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.
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.
OK this is a song that I've always had negative feelings towards due to how misguided the execution was, I will say that there were good intentions behind this song but unfortunately the way the song guilt trips its audience into buying it to support its cause rubbed people the wrong way and continues to do so to this day.
Most people will be familiar with the Celine Dion version of this track from eight years later, however this was originally a hit for American born German pop star Jennifer Rush who took the world by storm with her strong vocals (though not as strong as Celine's) as well as the lyrics of devotion that struck a chord with audiences.
This was released on its own as the third single from Madonna's sophomore album Like a virgin, however it was quickly bundled with "Into the groove" in Australia and her native America in order to lessen her overall grip on both charts. As such I'll be giving both songs their own separate entries on this list to give you an idea of how big they both were on their own had they not been combined into one entry.
This was one of two big hits that Feargal Sharkey had in Australia, I bring this up here because this was written by Maria McKee (of "Show me heaven" fame) and that his other hit "You little thief" was written by her ex Benmont Tench which means this guy was singing the ups and downs of their relationship throughout his album. I'm guessing this is why said album was a commercial success for him.
Well this is the sellout to end all sellouts, we have a band who began their career as actual hippies now singing about how corporatised the world has become set to instrumentation that has since become synonymous with the mainstream pop rock of the 80's. I get what they were going for here, and to be honest if you ignore the hypocrisy on display, this is still an awesome track from one of the older acts on this list.
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.
This was one of two songs written for the long-forgotten film Vision quest, a film where as far as I can tell is about a Caucasian man using the spiritual journey usually reserved for native Americans in order to help him win a boxing tournament. Madonna performs this track in the film, which I think is safe to say is the best part of it given how it was a box office flop despite this being a huge worldwide hit.
I never understood the backlash towards this cover, true it was made for charity and obviously Ali Campbell had no romantic relationship with Chrissie Hynde, however I feel you could've fooled me into thinking otherwise listening to this cover of the Sonny and Cher classic. I guess this track has only received backlash in more recent years due to UB40's general backlash due to their usage of cod reggae.
My international readers will know this as the theme song to Crocodile Dundee, however the year prior to that film's release this was the second single from Mental as anything's biggest album Fundamental as anything where it became a huge hit for them in Australia and NZ. I'm guessing it was due to a combination of how happy Greedy Smith sounds on this track and the video which shows him having the time of his life.
For one album, these guys had conquered the Australian charts as the album their biggest hit is named after was a huge success for a band whose lead singer began the decade with "Modern girl" being a moderate success. This of course sparked international interest in the band and even eventually got them to chart on Billboard albeit on the lower half of their charts, I guess these guys were no INXS according to Americans.
As I said earlier on this list, this song was bundled with Madonna's third single from her second album in order to lessen her grip on the Australian charts. I'm willing to be that "Angel" wouldn't have been nearly as popular here if this didn't happen as it's obvious that this song from her film debut Desperately seeking Susan was what made the double A-side release be as successful as it was.
If you've somehow never heard of this song, then I suggest you rectify that because it's one of the most quintessential songs not just of the decade but of all time due to how timeless that synth riff has remained since its release. Apparently, this was originally released a year prior albeit as a slightly different song, in that I mean the instrumentation has a more oriental feel that they then changed probably to avoid accusations of cultural appropriation.
This E.P created history when it was released on the singles charts, it became the first entry to debut at number one on the Australian charts even though by all accounts this should have been charting on our album charts due to it being an E.P without a standout track to promote it.
This was by far the biggest hit to come from Foreigner which is a bit of a shame because these guys are best known for their more energetic rock tracks such as "Urgent," "Cold as ice" and "Hot blooded." Admittedly their second biggest hit "Waiting for a girl like you" was also a soft rock ballad, so perhaps audiences were simply more interested in these guys expressing their sentimental side more than anything.
This is a song that sparked massive controversy upon its initial release, mainly because it contains homophobic slurs in its second verse which even at the time, was a big no no in the music industry. Fortunately, the radio tends to edit out this verse so there's a good chance that most people aren't even aware of what I'm talking about, even if you are I think we can all agree that it's far from the most harmful thing to happen towards the LGBT community.
