NZ hits of 1980

Well I think it's time to begin our journey through the popular music of NZ with the first year of my personal favourite decade in music. The 80's are often known for MTV however since that wasn't a thing until the following year and disco was apparently dead in the mainstream (spoilers it wasn't) this has led to the first year of the decade being a bit of an outlier in retrospect as it desperately tries to figure out what it wants to be.

For whatever reason, we Aussies were a bit slow when it came to allowing MJ and the Jackson five back into the spotlight as adults as they were able to achieve massive success in NZ months prior to when they crossed over here. In any case, this solo disco track from MJ was a massive success in both countries and ushered him into the 80's where he would go on to take the world by storm.

Before he was the lead singer of Noiseworks, Jon Stevens was a teen pop idol in his native NZ who managed to score two massive hits over there with his earlier work. This was the bigger of the two hits which he scored during the transition of the 70's to the 80's.

This was a massive hit for Elvis Presley in the early 60's, so it kind of makes sense that Ry Cooder didn't have any success with his rendition of this ballad anywhere in the world except for NZ who didn't even have a chart when the original was popular. Because this was a massive hit for the rockabilly throwback artist, it allowed the album to be a massive success over there were it was only moderately successful here.

Much like the rest of the world, there was a good chance that this ballad from John Lennon would have been a success in NZ if he had lived to see its full chart run, it was meant to be a symbolic comeback as well as a literal one given how he had rekindled his love for Yoko Ono around this time and had dedicated it to her.

This may be depressing to learn but as far as the RIANZ charts are concerned, this was the first hit that Stevie Wonder had in NZ as he didn't even have much success on the Listener charts early on in his career. At least he made it big over there with one of his more iconic tracks which of course fueled the success of his album Hotter than July.

Two decades prior to when Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow made this ballad their own for their film Duets, it was originally a hit for Smokey Robinson who finally managed to score a hit outside of his native America following years of failed attempts at international success with his band the Miracles. He never managed to score a hit in Australia, I'll let my readers decide what to do with that information.

This was the biggest version of the Little Eva classic over in NZ, mainly because Kylie Minogue's version from later in the decade was only a moderate success over there and the original and Grand funk versions both flopped in NZ (from what I can gather at least.) This means that the kiwis only wanted to hear this classic if it was set to a disco beat and maybe if it was covered by a pop diva.

Although these guys had a bit more success with their singles over in NZ than they did here in Australia, this will still be their only single to appear on this site as it was the only one that was a massive success over there as it was throughout the rest of the world.

This was a massive comeback for Diana Ross in NZ given how the only hits she had over there by this point were with the Supremes over a decade prior, at least here in Australia she had a couple of solo hits in the form of "Rhythm of life" and "Touch me in the morning" throughout the 70's. This was a more permanent comeback for her in NZ as she scored a string of hits over there that weren't as such here.

This was a little late to the party in NZ given how it was released here in Australia at the start of the decade (albeit to deafening silence) however once it took off over there, it was a massive hit for Viola Wills who scored a massive success with this disco rendition of an old 50's song (early 50's at that) this year when disco was supposed to be dead.

Well, the Pointer sisters were a Motown act, therefore it makes sense that they had even more success in NZ back in the day than they did here in Australia. All things considered I'm surprised they had any success here in Australia given how many of their contemporaries, including those way more popular in their native America had failed to score any success here or even in NZ back in the day.

So, disco died this year huh? Well given how this was a Billboard chart topper, I'm going to say that it didn't and was merely quick to lose its grip on the mainstream due to overexposure from the late 70's. This is often considered to be the bridge between disco and post disco which is a trend that would permeate throughout the 80's everywhere outside of America.

This is further proof that disco was far from dead this year as the Brothers Johnson managed to score a massive worldwide hit with this track, although it was most popular in NZ likely due to musicians of colour in general not having much pushback from the kiwis around this time.

