Artist · chart history
Birds of Tokyo
Band Perth Australia Formed 2004
Birds of Tokyo formed in 2004 in Perth, Australia. Birds of Tokyo has 14 chart appearances on 10 radio countdowns from 4 stations on RockLists, spanning 2007–2016. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Lanterns”, which appears on 4 lists with a best position of #22. The station that charted Birds of Tokyo most often is Triple J (Australia (national)), with 11 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2008.
Birds of Tokyo came out of Perth in 2004 with Ian Kenny on lead vocals, Adam Spark on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, Adam Weston on drums and percussion, Anthony Jackson on bass and Miki Cee on guitar, and they play alternative rock that goes for the big sky rather than the mosh pit: swelling guitars, heavy drums, choruses built for singing along.
Day One, in 2007, got them going with "Wayside", reaching number three on the independent album chart and hanging around its top ten for 36 straight weeks. Universes followed in 2008 with "Broken Bones", "Silhouettic" and "Wild Eyed Boy" and made number three on the ARIA Albums Chart. The self-titled 2010 album was the leap: it peaked at number two, spent more than eight months in the national top 20, went double platinum and won the ARIA Award for Best Rock Album. "Plans" was the breakthrough, all slow-burn yearning, and "Wild at Heart" went to number one on national airplay and won the band an APRA Award.
March Fires, in 2013, gave them their first number-one album, carried by "This Fire" and "Lanterns", the triple-platinum anthem that Australian radio played more than any other song through the first half of that year. Brace followed in 2016, and Human Design in 2020 went to the top as well.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Birds of Tokyo on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lanterns | 4 | #22 | – | 2014 | |
| 2 | Plans | 1 | #4 | – | 2010 | |
| 3 | Broken Bones | 1 | #20 | – | 2008 | |
| 4 | Silhouettic | 1 | #22 | – | 2008 | |
| 5 | Wild at Heart | 1 | #47 | – | 2010 | |
| 6 | This Fire | 1 | #51 | – | 2012 | |
| 7 | Wild Eyed Boy | 1 | #51 | – | 2008 | |
| 8 | Wayside | 1 | #61 | – | 2007 | |
| 9 | Anchor | 1 | #72 | – | 2015 | |
| 10 | The Saddest Thing I Know | 1 | #87 | – | 2010 | |
| 11 | Brace | 1 | #100 | – | 2016 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 100 | Brace | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2016 |
| 2015 | 72 | Anchor | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015 |
| 2014 | 32 | Lanterns | Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2014 |
| 2014 | 89 | Lanterns | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2014 |
| 2014 | 93 | Lanterns | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2014 |
| 2013 | 22 | Lanterns | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2013 |
| 2012 | 51 | This Fire | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2012 |
| 2010 | 4 | Plans | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 |
| 2010 | 47 | Wild at Heart | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 |
| 2010 | 87 | The Saddest Thing I Know | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 |
| 2008 | 20 | Broken Bones | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008 |
| 2008 | 22 | Silhouettic | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008 |
| 2008 | 51 | Wild Eyed Boy | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008 |
| 2007 | 61 | Wayside | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007 |
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