Oh, rick rolling, why did you have to ruin this otherwise cute and innocent song from one of the more impressive vocalists to emerge from the 80's? Nowadays people think this is one of the worst songs of all time due to that immature meme from the late 00's, however back in the day it was the biggest song of the decade in Australia thanks to how many demographics it managed to appeal to back then.
Were it not for the popularity of the biopic about Ritchie Valen's life, I doubt Los lobos would've achieved any form of success during their impressive career. Fortunately, the biopic was a critical and commercial success which led to their cover of Valen's signature tune becoming a massive worldwide success for them.
This remains the biggest hit in Robert Palmer's career in Australia, mainly due to the video which depicts him in what appears to be a precursor to the set of a Deal or no deal show with a bunch of women who appear to be clones of Bebe Neuworth who's best known for her performance as Lillith Crane on Cheers and later Frasier. All I can say is that Robert is clearly having the time of his life in the video.
One of the earliest forms of electronic dance music (or EDM for short) was known as acid house, this is basically music you dance to while taking substance known as acid (look up what that means in your own time.) By far the biggest hit from this sub-genre is this breakthrough single from Yazz who managed to achieve massive success around the world with this trumpet heavy dance track.
So Cocktail isn't a good movie, granted I'm no Tom Cruise fan but I can tolerate him in films such as Rain man and A few good men provided the story is as good as those flicks. I guess the saving grace from the film is that it did revive the career of the Beach boys following a long dry spell from the mainstream (save for a medley of theirs from earlier in the decade.) Even then, there's people who don't think this song was worth their revived popularity.
It gives me great joy to know that one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia was an honest to God pub rock anthem, true the Choirboys had been hustling in the industry for four years at this point, but their determination paid off with a track that's still fondly remembered by Australian audiences to this day. This even saw moderate crossover success in NZ, proving how much wide appeal these guys had.
I always thought this was a 90's track, although admittedly there was an inferior cover made a decade after this song came out that I do vaguely remember so maybe that's why I thought this was released later than it was despite the obvious usage of synths on the track. Something I'm sure most people don't realise about this track is that it's a breakup song, I'm guessing because of how repetitive it is without spelling out the moral of the track.
Ah yes, we have yet another Oscar winning ballad to become a massive success in Australia, this time it's the love theme from Dirty dancing (yet another movie you either love or hate which I love for the record) which captivated audiences upon its initial release thanks to the chemistry between Righteous brother Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes simulating the characters from the film it was written for.
Following the demise of his band Wham, George Michael decided to continue in the pop direction he established for himself during his time with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The results were his solo album named after this signature track from him which was a huge success for British superstar.
Although their debut single was a huge success for them, it was this second single from 1927 which made them a household name and allowed their album ....Ish to become a huge success just as the decade was beginning to wind down. They were pipped for great things going into the 90's, however their second album was a huge commercial failure for them much like it was for Icehouse.
This was the lead single to Phil Collin's acting debut Buster, a film that I haven't seen but from what I can gather is absolutely terrible and rightfully lost to the sands of history. I can't say I'm that impressed with this update of the Mindbenders track from the 60's, mainly because for a song with the word groovy in its title, there doesn't seem to be much of that on this track.
This was originally released as a single on its own for Bobby Mcferrin, however it achieved massive success thanks to it being included in the Tom Cruise flick Cocktail which many consider to be one of the worst films of the decade. It also has the distinction of to this day being the most successful track to be performed entirely a Capella.
Here's a fun fact I came across while researching for new information on Billy Ocean, all of his Billboard chart toppers have exactly eight words in them which is a bit of a freaky coincidence the more you think about it. In any case this was the final hit single he had anywhere in the world, presumably due to RNB evolving away from the bombast that it was known for throughout this decade.
If there was one band who desperately didn't want to sell out to save their career, it would be Cheap trick as despite this being their biggest hit in most parts of the world, the band have come to despise it as they've described it as a contractual obligation their label made them do rather than it being a passion project. I guess if this is them not putting in the effort and it still turns out this good, then it goes to show you how great they are as a band.
This was the final solo hit to come from George Harrison, although the success of this cover of the obscure track from James Ray did lead to him forming the supergroup the Travelling wilburys a year after its initial release. Apparently, he cut out a verse from the original which led to two things about this track, the first is that it changes the context of the lyrics and the second is that it makes this version more repetitive than the original. No wonder many people don't like this track.
