NZ hits of 1978

Disco was a huge draw this year in music, however there was also a ton of rock opera and easy listening for people who weren't into shaking their groove thing.

While it wasn't the biggest hit of the decade in NZ (at least as far as chart runs go) this lead single from Boney M's third album does have the distinction of having the longest run at number one over there matching Abba's "Fernando" run at fourteen weeks. I guess in that regard, this was the biggest hit of the decade over there.

I guess America wasn't interested in listening to a song about Paul's Scottish heritage, it's their loss as this became one of the biggest hits of the decade throughout the rest of the world with NZ being no exception.

It was inevitable that this would be a bigger hit in NZ than it was in Australia, after all the kiwis had already fully embraced the Brothers Gibb as the kings of disco by the time they released their magnum opus Saturday night fever. Admittedly this was the album which finally convinced us Aussies to do the same.

This was originally released on Rod Stewart's album Atlantic crossing; however, it was pushed as a single two years after the albums initial release for reasons I can't seem to fathom where it became a huge success over in NZ also for reasons I can't seem to fathom.

Well, this might not have been as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia, however this duet between the two stars of Grease was nonetheless one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ thanks to the chemistry they display on the track as well as it being a bop to listen to even to this day.

Well, this was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, although Simple dreams wasn't as successful over there as it was here so perhaps this song ate up all of the success from the album in NZ that it didn't down under. In any case, this was her biggest hit over there as "Don't know much" wasn't as warmly received in the early 90's as it was here in Australia.

Well, if you're into a spoken word RNB track about guys hitting on you by introducing themselves with their horoscopes, then this is the song for you as the Floaters (wow that band name) managed to score a massive worldwide hit with this ballad likely due to the novelty of the track that I've just described.

This was an inevitable hit for Exile in NZ given how inescapable it was throughout the rest of the world, although it led to them having a second hit the following year with "The part of me that needs you most" proving that there was potential for them to be a household name back in the day and not just a one hit wonder.

There were no signs of the Brothers Gibb slowing down as the 70's was coming to an end in NZ, indeed this lead single to their album Spirits having flow was a massive success for them over there much more so than it was over here despite it not even being a disco hit from them. Like the rest of the world, their transition into the 80's was a disaster as their next album was a huge failure for them over there.

Well Jon English managed to have a huge music career by appearing in Jesus Christ superstar, so it seems natural that someone who played the titular character in the original west end version also managed to have a massive success in NZ with a song of his own. This was Paul Nicholas who scored his one and only hit worldwide with this pop tune before returning to the world of theatre.

So, you remember that melody from "I wanna sex you up" from Color me badd right? Well, it turns out the boy band got that melody from this track from the Brothers Johnson who scored a massive hit with this RNB ballad produced by Quincy Jones before he met the future king of pop on the set of the Wiz. These guys would score a second hit with "Stomp" at the start of the 80's before fading into obscurity.

There was little chance this was going to fail in NZ considering how inescapable this debut single was for Kate Bush throughout the rest of the world, it also didn't feel out of place with everything else coming out this year which was another mark in its favour when it came to its success.

Kellee Patterson is interesting in that she became the first woman of colour to compete in the miss America pageant earlier in the decade, she didn't win as that honour would go to Vanessa Williams over a decade later, however her presence certainly shaped up how the series was conducted. She tried to have a singing career which resulted in her scoring a huge hit with this over in NZ of all places.

Given how there wasn't a local band in NZ to steal the success of this cover of an obscure Righteous brothers track from the African all girl group Clout, this managed to become a massive success for them over there and is a more accurate representation as to how well it did back in the day in the southern hemisphere.

This is the only hit that funk band Parliament were able to achieve outside of their native America, although fans of Dee lite may recognise this as Bootsy Collin's band given how the bassist appears in their one and only hit "Groove is in the heart" technically making him a two hit wonder over there.

This was a massive success in NZ this year, likely because again, the kiwis didn't allow album sales to affect the popularity of singles from said albums back in the day. This means that this fourth single from the Saturday night fever soundtrack was the second biggest hit from the album as opposed to the fourth biggest like it was here in Australia.

Well at least this was released on time in NZ compared to here in Australia, mainly because Lionel Richie and company managed to have success over there prior to this ballad which meant the kiwis were already well familiar with their brand of soft rock set to RNB ballads.

