Although she had already seen massive success with her song "I found someone," this was the comeback that Cher needed to reinvigorate her career following a long absence in the music industry. Admittedly this absence was due to her involvement in Hollywood where she starred in a string of some of the more memorable flicks of the decade such as Silkwood, Mask and the Witches of Eastwick.
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.
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.
Well mashup singles were all the rage this decade, so why not have one of the final hit singles be a mashup from this British group? I guess the gimmick here was the band's mascot which appears to be a (in my opinion) poorly drawn rabbit dancing around to this mashup in the video. Needless to say, this doesn't rank among the more popular mashups of the day despite it easily being the biggest hit in this genre.
It looked like the third album from the Bangles would be a huge commercial disappointment worldwide, however much like their previous album, a huge chart topper from the album saved it from flopping in the form of this heartfelt ballad which some have described to be creepy due to Suzanna Hoffs performance. I personally disagree as she's too earnest and lovestruck for it to be intentionally creepy, although it didn't prevent the girls from breaking up this year.
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.
I think my American readers will be surprised to see this song appear on this list and not one of my 90's lists, this is because this signature track from the Proclaimers was eventually chosen as the theme song to the Johnny Depp flick Benny and Joon in 1993 despite it being five years old by the time that movie was released. I guess this does serve as the perfect song to use on a road trip montage.
While the title track to Madonna's fourth album was uncontroversial enough, after all it's merely about her questioning her own faith in religion as is the rest of the album, it was the video that got her in a lot of hot water when she released it this year. Suffice to say, Pepsi backed out of their sponsorship of her tour given all of the negative press the video received this year.
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 the first of several songs to be released from Black box's one and only album Dreamland, although that's likely due to the behind-the-scenes drama the band went through when lead vocalist Martha Walsh (of Weather girls fame) was replaced with a more attractive woman on the cover art and in the videos. This led to her leaving the group which in turn led to them disbanding once the album cycle was done.
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.
Given how tragedy struck the band during the midpoint of the decade with the death of one of its members, there was a very real possibility that this signature track of theirs and the album it came from never would've come into fruition had the band decided to call it quits once they lost their key member. Fortunately, the band soldiered on which resulted in this party jam coming into fruition for them and becoming their big breakthrough in their homeland of America.
This was a massive success for Fine young cannibals for a few reasons, the first is how dynamic of a vocal performance Roland Gift gives throughout the track which highlights just how messed up he feels about the woman he's singing about. The second is for the video which is both hilarious and gives unique visuals to convey the lyrics about this relationship, no wonder it found a captivating audience worldwide.
This is the ballad that serves as the emotional core of the film Beaches, were it not a cover of an obscure track from Roger Whitaker (of "The last farewell" fame) I'm sure it easily would've won an academy award for best original song for Bette Midler. This has sadly come under fire over the years due to the admittedly cheesy lyrics which divorced from the context of the film, are admittedly a lot to stomach.
Roxette are one of my favourite bands of all time, so to learn that they nearly never had a career outside of their native Sweden is a bit of a disappointment from me. Fortunately, with the help of a foreign exchange student, this third single from their sophomore album managed to find massive success in America which was then translated to the rest of the world for the duo.
This was a huge comeback success for Alice Cooper who had been MIA on the charts for exactly a decade worldwide as the last hit he had was with "How you gonna see me now" from the end of the 70's. Here he is with a song that seems to be a perfect fit into the hair metal that was popular around this time, meaning that he sadly wasn't able to retain his popularity going into the 90's.
This was the solo debut for Kate Ceberano, an Australian woman of colour who began her career as the lead vocalist for I'm talking which was a band comprising mostly of older men while she and a friend of hers provided vocals for their jazz rock instrumentation. Here she goes in a more pop direction with this song that showcases her powerful vocals bringing to life these cute lyrics about the relationship she's in.
