Now normally I'm not the biggest fan of country music, in fact when it comes to either loving or hating the genre, I'm more towards the hate camp even if I don't hate a lot of country songs out there. With that said, I have to say that I adore this collaboration between Kenny and Dolly, the two have amazing chemistry and it rightfully allowed the song to linger on the charts for quite some time here in Australia.
Yep, this comedy routine wound up being the biggest hit single of the year in Australia. Bear in mind this was back in the day where comedy tracks were considered to be singles and thus were able to chart along the likes of everything else that will appear on this list. As for Austen Tayshus himself, this was the only notable success he managed to achieve throughout his career as far as the Australian charts are concerned.
One of the more divisive films to be released this decade was Flashdance, mainly because people feel that while the imagery is striking even for its time, there isn't much of a story to it which makes the film feel meandering at times (I disagree but can see where people are coming from.) One thing many people will agree with is how amazing the theme song is, so much so it was the second academy award that Irene Cara won this decade after her theme to Fame.
This was the only noticeable success that Dexy's midnight runners had outside of their native UK (unfortunately "Geno" didn't find success elsewhere despite it topping their charts) although I would've been dumbfounded if I found out this song failed back in the day due to how incessantly catchy it is as well as the Celtic instrumentation fitting in well with the surprising rise in popularity Celtic music was receiving at the time.
If there was one band who promoted the idea of diversity in the mainstream better than anyone else in the music industry, Culture club would be that band as everything about them (right down to their inception as a band) was built for the purpose of making the world a better place through acceptance of other people. It helps that the music throughout their discography was generally fun like their biggest hit.
One of the more poignant films of the decade was An officer and a gentleman, mainly because it depicts the blooming romance of a renegade navy soldier and a working-class woman who both bring out the best in each other. To highlight this steaming romance, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes were commissioned to record this duet which played over the ending scene of the film and led to it winning an academy award.
This was a massive success for Laura Branigan this year, likely due to how unique and powerful her vocals were but also for the lyrics which seem to depict a vein woman by the name of Gloria and the narrator calling out how her vanity has alienated her from anyone wanting to do anything with her.
This was the E.P that spawned Australian crawl's most popular hit single "Reckless," a song that earned that title due to it being one of the very few where audiences don't have a problem understanding what James is saying throughout the track's runtime. The success of this E.P allowed the band to have moderate crossover success in NZ.
Well, I think we all need to spare a thought for Bob Marley with this entry, he only managed to achieve one hit single in Australia during his lifetime with "Is this love" and yet these kids from London England managed to score a hit here twice as popular as that classic with a similar subject matter to his usual topics of weed culture, sometimes life isn't fair for certain people.
It's easy to forget that this wasn't the lead single to MJ's album Thriller, no that honour goes to the critically panned "The girl is mine" which was a modest success due to it being a collaboration with Paul McCartney. I'm guessing this wasn't the lead single due to its subject matter, one that seems oddly more relevant since its initial release given the multiple accusations levied against him.
Lionel admitted himself back in the day that his first solo album was made to appease his fanbase from when he was a part of the Commodores, this was to ease them into the change in music direction that he wanted to make in his career which resulted in his magnum opus Can't slow down and this lead single of his. It's a party jam that's since become a staple of parties since its initial release.
If you're a fan of this collaboration between Bonnie Tyler and Jim Steinman (yes, this was originally meant for Meat loaf) then do yourself a favour and don't check out the music video for this classic as it will ruin any and all fond memories you have of it. That out of the way, we have this comeback single for Bonnie who briefly went MIA following the success of "It's a heartache" due to issues she had with her previous management.
If you thought that artists fighting for aboriginal rights is a recent phenomenon, then allow me to introduce you to Goanna who were fighting the good fight four years prior to when Midnight oil gave the marginalised group their voice with Diesel and dust. Here they are with their one and only hit in Australia which admittedly led to them having a highly successful album before they sadly faded into obscurity.
This was the debut single for Culture club, a band who would become synonymous with wanting to creature racial harmony around the world with their instantly catchy music and charming personalities. They were off to a good start with this song as it conquered the world charts with its quirky video which details some of the discrimination people like Boy George have experienced over the years.
This was the second collaboration that MJ made with Paul McCartney, and one that's been better received over the years as evidence by how much bigger the song was compared to their first collaboration from the previous year. This would be the last collaboration the two men would make as MJ would infamously buy up the back catalogue for Paul's music which put an end to their friendship.