This wasn't quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely due to how much of an obvious novelty it was given that it was a song about playing computer games was the hot new thing to do going into the 80's. Then again, the gaming industry has only grown since this song was released as a single, meaning that it's arguably more popular now than it was back in the day.

Even though they had success with their albums throughout the 70's in their homeland, this was still the first major hit single that Split enz managed to achieve over there just like they did here in Australia. It was an amazing start to the 80's given how their popularity exploded thanks to the video and their performance on Countdown, both of which helped spark international interest in them.

We Aussies were a little late to the party when it came to making this ballad from KC and the Sunshine band a success, likely because it was the rare ballad in their catalogue of otherwise upbeat disco jams. The kiwis were more punctual in making this a success over there proving they were on board with whatever these guys had to offer from the get-go.

This was the final hit that Bob Marley had in his lifetime in NZ, although considering he was able to score two gigantic hits over there as opposed to just the one here in Australia, I think it's safe to say the kiwis were on board with what he had to offer in his catalogue during his lifetime. This recharted later in the decade for some reason, I don't know why because it wasn't when he released his greatest hits album.

This guy was also a two-hit wonder in NZ with this and "Baby don't get hooked on me," although from what I can gather, this was a bigger hit over there as his earlier hit didn't do as well on the Listener charts over there as it did here in Australia.

Given how disco seemed to all the rage this year over in NZ, it makes sense that this title track from George Benson's disco album was more of a success over there than it was over here so much so that the album spawned him a second hit over there that we'll be looking at later down this list. While he thrived over there during disco's supposed dark age, he didn't last too long during the MTV era unfortunately.

Well, this was instantly one of the biggest hits of all time in Australia, so naturally it would crossover to NZ for Joe Dolce given how catchy the song remains to this day. I honestly didn't realise this was a real song growing up, I heard people singing it over the years thinking it was from an old kids show from the mid twentieth century rather than it being a huge worldwide chart topper from around this time.

Well at least these guys were able to have one inescapable hit on the charts in NZ, oh don't get me wrong, these guys were very successful over there just not to the degree they were here in Australia and especially their native UK. I guess the kiwis had their limits to great music if there was such shaky songwriting for it to carry.

This had a similar story to its success in NZ that it did here in Australia, the main difference being that it managed to capture all of its success over there this year as opposed to it being spread out here this year and the following year. Other than that, this was the song that saved the album from being a flop worldwide.

Unlike here in Australia where these guys had a ton of hits, this was the only big hit that the Pretenders were able to score in NZ likely due to how iconic the melody has become since its initial release. At least they would have success with their fourth album later in the decade in lieu of its singles.

This was a huge success for Queen entering the 80's in NZ, not quite as big as it was here in Australia or even in America but big enough to be among their most successful songs. I guess Freddie's Elvis impersonation was enough to help the band comeback from the brink of obscurity given how their last few albums weren't that big anywhere in the world.

This was the debut single from one of the most popular bands to come out of the 80's, although this was back when UB40 was a halfway respected band as true to their name, they talked about more serious subject matter such as unemployment and living conditions of their day. The reggae beat was still there, but they weren't just covering older classics with that reggae beat and instead had something to say.

It's strange that these guys are best known for their disco classic "Shake your groove thing" and yet their two biggest hits were RNB ballads back in the day. This was their bigger hit in NZ likely due to the kiwis wanting to keep the 70's alive this year as opposed to everywhere else in the world which moved on to the likes of soft rock and new wave with the occasional sprinkle of disco and RNB here and there.

This was a massive hit for Barbra Streisand in NZ just like it was throughout the rest of the world, although it wasn't her only solo hit in NZ that wasn't from a film or a show as her cover of "Memory" from the Cats musical would also be a success for her over there later in the decade (bearing in mind that said cover wasn't included on the Cats soundtrack.)