If you didn't know, Jim Diamond was the lead vocalist for PH. D who in turn were a band who scored a huge hit with "I won't let you down" from earlier in the decade. Here he is following that group's demise with his big solo hit that managed to take the world by storm thanks to how sincere and overwrought he sounds throughout its runtime.
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.
Given that this Oscar winning ballad was written for a film called White nights, I think it's safe to say that it's since become an anthem for those who would describe themselves as the name of the film. Originally this was meant to be the title track of his third album, however said album took so long to make that he changed the name to the second single that would also serve as his final hit single to date.
This remains the biggest hit from the Eurythmics in Australia, primarily due to Annie arguably sounding her best on this track which admittedly is a bold claim considering how many powerful performances she's given throughout her discography. This flopped in the duo's native UK, however their next single was their biggest hit over there, so I guess it all worked out for them.
Well, this is a song that hasn't received much love since its initial release, I'm guessing this is due to the music video which depicts the two rock icons dancing around with some of the strangest choreography ever put to film. The fact this is a cover of a 60's classic made specifically for charity likely doesn't help its cause either as this suggests it was only a hit because of this charity rather than people like the song itself.
This was a song that was more in line with their sellout cover of "Funkytown" that made them a household name, mainly for the use of the keytar which added more synths to the track than they already had. Fortunately, the lyrics are still sharply written as it's about how Brian and company are only happy when they have the comfort of their partner due to nightmares they have without them.
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.
This was the biggest hit that Elton John had throughout the decade, likely due to this being a heartfelt ballad towards a Nikita in his life which tugged at the heartstrings of listeners back in the day. Despite this being his biggest hit of the 80's, this would be the start of the very difficult time in his life as he would suffer from drug problems that would persist for the remainder of the decade.
You'd think that this lead single from Tears for fear's second album Songs from the big chair would be a number one hit in their native UK, it wasn't due to it being released during the height of by far the busiest Christmas season Britain has ever seen in the music industry. Fortunately, this had little issues with topping the charts throughout the rest of the world thanks to the instrumentation and Roland Orizabal's passionate vocals.
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.
If you need proof that Tina Turner was always a welcomed presence in Australia, consider the fact that she starred opposite Mel Gibson in the third Mad Max film as well as providing the theme song to the film which went on to be one of her more iconic songs in her catalogue. The film was a critical and commercial success despite it being the final film in the franchise for thirty years.
This was the second of two hit singles that the Hooters were able to score in Australia (stay tuned for the first one later in the list) this was the bigger hit of the two due to how upbeat it was compared to their slower track from earlier in the year. This allowed their album to be a huge success here in Australia which sadly means that they were a one album wonder as their subsequent albums flopped here.
This was always meant to be the third single from Break out, however it was delayed due to it being chosen as the lead single for the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack due to it being played during the first chase scene of the film. It remains the Pointer sister's biggest hit in Australia due to how incessantly catchy it is as well as the lyrics connecting with audiences detailing how stressful their lives are.
While this wasn't the first hit single to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman (that honour goes to Divine's "You think you're a man") this was the one to put the production trio on the map even though many people feel that the rest success of this song comes from Pete Burns and his provocative performance. That said, this was the only major success they had as all of their other songs didn't do that well even in their native UK.
There's been much confusion as to what this song is actually about, it's not an endorsement of being an American but rather a laundry list of all the atrocities the American government has done to both its citizens and the people of the world. It remains one of the most politically charged songs to ever become a hit throughout the world, although I doubt many of the people who love it even realise its message.
Although their other big hit from this time left these guys as an international one hit wonder, they were able to score a second hit with this song due to the video being filmed while they were on their Australian tour. This no doubt led the song to be even bigger here than their earlier hit, although it did their albums no favours as it unfortunately crashed and burned here like it did everywhere else.
There were no signs of INXS's popularity slowing down when they released the lead single to their album Listen like thieves, in fact this would go on to be their first hit single in America the following year due to how popular it was here in Australia. This was the only hit to come from the album, however the album itself was a massive success so I don't think they minded.
