trend is also influencing new releases. Australian DJ Flume just released a remix of Blue, the inescapable 1998 hit by Italian act Eiffel 65.

“And Kygo has just remade What’s Love Got To Do With It with Tina Turner,” Jackson said.

“This could be a moment in time because of lockdowns and you could find people will want more new music as we head towards summer.

“But now they want the comfort stuff much more.”

Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire is back on the Hot Airplay charts. Picture: Supplied.

Even alternative music fans are indulging their nostalgia cravings as evidenced by the bonkers selections which made it to air during Triple J’s Requestival in May. You could never have predicted hearing everything from Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams to Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights on the youth network.

Here’s a taste of what you will hear during Hot Dub Time Machine at midday on NOVA.

CLASSIC HITS
Superstition – Stevie Wonder 1971

September – Earth, Wind & Fire – 1978

Another One Bites The Dust – Queen – 1980

Like a Prayer – Madonna – 1989

Backstreet’s Back – Backstreet Boys – 1997

No Scrubs – TLC – 1999

Murder on the Dance Floor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – 2001

Low Low Low – Flo-Rida – 2008

Rolling in the Deep – Adele – 2010

Blinding Lights – The Weeknd – 2020

Originally published as From Britney Spears to Madonna: Radio playlists are going back to pop’s golden era