Hey, remember when censorship was considered a bad thing in the Mainstream media? Here we have the Clash scoring their biggest hit with a song that was critical of censorship in the middle east, complete with a video that.... OK I guess they went a little too far with pushing the boundaries of good taste with that. In any case, this proved to be a huge success for the band including in America.
Well, I think I found the reason as to why Julio Iglesias was able to score massive success the following year with his first English album, we have Renee and Renato who were a UK based duo singing a song that you'd expect in an old Dezi Arnaz film that became a surprise hit in Australia and throughout Europe.
So disco wasn't dead quite yet as KC and the Sunshine band were able to achieve massive worldwide success with this track that has since gone down as one of their most memorable in their catalogue. This was a surprise success over in the UK which allowed it to become an international success before it finally became a moderate success in their native America, proving that even they weren't above disco at this stage.
The Bee gees are here to save the day once again as they were able to resurrect the dying career of Dionne Warwick by giving her this ballad to sing which allowed it to become a huge success throughout Europe and here in Australia. The last time Dionne had any success here was back in 1964 when "Anyone who had a heart" first broke her through onto the scene, and indeed this wouldn't be the last time we hear from her.
How is it that a song whose lyrics suggest that it's a stalking anthem can come off as one of the most beautiful songs to ever become a success? That's the power of this trio's instrumentation and Sting's vocals and a large reason as to why his songwriting has been given a pass by audiences whenever they find themselves listening to one of their songs. This was their biggest hit in America and the UK due to how timeless if feels even to this day.
This was a huge success for Billy Joel despite it being the second single from one of his albums, normally if an album of his already spawned a hit single from it he then wouldn't score another hit except in the UK this was the lead single to An innocent man rather than "Tell her about it" which led to it becoming his biggest hit there. I'm guessing the Brits wanted to hear his love letter to Christine Brinkley that he turned into this song.
This was the E.P that contained "Twisting by the pool," a song people feel divided on as they're unsure if it's meant to be an homage or parody to the surf rock trends of the early 60's. I personally don't care either way as Dire straits looking back with nostalgia on an older genre is still awesome in my book and it appears audiences of the day agreed as this was a huge success for them.
This was the only hit single for the former wife of Mondo rock lead vocalist Ross Wilson, although he does contribute backing vocals to this track which even at the time received backlash for its admittedly weird production gimmick. This gimmick was to highlight the cool editing of the video where it jump cuts in syncopation to each beat on each chorus which I think is really cool.
This was the only success that Redgum had throughout their career, to think this was a bonus track from their live album Caught in the act which in turn helped the album also become a success for the band here. If you couldn't tell from the cover art, this song tells an emotional story about how the narrator was drafted in the Vietnam war at age nineteen and all of the horrors he went through during his draft.
Although they had buzz earlier in the decade and even appeared on Countdown two years prior, this was the first hit single that UB40 had in Australia as the band do a reggae cover of an old Neil Diamond track that connected with audiences at the time. The real interesting story about this song is how it got big in America, namely that it took five years after it was a hit worldwide to finally top the Billboard charts.
This was the third single to come from Thriller, and perhaps the song on the album which officially broke down the barrier's musicians of colour had in the mainstream up until this point as it features a killer guitar solo from Eddie Van Halen in order to bring in the rock crowd. The music video is another masterpiece as is the one from his earlier entry on this list, but that's of course a given.
It was as if they never broke up in the first place, oh yeah Dragon had broken up back in the late 70's to allow lead singer Marc Hunter to pursue a solo career that brought him no success. In any case, we have the first hit of their since they reformed and it was as if they had released it immediately after their last big hit "Are you old enough," that's how much fans loved these guys but disliked Marc's solo career.
This was the debut single from Pseudo echo, a song that features their trademark synth heavy production that had little trouble finding an audience back in the day throughout the decade. There's an earlier version of this track that I prefer which strips back the production in favour of a catchy melody as well as putting emphasis on the lyrics were indeed about a couple's failure to communicate.
This was a surprise hit for Toto coelo in America, I bring this up because they were a British band who failed in their native UK and yet they saw moderate success in America by altering their name to Total Coelo (likely to avoid confusion with Toto.) This allowed the band to find success here with a song that is indeed about eating cannibals.