Although he saw massive success with Cold Chisel from earlier in the decade, there didn't seem to be any guarantee that Jimmy Barnes would find success on his own given how none of the songs from his debut album Bodyswerve became huge hits for him down under. Fortunately, this lead single from the reissue of that album was a huge success here likely due to the backing vocals from Kim Carnes of "Bette Davis eyes" fame.
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.
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.
This was the second single to be released from the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack, although the real appeal of this track is that it was the first solo single to be released from Glenn Frey and it was released around the same time Don Henley released his second solo album which meant both frontmen of the Eagles were competing with each other on the charts. Suffice to say Glenn won the battle as Don's big hit will be a bit later down this list.
The last time Murray Head troubled the charts anywhere in the world was with his rendition of "Superstar" from the Jesus Christ superstar soundtrack back in the early 70's. Here he is fifteen years later with the lead single to the Abba written musical Chess which like Evita before it, was originally a concept album written by Benny and Bjorn of the Swedish group before it was turned into a musical.
This was the first big hit that Huey Lewis and the News managed to achieve outside of their native America, sure they had buzz with their previous album Sports as that was a modest success here, but it somehow failed to produce a hit single for them down under. Of course, the real success of this track was due to it being the theme for the first Back to the future film, a film that remains a classic to this day.
This is a song that's appeared in just about every bad child's media over the years, so it's easy to forget that it was once upon a time a huge hit single for the British/American band Katrina and the waves back in the day due to how shamelessly happy the song is even for the mid 80's. This was their only hit for the longest time until they reunited in 1997 where they went on to win Eurovision for the UK that year.
This was the final hit that Stevie Wonder was able to score in most parts of the world, it's a pity because while it wasn't a return to his disco era, it could've led to another revival period for him given the state of RNB at the time. While he would score a surprise comeback in NZ a decade later with "For your love," he wouldn't be heard from again in Australia until his collaboration with Babyface.
Before it became the theme song to the Michael Keaton flick Gung Ho, this was originally the title track to the reissue album of Jimmy's debut Bodyswerve which became an instant Australian classic due to it being dedicated to the working-class society of our country. It seemed like an obvious choice for a film that centres around this plot, however it wasn't able to help him score a hit in the northern hemisphere.
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.
You'd think that the biggest hit from these guys would be their signature track "Everybody wants to work," that song came from an E.P which underperformed on the singles chart which meant that these guys were likely going to be nothing more than relics of a bygone era. Their fortunes changed with this ballad, which was not only a huge hit for them, but also made the album it came from a success.
This was the second single to come from Be yourself tonight here in Australia, and one that was a success likely due to how well it did in their native UK where it remains their biggest hit in their catalogue. I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of this track from them, I prefer their less opulent songs overall and the video admittedly was always strange for me to watch.
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.
Their earlier entry might have been what got them their well-deserved buzz in America, however it was this song about how much they wanted to holiday in Barbados that gave them a huge hit here in Australia before their earlier entry became twice as big here. The video is very clever as it depicts them as going AWOL from the Vietnam war in order to holiday in the Caribbean, although it does have a shocking ending to it.
My introduction to this ballad was with the remix from the late 90's by UK group Dario G which ruined the emotions of this track enough for me to not like it at first, of course I was eventually won over by the beauty of the track which no doubt tugged at the heartstrings of audience from back in the day. This was the band's only success even in their native UK likely due to how different it was from everything else.
This was the second single to come from Billy Ocean's comeback album Suddenly, and one that seems to combine his strengths of having a catchy beat with his heartfelt declarations of being the man of this person's dreams. At first glance it seems like he's coming on strong with this person in the lyrics, however he makes it clear they're playing hard to get which ultimately makes his advances justified.
It's strange to think that this was released as the lead single of Songs from the big chair in America, almost as if the band wanted to make their big entrance on the Billboard charts with reassurance to their audience that while times were rough in the 80's, it wasn't going to last forever and that it was human nature that things were the way they were. Everywhere else in the world had this as the second single from the album where it was also a huge hit for them.