This was the lead single to INXS's magnum opus Kick, the reason why it's their magnum opus is because not only is it their biggest album worldwide, but it also spawned them a Billboard chart topper with this very single from the band. Even though the song was released on its own, the video has it bundled up with "Mediate" which is the song which immediately proceed after this song ends on the album.
It's easy to forget that this wasn't the lead single to MJ's album of the same name, after all few people remember that "I just can't stop loving you" was the lead single to that album likely due to it not being among his more popular songs over the years. This on the other hand was such an instant classic that Weird Al decided to parody it a year after its release as "Fat" which was also a huge success.
As far as non-Australians and kiwis are concerned, this was the debut single from Kylie Minogue as the updated version of "The locomotion" was released as the third single from her self-titled album released this year. As well respected as she is nowadays, critics and audiences from back in the day were rather harsh on her, going as far as to call her the singing budgie likely due to her chipper vocals here.
This was the only notable hit from Scottish lounge band Fairground attraction and let me tell you I for the longest time thought this was a 90's hit given how out of place if feels on this year which itself feels like an early prototype of what was to come throughout that decade. This song's legacy has thrived due to it being used in many commercials to this day.
To think that this is the biggest hit that Crowded house achieved here in Australia, admittedly my shock towards this fact comes from this being one of my least favourite songs from the trio and believe me, I'm a massive fan of these guy's other work. I guess their big hit worldwide is "Don't dream it's over" and that songs lack of success here was more due to it being the fourth single released from their debut.
One of the most powerful scenes in cinematic history was when this song was playing over a massacre that took place throughout Vietnam, it took this completely innocent song about how beautiful the world was and flipped it to be the most cynical piece of irony you could imagine. The scene in question was what allowed this song to finally become a hit in Australia twenty years after its initial release.
This is the biggest hit in Jimmy Barne's career both solo and with his band Cold chisel, I'm guessing because it was the lead single to his album where he wanted to appeal to an international audience and as such saw success both from his fanbase and the more contemporary listeners of the day. He would abandon his ambitions at appealing to an international market following the failure of his album Freight train hearts outside the southern hemisphere.
This was the biggest hit to come out of Belinda Carlisle worldwide, mainly due to the theme of finding heaven on earth (and more specifically how you define that word) resonating with audiences during a time where the world seems more interested in spreading chaos and madness over anything else. It led to her second album being a massive success everywhere except for Australia where it underperformed.
Johny Logan set up a record with this ballad as it allowed him to become the first artist to win Eurovision more than once for a particular country, in this case it was for his native Ireland who likely were as surprised as everyone else when he took home to top prize for the second time this decade following his earlier victory "What's another year." It appears we Aussies finally understood what made him so special as this became a huge success for him down under.
This was the lead single to John Farnham's album of the same name and given how his previous album was the most successful of the decade in Australia, it makes sense that he would continue to appeal to the adult contemporary crowd with this number which resulted in it being a huge success for him just like before.
This was the debut single for the supergroup the Traveling wilburys, a group that consisted of George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan who likely formed in order to make music that harkens back to the days when they were each in their prime. They succeeded cultivating an audience who would be interested in their older work; however, it was bittersweet as Roy would tragically pass away not long after this became a hit for them.
This was the second single to come from Rick Astley's debut album, although if you're from America then this song and the third single (still to come on this list) were skipped over in favour of "Together forever" which helped him score back-to-back Billboard chart toppers from the album. It was a massive year for him regardless of the order of the album cycle, although his popularity would end with his second album.
Much like Joan Jett from earlier in the decade, these guys had a hard time trying to market their music to a mainstream audience as they were too rock for pop, too sexy for rock and too successful to be alternative. Eventually they threaded the needle in their native UK which allowed them to score a hit with this lead single from their debut album that saw even more success here in Australia likely due to audiences being infatuated with lead singer Wendy James.
This was meant to be a parody of the Beastie Boys classic "No sleep till Brooklyn" which these guys somehow knew about given how the hip hop trio were only successful in their native America at the time of this song's release. Hip hop wasn't even that popular when this song came out, making this feel like the trio is punching down as opposed to taking out a popular genre.
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Pat Benatar since the last time she had a hit was from three years prior when "We belong" became a success for her. Then again there's little wonder that this was going to be a hit for her given how female rock stars were able to find success this year with little issues. This led to her album Wide awake in dreamland being a modest success for her before the decade came to an end.