I was surprised that this was released before the year 1999 as I do vaguely remember hearing this track when I was seven years old which just happens to be in the year 1999. In any case, Prince scored his first breakthrough hit in most parts of the world a good sixteen years prior to when the song in question was meant to take place, although with how charismatic he is on this track, does anyone really care about when it came out?
This was the first of two highly successful covers of track from Diana Ross and the Supremes this decade, the other coming from Kim Wilde with her rendition of "You keep me hanging on" later in the decade. Much like her cover, Phil's rendition of this track proved to be more successful than the original outside of America, suggesting that the Brits were trying to atone for sleeping on her music back in the day.
If this sounds like it belongs in the 60's to you, that's because this is a cover of an obscure 60's track from Shirley Ellis that the Belle stars somehow knew about when this became a hit for them in Australia. Naturally this wasn't their big hit in their native UK as that honour went to "Sign of the times," a track that has no relation to the Prince song of the same name.
This was the title track to David Bowie's most successful album in his catalogue, although curiously this didn't hit number one in Australia despite A: it being a massive chart topper everywhere else in the world and B: the video being filmed throughout Sydney. Even though it didn't top our charts, it did become a massive hit for Bowie down under.
I haven't seen Two of a kind, although judging by the lyrics from Livie's final hit single anywhere in the world (that wasn't a mashup of her earlier work) it seems like quite the film as there's a theme about being back from the dead on this track. Her rare foray into rock music paid off as it became one of her most well-known songs in her catalogue, although as I said, this would be the last relevant hit in her career.
There was a bit of a stumble for David Bowie during the album cycle for Let's dance, that being "China girl" underperforming on our charts and thus being unable to appear on this list. Fortunately, he recovered with the third single (fourth if you count "Cat people" from the previous year) which helped him retain his popularity thanks to how catchy it is and how charismatic his performance is.
People tend to think that this is a silly reggae track about partying at a club named electric avenue, they couldn't be more wrong as this is in fact a protest song about starting a riot on a street where a police brutality took place and then taking it to a higher authority to see justice for the victims. This was the only hit that Eddy Grant had in Australia and in America, however he had a ton of success in his native UK.
This was the only hit that Men without hats scored outside of their native Canada, although they would retain their popularity in their homeland throughout the decade which was a rare feat for Canadian artists who saw international success this decade. In any case we have this novelty track that was written in response to people dancing aggressively at one of their shows which turned the show into a disaster.
This was the lead single to Duran Duran's third album, an album that was all set to flop likely due to the band feeling overexposed by this point with their flashy music videos but was rescued the following year when "The reflex" became their biggest hit in America and their native UK. Indeed, that song has long since overshadowed this lead single despite this being their bigger hit here in Australia.
Much like the rest of the world, we Aussies didn't realise the beauty of this track from Toto's fourth album until the album won album of the year at the Grammys, I think NZ was the only country in the world that made this a hit upon its initial release which is something they can absolutely brag about. This sadly proved to be their last hit as their subsequent albums flopped around the world.
Depending on where in the world you're from, this is either the lead or second single from Elton John's comeback album with Bernie Taupin this year. It was the lead single here due to it being the perfect song for Elton to return to his former roots from the 70's, this allowing it to become one of the biggest hits of the decade in his career and one that cemented his relationship with Bernie as a permanent one.
This was the first of three duets that Peabo Bryson managed to score success with worldwide, although it's also the only one of his duets that wasn't attached to a Disney property meaning this was made out of passion rather than accepting a commission from the house of mouse. Here he teams up with Roberta Flack a good decade after her final hit "Killing me softly with his song" where it became a huge hit throughout Europe.
This was the only hit that Joan Armatrading was able to achieve throughout her career, although it's worth noting that she was one of the most successful artists of her day if we were measuring her success with her albums sales even though The key was her only album to be a massive success here in Australia. Given how often this plays on oldies stations, I think it's safe to say that this song has resonated with audiences since its initial release.
This was one of the more popular bands to emerge from Countdown during the 80's, mainly because despite this not being among the bigger hits of the year down under, it became a huge success in NZ and even decently successful throughout Europe for the band likely due to audiences mistaking them for Icehouse. This would eventually receive a popular remix by the end of the decade just as the band called it quits.
While this wasn't the only hit that Daryl Hall and John Oates scored in Australia back in the day, it was by far their biggest hit thanks to a memorable performance of the track on Countdown as well as the lyrics which detail a money hungry gold digger that the audience should look out for. This was a success here slightly before it was as such anywhere else in the world, proving how much we loved these guys.