My NZ readers will recognise the lead singer of this Australian band as Tina Cross who was a teen idol in her homeland before she migrated here to form this new wave band. I have to say, she had one of the most unique voices of the decade which makes it a shame that none of the other band's material caught on back in the day, I'm not sure why as they were regulars on Countdown as were most Aussie artists.
OK I'm giving you a three for one deal with this entry, mainly because all of these songs charted separately in the UK despite them being bundled as one entry here in Australia. I'm guessing this was done to allow these guys to have at least one hit single here, although "Cherish" was the song that was marketed as the lead single despite it being one of their cheesiest songs in their entire discography.
This was a short-lived supergroup which comprised of the two vocalists from Led zeppelin as well as members of the Yardbirds and Nile Rogers of Chic fame. Naturally this was going to be a success for the band even though this was the only song they released from their one and only album, it was a temporary project that wasn't going to last regardless of the results they got.
This was the second Billboard chart topper that REO Speedwagon was able to score this decade, this of course meant that this ballad about not realising what you have until it's gone would be a huge hit for them here in Australia due to the lyrics connecting with audiences of the day. This would be the last anyone would hear from the band as they would fade into irrelevancy after this fell off the charts.
This year Duran Duran split up into two bands, this being one of them which they replaced Simon Le Bon with Robert Palmer as the lead vocalist which helped him score a massive hit in most parts of the world due to his raunchy performance on a track that's named after the Marilyn Monroe flick from 1959. The other half of the band went on to become Arcadia who scored a massive hit with "Election Day."
This was the second hit that Laura Branigan managed to achieve in Australia with a cover of an Umberto Tozzi track, although unlike "Gloria" this was only a hit here as the rest of the world had since moved on from her ballads. Indeed, this would be her final hit here as we too decided to was time to give success to other pop divas who had unique voices from this decade, it's a shame because she was talented.
Years before she scored a minor hit with "It's only the beginning" which continues to be a favourite on oldies stations to this day, Deborah Conway was the lead singer of this band who named themselves after the song from the Sound of music. They scored their one and only hit with this song that's about pubic hair, that's right, a song about pubic hair was one of the biggest hits of the year in Australia.
This was the only solo success that Don Henley managed to achieve in Australia, although it's worth noting that his second album was a huge hit here as opposed to Glenn Frey's which was a massive flop despite the success of his earlier entry on this list. Even though this is a distinctly summer jam, it was a hit here during our autumn which is perhaps why it wasn't as big a success as it should've been.
This was the centrepiece of Phil Collin's Grammy award winning album No jacket required, a ballad about how he wants to spend one more night with this person before they go their separate ways. It remains one of his more popular songs in his catalogue due to it being one of his biggest hits of the decade, although it's often cited as one of the reasons why he was so hated throughout the decade.
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 theme song to the theatrical adaptation of Orson Welle's book 1984, a film that coincidentally came out in the year it was named after and was a box office success back in the day. I guess that explains the dystopian sound of this song which is very different from what we'd expect from the Eurythmics, after all the film and book had a dystopian setting for the year it was set in.
This was the only hit that Debarge were able to score outside of their native America, likely because this was the theme to The last dragon which was a Motown produced film that was panned by critics. The family band scored other hits in their native America over the years, as did lead singer El Debarge who wrote the theme to Short circuit which was a huge box office success the following year.
Following the success of her live album the previous year, Pat Benatar was able to score a second hit in Australia with this lead single to her album Tropico likely due to the inclusion of a children's choir in the final chorus. This would be her final hit in most parts of the world, although she would score one more hit later in the decade with "All fired up" here in Australia which was a return to her rock roots.
Although they had seen plenty of buzz here in Australia prior to this standalone hit they had, this was the song which convinced us Aussies they were worth our time which made the failure of Paul Weller's previous band the Jam here that much more puzzling in retrospect. I wouldn't feel too bad for him though, the Jam were one of the most successful bands of the decade in his native UK.