It seems like having the Brothers Gibb on your song was a cheat code for any Australian back in the day, heck any artist period as everything affiliated with the Bee Gees was a surefire hit such as this one and only hit from Samantha Sang in her catalogue. She would try to recapture the success she had with this ballad to no avail due to not collaborating with the Brothers Gibb again.

Well, this was 10cc's foray into reggae, so naturally it would be their biggest hit in NZ given how the kiwis have always had a soft spot for reggae over the years. Granted this was also their biggest hit here in Australia, however that was more due to their other songs coming from highly successful albums as well as possibly due to the story being told in the lyrics about the lead singer getting mugged.

This was the lead single from Rod Stewart's album Foot loose and fancy free, and like his other songs and albums this decade, it was a massive success for him worldwide. Sorry but I don't have anything new to add to this entry.

It seems odd that this was Boney M's big breakthrough over in NZ, at least we Aussies had given them a hit with "Daddy cool" before rewarding them with success for a dance track history lesson about one of the evilest women from the first half of the twentieth century. The kiwis either appreciated the history lesson or simply found this track to be catchy in a way they didn't find their earlier work to be.

For whatever reason, this breakup song from Rose Royce was slightly delayed with its release here in Australia, that wasn't the case in NZ where it was released on time for the band that gave us "Car wash" two years prior. As such, it became an even bigger success over there likely because the kiwis had already made them a huge success earlier in the decade with more than one hit.

Given how this was a massive flop for Meat loaf in his native America, it meant that it had to become a success here in Australia in order for it to crossover in NZ. Indeed, once it became a success over there, Meat loaf had no troubles in finding success with the rest of the album which allowed it to be one of the most successful of the decade in NZ just like it was in Australia and in the UK.

Well at least this wasn't quite as big in NZ as their two earlier entries on this list, I say this more because their previous two entries have been the songs to survive over the years despite this lead single from the Saturday night fever soundtrack having a bunch of covers from artists over the decades. In fact, it's probably due to these covers that this song has since lost its place in pop culture since its release.

At least this guy was able to achieve a massive hit in NZ back in the day, although he also remains a one hit wonder everywhere outside of his native Canada so that's not really much of a compliment all things considered. Still, this does remain a classic to this day, and hey the dance track from the 90's didn't even chart in NZ so they likely will only be familiar with this version over there.

This was the final hit that Frankie Valli had anywhere in the world, I think most people tend to not notice this was a disco hit given how it was the theme to a film that was set in the 50's which was long before disco was ever a thing. Frankie was a surprisingly good disco artist between this and "December 63" with the Four seasons, I'm not sure why these were the only two disco hits had had.

John Rowles is best known for his 1968 it "If I only had time" outside of his native NZ, in his NZ it wasn't even his biggest hit as that honour goes to this track he scored a decade later over there.

Uriah Heep were one of the more successful rock bands from the first half of the decade when it came to their albums in Australia, although this was a minor hit over there, it was a massive hit in NZ which suggests they were even bigger over there with their albums. As usual, I have no definitive proof how big they were over in NZ with their albums during the first half of the decade.

I was confused at first as to what took this song so long to crossover to NZ, however I then discovered that Graham Bonnet was living in Australia at the time of his two big hits meaning it was likely marketed over there due to its success here much like his other big hit "Warm ride" (which we'll be revisiting later down this list.)

This guy also had more than just the one hit in NZ, although "Going in with my eyes open" wasn't quite as big over there as it was here or in the UK, so it won't be making a second appearance on this site like his other two entries.

This was an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for Andy Gibb, although for what it's worth "Thicker than water" wasn't a success over there so you can consider this placement a dual entry for both of his big hits he had in Australia and America this year.

This was the only big hit that Raydio had in NZ, sure "You can't change that" was also a modest success over there the following year, however it didn't bring in the numbers over there like it did over here, so it missed the cut in making a second appearance on this site. For what it's worth, Ray Parker Jr also had less success over there than he did over here, so perhaps the kiwis just weren't that into his music.

This was more of a success due to Neil Diamond's presence in NZ given how Barbra Streisand had only had one hit over there by this point, still it was a massive success for the duo which enabled it and the album of the same name to be a success over there.

There was no escaping this disco jam throughout the world upon its initial release, so much so that's it being a success in NZ like it was here in Australia was inevitable back in the day despite the fact that the official soundtrack from the film it was paying homage to was a massive flop over there.

