There was a lot of controversy surrounding this theme song to the comedy classic Ghostbusters, namely that Ray Parker jr stole the melody from Huey Lewis and the News "I want a new drug" which resulted in a lengthy lawsuit between both parties. As for the film itself, it's remained a comedy classic for a reason as the premise is inventing, the jokes are hilarious and the visual still hold up to this day.
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.
The ballad which won Stevie Wonder an Oscar at the academy awards, although many will tell you that this is easily one of his worst songs in his catalogue due to how sappy they find the lyrics to be. I can't say I've seen the Woman in red despite it starring Gene Wilder and Kelly Lebrock of Weird science fame.
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.
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.
Oh, you thought we were done with looking at comedy routines on this site, weren't you? Well, here we are with another comedy routine this time courtesy of Billy Birmingham AKA the 12th man who scored a massive hit with this E.P where he does accurate impersonations of some of the more popular sporting commentators of the day.
Following the mediocre success of her self-titled album outside of Australia (it was a huge hit down under due to heavy promotion on Countdown) Madonna decided to go bit with her second album by working with Nile Rogers of Chic fame on this track he originally wrote from the perspective of a guy. Needless to say, she made it her own and it became one of her several signature songs over the years.
Even though this only peaked at number five on the Australian charts, the fact that this managed to linger on our charts for 64 weeks (mainly due to the B-side "Pink Cadillac" being promoted on radio) ensured that this would be the second-best charting single of the decade according to David Kent, I ranked it a bit lower as I tend to not take into account stats from the lower half of the charts.
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.
Even though this appears on Wham's sophomore album Make it big, this is curiously credited as a George Michael solo ballad which goes to show that even before they took America by storm, he was already having ambitions of making it big without his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The two stuck together for one more album before going their separate ways two years later.
This was the first of many Billboard chart toppers that George Michael would have both solo and with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely, however that would come six months after this topped the charts throughout the rest of the world proving that he really didn't need the approval of the American market he was so desperately trying to appeal to with his songs.
This was the first major success INXS had on the singles chart in Australia, admittedly their previous album Shabooh shoobah did spawn the fan favourites "The one thing" and "Don't change" which both did decently well, however it was this track and its poetic lyrics that finally brought the band into the big leagues here in Australia and even over in NZ.
If Lionel's earlier entry on this list wasn't the indication that he was about to become one of the biggest names in music this decade, then this third single from his sophomore album cemented his place among the A-list despite it being subjected to heavy backlash over the years for what many perceive to be highly creepy lyrics. That's to say nothing of the video which makes them arguably worse by having them be directed at one of his students at a university.
By far the biggest hit to come from Mondo rock, in fact this is only second to "Eagle rock" as the most successful thing Ross Wilson has done throughout his career. It's easy to see why this song was so big as it tells a coming-of-age story about two young lovers looking to explore their sexual relationship narrated expertly by Ross. Sadly, this was the last hit single he would have in his career.
One of the cheesier films to come out of the decade has to be Footloose, mainly because the plot hinges on the fact that no one in the town the film is set in thought to suspect the obvious delinquents they have was responsible for a tragic accident that occurred there and instead blame it on popular music. Stupid premise aside, the film remains a classic thanks to how excellent the songs written for the film were such as this title track.
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.
This was originally a song from a guy, and as such the lyrics had a different meaning to what Cyndi gives them on her debut single as there the narrator was a player whereas here it's a female empowerment anthem. The song rightfully launched her career worldwide and even had her as an early rival of Madonna given how both women struggled to find mainstream success prior to appearing on Countdown.
Although she achieved sound success earlier in the decade in Australia with her albums, it wasn't until this bonus track from her live album that she finally managed to score a hit single here or for that matter anywhere in the world outside her native America. It's easy to see how this connected with audiences, she really throws herself onto the track about navigating a complex relationship.
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 first of two charity singles which led to the inception of Live aid, this one has more honourable intentions than its American counterpart due to it being written by Bob Geldof after he saw a news bulletin about the Ethiopian famine which obviously tugged at his heartstring. It's also since become a Christmas staple and that's spawned several different updates over the years.
This was a huge worldwide smash for Prince likely due to it being the theme to his first autobiographical film Purple rain, although I would've thought the title track from the album/soundtrack would be the main theme to the film but whatever. This is one of his best songs in a catalogue filled with timeless classics, I don't even care that I have no idea what he means by doves crying.