Following the success of their Joshua tree album, U2 released a highly contemptuous documentary that did manage to produce a successful soundtrack which launched arguably their biggest hit in the form of this lead single of theirs. The album would spawn more future classics for them, proving that no amount of arrogance from Bono could dissuade their fans into supporting their music.
This was the debut single from the KLF, that's right, a band that would go on to make some of the most well respected EDM tracks of the 90's began their career as a novelty duo who made this joke track about the Doctor who franchise. Maybe if you enjoy picking on nerds, you'll get a chuckle out of this track.
Well, if fulfilling their record label's wishes involved making this note for note cover of the Elvis Presley track, then I can understand why these guys weren't too thrilled with selling out this year as this is certainly a far cry from their earlier material from the start of the decade. That said, it appears there were plenty of us Aussies who appreciated this update to the Elvis classic as it became a huge hit for them.
For some reason, the lead single to Bananarama's fourth album Wow flopped here in Australia, or more accurately it was a minor sleeper hit as it failed to reach the upper echelons of the charts. Fortunately, this second single (which incidentally was the album's lead single in their native UK) was a massive hit here likely due to how much cheesy fun it is, although it also stands as the final song they released before Sioban Fahey left the group.
Well, this is a song that's easy to make fun of, although I'll refrain from making the obvious joke that the trio's haters used to make back in the day as it's a pretty mean one all things considered. Of course, the joke was on those who doubted them as this did indeed become a massive hit for Bros as well as their album which spawned a bunch of other hits for them across the world, even though they would be one album wonders.
This was the debut single for Jason Donovan, the on-screen love interest for Kylie Minogue's character Charlene on Neighbours. While Kylie wowed audiences with her impressive vocals from around this time, it's clear that Jason's popularity was due to the novelty of being from the show as many people (me included) believe that he had no business being in the music industry.
So, it's come to this, we have the first big hit from Michael Bolton as him as the lead performer. Here we see him cover Otis Redding on the twentieth anniversary of his death likely as a tribute to his body of work, it's obvious that he wanted to pay his respects to the late musician of colour, and I guess audiences gave him a pass for his good intentions.
This was the debut single for one of the most prominent female hip hop stars of all time, although it's interesting to note that this never became a hit for them in their native America and only saw crossover success when it became a surprise hit for them over in the UK. The girls would go on to have massive success throughout the 90's even though they wouldn't score a massive hit on Billboard until 1993.
Although he saw success with "Wising well" from the previous year here in Australia, it was this ballad that helped Terence Trent D'arby see massive success with his album likely due to him sounding similar to Prince in his performance on this track. This allowed the lead single "If you let me stay" to have a second chance in the spotlight as it was released here where it charted much higher this time around.
Although Midnight oil holds the distinction of having the first entry to debut at number one on the Australian charts, the honour for the first song to debut at number one goes to this third single from Kylie's debut album which should tell you how much anticipation there was for said album here in Australia. The anticipation was met as it was one of the more popular albums from the late 80's.
Although New Jersey wasn't nearly as successful an album as Slippery when wet, the album was nonetheless a success for Bon Jovi as it spawned a popular lead single that helped it fly off the shelves upon its initial release. This continued their glam rock trajectory which is perhaps why the album wasn't as big as people felt this was more of the same which their 90's output certainly wasn't.
This cover of the Tommy James classic was originally released to deafening silence earlier in the decade for Billy Idol, however it was given a second chance when he performed it live later in the decade which compelled him to release this live recording where it became a huge success for him. This broke a unique record on Billboard when it replaced Tiffany's "I think we're alone now" at number one, namely that a cover replaced another cover of a track from the same artist.
This was the first song that Bananarama released without Siobahn Fahay, she left the group claiming that she wanted to spend time with her husband David Stewart (of Eurythmics fame) but later admitted she had issues with the direction the trio was heading with their music when she returned with Marcella Detroit as Shakespeare's sister later in the decade. Indeed, her vocals were replaced with her replacement Jacquie O'Sullivan which helped this become one of their bigger hits down under.
These guys were about a year off from experiencing the 90's and yet it appears they were already sick of the 80's, I guess the rest of the world was as well given how this managed to become a huge hit for them. Interestingly this was a Billboard chart topper for the English band despite this flopping in their native UK, perhaps it was due to the American flags that were waved so patriotically in the video.