This was the first hit that Billy Joel had in NZ of any kind, true this was his first major success here in Australia, but he did have a sleeper hit two years prior with "Piano man" likely due to it being featured on Countdown that year. Everywhere else in the world, this was the song which made him a household name likely due to the sentimental lyrics about wanting the person he's singing to not to change.

This is a bit weird considering how this was a huge number one hit in Australia despite it being the second single from a highly successful album and yet it was only a top ten (albeit still huge) hit in NZ where successful albums generally didn't impact the success of a single (at least back in the day.) The song was still huge likely due to it being another history lesson set to a catchy disco beat from Boney M.

This was more of an immediate hit for Nick Gilder in NZ this year due to the kiwis being as enamoured by his sexual antics as the Americans were, not so much that it was a number one hit over there like it was on Billboard but enough for it to be a genuine hit for him. It didn't do him any favours in escaping the one hit wonder bin, but at least there's a good chance there's a legacy the song has over there.

You knew that these three women of colour would have a massive hit over in NZ this decade, however I don't think anyone was expecting to see this obscure track from the trio be their biggest success given how little of a legacy it has in this day and age. Although it wasn't as big as this was, "Best of my love" was also a huge hit over there unlike here in Australia where these three didn't have a hit as a lead artist.

This was one of only two hits that A taste of honey managed to have any success with worldwide, the other was a cover of "Sukiyaki" from Kyo Sakamoto which was meant to be a thank you to their Japanese fans for making them a household name over there. I'm surprised this wasn't a bigger hit here in Australia considering A: it's a disco hit that went to number one on Billboard and B: how it permeates on oldies stations here to this day.

Well, this is a surprise, we have a funk track from the Commodores about them wanting the perfect woman which they describe as a "brick house" (I guess this song was ahead of its time when it came to body positivity.) This and "Lady" from 1981 were the only upbeat tracks to become a success for the band, mainly because they didn't have Lionel Richie on lead vocals, it's another connection both songs have.

This was also a mega hit for Donna Summer in NZ this year, I doubt it was due to this being her first Billboard chart topper as she already had two big hits internationally by the time her disco rendition of the Richard Harris classic became her first American number one around this time.

I'm not sure how successful Johnny Mathis was in NZ during his heyday in NZ, for all we know he could've been at number one over there for the entirety of the 50's and the first half of the 60's since I don't have access to any charts that cover those years over there. What I do know is that this was a huge hit for him this year likely due to it being a with up-and-coming soul singer Deniece Williams.

I guess this was a hit for Gerry Rafferty as penance for the world sleeping on his hit with Stealers Wheels from earlier in the decade, although it wasn't as popular in NZ as it was in Australia, America or his native UK this year. I guess the kiwis weren't as in love with that iconic sax solo as the rest of the world was, either that or they didn't feel as obligated in making up for the lack of success his band had.

Anne Murray did achieve moderate success in NZ on the Listener charts during the first half of the decade, so it makes sense that this was a success over there much sooner than it was here in Australia even if it wound up being the bigger hit down under than it was over there in the long run. This may have been her only hit on our charts, however she scored one more hit over there going into the 80's.

Much like in the rest of the world, this was the only hit that Leif Garrett had in NZ likely due to how inescapably popular he was here in Australia with his first album. At least his one and only hit internationally was with an original track of his as opposed to the two covers he had here in Australia.

I'm not entirely sure how to categorise this track from French composer Jean Michel Jarre, I guess it's a hybrid of rock opera and actual opera which I'm sure was why this managed to become such a massive success in NZ but not here in Australia as it would've been too abstract for us Aussies to comprehend it whilst dealing with our ever-changing local music scene.

This is one of those disco tracks that most 70's afficionados like to pretend never existed, mainly because of the bizarre chanting that goes "ooh ooh ooh" throughout the verses as well as it being a sex song that many people (me included) don't find the least bit sexy (side note, I didn't get my online tag from this band either.) It was their only hit in NZ and their native America likely due to how much of a novelty it is.

While this wasn't as big a hit in NZ as it was here in Australia, it was at least a huge success for Eruption over there likely due to the kiwis mistaking this for a Boney M track despite having the dulcet vocals of Precious Wilson instead of the vocalists from the German band. It's interesting that this was their big hit over there and not "One way ticket" given how that felt more like a Boney M track than this.