Well, this is a Christmas staple that refuses to die in the current day and age of streaming payola, although at least this only comes around during the Christmas season so it's not like it's clogging the charts all year round or anything. I guess it's good to know that it was a huge hit for the duo back in the day, although it came at the expense of arguably their best song "Everything she wants" being a bigger hit here.
While this wasn't the song to come from the Eurogliders, it was their first hit due to them asking the question of whether or not heaven actually exists. This isn't like Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a place on earth" where it's a metaphorical heaven, but rather if heaven is real which makes this a song about questioning one's faith in religion. That combined with how catchy this is helped make this song a hit for the band.
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 originally released the previous year to massive success for Nena throughout Europe, largely due to the lyrics being about how the end of the world came when a sentry mistook a bunch of red balloons for an attack against them. The song was liberally translated into English which didn't match the ton of the original story or the melody of the song, this resulted in the original version becoming the big hit internationally except for America where the English version was the big hit.
This was the theme song to the long-forgotten film Electric dreams, a film from what I can gather in the music video is about a geek falling in love with an attractive woman who works at an electric store. Honestly this feels like a Human League track that Phillip Oakey kept for himself as it's clear that the song has become more iconic over the years than the film that it's based on.
Here we have the title track from the bestselling album of all time in America, naturally MJ needed to do something to promote this song as the album had been out for a full year by the time it was chosen as a single. The solution was to give it a high budget music video that no doubt led to the first MTV awards later in the year, such was the case for such as high concept video.
And who says that the band who gave us "Relax" (which is still to come on this list) was all about fun and games? Here we have their second single which is so politically charged you'd think it was written specifically for a smear campaign for a candidate they didn't like (most likely Margaret Thatcher.) To drive the point of the song home, they have a video where the political candidates fight each other in a wrestling ring.
It's hard to tell if Marilyn is trans or just a really androgynous male performer (I'll be using they pronouns with this entry) either way they were able to score a massive hit in Australia with this song about their relationship with Boy George and how the two grew apart once their respective careers took off. It remains their only hit worldwide as their subsequent follow ups failed to make an impact in the music industry.
Named after the film it was written for, we have the first Billboard chart topper from Phil Collins likely because of the film's critical and commercial success due to it being a neo noir film made at a time where that was a rarity in Hollywood. It was likely due to this ballad that Phil filled his next album with ballads given how even outside of America, this was one of his biggest hits in his catalogue.
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.
While the second single from the Swing was a hit (we'll get to it in a bit) it wasn't a huge success for the band like the third single was, indeed, this is likely the reason why the band were able to appeal to an international audience as it has a really catchy instrumental which makes it different from most songs that become popular over the years. They had one more single from the album before they went to work on their next album.
This often gets confused for a Hall and Oates track due to how similar Dan Hartman sounds to Daryl Hall on this song, indeed this theme to the long-forgotten film Streets of fire allowed him to escape the one hit wonder bin here that "Instant replay" threatened to trap him in back in 1979. There are two videos of this classic, the first is with a performance that a doo wop group from the film gives while the second has Hartman himself as a bar tender singing to his patrons.
Thanks to the success of their live album Under a blood red sky, U2 no longer had any issues with finding success with their singles which allowed this lead single to their album Unforgettable fire to become a massive worldwide success for them. It's easily one of their most recognisable hits thanks to the passionate performance that Bono gives on the track, saying that one's pride is something no one can take from them.
This was the third single to come from Make it big, unless of course you're from America in which case it was pushed back as the fourth single so that "Everything she wants" would top the Billboard charts for the duo. This is often confused with George's solo hit of the same name from 1990, so much so that version is credited as "Freedom 90" to avoid confusion with this track.
I know that this is one of the most quintessential ballads of the 80's, but something about it feels like it was made in the 90's to me. I think it's the way the synths create a dreamy atmosphere that would become more popular in that decade than in this one, although I definitely see how this was able to help the trio become a massive international success given how lovestruck Tom Bailey is throughout the track.
This is often considered to be the greatest comeback ever made by an artist, mainly because Tina Turner was considered to be yesterday's news in her native America by the time she had divorced her husband Ike eight years prior. This wasn't her first hit she had around the world since the divorce as "Let's stay together" was a surprise hit for her in the UK thanks to being produced by the members of Heaven 17.
This was originally released as "European queen" throughout Europe, although it appears nobody wanted to hear about such a queen as it promptly flopped for Billy Ocean. Feeling that the song had a chance to be a success albeit with different marketing, he changed the name to what it is now and simply replaced the world European with Caribbean on the track. This proved to be a winning formula as the song became a massive worldwide success.