Their previous album was a decently huge hit for these guys, however following the success he had with his main band Genesis, Mike Rutherford saw a huge surge in popularity worldwide to the point where the main vocalist Paul Carrack scored a huge hit two years prior with "When you walk in the room." All of this led to this ballad becoming a huge success for the band when it did.
This was a bit of a surprise hit for NKTOB given how it wasn't much of a hit in their native America, I'm guessing it crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the track is compared to the rest of the album which is mostly filled with ballads from the boys. This eventually led the song to be released in the UK where it was an even bigger hit for them.
Although they found plenty of success with their albums up until this point in Australia, this was the first genuine hit that Simply red had here as none of their singles lit up our charts like this song did throughout the decade. Their success would continue to grow in the new decade as their next two albums would break records for them in their native UK.
Many people find this to be Billy's most annoying song due to how the melody is structured, I don't agree but can see where they're coming from as it does seem like it was metered this way to accommodate for the lyrical structure which is just him shouting out a bunch of pop culture references that took place during his lifetime. This gimmick paid off for Billy commercially as this remains his biggest hit worldwide despite the backlash it's received.
If you can believe it, Carole King's version of this classic was never released as a single as it was only ever the B-side to her biggest hit "It's too late" from almost two decades prior to when Martika made it her own with this cover. I guess her fellow Americans didn't appreciate this cover from her as this flopped hard on Billboard despite her previous single being a chart topper on there.
Given how inescapable Jimmy Barnes was during the second half of the decade, it only makes sense that the other vocalist from Cold Chisel would follow in his footsteps and release his own album to prove that he was a worthy member of the pub rock band. Indeed, Ian Moss scored massive success with his first solo album largely thanks to its lead single which tells the story of a girl he's in love with but also knows is bad for him.
This was the second single from Richard Marx's sophomore album Repeat offender, an album which continued his popularity around the world despite many people nowadays dismissing him as the American equivalent of Bryan Adams. He would achieve further success in the 90's when his Canadian counterpart returned to the spotlight, however his popularity would quickly dwindle as the decade went on.
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.
Well, this is a song that divides fans of Prince to this day, mainly because it's less of a song and more of a collage of moments from the Batman film with Prince occasionally singing to remind audiences that this is a track from him. This proved to be a huge success for him even if I would've gone with "Partyman" as the lead single from the soundtrack, not only is it a more conventional song but it plays in one of the better scenes in the movie.
This is the final hit single Tina Turner managed to score in Australia, mainly because her theme to her biographical film "I don't wanna fight" was a flop here despite the film being a huge critical and commercial success in 1993. This song has since become her signature tune in Australia given how she performed it with Jimmy Barnes in 1992 and that recording allow this to become a hit again that year.
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.
It looked like that "Desire" would be the only hit single from Rattle and hum in Australia in exchange for the album being a huge success here, however the success of this fourth single thanks to its emotional music video proved otherwise as it became the final hit that U2 had this decade. Their next album would have them go in a more ironic direction to help them adapt with the changing times.
This was the one and only hit from Grayson Hugh not just in Australia but throughout the world, I'm guessing because this flopped in his native America likely due to the video which is admittedly ridiculous even for its time. The lyrics do make up for the cheesy video which apparently were meant for Olivia Newton John to sing, however I feel this guy does a better job then she could ever hope for.
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.
This was a bittersweet victory for Roy Orbison given how he had tragically passed away before it and the album it came from were released to the public. I get the feeling this was meant for the second edition of the Traveling wilburys album given how that was never released to the public, either way it makes for a sad but satisfying book end to a highly successful career from Roy.
Given how both of them were established singers at this point (debatable so for Jason) it makes sense that Scott and Charlene from Neighbours would collaborate in real life and make a ballad to cash in on their onscreen wedding which had just aired in the UK when they released this as a single. The duo would go on to have further success this year thanks to how popular they were with the Brits.
This was originally the lead single to Roxette's second album in their native Sweden; however, it was released as the second single from the album when it was finally given an international release where it was only a success here in Australia. I'm not sure why this album flopped everywhere else in the world, however I think its success here came from them performing it on Countdown revolution.
