NZ hits of 1981

This was the year of MTV, or at least it was towards the end of the year as in the meantime we have some (in my opinion) truly bizarre trends to tie us over from the (supposed) death of disco to the colourful new wave era.

If you couldn't tell from the title of this track, this is a gospel tune from an aging pop crooner by the name of Howard Morrison which became a massive success in his homeland this year over any other song.

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 was an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, meaning that the kiwis were more into mashup singles back in the day than we were which is evident by the fact that there will be another mashup single to come later down this list (stay tuned for it.) In the meantime, this was still the only hit from Stars on 45 (or Starsound if you're from the UK) over in NZ leaving them a one hit wonder there.

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.

This was a cover of an Eddy Grant track; Eddy of course would go on to have massive success in NZ meaning that this was likely twice as successful for Renee Geyer in NZ than it was here in Australia because of that fact. This didn't do her career any favours in either country as she failed to score a second hit anywhere in the world.

This was a good year for country artists, wasn't it? Here we have Cristy Lane scoring her one and only hit in NZ with this ballad that wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world for her except of course for the Billboard country charts which didn't seem to have any relevancy by this point (I can't imagine them having any relevancy now.)

Well, this was a NZ band who achieved massive success here in Australia, so of course their one and only hit here would be a massive success in their homeland as well. They did achieve a second minor hit over there with another song of theirs which is still to come much later on this list, proving that the kiwis did look after their own whenever they could.

It appears that a little controversy didn't prevent this song from being a success in NZ like it did in the UK, to be clear the video to this classic was controversial due to it glorifying fat shaming as well as a possible nod that the song was about two male gym instructors getting physical with each other. This was Livie's final hit single in NZ as none of her other songs managed to become a success for her over there after this.

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.

This was a huge hit for the Marois born Deane Waretini, apparently, he was the son of a first nations person in NZ who was massively successful during the first half of the century over there.

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.

This was the last hit that John Rowles had in NZ, oh yeah, John Rowles managed to have multiple hits in his native NZ after his one and only international hit "If I only had time" from the late 60's. This is a cover of a Harry Belafonte track which means he was going for that reggae crowd which worked out for this song.

Well, it looks like disco was still a thing this far into the 80's, even America acknowledged this as a classic at the time as it was a hit on Billboard (albeit only a modest one.) It was a much bigger hit in the UK where disco continued to thrive this year, although strangely it was a flop here in Australia where disco also seemed to be welcomed with open arms.

This guy had a huge success in Australia seven years prior with "My coo ca choo" during the height of the glam rock era, he returned this year to score a hit with this update of a rockabilly track from the 50's which proved to be a massive success in NZ and his native UK but not here in Australia funnily enough. What's really bizarre is that he's a one hit wonder in the southern hemisphere but with a different song in both countries.

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.

Well given how A: "We do it" was a massive flop in NZ back in the day and B: album sales didn't seem to affect the success of a single over there, this second single from John Lennon's final album from his lifetime managed to be an even bigger success over there than it was over here. This was always meant as his second single from the album, although it's possible its success was due to his tragic passing.

This is a song whose absence on my site has certainly been felt by yours truly, unfortunately this disco classic from Kool and the gang was never a hit here in Australia despite Dragon scoring a moderate hit later in the decade with their rendition. The kiwis were able to recognise this as the feel-good classic that it is despite this being yet another disco track that was released during the supposed dark age of disco.

Much like here in Australia, Kim Carnes was a one hit wonder in NZ with this iconic track about how this woman she's singing about is as promiscuous as Bette Davis herself. Reportedly she wrote a letter of gratification to everyone involved with this track thanking them for making her relevant to (then) modern society, although I doubt she would've done so if she knew what the song was actually about.

This was the biggest hit that Shaking Stevens had in NZ, it's curious because it was the weakest of the four hits he had here in Australia and yet his popularity over there wasn't an inverse of what it was over here. Another curious fact is that he never made it to number one over there despite arguably being bigger than he was here where he had two chart toppers.

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.)

It looks like Anne Murray wasn't a one hit wonder in NZ as she managed to score a second hit over there with this bonus track from her greatest hits album, although she apparently did score a few hits on the Listener charts so perhaps the kiwis were already well familiar with her work by this point in time. It would certainly explain why her greatest hits album was so big there compared to what it achieved here.

I'm a bit surprised this wasn't an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because both artists in question were seeing a ton of success around this time with songs that barely even touched the Australian charts. Although now that I think about it, that's probably why this wasn't even bigger given the other choices the kiwis had at their disposal from them at the time of its release.