It looked like that Elton's popularity would be more permanent in the 80's now that he had reunited with his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, indeed he scored a string of hits over the next few years including this lead single to his album Breaking hearts which is him justifying how sad songs are necessary in the world of the 80's. He would hit a low point later in the decade when he had his polyps removed.
This was the first hit that both men on this track had in Australia, in fact it was their only hit here for both of them as they didn't have other hits here like they did internationally. At least this duet helped Julio score a massive hit with his first album in English, although it did no favours for Willie Nelson who didn't bother the charts outside of his native America after this.
Although they made a big splash here in Australia with their cover of the Kinks "You really got me" back in 1978, it wasn't until this became a Billboard chart topper than Van Halen were able to score massive success here likely due to how frenetic the energy is on this track. Even though this finally put the band on the map down under, it was their only hit with David Lee Roth as the lead vocalist.
This was the third hit single that John Waite managed to score in Australia throughout his career, the first two being with his former band the Babys who had broken up going into the 80's due to the hits drying up for them. Indeed, this was John's only hit as a solo artist as he would form a new band later in the decade with Bad English, that band would score one more hit for him going into the 90's.
This is technically the biggest hit from Duran Duran, mainly because it was released as the bonus track from their live album which from what I can gather, helps boost a songs popularity if a band or artist released a sole studio track from a live album. This is also one of the most contentious songs from the bands catalogue due to how strange Simon Le Bon sounds on the track compared to their other songs.
In case you were wondering, yes, this song is deliberately gay as it was made by an openly gay band meant to shock and titillate audiences who seemed to be put off by the queer community in general. Basically, if Culture club was easing people into accepting others for who they are, these guys were forcing it down everyone's throat albeit with a highly catchy and provocative sex jam.
This was the first of two big hits that Queen scored from their album The works, the other we'll get to in a bit but for now we have a song that Lady Gaga named herself after due to how bombastic the song remains to this day. The video is notable for having audience interaction, specifically when they raise their arms during each chorus which follows in the footsteps of "We will rock you" as some of the greatest audience interaction of all time.
This song sounds slightly different depending on if you're listening to the single or album version, the album version isn't as bombastic which likely suggests this wasn't meant to be released as a single from the band. They obviously changed their minds when they put more bombast in the production and released it as a single which was for the best as it became their biggest hit in America and their native UK.
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.
This was the second single to come from Footloose, although it almost never existed as the scene where this song plays had a different song given how the actor legitimately didn't know how to dance before shooting the scene. It became Deniece William's second Billboard chart topper after her duet with Johnny Mathis from 1978, although it was her final hit in most parts of the world despite how big it was.
This was the only hit from Dynamic Hepnotics as they failed to make much of a splash here like many of their contemporaries save for this catchy dance track which had little chance of failing in our music scene. The real surprise here is that this managed to become an even bigger hit over in NZ the following year, possibly due to the kiwis finding this to be even more irresistible than us Aussies.
This was the only hit single that Chaka Khan managed to achieve in Australia, even so we have the assistance of Prince (who wrote the song for her) as well as Grandmaster Melle providing a guest verse during a time where that was unheard of helping her score success here. This was a huge success in the UK, likely due to how well she did over there during her time with her band Rufus.
This was a song whose success was very late in Australia, namely because it was already a huge chart topper in NZ six months prior to when this finally caught on here for the Dutch group Time bandits. Although we were late to catch onto their music, we made up for that by giving them a second hit with "Endless road" which became as such due to the band filming the video here while they were on tour.
In most parts of the world, this was the third single to be released from Colour by numbers as it displays a more sombre side of the band as opposed to their more upbeat tracks about racial harmony. In America, this was never released as a single as they skipped over this in favour of "It's a miracle" likely due to them being seen strictly as a fun band over there.
This was Laura Branigan's biggest hit throughout Europe, likely due to it being a cover of a popular hit over there by a pop artist by the name of RAF. Here in Australia, it was her third biggest hit due to the themes of her losing control over a partner she's with, similar to how Christine Daae loses her self-control whenever she's around the Phantom of the opera which this video pays homage to two years before the stage show premiered.
This was the only hit that Matthew Wilder was able to score worldwide, likely due to his strange vocals working for this one song as it's about the weird thoughts he has whenever he's singing about this woman he's with. The song was a massive success at the time, although in Australia it's been overshadowed by a cover from Unique II who flips the genders of the track and gives better vocals.