This doesn't feel like an 80's song to me, I'm guessing because there were so few songs whose main instrument was the violin this decade that it feels like something that came from the 90's or even early 00's. In any case, it took Sam Brown a few tries for this to become a success for her likely due to how different it sounded to everything else on the charts, she eventually got there in the early months of the year.
This was a happy ending for Jenny Morris's career given how she had struggled to score a hit throughout the 80's and finally achieved massive success just as the decade was coming to an end here and in her native NZ. Here she sings about how this woman (presumably herself in the third person) needs to be treated with love and respect from however she's singing to, and it happened to be well appreciated by audiences of the time.
There were no signs of Belinda Carlisle slowing down in the music industry, unless of course you're from America in which this single and album it served as the lead single to wound up being a massive flop on Billboard. I guess the Americans were tired of her passionate vocals set to upbeat pop rock, however the rest of the world certainly wasn't as this managed to be a huge success for her because of those traits.
Their debut album was already a moderate success for them here in Australia, however it was this lead single to their second album which made them a household name and even allowed Pop star to rebound on our charts upon the release of their second album. There was an obvious theme to both of the band's biggest hits, namely that Wendy James wanted to know that the target of these songs was the love of her life.
This was a stacked year for Madonna as she was able to score three massive hits from her fourth album Like a prayer just as the decade was coming to an end. Here's the second of the three as she promotes a message of self-value, specifically how you shouldn't buy into material gifts that your partner offers you to excuse their awful treatment of you. It's a positive message that seems to be relevant now more than ever.
Tiffany might have had more success with her singles overall in Australia, however her rival Debbie Gibson was able to score a massive hit this year with the lead single to her second album Electric youth due to ballads being at the height of their popularity around this time. This allowed the album to be a moderate success here as this was bigger than anything Tiffany put out despite her being massively successful worldwide.
This was the debut single for Martika as well as her only hit in her native America as the rest of her catalogue sadly bombed on the Billboard charts. Fortunately, the rest of her catalogue was a huge success internationally likely due to her emotional vocals she gives on each of her tracks, this one in particular being the most emotional due to it being an ode to a fallen friend who died of a drug overdose.
Man staying positive on this site has been a challenge for me, I guess one thing I can say in this songs favour is that Collette does seem like a better fit for the lyrics over Anita Ward, although that's about it. This was her one and only hit in Australia and her native NZ, meaning that this is an example of a one hit wonder covering a one hit wonder as opposed to Pseudo echo who were massive here.
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.
Now that these guys were established hit makers, they didn't seem to have any issues with finding success with the rest of the songs from their sophomore album. Here we have their ballad which was a huge chart topper in the UK and their native America, although in the former it didn't reach the top spot until the 90's which means this was a hit here thanks to its popularity on Billboard.
Although it remains a popular film here in Australia, Young Einstein wasn't well received internationally largely due to the premise of there being an Australian Einstein who invented rock and roll not clicking well with foreign audiences. It doesn't help that the premise is built on a throwaway joke from Back to the future, although at least the music was well received such as this cover of the Chuck Berry classic from Mental as anything.
While this wasn't her debut single, it was the song that got Irish new age vocalist Enya into the mainstream as it became a surprise success in her native UK when it got to number one over there. I'm guessing this was a huge hit down under due to the number of female singer/songwriters making it big around this time, making it a win for what would eventually become the Lilith Fair crowd.
Much like the rest of his album, this was initially a flop for Bobby Brown likely due to us Aussies not being interested in the drama he had with his former band New edition. His fortunes changed when he released his theme to Ghostbusters II which helped this upbeat track from his album become a surprise success as the 80's was coming to an end, this allowed the album to also be a success for him.
This was the only notable success that Paul Norton was able to achieve in his career, mainly because he managed to break through at a time that was good for Australian pop rock but not good enough for an artist to guarantee success going into the 90's. I guess he was hoping on receiving promotion from Countdown revolution following the success of this track which he received, but it didn't do him any favours.