This didn't quite make it to number one in NZ like it did here in Australia, meaning it doesn't have the distinction of either being the last chart topper over there of the 70's or the first of the 80's like it does here in Australia. Still, it was a mammoth hit from the duo who correctly predicted the deaths of many of a rock stars career thanks to the rise of MTV two years prior to its launch.

This was a massive hit for the Nolans in NZ and their native UK, likely due to it being more in line with disco than their novelty pop from the following year that crossed over to Australia. Given how that was a hit in NZ also, this makes the Irish family group a two-hit wonder over there with both of these tracks.

There was no stopping MJ this year when it comes to him scoring hits, indeed this second single from his comeback album Off the wall was actually released on time in NZ given how the kiwis already made "Blame it on the boogie" a massive hit upon its initial release over there as opposed to us Aussies finally discovering the genius of the track this year.

Well, this shouldn't come as a surprise given how Paul McCartney was indeed one of the biggest names in music when transitioning from the 70's to the 80's, his success throughout the 80's would more or less play out the same in NZ as it did here in Australia.

Want to hear a song that can be best described as Jamaican disco? Well Dan I did just that on this track where he managed to score a massive hit in NZ and nowhere else in the world with this formula. I think at this point, the kiwis were willing to reward anything that was either from Jamaica or in the disco genre, giving out bonus points if they somehow managed to intersect with each other.

This was the only hit that Marcia Hines had over in NZ, it's curious it was with this track and not one of her many other hits throughout the 70's over there which were all much more popular here in Australia than this was. That said it was likely due to this crossing over to NZ for the Australian musician of colour that allowed her to finally have international interest in her career.

Whilst we Aussies only started handing success to Prince on his third album Controversy, the kiwis were there for him at the very start of his career as this funk track from the Purple one managed to be a massive hit over there even though it underperformed for him on the Billboard charts this year. Of course, this was merely the beginning when it came to the rich and expansive catalogue he had to offer.

There were no signs of Kenny Rogers slowing down anywhere in the world as this ballad of his managed to be a huge hit for him regardless of where in the world you're from. His popularity would die out later in the decade due to him being unable to adapt to the trends of MTV, although he lasted longer in the mainstream then you would otherwise expect.

For whatever reason, these guys were known as Major Matchbox in NZ as well as in Australia despite there not being a Matchbox over there that was also receiving buzz (that I'm aware of that is.) Other than that, there's no surprises here as the kiwis were all about the rockabilly revival craze which resulted in this being a chart topper for the British band over there.

This was one of only three hits that Captain and Tennille had in NZ, it was also their biggest hit as the kiwis didn't seem particularly interested in making them a household name throughout the 70's for whatever reason. I guess they changed their mind for their only 80's hit but changed it back once MTV rolled around.

Given the success of his theme to the miniseries against the wind, Jon English managed to have massive popularity in NZ this year which resulted in this bonus track from his greatest hits album English history to become a huge success over there. The funny thing is that this was a flop for him here in Australia, meaning he was more popular over there this year than he was here.

Well, this guy's popularity here in Australia did come from him appearing on Countdown, as such this wasn't as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia even though this was still a shoe in for success over there due to it being a rockabilly revival track. I can't tell if his father had any success over there back in the day, but I'm guessing that was also a factor for why this was a hit for him as well.

And here's yet more proof I have that disco wasn't dead this year even in America, this was a huge success on the Billboard charts for Shalamar despite it being a disco track, meaning that even their fellow Americans had some love left for the dance floors even if it admittedly did quickly evaporate as the 80's shaped up to be more about MTV and the second British invasion.

This was the only other hit that the Manhattans were able to achieve in NZ and their native America, although given how it shares its name with a more upbeat track from Earth wind and fire, I get the feeling it often gets lost in the shuffle when it comes to big hits from musicians of colour from back in the day. Indeed, this is more of a slow jam from the group much like their other big hit "Kiss and say goodbye."