Well this is a cover that led to interesting developments in Jimmy Barne's career, we have him covering a Percy Sledge track during a live show which proved to be so well received that it was released as a single where it became a huge hit for him.
Although they already achieved a huge hit the previous year with their cover of Redbone's "Witch queen of New Orleans," the Chantoozies were still seen as little more than a group of models singing covers of older songs until they released this track which seemed to silence their critics by bringing them into the big leagues in the music scene. After all this was one of the biggest hits of the year and allowed their album to be a huge success.
This was the third single from MJ's album Bad, a song where he declares his love for a significant other who makes him feel good whenever they're around. This would be his final hit single in Australia for the decade as the next hit he would have down under would be "Black or white" from his next albums Dangerous.
This was originally released as the B-side to Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the dark" which was ranked the second biggest hit of the decade in Australia by David Kent due to its mammoth 64 week run on the charts. Naturally Natalie Cole saw how big this song was and decided to make it her own four years later which allowed it to become her first big hit here after over a decade of trying to make it big.
The last time anyone had heard from Eric Carmen was back in the mid 70's where he scored a hit with "All by myself," this means that for twelve years he was a one hit wonder before this song appeared in one of the more iconic scenes in Dirty dancing where Patrick Swayze teaches Jennifer Grey how to dance. This allowed the song to become a huge success and even give Eric a second hit later in the year.
To think that this was Tiffany's biggest hit here in Australia, or it would've been had her debut single (which is still to come) not being a huge sleeper hit this year due to the success of this second single. Apparently, this was the first song that Tiffany recorded in her career, and by that, I mean it should be obvious as compared to the rest of her album, she sounds completely terrified on this ballad.
This was the debut single for Taylor Dayne, a woman who would go on to have massive success in the early 90's thanks to her powerful vocals albeit with ballads rather than her more upbeat dance tracks such as this song. It turns out this crossed over here in Australia due to it being a massive success in the UK as this was only a modest success in her native America, although it would be her only hit there.
This was the debut single for Johnny Diesel and the Injectors, an Australian pub rock band who took our music scene by storm with their debut album the released the following year which sparked international interest in the band. Indeed, this lead single became a surprise hit over in NZ, proving that the kiwis were all about our rock scene even if they were inconsistent with what they made popular there.
This was originally released in Glenn's native Hawaii following his victory in a singing competition which he won with this cover of a George Benson track from earlier in the decade. Somehow this managed to become a surprise hit over in the UK which allowed it to crossover to Australia, I'm guessing due to how romantic people felt he sounded throughout its runtime.
Although this wasn't her debut single (that honour goes to "Similar features" which sadly flopped) this was the song which made Melissa Etheridge a household name due to a persistent rumour that the song was directed at another woman due to details made in the lyrics. Indeed, Melissa confirmed that it was directed at a woman when she came out as gay in 1992 around the time KD Lang also came out of the closet.
It looks like the trio were able to prove their haters wrong by succeeding with flying colours around the world this year, here's the second single from their debut album which may not have been as memorable as their earlier entry but was able to help their album become one of the most popular of the late 80's. They still have one more entry to come on this list, however that would be their last hit down under.
This was the second single from John's latest album at the time, it continued his winning streak with his adult contemporary sound with its lyrics about how his love with his partner at the time was that of a honey to the bee (hence the album art.) There didn't seem to be any signs of his career slowing down at the time.
Another woman to score massive success this year for the female singer/songwriters of the world, this time it's Tracy Chapman who scored a massive worldwide success with this ballad about how her partner was weighing her down and how she eventually told them to as she puts it "take your fast car and keep on driving" when she realised they were no good for her. It became an inspiring tale about self-preservation that still resonates with audiences to this day.
This was the debut single from 1927, a band that serves as a spiritual successor to Moving pictures as it has Garry Frost as its founding member who was a key member of the former band. They were off to a good start with this track given how it became a huge success for them, and indeed their second single and debut album from later in the year made them one of the hottest new names in Australian music.
I never quite understood how George felt about being tied to the pop machine on Faith as there's plenty of artistic merit on his solo debut as evidence by his third single from the album, although it does have a similar issue to "Daddy's home" in that it can be taken the wrong way by bad faith music critics. It clearly wasn't back in the day as it was his second solo chart topper on Billboard and sixth overall.