This was the second hit that Limahl managed to achieve in his career, although his first hit was with his band Kajagoogoo so technically this was his only solo hit he achieved in his career. This is the theme song to the movie of the same name which is often described as one of the best kids' films of the decade due to its timeless themes and interesting visual style, the song is also considered one of the best themes of all time due to how catchy it is.
People have criticised this song for its lyrics about how Madonna enjoys a spoilt lifestyle or as she puts it "living in a material world," I guess they don't realise that this song is meant to be ironic given how they also claim her delivery is beyond irritating and that the production sounds sarcastic. A lot of people either got the joke back in the day or more likely, didn't care given how this was a huge hit regardless.
You know a film has connected with an audience when even its main character's theme song manages to become one of the biggest hits of the year worldwide, that's exactly what happened here as Axel Foley was so well liked by audiences that his theme was a huge success for composer Harold Faltermeyer. It's perhaps best known for the Crazy frog remix two decades later, a remix that's best left in the 00's.
This was Simple Mind's biggest hit in most parts of the world, likely due to it being the theme to the cult classic the Breakfast club which wasn't well received back in the day despite it being considered a masterpiece nowadays. The song essentially sums up what the movie is about, that being a bunch of misfits who unexpectedly form a friendship with each other due to circumstances only for them to wonder if that friendship would carry on once they go their separate ways.
This was the lead single to No jacket required, an album which many felt was the turning point for Phil Collins given how it was more in line with adult contemporary rather than the pop prog from his earlier hits. This song in particular has received criticism due to the melody sounding similar to "1999" from Prince, perhaps it's this comparison that caused the song to not be as successful here in Australia as it was internationally.
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down as they scored a huge hit with the first single from their third album Absolutely which remains their biggest album in their catalogue. This is a more lovestruck track from their catalogue compared to their previous hit, which is about whether heaven existed or not, sure this wasn't as big as "Heaven," but it still managed to resonate with audiences.
This was the first of three songs with this title to become a hit this year, although considering we've looked at the other two songs earlier on this list, you probably already knew that. This was a different song from the band's previous two hits as this feels more in line with sophistopop rather than the LGBT banger of their debut or their politically charged second single, making them one of the more eclectic bands to find success this decade.
This was the debut single for Go West, a band who would see massive success this year with their debut album throughout Europe and would return five years later with a song that made it big off the Pretty woman soundtrack. Here they have a song about taking a chance in a relationship, this can be an obvious metaphor about the music industry taking a chance on their music which it did sporadically.
From what I can gather, St Elmo's fire is arguably one of the best Joel Schumaker films due to it being the story of a bunch of young adults which happens to comprise of some of the most popular actors of the 80's in the 20 something year old bracket. By far the best part of the film according to modern audiences is the theme song which was a huge success for John Parr due to the inspirational lyrics.
This was the other big hit that the Hooters managed to score here in Australia, it was actually the lead single to their debut album which became a hit exclusively here in Australia likely due to the religious lyrics connecting with us in a way that they failed to do so internationally. Even though they saw massive success with both of these songs and their album here, they would fade into obscurity after this year.
This was the only hit to come from Billy Joel's greatest hits package from this year, it's a song about gaining your second wind after you've been shot down by someone in a relationship. There weren't any signs of him slowing down in the industry as his next album would be a huge success for him, that is only in Australia it was as it underperformed throughout the rest of the world for some reason.
The last time Aretha Franklin troubled the charts in Australia was with her 1968 hit "I say a little prayer," that's nearly two decades where she went unheard of here (save for her role in the Blues brothers.) This makes this track about her finding love in a Pink Cadillac a triumphant comeback for her and one that gave her a second run in the mainstream given how she scored a hit with George Michael in 1987.
This was the theme to the Bond film of the same name; it remains the most successful Bond theme of all time due to it being the band's second Billboard chart topper as well as the only Bond theme to top the Billboard charts. It appears that this song had cursed everyone involved with the project as Roger Moore would step down as the titular character after this and Duran Duran would never again have a hit in Australia.