It appears the kiwis were also impressed with this art pop cover of a 50's track, although it was only after it climbed the charts here in Australia given how it was only released this year and not the tail end of the previous year like it was down under. As this had novelty written all over it, the band were unable to find further success with their subsequent follow ups in either country.

This was the second hit that Jon Stevens was able to score in NZ, this being a cover of the Bobby Bloom track from a decade prior which wasn't even a success over there (at least according to the Listener charts it wasn't.) He would have one more minor hit this year with Sharon O'Neill before fading into obscurity only to return later in the decade as the lead singer of Australian band Noiseworks.

It looks like Michael Nesmith was able to score a fourth single in NZ as this track managed to become a hit for him over there and nowhere else in the world. That was the case with his other three hits except they at least were big hits here in Australia, this wasn't the case for his fourth hit as we Aussies completely ignored this track this year.

Unlike in Australia where we Aussies made both of Livie's big hits across the transatlantic a success, the kiwis were only interested in having her Billboard chart topper be a hit over there as they ignored her UK chart topper from Xanadu for the most part. I'm guessing because it was a collaboration with ELO which the kiwis didn't seem that fond over at the time, again at least compared to us Aussies.

Much like here in Australia, this title track to the third album from the band to have Stevie and Lindsey among their lineup was the biggest hit that the band were able to achieve in NZ. The band would score one more hit later in the 80's over there as opposed to the two that they scored over here.

This was the second single that UB40 scored a hit in NZ with, although here we have a cover of a Randy Newman track from the 60's which perhaps explains why it was only a hit in NZ and nowhere else in the world as only the kiwis would allow a reggae cover of a children's song to be a massive success.

The kiwis were a bit less invested in the return of Leo Sayer this year, possibly due to him coming back with a cover of a Buddy Holly track and turning the rockabilly tune into an adult contemporary ballad. Still, it was enough of a hit that you can qualify it as a comeback for one of the biggest names in music throughout the 70's.

I have no idea why this song from Tom Petty flopped here in Australia back in the day, heck the album did alright down under so it's not like we Aussies didn't know who he was when it was first released as a single. Fortunately, the kiwis made it a huge hit for the heartland rocker which allows me to include one of his most iconic songs on this site of mine.

For the most part, David Bowie saw more success in NZ than he did here in Australia throughout his career, I bring this up as this is one of the very few exceptions to this rule where this was more of a success here in Australia than it was over in NZ for some reason. I guess the kiwis felt his appreciation for the Wizard of Oz was a bit too strange to make it a bigger success for him over there.

It brings me great joy in informing my audience that while it did start to lose its popularity this year, it was in a more natural way as we have yet another disco track that was a success in America to make it big in NZ this year. This time it's from the S.O.S band who had another big hit later in the decade with "Just be good to me," the song that would become a hit for Beats international ten years after this made it big.

This was the first of three hits that Jona Lewie scored anywhere in the world, this was a minor hit here in Australia for the British new wave singer, but it wasn't until the following year where we made him a household name down under. Indeed, this was his biggest hit in NZ with his biggest hit here "Louise" being a flop over there the following year.

This may have charted higher in NZ due to the kiwis being more enamoured by the alien concept of this track, however it was ultimately as successful over there as it was over here as we Aussies were also eventually won over by their alien concept from this track and the album it was pulled from.

If you can believe it, there was a time that this wasn't considered an LGBT anthem as this was made back in the days where it was mostly frowned upon to be openly queer in the world (thankfully that's no longer the case.) Instead, this was meant as Diana Ross stepping out of her comfort zone and embracing with the changing of times, although the lyrics can easily suggest she was coming out of the closet.

I think the kiwis were tuning into Countdown from around this time as this is one of several hits they had over there that only became as such here because of the artist in question appearing on the show, I wouldn't know how else Janis Ian managed to score a hit with this track over there as her performing it on the show was how it managed to become a success down under.