This was originally a hit for Simon and Garfunkel back in the mid 60's, although it was never a hit here in Australia until the Bangles made it their own for the film Less than zero which has been described as one of the worst movies of the 80's due to its bizarre depictions of drug culture as well as less than stellar performances from its cast. At least this cover was a huge success for the band and led to them finding success with their next album.
This was a song recorded specifically for the international version of James Reyne's solo debut, a version that was released here in Australia likely to boost the popularity of his catalogue which worked out as this became a big hit for him here. Unfortunately, his international appeal didn't amount to anything, although his next two albums were successful here, so I doubt he minded too much.
For eight years, this was the only hit that Underworld managed to achieve anywhere in the world, they eventually escaped the one hit wonder bin with "Born Slippy" from the Trainspotting soundtrack. In the meantime, their only hit was this infectious EDM track which was much bigger here than it was in their native UK despite EDM not being our favourite genre until well into the 90's.
This was a remix of New order's breakthrough single from five years prior, in fact it was no coincidence this came out when it did as it was released on the fifth anniversary of the original version of this track. Curiously, this version was more successful in Australia than the original, mainly because we knew who the band was by this stage.
There were many early hits from the EDM scene that would explode throughout the 90's, I think one of the earliest comes from this band who scored their only hit with this acid house track before calling it quits. Don't ask me why they gave up after only one track, it was a common troupe for EDM artists throughout the 80's and 90's as we'll see going through these lists.
This was originally written by Michael Bolton for Laura Branigan, that would explain his earlier entry on this list as Cher made this ballad her own following the success of her performance in Moonstruck which got her an academy award for best actress. Although this was a massive worldwide success for her, it would be her next album where she would truly be welcomed back in the music scene.
This was the final hit that Foreigner were able to achieve in most parts of the world, heck this was a bit of a surprise hit here in Australia considering how these guys didn't have much success after their previous album Agent provocateur in their native America. I guess they were more popular here over the years hence why we were able to give them one more hit ten years after they first broke through.
This was the debut single for one of the most well-beloved bands from around this time, to think this sat on shelves for an entire year largely ignored due to their debut album having original album art that was completely horrifying. This has become a staple in hair metal from the late 80's, to the point where I don't think I can add anything to the conversation that hasn't been said a thousand times over.
Given how Talking heads were on the verge of breaking up this year, it only seems reasonable that Jerry Harrison would form a new band with the Casual gods in order to find success on his own. Indeed, he was off to a good start as this debut single of theirs proved to be a bigger hit here in Australia than anything that Talking heads released, although the album wasn't anywhere near as success as their work.
This was the only hit that Big pig managed to score here in Australia, I guess they were technically a British band as they were based in the UK when they started releasing songs two years prior, however they're often claimed as an Australian act likely due to them not having any success over there. This was a massive success over in NZ for some reason, I guess it pop up on a popular DJ's set over there.
This was a surprise comeback for Little river band as it was the first song, they released that had Glenn Shorrock back on lead vocals, I'm guessing this was a hit here due to how well his temporary replacement John Farnham was doing around this time and fans wanting to thank these guys for giving him the platform to reboot his career.
This was the third and final hit that Bros were able to score worldwide, although in their native UK they kept at it for two more albums before finally calling it quits in the early 90's. Here they have a song about how they owe their exes nothing after the relationships had ended, although you can make the argument this is also meant for their haters as they no longer had anything to prove to them.
This was the most successful version of this standards track here in Australia, it's fitting that Rick Astley's version would be a success given it was his third UK hit in a row as well as the song being well know even at the time. This is the first song where Stock Aiken and Waterman tried their hands at standards track in terms of their production, they would make these types of songs with Kylie Minogue on her second album.
This was the third single to be released from Man of colours for Icehouse, normally the band wouldn't score a third hit from one of their albums but in this case, they did due to how passionate Iva Davis is in his performance on this track. No doubt this helped the album becoming their most successful in their career, although their popularity would die out once the decade came to an end.
Well, this is a surprise, you'd think this would be one of the most successful songs of the decade here in Australia considering how inescapable it was internationally for Tiffany Darwish. Alas it was only a sleeper hit here despite how catchy the song is and it arguably being her best performance in her catalogue, although she did find success with her follow up from earlier on this list.