Here we have the debut single from an indie singer by the name of Madonna, the name seems vaguely familiar to me and the song in question has been considered a classic of the 80's thanks to her passionate vocals about wanting a holiday during the height of the Regan and Thatcher era. All jokes aside, this was the breakthrough single from one of the most successful artists of all time for good reason.
Well, we had "Beat it" from MJ the previous year, now let's look at the Weird al parody that put him on the map by ripping off that classic from the king of pop (which his permission of course.) This was a surprise chart topper for the comedian here in Australia, likely due to how instantly funny we felt this song was, although it was one of the weaker chart toppers here due to how quickly it fell on our charts.
The legends are true, Mel Brooks did in fact have a hip hop hit back in the day with a song about the joys of being Adolf Hitler. Obviously, this song is meant to be satire as if there's a bigger hater of the third Reich than Mel Brooks then I've yet to come across that person, however it's a bit shocking to see this man in his forties score a hip hop hit in Australia with this theme song to his remake of the film of the same name.
This was the second single to come out of the Swing, although it wasn't quite as big as their two earlier entries on this list likely due to it not being as catchy as those tracks. Still, it was a huge hit for the band and likely strengthened their international interest which became a success the following year when they released their next album Listen like thieves.
This was the other big hit that Queen achieved from their album the Works, indeed it's the more recognisable song of their two on this list largely thanks to who Freddie longs to be free from a toxic relationship he found himself in around this time. There was a bit of minor controversy from the video as it depicted the members in drag during a time where homophobia was at the height of its popularity.
This was the only hit that ZZ Top managed to achieve in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to it being about how much the trio likes the legs of a woman they were singing about on this track. Whatever the reason was for this being a hit, it allowed their album Eliminator to be a huge success this year after sitting on shelves ignored for over a year, making this a very happy ending for the band.
This was the only hit that Big Country were able to achieve in most parts of the world, I'm glad it was as it's easily one of the most passionate songs to become a hit this decade thanks to the killer instrumentation and Stuart Adamson's vocals. They did try to get a second hit throughout their career, but it was to no avail which I think is a shame.
There's a really touching quote that I want to share that Cyndi gave when she was asked about why she was the way she was when her second single from her debut album went to number one on Billboard, "I'm not trying to be different, I'm just saying it's OK to be yourself, and if you have a few quirky things, that's OK too." This is more or less the message she tries to convey in the video to this track about being there for an ex-lover if they want to resume a relationship with her.
This was the third and final hit that Irene Cara was able to score anywhere in the world, and behind it's not attached to a film (that I'm aware of) meaning it was able to become a success in its own right here in Australia. She was attached to the Breakin soundtrack this year which was obviously meant to be the third film project her music was attached to, however her contributions to that soundtrack led her nowhere.
Although Billy Idol had success here in Australia prior to this lead single from his second album of the same name, a memorable performance of the track on Countdown ensured that it would be a huge hit for him here which likely made the album a bigger hit than his previous album. It's often considered to be the signature track from his catalogue despite his biggest hit being "To be a lover" from two years later.
This was the final hit that Hall and Oates were able to score here in Australia, although they would still find moderate success during the second half of the decade in their native America. This is perhaps my favourite song from the duo as it's by far the catchiest as well as me relating to the lyrics about being with someone who's out of touch with reality. I've that person on both sides of this relationship.
This was the lead single to Culture club's third album Waking up with the house on fire, an album which seemed to alienate their fanbase as it moved away from their more fun tracks and towards more politically charged messages. Indeed, the lead single was a blatant cry to end the cold war, calling it stupid and pointless which while I agree with their sentiment, wasn't the way to go about ending it.
Even though Journey never found success outside of their native America, lead singer Steve Perry was able to score a massive hit with his solo debut single here in Australia. I'm not sure why we Aussies love this track so much but never cared for the rest of his catalogue as everything found on this track can be found on the likes of "Don't stop believing," 'Separate ways" and "Open arms."
While this was far from the first single they released, this was the song which made Twisted sister a household name likely due to its music video depicting the band going from abused children to who they were which connected with audiences here and especially in NZ where this nearly topped their charts. It was a short-lived success for the band, however one that I'm sure people look back on fondly.
This wasn't Nik Kershaw's debut single in his native UK, that honour goes to "I won't let the sun go down on me" which was given a second chance after this became a massive hit for him worldwide (sadly it won't appear on this list.) People like to compare him to Howard Jones as both men had massive American appeal back in the day, although only Howard managed to score any success on Billboard.