This was the big hit off of Bryan Adam's breakthrough album Reckless, it's the rare ballad he had this decade which seems odd for me to say considering how the 90's would be filled with ballads from him. Indeed, the other two singles off the album "Run to you" and "Summer of 69" (stay tuned for that in a bit) would be a better representation of his 80's material as they were more in line with arena rock.
I feel like this is the female empowerment anthem to end all female empowerment anthems, after all we have not one but two of the most powerful women in music joining forces to uplift the spirits of women around the world saying they can do whatever they want without feeling like they need to conform to the patriarchy. This song endures the test of time due to uplifting the women of the world without feeling the need to put men down.
While she hadn't had a hit since the start of the decade, Kate Bush was able to slip her way into the mainstream this year with this track about how she felt she made a deal with God in finding happiness with the person she's singing to. It became a surprise hit for her this year given how out of place it felt compared to everything else on this list, although it's par for the course when it comes to her discography.
Even though Lionel Richie had long since left the band by this point in time, that didn't mean the Commodores couldn't still find success without him as they had replaced him with British vocalist JD Nichols and soldiered on. They scored their one and only hit without Richie with this tribute to both Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye who died the previous year, making it an emotional ballad that resonated with audiences.
I haven't seen the Goonies (nor do I plan on doing so) so I have no idea how accurately this theme song reflects the film as it appears that fans feel it's a terrible theme due to how wacky Cyndi makes it out to be in the song and especially the video. It's one of two songs in her catalogue that she seems to have regretted making as it hardly ever appears on her greatest hits compilations despite its initial success.
He already had three hits with three different acts prior to his solo debut, so why not become a one hit wonder for a fourth time here with said debut single? We may not have ever had any interest in giving the likes of Ultravox, Visage of Band aid a second hit here in Australia, but at least we were interested in what Midge Ure would do next as evidence by how often he would appear on the charts with a new act.
This is often forgotten about in Madonna's vast catalogue, mainly because it charted around the same time both of her movie themes were dominating our charts in addition to this being the fourth single to a very successful album which prevented it from becoming more of a success even without the competition. There are also two versions of this track as the album version is very different from the live version that serves as its official music video.
This was the only hit that Sister Sledge had here in Australia, I feel that it's a bad representation of their music given how the family group are best known for their disco classics from the late 70's such as "We are family" and "He's the greatest dancer." I think this was a hit here due to this being an excellent time for Motown in our music scene despite most people feeling that artistically the label was at a low point.
Well, here's the other half of Duran Duran scoring their big hit this year with the song I mentioned earlier on this list, although it's worth noting that they didn't achieve the same level of success as the Power station did given they had replaced Simon with Robert Palmer on their songs. Still, this was a decently big hit for its time, although this was the last hit any of the members would have here.
Following his departure from Van Halen, David Lee Roth decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with this cover of the Beach boys classic that became a huge hit for him back in the day. It's interesting to note that the original was never much of a hit for the boys here in Australia, meaning this is likely the only version most of us Aussies are familiar with these days.
Well Queen was one of the biggest bands in the world, so why not have a band named King try their hand at success? This was said band's one and only hit which was a massive hit in their native UK as well as it being a decent hit here in Australia likely due to the novelty of Freddie and company having competition in the realms of royalty in the music world. Sadly, this would be King's one and only hit as they called it quits the following year.
Contrary to popular belief, Nik Kershaw isn't a one hit wonder as he managed to score four hits during his brief time in the mainstream with this being his third hit overall. True to its title, the song is a riddle in song form that Nik presents to the object of his affections which proved to be a massive draw to audiences at the time, although in Australia it did get sidelined with all of the competition on this list.
This was the first of three hits that I'm talking was able to achieve in Australia, a band that's best known for introducing Kate Ceberano into the music industry as she served as the lead vocalist for this band of otherwise middle age white men. OK that's not fair as she was one of two female vocalists of colour and there was also a third woman of colour on bass, but Kate was the star of the show thanks to her amazing voice.
Well, this was a different side of Sheena Easton that he hadn't seen prior, granted there was always a seductive side of her in her music, but this was the first time she had placed it front and centre in her image. It became a huge success for her here and in America, I'm guessing her fellow Brits weren't interested in watching the woman who made it big with "Morning train" try to titillate them.