So, we're all familiar with the story of Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, right? Well Men at work decided to make a song about the story only to switch it around so that it's Dr Heckyll and Mr. jive which as you can guess, is about a mad scientist and a rock star split personality similar to the Jerry Lewis flick the Nutty professor. This proved to be a winning formula for the band as it became a success from their second album.
This was the only hit that the British freestyle band Freeez was able to achieve outside their native UK, although like many British bands this decade, they did have a couple of minor hits in their homeland that simply didn't rise up to the standards of those songs that did make it big internationally. Here they succeeded thanks to a killer synth riff as well as the falsetto in the vocals that rival that of early George Michael.
Technically the first solo hit to come from Lionel Richie was his duet with Diana Ross from two years prior, however this lead single from his solo debut was the first hit he had completely on his own which sounds like something he would've made with the Commodores during his time with the band. Apparently, this was a calculated move to help ease fans into the music he wanted to make.
Well, this might be a depressing fact if you're a fan of Marvin Gaye, that being this was his only hit in Australia and NZ during his lifetime given how he was unfairly ignored in the southern hemisphere for some reason. The more depressing fact is this became a hit a little over a year prior to his untimely death, meaning there was a good chance he would go on to massive success this decade if he lived through it.
This is where it all began for Wham, a British duo who would go on to have massive success this decade thanks to the charisma of its two members George Michael and Andrew Ridgely. If you're wondering why their debut album didn't crossover in America, it's likely due to it featuring a ton of rapping from George as he wanted to make music that he felt would cater to an American market.
Although he's best known for his ballad "Lady in red" from three years later, this was the first hit that Chris De Burgh achieved in most parts of the world which is about as far away as you can get from his bigger hit in terms of sound and tone. Instead of a lightweight ballad about love, we have a borderline angry track about not paying for a service until the service is delivered to one's satisfaction.
This was originally a showtune from the 30's film of the same name, it was made famous by Gene Kelly's rendition which has endured over the years for good reason. Over fifty years later, we have Taco's rendition which helped the Indonesian born German star find international success with the track, although it cemented him as a one hit wonder due to how indicative of the times it was.
This was the lead single to Culture club's second album Colour by numbers, a common misconception is that "Karma chameleon" was the lead single to that album likely due to it being their signature track. It turns out it was this song that the band chose to lead their sophomore album with likely due to it sounding similar to a Human league song we'll get to in a bit with the harmonica and melody of the track.
This was the debut single from Kids in the kitchen, an Australian new wave band who had an interesting album cycle for their debut album as it went for nearly two years before they finally released it in 1985. I guess this was to make it a success which it did to an extent, it wasn't among the biggest albums of the decade here, but it was a huge commercial success thanks to their brand of alternative new wave.
It's strange to think that this was the biggest hit from the Reels and not one of their fan favourites like "Quasimodo's dream," then again, I guess we Aussies would've been nostalgic for the Herb Alpert classic they covered which would explain why it was a huge success for them right when MTV launched.
This was the only hit that Michael Sembello was able to score throughout his career, to think this was originally written as a horror song before he had to rework it as a theme to Flashdance. I guess he didn't do much to the song as the lyrics do seem to describe a serial killer more than a dancer working at a seedy night club, although I'm guessing that's why it's endured over the years like the film itself.
Even though this was the second single from Too low for zero in Australia, it proved to be a massive success for Elton John like it was the first single from the album due to how much we celebrated his reunion with Bernie Taupin on the album. While his earlier entry on this list was meant to be a celebration for his comeback, here it's a return to form as he brings Bernie's lyrics to life like it was made ten years prior.
This was the advanced single from the Pretender's third album, an album which wouldn't come out for over a year after hits songs release due to the behind-the-scenes drama they had with each other. You wouldn't know that from listening to this track as they seem to be well synchronised with each other, the band members grunting to give off the impression that they are working on a jail chain link.
While this wasn't the debut single from Annie and Dave (heck they saw success earlier in the decade as members of the Tourists) this was the song that made them a household name worldwide due to how hypnotic the song remains to this day. Many songs have tried to replicate its success of blending trance with new wave to little success, mainly because they come off as lazy whereas this comes off as endearing.