This was the biggest hit that Paul Young was able to score in Australia, although it wasn't his biggest hit anywhere else in the world as that widely changes depending on where you're referring to. I guess we Aussies were into the Christmas sounds on this track as it was designed to be the Christmas chart topper of 1983 in his native UK, it didn't quite get there but it came close so there's that.
This was the only hit that Quiet riot was able to score even in their native America, although given it's a heavy metal cover of a Slade track from a decade prior, there was little chance this was going to flop even though it came many years after they first formed and released an album. Rather coincidentally, Slade themselves had a comeback hit this year and even finally broke through to America with the song.
Eight years prior to when she scored a massive hit with Don Henley with "Sometimes love just ain't enough," Patty Smyth was the lead singer of a short-lived band by the name of Scandal who scored their one and only hit this year with this track that's often been confused for a Pat Benatar track. I'm guessing that's why Patty returned with an adult contemporary ballad if she was often mistaken for her in her career.
This was the debut single for Bronski beat, another band who was out and proud about their LGBT status as the video to their debut single depicts a fictionalised story of lead singer Jimmy Somerville's experience coming out of the closet. The song itself remains a classic to this day, however it's the visuals of him falling in love with a man who is revealed to be homophobic that sticks with audiences to this day.
This was the third hit that Cyndi Lauper had from her debut album, in fact she broke records on Billboard with this album by being the first artist to score four top five hits from a single album in America. This is one of her wackiest songs given that it's about female masturbation, although for the longest time I had no idea what this song is about due to how vague she comes across in the lyrics.
This was originally released as the lead single of the trios album Break out; however, it was a huge flop worldwide likely due to them failing to shoot a music video for the song. It was given a second chance later in the year when "Automatic" became a surprise hit for them in the UK, but this stage they had filmed a music video which helped this song become a huge hit worldwide.
We have another comedy routine to become a hit this year, this was the final one to do so on the singles charts as comedians restricted themselves to only releasing albums from here on out in Australia. This was a comedy sketch about how George Smilovici felt he was tough, the joke being that he was a redneck how was about as threatening as say, an underweight rock rapper from the 90's on TRL.
Wang Chung were a British band who were all set to fail in the music industry given how their debut single was a flop on the British charts the previous year, fortunately it somehow caught on in America which allowed it to find an audience here in Australia several months after its initial release. The band would return three years later with "Everybody have fun tonight" which was their biggest hit.
This was the second hit that Pseudo echo was able to score here in Australia, it's more in line with what their earlier entry originally sounded like proving they weren't always about being bombastic for the sake of it. This was actually their big hit over in NZ from their debut album, likely suggesting the kiwis were also in agreement that these guys were at their best when they would dial things back.
This was the first big hit that the Cure were able to achieve here in Australia, it's curious because they had appeared on Countdown multiple times prior to getting their big breakthrough with a song that's unlike most of the rest of their catalogue. The song's success likely comes from the video where lead singer Robert Smith does indeed share his love of cats in a way that I'm sure audiences found endearing.
This was the only hit that Vicki Sue Robinson was able to score here in Australia, although American readers will be more familiar with her Billboard hit "Turn the beat around" from ten years prior which was made famous ten years later by Gloria Estefan's cover. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to how much love we Aussies had for disco this far into the 80's compared to her fellow Americans.
This was the only hit that Bette Midler released this decade that wasn't attached to a film, instead it was a cover from the Rolling stones from their 1978 album Some girls that Bette made her own without changing the style of the original. Bette would disappear from the music scene for most of the decade as she focused on her acting career, it paid off as she made six films in the second half of the decade which were all box office hits.
You'd think that the big hit from the Rock steady crew would be their signature track "Hey you," it was their big hit over in the UK for the American breakdance band after all. Instead, it was their second single that was the big hit here, likely due to them performing both tracks on Countdown and their performance of their big UK hit being little more than a breakdance whereas this was sung by the members.
This is a song that seems to be way ahead of its time both in terms of its sound and the lyrics. The sound heavily reminds me of a Sega Genesis game which is why I believe it's ahead of its time there, however the lyrics are very ahead of its time as it's essentially this guy talking to his computer as if Facebook existed back in the 80's. The gimmick of him getting love advice from his computer helped it become a huge success here.