There will be three entries from Eddy Grant to appear on the NZ side of my site, none of which were his big hit in Australia and America "Electric Avenue" which should tell you what the kiwis wanted to hear from him compared to the rest of the world. Indeed, this was a more pop friend love ballad from the British singer, although it does still incorporate reggae into the mix which the kiwis would've loved.

We already looked at the CDB cover from the Australian side of my site, so now let's look at the original version of that RNB jam from Earth wind and fire which was a minor hit here in Australia but a massive hit in NZ and the band's native America despite being yet another disco track released during the dark ages of disco. Both lead vocalists would go on to have a huge hit in NZ later in the decade.

This had the same amount of success in NZ as it did here in Australia, although it did chart lower over there in exchange for lasting longer on the charts overall as opposed to it going straight to number one over here. His popularity in the southern hemisphere while exceptional compared to most other artists on this list, was barely noteworthy compared to what he achieved in his native UK throughout the decade.

Evidently the Commodores weren't just a soft rock band like their only two hits in Australia would otherwise suggest, instead they got their origins in funk and disco which would explain why their final hit in NZ was in the latter categories. I'm not sure why none of their more upbeat tracks became hits here in Australia, then again, it's not like their ballads were instants successes here either.

Were it not for their disco classic "Heart of glass," this cover of the obscure band Paragons track where Debbie gives an (in my opinion) strange performance as if she's high would be her and Blondie's biggest hit of their entire catalogue regardless of where you are in the world. It's admittedly a happy track where she feels intoxicated with this relationship, so there's little wonder why it remains a classic.

Much like the rest of the world, Sheena Easton changed the name of this song from "9 to 5" to "Morning train" as to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton track of the same name (which won't be making another appearance on this site I'm afraid.) Unlike in Australia, this was her only major success over there likely due to the kiwi's inability to take her seriously after this track.

This was the only hit that Don Williams was able to achieve in his entire career, although at least it was a massive success in NZ this year likely due to this being a strangely good year for country music given how it was also a good year for disco during its supposed dark age period.

This was the second chart topper that Smokey Robinson had in NZ, although in this case it was due to this being a huge hit in the UK given how he had finally broken through to the British charts at the start of the decade. He wouldn't find any further success after this both solo or with the Miracles anywhere in the world.

This was the big hit that Devo had in NZ back in the day, evidently, it's a cover of some obscure track from the 60's that was used for a film known as Heavy metal that came out around this time. As this was a big hit in NZ and the band performed it on Countdown shortly after its release, it was included as a bonus track from their New traditionalist album which likely boosted that album's sales.

OK I think we've gawked at this cover enough on this site already, so let's just focus on the song itself which was indeed a massive hit for Loverboy in NZ like it was here in Australia this year. Whereas at least the band had a minor follow up in Australia with "Working for the weekend" the following year, they remain a one hit wonder with this track about being in a crazy relationship.

I guess the kiwis weren't as touched by this tribute from Roxy music to John Lennon as we Aussies were this year, mind you this was a huge chart topper here due to the band performing it on Countdown during their Australian tour this year. It was still the band's biggest hit over there, although considering how big their albums were, that's not really much of an endorsement.

This was just another hit that Dr Hook had in NZ given how this was around the peak of their popularity over there, indeed this was even released slightly earlier over there than it was here despite it being equally as popular in both countries this year likely due to how much of a bop it remains to this day.

Given how the Irish family managed to find success in NZ the previous year, this big hit they had in Australia managed to become an even bigger hit for them much earlier this year given how the girls didn't need to perform the track on Countdown in order for it to be a success over there. This was their last hit anywhere in the world, meaning that the general public had grown tired of their novelty pop.

Whereas at least these guys had a second hit here in Australia the following year with "Land of make believe," this was Bucks Fizz's only hit over in NZ and one that came slightly later than it did down under likely due to the kiwis needing some convincing before allowing them to overtake Abba as the quartet of choice consisting of two guys and two girls.

This needed some convincing from the kiwis to become a hit given how slow it was to reach the upper echelons of the charts over there, I guess once they saw it would be one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia, they capitulated and allowed this bombastic track from one of the shorter-lived new wave bands to become a success there. This was their one and only hit over there for the record.

It pains me to say that the Four tops didn't have any success in NZ during the Listener charts (they may have had success earlier than 1966 but I can't say because I don't have any information on charts prior to that over there.) I bring this up because this makes it their only hit over there during their entire career that I'm aware of, which of course is yet another disco track during the height of the disco backlash.