Years before it was featured in the first Shrek film as a montage of Shrek and Donkey's journey to save Princess Fiona, this was a huge hit for the Proclaimers in the southern hemisphere following the massive success they had with their earlier entry on this list. This helped the album be a massive success as it proved they were more than just a novelty act and were able to sustain an audience with their pop rock.
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Julian Lennon as the last time he troubled the charts anywhere in the world was with his debut single "Too late for goodbyes" from five years prior. Indeed, this lead single to his third album was a massive flop throughout the rest of the world and yet it was a huge success for him here in Australia, likely for the video which depicted him with a prototype of Slappy the dummy from Goosebumps.
This was the second single to be released from Heavy nova, a song that initially struggled to find success here due to it being one of his more subdue ballads but eventually became a success due to it being one of his bigger hits in his native UK. Apparently, the Brits didn't care for "Simply irresistible" but latched on to this track from the album, proving what they liked about his music and what they didn't.
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.
Even though this is credited to the Art of noise as the lead artist, I think we can all agree that this cover really belongs to Tom Jones for the simple phrase "think I better dance now." There's debate on whether this is better than the original, however there's no denying that both songs sees both men of colour at their sexiest as the lyrics encourage them to be as provocative as they can allow themselves to be.
Tone Loc is nowadays known for his many voiceover roles in kids cartoons due to his deep voice lending credence to characters with mystic or coolness, however he began his career as a rapper who scored two massive hits worldwide beginning with this being the second big hit he was able to score and by far the bigger of the two in Australia. I'm guessing it was due to a lack of nostalgia baiting on this track.
This was originally released in 1982 to deafening silence for the Belle stars, likely because we didn't need yet another update of the calypso track from the 50's by the early 80's and that the Belle stars already had success with their hit "The clapping song" here in Australia and "Sign of the times" in their native UK. The girls had broken up by the time their cover had appeared in the Oscar winning film Rain man, so the video was reedited to have scenes from the film spliced in with the original clip.
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.
This was the final hit single that Madonna scored in the 80's, mainly because "Oh father" flopped which was her first song to do so since "Lucky star" back in 1984. This is one of her sweeter ballads as she pledges her love to the person this song is dedicated to (which is apparently a Mer person according to the video) and as such it remains one of her most popular tracks from the 80's in her fanbase.
This was the other big hit that FYC had throughout the world this year, although it was curiously a flop in their native UK despite it being their second Billboard chart topper. This and several of the tracks on the album was recorded two years prior, which means there was possibly behind the scenes drama which led to them calling it quits the following year despite how well their album did.
Although he had already achieved moderate success with his comeback album around this time, it was this third single from Edge which cemented his comeback status due to how fun and catchy it is from the aging pop star. This could've been a fluke for him given how audiences likely had nostalgia for Sherbet around this time, however his next album was even bigger meaning this wasn't a fluke for him.
There were no signs of Kylie's popularity slowing down going into her second album, that is unless you're from America where it was such a failure that she wouldn't be able to release anything over there for over ten years due to being dropped from her American label. I guess the hits from her second album were more of the same from her first, hence why they got fed up with her when the rest of the world didn't.
Well, we have a second hit to come from the cartoon rabbit who felt the need to mashup a bunch of songs from yesteryear into a hit single, at least this was their final hit single here in Australia unlike in their native UK where they scored a third chart topper there with another one of these mashups.
This was the only hit that Black sorrows were able to achieve during their career, although they had better luck with their albums as this song did allow their album Hold on to me to become a huge success as the decade was coming to an end as well as set them up for a very successful album in the 90's. The band is best known for their lead singer Joe Camelleri who previously had success with Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons.
This was originally a hit for Maxine Nightingale back in the mid 70's, indeed it was a bigger hit for her back in the day even though Sinitta scored a massive hit with her cover thirteen years later. Sinitta is best known for two things, being the longtime girlfriend of Simon Cowell and the niece of Amii Stewart. The former is why she had a career in the first place and the latter explains her overall popularity.