This took a while to be a success here in Australia, I'm not sure why other than it being a more upbeat track compared to their other hit "Send me an angel" from the previous year. It eventually reached the upper echelons of our charts and even did quite well in Europe considering the success of their other big hit, although this would sadly be the last anyone would hear from the Australian band.
Sheila E was the on again off again girlfriend of Prince, so it only makes sense that she was able to score a massive hit with a song that he wrote for her during the height of his popularity. She was another vocalist to achieve massive success by playing the drums on her songs, although I think she's the first solo female drummer/vocalist to achieve a hit in the music industry and second after Phil Collins.
This was obviously meant to come out three years prior but was understandably delayed due to the tragic death of John Lennon shortly after it was recorded, it was a huge hit here in Australia due to his fans wanting to find out what he had in store for his album Milk and honey even if it's long since been forgotten in his catalogue due to the lack of legacy it and the album has had over the years.
Madonna was on a roll this year as she scored her third hit from her debut album, although I get the feeling my British readers will be surprised to see this ballad on this list given how it only became a hit over in the UK two years after its initial release. What's more confusing is that "Lucky star" was her big breakthrough on Billboard despite it being a massive flop here, presumably because it was the fourth single and released mere months prior to "Like a virgin."
This was the only hit that the Cars were able to score from their magnum opus Heartbeat city in Australia, even then it was only a moderate success here compared to how inescapable it was internationally likely due to it being the rare ballad from their discography. Here this is about how the narrator feels concern for the person who they believe to be living their life recklessly.
Your eyes don't deceive you, Divine really did have a singing career in the 80's with this being their one and only hit anywhere in the world due to them performing the song on Countdown (I apologise if I'm using the wrong pronouns as I was never made clear what they were.) This was also the first hit to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman, making this a first for everyone involved with the track. Sadly, Divine would pass away four years later.
Less than a year after the final album to come from his father, Julian Lennon released his debut album Valotte which was a huge worldwide success for him likely due to him being the son of one of the most famous musicians of the twentieth century. This was the big hit from the album which sounds similar to what his father would've released if he had lived to see the 80's, I guess this was better than nothing.
This was the last hit Paul McCartney had for three decades anywhere in the world, he did eventually score a hit when he was credited for his contributions to "Fourfiveseconds" in 2015 with Rihanna and Kanye West even if he only provided the instrumentation on that track. Here he scores a hit with the lead single to the soundtrack to his film Give my regards to Broad Street, a film that was panned by critics.
This was another song that required multiple attempts to make it big here in Australia, although it's the debut single for one of the most influential women in music even if her influence wouldn't be felt until her second album. This made it big once "Holiday" became a surprise success here in Australia, proving how much we Aussies love the future queen of pop even back in her earliest days.
This is the final hit that Split Enz had in their career before they went their separate ways, it was the lead single to their penultimate album which continues to see airplay on oldies stations to this day despite the lukewarm reception it received back in the day. Indeed, this feels a little out of place with many of the entries on this list due to their success stemming from the pre-MTV era.
This was the second advanced single to be released from Kids in the kitchen's debut album, it was released a full year prior to said album which must've been seen as a risky move back in the day given how already it appeared that interest in the album had faded when it came out. The risk paid off as the album went on to be a massive success when it did finally drop the following year.
Well, here's that big UK hit that helped the Pointer sister's earlier entry on this list become a hit worldwide, it's a new wave/disco hybrid that I'm surprised there wasn't more of given how well the two genres mix on here. Lyrically it's about how the girls feel like they've lost control with the person they're singing to, basically feeling robotic despite knowing that they have their own autonomy.
While their earlier entry on this list was far from the biggest hit of the year here in Australia (or anywhere else in the world for that matter) that didn't prevent Bronski beat from scoring a second hit down under with this track which was a bit more melodramatic than their earlier entry as it didn't have a poignant message attached to it. This would be the band's final hit with Jimmy on vocals here before his departure.
This was the first hit that Billy Idol had in the northern hemisphere, in this case it was a big hit for him in America given how he was living in New York when he launched his solo career and that the Americans likely took interest in what he Aussies and kiwis were listening to from him back in the day. This is one of his more sombre songs that wouldn't feel out of place on his third album from two years later.
Well, here's that song from Slade that I mentioned earlier on this list, although it's worth noting that they already had their comeback in their native UK the previous year with "My oh my" which makes this songs success a little less surprising considering that and Quiet riot's entry. Even so, this comeback was short lived as the band failed to adjust to the 80's with their sound.
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