There were no signs of Neil Diamond's popularity slowing down in NZ given how this track from the album of the same name managed to be a massive success for him over there this year. Indeed, he wouldn't start to become yesterday's news over there until the start of the 80's.

Given how this managed to become a hit in America this year, it only seems fitting that this would be a huge success for Bonnie Tyler in NZ even if it didn't quite make it to number one over there like it did here in Australia. She was all set to become a one hit wonder in most parts of the world with this track, however she had other ideas which involved firing her management and working with Jim Steinman.

Peter Brown was normally a folk singer, however he managed to score his one and only hit this year with a disco track in NZ and his native America. I think this is the type of disco people point to when they say that the genre got out of hand, not that it was bad but rather it was made by someone who only made it to cash in on the popularity of the trend.

To think this was the song that convinced the kiwis into making Boz Scaggs into a household name this year, after all, he really struggled for success over there despite how inescapable he was here in Australia with his previous album Silk degrees. Indeed, that album along with the album this serves as the lead single for both skyrocketed up their charts when it became a hit for the blues singer.

There weren't a lot of successful NZ artists to make it big in the 70's even in their homeland, one of the lucky few was Golden harvest who scored a massive hit with this number before fading into obscurity over here.

This was inevitably going to be a bigger hit for Bob Marley in NZ than it was here in Australia, although you'd think this would be one of the biggest songs of the decade over there given how immensely popular he was throughout the 80's over there. Still, this was a massive hit for the Jamaican singer during his lifetime, it's far more impressive he found any success at all considering his failure in America.

You'd think with everything going into this song that it would be a massive success in NZ like it was here in Australia, admittedly it was quite popular this year because it's a reggae track with a children's choir singing a love song, but it wasn't a number one hit for weeks on end over there or even a number one hit at all like you would otherwise expect based on what tends to get popular over there.

Not only was this Barry Manilow's biggest hit on the RIANZ charts, it was also his only hit over there as he didn't score a hit with any of his other ballads according to their charts. I mention RIANZ because he did score a hit on the Listener charts earlier in the decade with "Mandy," so perhaps he may have racked up more hits in the 70's if those charts had of kept going.

For whatever reason, the kiwis were less kind towards Dragon than we Aussies were back in the day, although at least they were able to achieve success over there with their two biggest hits they had over here even if both were half as big there as they were here. This was naturally the bigger of the two hits they had in their homeland despite them breaking up a few months after it became a success.

This was another winner for Hot Chocolate in NZ throughout the 70's, in fact their popularity throughout the decade over there was more or less the same as it was here in Australia as the British RNB band racked up the hits regardless of where in the world you're from thanks to their upbeat instrumentation and Errol's soulful delivery.

For the most part Donna Summer had more success in Australia than she did in NZ, this was the rare exception to that rule as this Oscar winning theme from Thank God it's Friday wasn't a hit at all here and yet was one of her biggest hits over in NZ this year. I guess she did manage to score two new entries on this side of my site even if all of her returning entries are much lower on their respective lists.

It appears the kiwis weren't as invested with this showstopping ballad from Grease as we Aussies were, perhaps they wanted to hear the bangers on the soundtrack and only made this a success due to the passionate performance that Livie gives on the song. Admittedly it does feel in line with her earlier material from both the sound and especially the lyrical content.

Well at least these guys were able to go out on a bigger bang in NZ given how this was at least twice as successful over there as it was over here for Sweet, I think this was because it was among their bigger hits on Billboard which was something considering it was released on time in America. There'll only be one more entry from the band as we go further back in the decade on this side of my site.

This is the only hit that Spanish born German singer Luisa Fernandez achieved anywhere in the world, I'm guessing she made it big in NZ due to the high number of European artists making it big throughout the 70's and her being part of the shuffle over there and not over here.

Stargard were another rival to the Emotions back in the day who managed to score a massive hit in NZ during the second half of the decade, I'm guessing the success of all of these disco girl groups of colour back in the day were meant to be a way of them becoming the (then) new equivalent of the Supremes which is odd because Diana Ross didn't have any success over there around this time. At least we Aussies had Marcia Hines as the big successful woman of colour in our music scene.

Here we are once again with the biggest hit that Graham Bonnet managed to score here in Australia, although it was considerably less successful over in NZ likely due to the kiwis not jiving as well with the prospect of him working with the brothers Gibb as we Aussies did this year. Still, it was enough of a success to convince him to return to his native UK where he found success in his homeland in the 80's.