This was the second single from Johnny Diesel's debut album, while it wasn't as big as their earlier entry (likely due to it not being as catchy) it did continue their winning streak here in Australia as it fuelled the popularity of the album thanks to Diesel's strong passionate vocals. They would score one more hit this year (which we'll get to) before contributing to the Delinquents soundtrack in 1990.
These guys will unfortunately be forever remembered for their 1997 album which many regard as one of the worst albums ever made, eight years prior they scored a massive success with their debut album with its lead single due to it being a country ballad that connected with audiences as the 80's was coming to an end. They would fade into obscurity going into the 90's until their infamous comeback.
This was the final solo hit that Phil Collins managed to score here in Australia, it's a song that's seemingly about living in paradise but is actually from the point of view of a homeless person wanting to find paradise in their life of poverty. This tugged at the heartstrings of his audience for one last time as it became the final Billboard chart topper of the 80's, this earning him the nickname of Mr. 80's.
This is my favourite song to ever become a hit in Australia, sure there's songs that made it big that are technically better, but the way Marie tries to reassure her audience that everyone deserves a second chance in a relationship (and by extension in life) just resonates with me that few other songs can do. A lot of people agreed that this was a great song as it became their second Billboard chart topper even though "Dressed for success" flopped in America.
This was the second and final hit that Ian Moss managed to achieve in his career, although this did come out around the time his album was release meaning it helped him score massive success with the album. This doesn't have as complicated a narrative as his earlier entry on this list, I'm guessing that's the only reason why it wasn't as successful as the sound is the same on both tracks.
You knew there had to be a newer version of Pseudo echo at some point, so here we are with Indecent obsession who were a younger version of the band who managed to score their one and only hit this year with their debut single. Even though the marketing depicts them as the Australian equivalent of NKOTB, they were a proper band who played their own instruments who just happen to be conventionally good looking.
This was the first solo hit that Annie Lennox had, OK technically it isn't as this was a duet between her and Al Green which was made for the Bill Murray flick Scrooged which was a modern take of the Ebeneezer Scrooge fable. From what I can gather, the film was a critical and commercial success thanks to Bill's performance as the titular character, thus enabling this to be a huge success for the pair.
Well at least there was an upbeat track from the soundtrack to Phil's first starring role in Hollywood, here we have a love ballad about how he feels that he has as he puts it "two hearts living in one mind" which means there's two sides of his personality which are very different from each other. From what I can gather, Buster is a film loosely based on The great train robbery of 1963, which means this song gives details to a potential romance subplot in the film.
This was the final hit that Simple minds were able to achieve in Australia, it also stands as their biggest hit in their native UK as it was their only chart topper over there. I guess these guys were a bit ahead of the curve when it came to the Celtic revival of the 90's as this ballad has plenty of Celtic influences on here that wouldn't feel out of place on a Corrs album or the Riverdance soundtrack.
This was the second solo hit that Jason Donovan was able to achieve in his career, although his success in Australia was noticeably pitiful compared to how well he was doing in the UK due to how much the Brits were in love with his role in Neighbours. This is another song that's hard for me to talk about without being mean as it's gone down in infamy as one of the worst songs to come out of the 80's.
This was the third hit that Johnny Diesel and the Injectors were able to score from their debut album, proving that they were one of the hottest Australian bands of the day right when the 80's was beginning to come to an end. Their popularity was so huge this year that they scored buzz over in the UK which likely explains why their music occasionally pops up in international media throughout the 90's.
Here we are with the third single from NKTOB's second album here in Australia, it was their second Billboard chart topper in a row which should tell you how popular these kids were around this time. This song has received a lot of flak over the years for it desperately trying to prove how tough these kids are when in reality they obviously had it pretty easy in life up until this point.