This was released as a bonus track on the American issue of Duran Duran's debut album, as such it became a massive worldwide success as fans discovered that the band had more to offer them than what was already available at the time. Interestingly they didn't film a flashy music video for this song, presumably to help audiences understand they didn't always have the budget to do so.
This was the first solo hit that Tim Finn released, although it was his only solo hit in Australia despite him having multiple other hits by himself in his native NZ over the years. I'm guessing this was released to ease the blow that Split Enz were considering calling it quits around this time, indeed that's exactly what happened the following year when they broke up due to creative differences between them.
Well, this is a song that's bound to get stuck in your head after repeated listens, Haysi fantayzee scored their one and only hit with this psychedelia throwback both in Australia and their native UK before calling it quits for some reason. They even performed this on Countdown mere months before they broke up, so I'm not sure why they gave up on their careers so quickly.
Well, here we are with the only song that Donna Summer managed to score on her own with a female empowerment anthem, although admittedly I would've been dumbstruck if this had of failed here like it did in some countries considering how much sympathy she allows for the protagonist of this song. She wants to reassure listeners that women give their dues to society, and she does it in a very humanising way.
This was originally a hit for Sandie Shaw back in the 60's, although it never managed to crossover to Australia until Naked eyes made it their own this year likely due to their version adding church bells to the mix which adds to the drama of the lyrics as well as complimenting the music video which further adds drama to the song. This was their only hit worldwide, although Rob Fisher would return later in the decade as Climie Fisher.
While this was a hit for Blancmange in their native UK, there wasn't any indication that it would crossover to Australia given how it was far from the most popular song to come out when it did. I'm guessing we Aussies gravitated towards this track due to the middle eastern style of the melody as well as the admittedly funny lyrics about how this person is driving the singer insane in their relationship.
This was the only hit that Supertramp were able to score here in Australia, it makes sense because it's by far their catchiest song and it's about how the narrator is losing a friend and how it makes him feel like there's rainy weather to come from the fall out. This helped them survive into the MTV era longer than many of their contemporaries who struggled for success once the program launched in 1981.
This was the big hit off of Icehouse's second album Primitive man, so much so that it was chosen as the lead single for their international release where it became a minor hit in the UK for them. This would be their last hit in Australia and NZ until their comeback album Man of colours, mainly due to them experimenting with their sound throughout the midpoint of the 80's to varying results.
This was the third and final single to be released from Spandau Ballet's third album True, although one would think that the title track would be the big hit from the album when in fact it was this song at least in Australia (stay tuned for the title track in a bit.) I'm guessing we Aussies were more interested in this upbeat track about comparing the love Tony Hadley has to his partner with that of literal gold.
This was the first big hit that Billy Idol had in Australia, although he did see minor success with his solo debut "Hot in the city" coming into the year which likely boosted the success of this classic of his. Apparently, this is meant to be a criticism of a traditional white wedding, likely due to this being released just after Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles which was described as a fairytale wedding.
There were two versions of this song floating around the charts this year, there's the English cover from British band After the fire which was a bit hit in America and the original from Austrian rapper Falco who scored the bigger international hit. I guess we Aussies had brushed up on our German throughout the decade as there were a few German language songs to make it big throughout the 80's here.
Here's that song from the Human league that I and many others reckon Culture club built their lead single off Colour by numbers off from earlier on this list, I swear the melody to both of these tracks seem identical to me the more I listen to both songs. This was one of two hits the band had this year from their E.P Fascination, an E.P that flopped here despite it producing two of the band's bigger hits.
Although this did take a while to become a hit here in Australia, at least it eventually became as such on its initial release unlike the rest of the world where the girls needed to find success with their next album Break out in order for this to be a success. This is one of the most upbeat songs in their catalogue as well as the most sexually suggestive which is likely why it won us Aussies over initially.
It took him nine years, but Mike Oldfield was finally able to score a second hit in his career in Australia following the success of his Exorcist theme from 1973. Here he recruits Maggie Reilly to provide vocals for this song about a friend of his who died from a drug overdose; indeed, Maggie gives a compelling performance which no doubt tugged at the heartstrings of many listeners back in the day.
This was the title track to by far the most popular album that Spandau Ballet released in their career, in fact this is easily their most recognisable song in their discography for a two of reasons. First off, it's widely regarded as having some of the worst lyrics in a song, I personally disagree as even back then there were some pretty awful lines that make these look professionally written in comparison. Secondly this was sampled in P.M Dawn's big hit "Set adrift on memory bliss" in 1991.