With all of the shout outs that these guys have gotten over the years, you'd think that the O'jays would've had more success back in the day than this one and only hit they had in NZ. Granted they did have a string of other hits in their native American throughout the decade, however this was the only hit that managed to crossover there which is still one more hit they ever had here in Australia.

It was inevitable that this soft rock ballad would be a success over in NZ given how it was also a success here in Australia, although as we go further back in the decade, you'll notice that the country band had far less success over there than they did over here throughout the 70's.

It looks like this was the least successful hit to come from the Saturday night fever soundtrack, although I guess this was more due to it being sung by someone who wasn't a member of the Bee gees as Yvonne Elliman did have success in NZ earlier in the decade with "Love me." Like most parts of the world, she remains a two-hit wonder with these two songs over there.

This was the only other hit that Dragon managed to achieve in their homeland, indeed this was released much later over there than it was over here mainly because they had temporarily migrated to Australia due to the failure of their earlier material in their homeland throughout the decade. They join the ranks of Split enz and Mi-sex as NZ bands who needed to leave their homeland in order to find success in their careers.

I guess the kiwis weren't as invested in this former Fleetwood Mac frontman's solo material given how this song was far less successful over there than it was over here, heck his album didn't even chart over there despite it being a huge success down under for him. I would say it was due to an appearance on Countdown which led to this being so successful, he did perform it on the show albeit the following year.

I guess the kiwis needed a bit of convincing to allow these guys to be inescapable like they were here in Australia back in the day, however they were eventually won over with the band's breakthrough single as it refused to drop out of their charts suggesting this was a success as a guilty pleasure for them.

From what I can gather, Suzanne Lynch was a NZ singer who was based in the UK at the time of recording her cover of the Smokey Robinson classic which explains why this had international buzz despite it being far from the biggest hit on this list and it coming from a local artist.

This is one of those songs that became big back in the day that doesn't seem to have much of a legacy anymore, I guess this was a hit due to it sounding like a Fleetwood Mac track which is odd because Fleetwood Mac weren't able to score a hit of their own in NZ with one of their songs, but this guy did.

This was slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, likely because soft rock in general had more of a presence on the NZ charts back in the 70's than it did here in Australia due to how strong our local music scene was. It could also be that it shared its name with the Equals track from ten years prior even though neither song sound like each other.

This was only slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for Meat loaf, I'm guessing it was due to the success it had over in America given how this trapped him in the one hit wonder bin in his homeland for fifteen years on Billboard. Indeed, he was a two-hit wonder everywhere else in the world with his two entries on this list due to the failure of his work from the 80's.

This was also a hit in NZ much like the other repeat entries on this list, I can't say if the original from Nina Simone or the Animals cover from the mid 60's were hits over there as there aren't any charts that exist to confirm of deny this, however it's clear that this version was a winner during the height of the disco era in both countries regardless.

We already looked at the remix of this song from the early 90's on this side of my site, it's time to revisit the original version of this track from JPY one last time as it was indeed a huge hit in NZ back in the day likely due to its huge international appeal which led it to becoming a huge hit worldwide. You'd think he'd score at least one other charting single over there but alas he didn't.

It looks like the kiwis weren't as impressed with this opening number to Grease as we Aussies were, I guess they found that the backing vocals from the high schoolers were a bit annoying which is a common complaint I've seen levied at this duet over the years. At least it was a decent success over there which is more than I can say for "Sandy" which was a flop in the southern hemisphere.

This was a little late to the party in NZ compared to the rest of the world, however it was a success once it did see the light of day over there albeit not quite on the same level as the rest of the world presumably because the kiwis weren't as impressed with the double A single as the rest of the world was.

I'm guessing we Aussies were a big fan of the film this serves as the official theme song to given how it and Donna Summer's Oscar winning track from earlier on this list both flopped on our charts this year where it succeeded in NZ. The band who brought it to life was a group of session musicians that the producers threw together, making this one of those corporatised songs that mingled in with the genuine articles back in the day.

It's about time I featured a song from Santana that had Carlos Santana on lead vocals, here he covers the Zombies classic from over a decade prior which allowed it to become a success in NZ in lieu of the album it came from. I guess we Aussies passed this up in favour of said album, although this remains a favourite on our oldie's stations to this day.