This was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, or more specifically, it charted much higher over there likely due to it being written by Lionel Richie and likely given to Kenny to try and help him crossover to the pop sphere in their native America. It worked out for them if that was the case as both men scored a number one hit with this ballad on Billboard.

Well, this is Dr Hook looking to change with the times yet again as they added back some of their bouncier instrumentation from their earlier phase of their career on this ballad about how sexy they feel their collective partner's eyes are. It was a massive hit in NZ and throughout most of the world, although it didn't do so well here in Australia likely due to us either wanting comedy or a downtempo ballad from the band.

Well at least this managed to become a hit over in NZ even if it was to a much lesser scale than it was here in Australia, indeed Styx didn't have any other hits over there apart from this ballad which suggests that only their fellow Americans were in love with their soft rock from back in the day. Still at least they got interesting as the decade went on if their final hit "Mr. Roboto" is anything to go by.

This was a big hit over in NZ for Elton John this year even without the magic touch that Bernie Taupin gave all of his endearing hits over the years, in fact Elton's popularity in general remained consistent throughout the 80's in NZ as his reunion with Bernie didn't improve the success of his singles while they were separated over there and his time without Bernie was reasonably successful as well over there.

Well I hope you weren't expecting to see much Rod Stewart on this side of my site because this was his only hit he achieved in NZ throughout the 80's, I guess he was off to a better start over there given how this failed to become a hit here in Australia, however he would have another hit over there until the early 90's when "Rhythm of my heart" became a success for him.

You better believe that these guys were more popular in NZ than they were here in Australia this year, this was the first of two hits that they had over there given how both of these songs were massive hits in the UK of all places which resulted in their success internationally after two decades of that success being confined to their native America.

This was another big disco hit from this year, although at least this one wasn't a hit in America as it was due to it being popular in the UK that it was a success in NZ for the American band the Whispers. This song shares its name with the Sonny and Cher track from the mid 60's, I just thought I'd bring that up with this entry.

They may not have been as successful in NZ as they were here in Australia, however the Village people were still able to find success with their final Australian hit over there which also happens to be the title track of their autobiographical film of how they came to be in the first place. Also, it's yet another disco hit that came about this year in several parts of the world, although not in their native America.

Not only was George Benson a welcomed presence with the lead single from his disco album in NZ, but he managed to score a second hit over there with this follow up which goes to show how much the kiwis still loved disco even after the supposed disco backlash from 1979. George would continue to have minor success over there as the decade went on, proving that he somewhat survived the transition into the MTV era.

From what I can gather, Teri Desario was one of the backup singers for KC and the Sunshine band who scored her one and only hit as a lead artist with this rendition of an obscure 60's track. It was produced by Harry Casey which suggests it was originally meant for the band but given to her in order to boost her career.

I guess the kiwis were able to hand Donna Summer one more hit in her career before completely turning their backs on her, admittedly this was close enough to disco that it could fit on her previous album Bad girls, so maybe they felt her foray towards feminism and Christianity was for only one song with Barbra Streisand but were then proving wrong with what she did throughout the 80's.

Even though this was released slightly later in NZ than it was here in Australia, the kiwis were quick to make this a success over there following its success over here due to the band performing it on Countdown and the performance going over very well with us Aussies this year. As it turns out, these guys had far more success over there this year as their second album was also a hit for them with the kiwis.

This was a bigger hit for Blondie in NZ, likely because their fourth album Eat to the beat was much more successful over there back in the day than it was over here for the band. I guess this was the kiwi's way of atoning for the lack of success they gave the band with their debut album, although in fairness it's not like they could've known about it given how it was only a hit here due to them appearing on Countdown.

Well, the kiwis didn't seem to be as impressed with this love letter to the Shandi's of the world as we Aussies were, then again Kiss in general wasn't that successful over there as this and "I was made for loving you" will be their only songs to appear on this side of my site as well as the two albums these songs respectively came from.