This song was released here in Australia when Laura Branigan performed it and her earlier entry on Countdown this year, so it was a shoe in for being a huge hit for her down under. Australia was where she was the most successful because of her appeal this year, that appeal comes from her killer vocals as well as her songs mostly being covers of foreign language tracks made popular throughout Europe.
This was the only success that Carl Carlton was able to have in his career, he's a musician of colour who was perhaps a little late to the party when it came to 70's soul as this only became a success here in Australia due to how inescapable the likes of MJ and Prince were throughout the year.
This was the lead single from Cargo in America, as such it's the reason why it was the big hit in America as opposed to their earlier entry which was a massive flop for the band on Billboard. The success of the song here in Australia was inevitable as the band were still on top of the world as far as we Aussies were concerned this year, although aside from "Down under" recharting this year, it would be their final hit.
This is a song that's so awesome that people will claim that it became a hit twice this year, the second being Stevie Nicks track "Stand back" which was reportedly inspired by this second single from Prince's album 1999. I feel this is the song where his lyrics start to become their most poetic which is one of the strongest points of his appeal over the years and a reason as to why so many people have covered his music.
I feel the title of this track tells you everything you need to know about it, it's a novelty track about absolutely nothing made by a man who was likely just as surprised by its success as everyone else was back in the day. It was a massive hit in his native NZ early in the year and a big hit over here in Australia as well.
You'd think that this would be a fast-paced RNB jam judging by the name of the band who made it as well as the name of the song, instead we have a smooth RNB jam that wouldn't have felt out of place on the Saturday night fever soundtrack making it big this far into the 80's. This was their only hit back in the day, and sadly Fat Larry would pass away later in the decade putting an end to their time together.
This was the lead single to Billy Joel's biggest album An innocent man everywhere in the world except for the UK where his earlier entry was the lead single, indeed this was his second Billboard chart topper due to how instantly popular it was in his native America which prompted its success here in Australia. The album has a doo wop revival to it which explains why it's so bouncy even after all these years.
This is a song that I feel has too much brass in it (or rather synthesisers pretending that they're brass) as a result I feel that the song is a bit too annoying for my liking which puts me in the minority as this remains one of the band's most iconic songs to this day. This would be their last hit in Australia as their second Billboard chart topper "Human" would flop here, possibly due to the band being reduced to a trio by that point.
This needed two attempts to become a hit here in Australia as it was released towards the start of the year to deafening silence for the French pop star FR David. I'm not sure what allowed us Aussies to change our mind about this track other than it being a catchy number and its success throughout Europe.
This has to be one of the most incessantly catchy songs to become a hit throughout the 80's, this is due to the charismatic performance of Limahl as well as the instrumentation that his band Kajagoogoo (man what a stupid band name) provided for him on this track. For whatever reason, this wasn't that big of a hit here in Australia which is why it appears much lower on this list than you would otherwise expect.
This was a song that was released exclusively in Australia, it interrupted the album cycle as "Kiss the bride" was always meant to be the third single from Too low for zero but was pushed back to the following year where it flopped due to everyone owning the album by that point. I guess this was his way of thanking us for keeping his popularity alive during the years Bernie Taupin was absent from his career.
There were quite a few Irish tracks to make it big during the first half of the decade in Australia, one of the more popular ballads was this track about how the narrator of the song reminisces about knowing someone from when they were sixteen years old. I feel this song gets right what "My eyes adored you" and especially "You're sixteen" gets wrong, reminiscing about someone from when they were younger without coming off as creepy.
There was a popular British drama series known as Minder that ran throughout most of the 80's, it came with a theme sung by its star Dennis Waterman that needed several attempts to find success worldwide on the singles chart. This was the fourth attempt to have this be a hit here in Australia, becoming as such two years after it succeeded in NZ and his native UK.
This was the breakthrough single for New order, a band who serves as a sequel act to Joy division following the death of that bands lead vocalist Ian Curtis. Curiously, this song became the biggest hit of the decade over in NZ due to its refusal to die on their charts, I know this song has a diehard fanbase, but I didn't realise it consisted of the majority of the general public of NZ from around this time.
There were no signs of Wham slowing down here in Australia as this third single from their debut album Fantastic managed to be a huge hit for them here, this even somewhat made up for the dip in success that "Wham rap" had for them (don't worry it's still to come on this list) which just proves that their brand of hip hop was somewhat divisive amongst us Aussies back in the day.