This was an excellent year for TV themes in NZ as this was the first of three to make it big over there, it was also the biggest likely due to it coming from a highly popular British crime show at the time known as Minder. This appeared on my 1983 list on the Australian side of my site, I guess we Aussies were slow in making this a success for the shows star Dennis Waterman.

This was another huge hit that the Pointer sisters had in NZ, although it's worth noting that it was equally as successful over there as it was over here this year, meaning that the kiwis no longer had an advantage over us when it came to making these women popular back in the day. Indeed only "Jump" and maybe "Automatic" would be more successful over there in their catalogue after this year.

This was an E.P to come from the Clean, a NZ rock band who was massively popular at the time if the chart run of this E.P is anything to go by as it charted like it belonged on the albums chart on their singles chart.

This was an even bigger hit for Billy Field over in NZ, I'm not sure why this was the big hit there and not "You weren't in love with me" as this was a chart topper over there around the same time the other song was a chart topper here. All of this led to him having international appeal with his album that sadly took him nowhere.

This was the second TV theme to make it big in NZ this year, this time it was for the Australian series Prisoner which had begun airing over there this year hence why this ballad from Lynne Hamilton became a huge success this year two years after its initial release down under.

This was the third TV theme to make it big over in NZ this year, again we have a TV theme that became a success in Australia long after it was a hit over there. This time it's from Joey Scarbury who scored a huge number one hit there with this theme to the Greatest American hero, a show that likely took inspiration from the 1980 film Hero at large with its everyday man becoming a superhero.

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.

This proved to be equally as successful for both parties involved in NZ as it did here in Australia, although it did take a bit longer to reach its peak over there than it did over here likely because it came from an otherwise underwhelming album from Queen. Both parties would continue to see massive success as the decade moved along due to them adapting to the MTV era very well.

This proved to be far more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Midge Ure and company, I'm guessing because the kiwis largely passed up "Fade to grey" from his other band Visage (which we'll revisit later down this list) in favour of this track which infamously was blocked from the top spot in the UK by Joe Dolce's earlier entry on this list.

Patsy Riggir was a country artist who scored a massive hit in her native homeland with this ballad before fading into obscurity in her local music scene, I'm guessing she was meant to be the NZ equivalent for the likes of Cristy Lane or Anne Murray.

These guys were a one hit wonder everywhere in the world with what appears to be a different track depending on where in the world you're from, in NZ and their native America, this was their big hit which is a doo wop track about a boy from New York city. In Australia and throughout Europe, their big hit was "Chanson d'amour" from 1977 which was a cover of a popular French track from the 50's.

OK you're probably going to have strong emotions when I say this, but this being a hit for Bill Wyman in NZ is likely the reason why that the Rolling stones didn't have a hit with "Start me up" around this time over there like they did over here. Admittedly this did nothing to affect the success of their album, in fact you can make the argument this track from bassist Bill Wyman is why that album was a success over there.

This was another big hit that Diana Ross had worldwide that failed to appear on the Australian side of my site, I'm guessing because we Aussies weren't interested in hearing her take on a 50's staple like she does on this track. Naturally this was a big hit over in NZ due to her popularity at the time, although it's worth noting her next big hit in either country was much bigger here than it was over there.

This was the Welsh crooner's first UK chart topper as "This ole house" didn't quite make it to number one in his homeland like it did here in Australia, I bring this up because this wasn't a chart topper in NZ meaning that he never had a number one hit in all three countries throughout his career. There's nothing else I can add about this guy or his discography at this point, so I thought I'd bring that up.

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.

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.

I still can't believe how much less successful the Police were in NZ compared to Australia, at least three of their songs will be making a second appearance on this site with this lead single from their penultimate album Ghost in the machine being the second of those three entries.

This was the second hit that A taste of honey managed to score in NZ, their first being their disco classic "Boogie oogie oogie" which remains a staple on oldies stations in Australia despite that being a flop here at the time. Evidently this cover of the Kyo Sakamoto track (in which they didn't bother using the correct name of the song for its title) was a tribute to their Japanese fans as they were allegedly more popular there than they were in the western world.

This was almost a chart topper for Stevie Wonder in NZ, meaning that the first two hits he finally scored over there were so popular that it more or less confirmed him as a major hit maker as far as the kiwis were concerned. It's hard to say if this is more of a country track or a disco as Stevie seems to be walking that line on this second single from his album Hotter than July.