Bet you didn't know that Patrick Swayze had a singing career back in the day, well he didn't actually as this was one of only three songs he recorded before he realised he was a much better actor than he was a singer. This ballad he wrote and recorded was played during the emotional highlight of the film where he and Baby couldn't be together due to him being fired, it works in the film which is perhaps why it was a hit for him.
This is another song from the acid house genre, meaning that it was inescapable from the band's native UK as well as it being a huge international hit for them. If the vocalist sounds familiar to anyone, that's because it's Sonique who's best known for her hit single "It feels so good" which she released ten years after this became a hit for her.
Following the mediocre reception of Kick's second single "Devil inside" (which we'll look at in a bit) INXS were able to bounce back with the third single here thanks to how energetic it was proving they were still able to have a banger in their catalogue as they appealed to an international market. The fourth and final single from the album was "Never tear us apart," a song that's considered their signature track.
This was the first of three hits that Maxi Priest scored in Australia over the years, it's also his only cover as he took the Cat Stevens original and turned it into a reggae track to help him establish a career away from UB40. This was likely one of the songs to kick star the 90's fascination with reggae given how many other tracks from the genre made it big that decade.
Following the success of his earlier entry on this list, Eric Carmen was able to score a hit without the assistance of being attached to a film with this lead single to his (then) most recent album. This led people to wondering if he was back for good after a twelve-year absence on the charts, however he wasn't as this was the last time anyone had heard from the singer/songwriter.
This was the fourth single from Kylie's debut album, it's a song about how Kylie is in love with someone but admittedly doesn't understand why because of the way they treat her. The song is cute in that she ponders why she loves this person in French, hence the title of the song which translates to "I still love you (but I don't know why)" and why it was likely a huge hit for her worldwide.
I guess it had been several decades since there was a dance craze in the music scene, so here's the big one from the 80's with a band called Was (not was) (whatever that's supposed to say about them) who scored their one and only hit with a song about doing the Dinosaur which is a strange dance that seems to be taken from the moves found in "Walk like an Egyptian" from the Bangles. It was a huge hit in Australia and the UK but not in their native America.
This was the final hit that Cliff Richard managed to score in Australia for the rest of the twentieth century, although he did return in 1999 with "The millennium prayer" which was the last time anyone had heard from him in the mainstream. Even though this was a big hit for him in his native UK the previous year, it took a while for this to become a success here likely due to us Aussies not wanting to make him relevant but changing our minds several months later.
This was the lead single to Noisework's second album, an album that didn't live up to the hype set up by their debut album likely due to there being plenty of pub rock coming out from around this time. The band would come back in the early 90's with their third and final album where they added some bombast to their sound which helped them stand out from their contemporaries and made them a success.
This was the biggest success that Paul Kelly achieved back in the day, it's a song that still resonates with audiences to this day due to the story he tells about an abusive husband who seeks to redeem himself to his wife. Even though he never achieved mainstream success outside of this hit he had, he remains one of the most well-respected Australian artists of all time to the point where his greatest hits package was a huge success in 1997.
This was the first big hit that Daryl Braithwaite had in over a decade, in fact he had become a tradie in the time it took to release his second album during the days of his band Sherbet. When he finally decided to give his singing career another go, he was given instant success as the public welcomed him back into the music industry as if no time had passed since his heyday, just like fellow aging star John Farnham
If you're wondering where this track came from, it was the theme song to a film that starred Cyndi Lauper known as Vibes which was so poorly received that it's now long been lost to the sands of time. Indeed, this has gone down as one of Cyndi's worst songs (not just because of that strange title) as she likes to pretend that this doesn't exist, suggesting that she has bad memories of making the film in question.
This was released on the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death in the duo's native UK, naturally it interrupted the album cycle for their sophomore album Actually which is perhaps why the album wasn't as big a success as their debut Please was. It's success this year was due to the album cycle not being altered internationally which means this cover came out months after the anniversary.
This was the only hit that British band Black were able to achieve, even then it came two years after its initial release as this took a while to take off in their native UK. I have to say that I've never liked this ballad, I know that it's meant to be bittersweet and ironic but the fact that there's such cheery lyrics set to depressing music has always rubbed me the wrong way.
This was the only other hit that Gloria Estefan had in Australia with Miami sound machine, I guess the novelty of their breakthrough hit from earlier in the decade ensured that we Aussies wouldn't be able to take them seriously despite how popular they were in NZ and their native America. Her popularity would explode here in the 90's after surviving a horrific crash in her tour bus.