This was the debut single for Paul Young (not to be confused with Australia's John Paul Young) it was a cover of a Marvin Gaye song which technically means the Motown icon had two hits in Australia this year. In any case, Paul would score a second hit here the following year with his Christmas track "Love of the common people" which in turn would allow his album to be a success here.
This was originally recorded by Bob Seger for his 1978 album Stranger in town, it wasn't a hit anywhere, but it remains popular on oldies stations to this day. This year Kenny Rogers decided to turn the ballad into a duet with Sheena Easton of all people where it became a huge hit for the two of them, I'm guessing due to audiences finding chemistry between the aging country star and Scottish diva.
I guess these kids were meant to be the 80's equivalent of the Jackson 5 as they began their career with something similar to the likes of "ABC" or "I want you back" with this track. This was a massive flop in their native America; however, it became a surprise hit for them in the UK which allowed it to become a hit everywhere else in the world. They did eventually find success in their homeland later in the decade.
This was the final hit single that Rod Stewart was able to achieve in Australia throughout the 80's, mainly because it was a chart topper for him in his native UK likely due to him experimenting with new wave with this track. Indeed, he wouldn't trouble the charts again until the early 90's where he returned to his adult contemporary sound that he scored massive success with throughout the 70's.
This was the second single to come from Culture club, although curiously it wasn't included on their debut album which is odd because the song was a huge success for them even over in America. It was eventually included on later issues of the album, although by that stage the band had well and truly broken up due to all of the drama they would find themselves in over the decade.
While this wasn't their debut single or even the lead single from their biggest album, this was the song which made Midnight oil a household name given how we Aussies connected with the lyrics about how the political system was corrupt at the time (unfortunately it's always been corrupt here in Australia.) This was a bigger hit in NZ given how it was the lead single to their album over there.
Well, I hope you're in the mood for more rapping from George Michael as the second single in his career was a song dedicated to how skilled he is as an MC which proved to be a huge hit for the duo this year. The pair would have two more hits in their native UK this year, proving how well loved their style of hip hop was at the time.
I'm a bit surprised to see this so low on the list given how much oldies stations love to reminisce on these guys, I guess we Aussies did pass up on their singles in favour of their albums which all did fairly well back in the day. Although they would have to wait a whole decade before they reached their peak in popularity, they managed to retain their popularity down under until that happened.
Celtic music might not have reached its peak until the Riverdance craze of the 90's, however it did see a massive spike in popularity around this time which no doubt led to Foster and Allen scoring a hit with this ballad dedicated to a Maggie in their lives. The success it had in Australia led to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ.
If this song sounds familiar to you, that's because it's a song from Goanna made under a pseudonym as this is a protest song about the Franklin River and how it was against a damn being built on it. It was a modest success this year and often cited as what stopped the production of said damn being built, proving that protest music can lead to positive change when tackled in a respectful manner.
This took its time in finding success here in Australia, mainly because it was already a huge hit in NZ and the duo's native UK the previous year and it was an Irish pub rock track from the duo during a time which we Aussies were into this sort of music. I guess it didn't have the flashy imagery that had taken over MTV and as such had to work our way into our playlists while were we at the pub.
While this was far from the first song that these guys released in their discography, it was the song that put them on the map as it became a modest success for them this year. This is more in line with their earlier sound as their later hits in the decade was more pop friendly, although they were also more successful which is perhaps why this wasn't as big as the likes of "Barbados" or "Out of mind out of sight."
I did mention on the previous list that Greg Kihn managed to achieve a second hit here in Australia with this song, although it was far less successful than "The breakup song" which is why you don't hear it as much on oldies stations as that classic. Still, this was a sign that him and his band would survive in the MTV era even if this was the last anyone would hear from them.
Remember that scene in the Blues brothers where Jake and Elwood are singing that country song in the cowboy bar? It turns out that this Scottish band decided to make it their own this year which led to it becoming a surprise hit for them here in Australia. I can't say for certain, however I get the feeling this is what led to the success of the Blues brothers soundtrack this year.
This is the most recent entry from ELO I'll be featuring on this site, admittedly most people likely don't realise they released anything in the MTV era given how many of their retrospectives online stop with their album Time from two years prior. That said, we Aussies had just enough love for their work to give them one final hit this far into the MTV era.
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