This was the only hit that Ray Goodman and Brown were able to achieve throughout their career in NZ and their native America, I'm guessing they would've had better luck if black music supposedly wasn't facing backlash at the height of their popularity, however as we've established on this list alone that wasn't the case, I think it's more the kiwis and their fellow Americans only liked this one and only song from them.

Whereas these guys remain a one hit wonder in most parts of the world including in their native America, they were able to score a second hit over in NZ with this ballad proving that they were able to find an audience with their music even if that audience was largely with the kiwis back in the day.

This was also a success for Rupert Holmes in NZ at the start of the 80's, I guess the kiwis were also amused by the story he told about him wanting to cheat on his girlfriend only to find his mistress he's seeing is his girlfriend who wanted to do the same thing to him. I guess it's a cute story about how the couple was always meant to be even if the relationship clearly needs some work.

These guys were so popular over in NZ that they managed to achieve a second hit over there with this disco track, further proving that the genre was far from over as far as the kiwis were concerned. That said, I should point out that both of their hits this year did crossover in their native America even if neither of them saw the level of success on Billboard that they did internationally.

It appears the kiwis were a bit too frightened by Kate Bush's weird facial expressions in the video to make this a big hit over there, I guess there's another explanation for why this underperformed in NZ compared to Australia and her native UK, but I won't share it out of fear of angering her fanbase. At least it was a hit over there as opposed to "Running up that hill" which flopped later in the decade.

MJ was able to score one more hit in NZ this year with this fourth and final single from his comeback album Off the wall, this is a bittersweet ballad about how he lost the love of his life and how he was going to cope with the loss that clearly connected with audiences back in the day given its success. Heck it was even a minor success here in Australia and likely would've been a genuine hit had it been released as the lead single.

I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this theme song to American gigolo as this proved to be far less popular for Blondie over there than it was throughout the rest of the world, it's hard to say if the film's reception had anything to do with its lack of success over there given how I wouldn't have guessed in a million years this was written for a film about a male sex worker.

Yannis Markopoulous was a Greek composer who scored a massive worldwide hit this year with this instrumental track that seems to have been composed for a TV series from the UK that time has seemed to have thoroughly erased over the years.

Here's that minor hit that Jon Stevens had with Sharon O'Neill this year that I mentioned earlier on this list, it was a decent size hit for the two teen idols this year before he temporarily faded into obscurity while she became a more mature adult contemporary artist.

Not only was this far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia this year, but it also appears that it needed to be a success here in order for it to be a success over there given how much later it charted over there compared to over here. I guess the kiwis were a bit put off by the Japanese riff the song uses, that or they didn't appreciate the masturbation metaphors which the band insists were unintentional to this day.

This proved to be slightly more successful for the Police in NZ than "Message in a bottle was" (we'll get to that in a minute) likely due to the kiwis finding more enjoyment out of the premise of the trio walking on the moon over them repeating the title of that song multiple times. Like I said earlier, they did have plenty of success over there throughout the decade, just not on the level that they had here in Australia.

It seems strange that these guys would achieve far less success in NZ than they did here in Australia given how they found instant success over there the previous year with their debut album as opposed to here where they needed this song specifically for that album to be a hit. I guess the kiwis found this a bit too repetitive to have it match the success of "Roxanne" or even their earlier entry on this list.

I guess this was meant to be the more serious equivalent of Rupert's earlier entry on this list as this is more about how he feels like he's been cheated on in the song rather than him and his partner looking to cheat on each other only to end up with each other. We Aussies passed this up due to our inability to take this seriously, however the kiwis didn't hence why it became a moderate success over there.

Cliff Richard was off to a good start when the 80's began in NZ as he scored a massive hit over there with the second single from his album Rock n roll juvenile, an album that's only best known for its singles given how it was a massive failure upon its initial release as were just about all of his albums throughout his career. This is another ballad from his career, something I thought of bringing up given what his album was called.