I have no idea why this song became a success this year in Australia, it would've made more sense it if were a hit last year as it was featured in not one but two highly successful films from Hollywood. Those films of course being Ferris Bueller's day off and The secret of my success which fun fact, this song soundtracks a montage of a car being showed off to the protagonist of the films in question.
This was only barely a success here in Australia for INXS, I'm guessing because this felt different from what the band had released prior to this point which must have caught us Aussies off guard when it first came out. It's since become one of their signature tracks over the years as has all of the tracks from their album Kick, proving how timeless each of these songs have become compared to many of the entries on this list.
This was originally a flop for the Angels upon its initial release over a decade prior, however when they went on tour around this time, they performed this live with the crowd shouting "no way get f**ked f**k off" which made it become a staple in their career. This live version was so popular that they released it as a single where it finally allowed the song to become a huge hit for them.
This was the second single that the Choirboys released from their sophomore album, it continued their winning streak this year as it became a success around the time they released the album which was also a huge hit for them here. The album was able to crossover to NZ which was a sign that there was international interest in the band which sadly never translated to success in the northern hemisphere.
It had been several years since Martha Davis had troubled the charts anywhere in the world with her band the Motels, however it appears we Aussies had enough nostalgia for her work following the news that they had called it quits to allow her to embark on a solo career that this solo entry became a hit for her here. Sadly, this was her only hit here despite it fitting in perfectly with the likes of Melissa Etheridge and Tracy Chapman.
This was the first song that Fischer Z released when they reformed the previous year, as a result it felt like no time had passed between their last hit from the start of the decade and this hit they had this year. Although the band never broke up again, this would be the last time we Aussies would hear from them as they wouldn't have another hit after this.
Kylie Mole was a character on the TV series the Comedy club that was created by comedian Mary Anne Fahey who was obviously meant to be a knockoff of Kylie Minogue given how quickly the Australian pop star rose to prominence in the music industry. Now unlike other comedians who made fun of Kylie in a cruel and derogatory way, Kylie did so in a loving way to the point where both women were friends in real life.
It seems rather odd that this version of the Kool and the gang classic was the biggest hit here in Australia, the original flopped earlier in the decade as did Kylie's cover from the early 90's. In any case, this was the final hit that Dragon had in their career, although "Young years" from their next album does still receive a ton of airplay suggesting that that was unfairly ignored at the time.
This was the final hit that Jimmy Somerville was able to score in Australia in any capacity, although he would score a solo hit throughout the rest of the world in the 90's with "To love someone" once the Communards called it quits at the end of the 80's. This was a cover of Gloria Gaynor's first hit single, which in turn was a cover of the Jackson 5 classic, making this a cover of a cover.
This was the final hit that the Eurogliders were able to achieve in their career, I'm guessing because they took too long in following up their album Absolutely with their fourth album this hit was named after and thus their fans had moved onto other forms of music by this stage. The band called it quits as the 80's came to an end, however Grace Knight would find success as a solo artist in the 90's.
There wasn't any indication that Poison's second album would be a commercial success for them even in their native America, however they were off to a good start in Australia when the lead single became a huge success here due to it being seen as an anthem for the weekend like many rock tracks that make it big here. The albums popularity peaked when the third single "Every rose as its thorn" topped the Billboard charts.
Although "Should've known better" did scrape the top ten here in Australia, it won't be appearing on this list due to how it was only barely a hit here this year. Fortunately, Richard's second single from his debut album was a much bigger hit despite it having a lower peak here. I do prefer his earlier single mainly because it's more upbeat than this ballad, however they both showcase his strengths as a vocalist.
Here's a song that became a hit purely through the controversy caused by the music video, after all it's not every day where you see a nineteen-year-old woman dancing around in a bikini that's clearly too small for her to the point where she has to adjust the bikini multiple times throughout the video's runtime. This resulted in the video being banned in the UK due to partial nudity, which of course made the song a huge success worldwide.
This was the debut single for Toni Childs, a woman who struggled to find success in her native America as did many of the other entries on this list as America was slow to adapt the female singer/songwriter trend into their mainstream. Here she was a massive success thanks to the popularity of her debut album where it became one of the biggest of the decade, in fact her next album was also a huge hit for her.
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