This was a one-off project for INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, I'm guessing he wanted to make a name for himself away from his band, so he released this in an attempt to do so following the failure of his solo single "Room for the memory" two years prior. It was a huge success for him both here and NZ, although he would dissolve the project and return to making music with INXS the following year.
Well, this was the first big hit that Milli Vanilli managed to score in Australia admittedly this was only a sleeper hit here due to our scepticism towards whether they were the real deal or a what they really were which was hired models to lip synch to music that otherwise would've gone unnoticed in the mainstream.
This was the last hit that Cyndi Lauper had in most parts of the world, although she would return five years later with a remix of her debut single in NZ and the UK so there's that at least. This was originally written for and performed by Roy Orbison; however, he didn't include it on his final album this year which technically means this version is the original version. Roy's version came out in the early 90's when word got out that it was meant for him.
This is the only other hit that Boom crash opera was able to achieve with their singles, although their popularity was more from the album this served as the lead single for as it went on to achieve massive success the following year. I'm a bit surprised these guys didn't achieve further success in the 90's, sure this might be too bombastic for that decade, but they did adapt with the times unlike their contemporaries.
Even though this has remained a classic on oldies stations over the years, I can't help but feel this was only a success for the Travelin wilburys due to the recent passing of Roy Orbison given how this was released around the same time his own song had become a success from earlier on this list. This would be the last we Aussies would hear from the supergroup, although they did release a second album the following year.
This was the lead single to Janet's album Rhythm nation 1814, an album that wouldn't peak here in Australia for another two years due to it needing the success of her rare rock track "Black cat" to find success here for some reason. In the meantime, she did achieve success with this track about how she feels that she ended a relationship too soon and that she misses her ex.
D Generation were a comedy troupe that were very popular in the late 80's in Australia, similar to the Comedy club but not quite as successful. Like the Comedy club, they found moderate success in the music industry with this mashup of five popular songs from Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Little river band and James Reyne with them inserting their comedy throughout the runtime.
This was the final hit that Queen was able to score during Freddie Mercury's lifetime, I get the feeling this was only a success for them due to this being released at the end of the decade and fans wanting to give the band one final hit for them to close out the decade as a relevant band. Indeed, their last hit was from five years prior when their album the Works spawned two of their bigger hits for them.
This was the last big hit that Icehouse managed to achieve in their career, although they did achieve one more minor hit the following year with "Miss divine" from their album Code blue. This came from their greatest hits package named after their signature track from eight years prior, an album that seemed appropriate to close out the decade as they broke through at the start of the decade to massive success.
This was the final hit that Tears for fears had anywhere in the world, it was the lead single to their third album which came almost half a decade after their second album following a bunch of behind-the-scenes drama that had reduced the quartet back to a duo during this albums production. It was a massive hit for them in NZ and America, although it was only a minor success in Australia and their native UK.
This was the only hit that Gyan Evans managed to achieve in her career, although it was a promising start to a career that deserved so much better given how opulent her vocals and production are on the track. I guess Australia had no shortage of talented female vocalists by this stage in time, which meant that she fell by the wayside going into the 90's while other women thrived in the mainstream.
This was the other big hit that Tone Loc had in Australia, and indeed it relies on the nostalgia people have of the Kinks classic of the same name as while it isn't a cover of that track, it does heavily sample the instrumentation which is a trend that would become all too common in hip hop throughout the following decade. As I said earlier, he would go on to become a popular voice actor in children's media.
So, Guns n Roses managed to score a second hit in Australia as the decade was coming to an end, not with their more worthy songs like "Welcome to the jungle" or "Paradise city" but with a song from their second album which I'm sure many of their fans have long since forgotten about over the years.
It feels a little weird that this was the big hit off of UB40's self-titled album, mainly because "Breakfast in bed" with Chrissie Hynde was the big hit off that album in NZ and their native UK. I guess we only wanted to hear one duet between Ali and Chrissie back in the day but also wanted to acknowledge this album now that they had success over in America.
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