This was the lead single to the Divinyl's second album What a life, an album which remains their most successful in their career due to it spawning multiple singles despite this being the only one that became a hit for them. It remains one of their more repetitive tracks, however that didn't prevent it from becoming a surprise hit for them over in NZ the following year and sparking international interest in them.
This was the Hoodoo gurus' first bit hit in Australia, although the lead single to their album Mars needs guitars was a modest success given how "Bittersweet" did crack the top twenty for them earlier in the year. This was their surf rock track which I'm sure was what made them a household name given how there was a lot of nostalgia for that genre throughout the 70's and 80's down under.
It's easy to think that their earlier entry was the lead single to their magnum opus Fundamental as anything, however that honour goes to this track which only barely made the cut for this list despite being quite a fun and happy number which compliments the strength of the narrator's lover in this song. Despite the massive success they had, it would unfortunately all be downhill from here for the band.
You know this year was stacked when this barely made the cut, mainly because it was the song Nik Kershaw performed on Countdown in order to promote his second album here in Australia which only barely worked for him. Still, this did better here than it did in his homeland where it only barely scraped onto the UK top ten which wasn't as prestigious an achievement as it was on our charts.
It looks like these guys were able to score two entries on this list given how their second single from their debut album was a bit deal here in Australia, admittedly this really had a lot of stiff competition this year hence why it has such a low placement on this list. I'm sure if the competition weren't so stiff, this bombastic track that shares its name with a Blondie hit would be much higher on this list.
This is the final hit that the Pointer sisters achieved here in Australia and indeed anywhere in the world, this is another song that really had to squeeze in to make it on this list given how it almost got lost in the shuffle with the competition we've looked at so far on this list. That said, this is another song I would’ve thought would be a bigger hit than it actually was back in the day due to how well loved it remains to this day.
This was the breakthrough for Miami sound machine, I'm guessing it was big here due to it being a surprise success for them in the UK despite this being a massive flop in their native America. The song nowadays is best known for a remix it received two decades later which allowed it to become a hit again in the mid 00's.
We have a third entry from Phil Collins on this list as he was able to score a third top ten hit here in Australia from his magnum opus No jacket required, this is a bit more in line with his experimental tracks from his time with Genesis which means it’s much better received by music snobs than his other two entries on this list. His next hit would be with Genesis as they would reunite for their biggest album yet.
While this wasn't the final song to be released from Born in the U.S.A, it was the final hit that Bruce Springsteen had from the album outside his native America due to the rest of the world passing up the other singles on there in favour of making the album itself a massive hit. This is one of the shortest songs to become a hit since the early 70's, clocking in at two and half minutes even on the album.
This is often considered to be the signature track from Bryan Adams, mainly because it's one of his few songs that seems to be agreed upon as a classic even by those who seem to think he's the worst thing to happen to music. It tells the story about how he got into music at the age of nine and how his first attempts at making music led to him falling in love and writing his earliest hit singles.
We now have two entries from the Stranglers on my site, admittedly neither of them was among the biggest hits of their time here in Australia, however at least the punk band has some recognition on my site as opposed to so many of their contemporaries. They would go on to release new music after this, however it was to diminishing returns even in their native UK.
This was a huge UK chart topper for the American RNB singer Phyllis Nelson, this was enough of an incentive for it to be a sleeper hit here in Australia which was impressive for a musician of colour during the midpoint of the 80's. Sadly, this was her only hit as she failed to find any further success anywhere in the world.
This is another song that I would've thought had been bigger this year, it goes to show how fierce the competition was this year when some of the most noteworthy songs only barely made the cut for my list. In any case, we have the one and only hit from American band Animotion about the obsession the two vocalists have for each other, they play off each other really well which is why it remains a classic.
Given how she found massive success with "The glamorous life" from the previous year here in Australia, it only makes sense that we Aussies would continue Sheila E's winning streak with her second single this year even if it was less popular here than her earlier hit. This courtesy wasn't extended by her fellow Americans as she remains a one hit wonder in her homeland with her other hit.
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