This was only a minor hit here in Australia this year, as such it failed to appear on the Australian side of my site despite it being a perfect shoe in for that list for being a mashup of the Beach boys back catalogue. It was a much bigger hit for the band over in NZ again due to it fitting in perfectly with the trends of the year.

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.

This was so much less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because it was released slightly later over there than it was here meaning that the kiwis weren't as ready to make Kim Wilde a success as we Aussies were. Admittedly this song did have its popularity boosted here when she performed it on Countdown, so perhaps if she did the same thing over there it would be much bigger.

It's a bit odd that this wasn't as popular in NZ as it was throughout the rest of the world given how it was the song that finally brought Phil Collins and to a lesser extent Genesis into the mainstream worldwide, at least it was a hit over there likely due to the kiwis also connecting with the lyrics that many have misinterpreted over the years to be about him calling out someone who prevented someone from drowning.

Well at least this managed to be a hit for Jona Lewie in NZ, although I'm guessing it was only once the kiwis ignored the fact this was meant to be a Christmas song given how it only crossed over there several months into the new year as opposed to Australia where it was still summer when it became a hit. His big hit in Australia flopped over there, I guess because it was deemed too silly for the kiwis.

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.

This was the first of only two hits that Heart achieved in NZ as "All I wanna do is make love to you" was the only other hit they had over there almost a decade later, although this was one of many songs they had that failed to make it big down under for whatever reason. As it turns out, this is a cover of an early Aaron Neville track who's best known for his duet with Linda Ronstadt later in the decade.

This was the only hit from the disco band Lakeside in NZ, it wasn't a big hit anywhere else in the world which leads me to believe that the kiwis were simply making any disco song a hit around this time that they were aware of. Still, it must have had a cult following in America back in the day as Coolio would sample this track for his breakthrough single of the same name over a decade later.

I should warn my readers that are fans of ELO that they didn't have nearly the level of success in NZ that they did in Australia back in the day, heck this was one of their bigger hits over there and yet you can see it didn't do as well over there as it did over here around this time. Still, they did manage to impress the kiwis from time to time with their orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.

This was meant to be on the second Bat out of hell album from Meat loaf, in fact it eventually did find its way onto that album twelve years later when Jim Steinman was finally able to patch things up with the troubled rock singer and release the long-awaited sequel to what many will tell you is the greatest album of the 70's (no arguments here.) In the meantime, Jim used this track to launch his own solo career to minimal success.

This was an E.P from the Reels which became a surprise hit for them over in NZ as this was only a moderate success here in Australia, so moderate in fact that it only barely missed out on appearing on the Australian side of this site. The big single from the E.P was "According to my heart" which is what the kiwis gravitated towards on this release which allowed it to become a hit over there.

Black Slate were a British reggae group who scored their only success this year with this track and "Boom boom" which unfortunately failed to rack up enough points to appear on this list, this was success that was translated from their native UK given how popular reggae music was (particularly ska reggae) as well as their fellow Brits supporting their music when they broke through the previous year.

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.

Even though both of their entries this year from the Australian side of my site will be reappearing on this list, it's worth noting that Split Enz weren't as successful over there as they were over here with their singles even though the album they came from was a big deal at the time. Indeed, this was a bit more of a sleeper hit over there likely due to the lack of promotion they had compared to here.

You'd think with all of the country making it big in NZ this year that this would've been an even bigger hit for Juice Newton over there, alas it wasn't as it only managed to be half as successful over there as it was over here. At least she was able to have both of her big hits here in Australia reappear on this side of my site as we'll be revisiting "Queen of hearts" later down this list.

It turns out the kiwis also wanted to hear a mashup of classical music this year just like the rest of the world did as this became a huge hit over there like it did internationally, in fact the album this comes from was far more popular over there than it was over here, proving that they were more into what RPO had to offer at the time.

Even though this song is in Spanish, it became the first hit from Julio Iglesias in the English-speaking parts of the world as it led to his first UK chart topper "Begin the beguine" later in the year. Of course, we Aussies didn't allow for him to have a hit in Australia until he learned English later in the decade which resulted in his first English speaking album, 1100 bel air place.

It's odd that these guys would be far more successful international than they were in their native America even if they were the type of rockabilly band that would appeal to the fans of Shaking Stevens and Racey from around this time, this was their only notable hit in NZ even though "Runaway boys" was the big hit that they had here in Australia (well it was a sleeper hit at least.)

Although this wasn't the first hip hop number to become a success in NZ (that honour goes to "Rapper's delight" which was a huge sleeper hit the previous year that unfortunately didn't make the cut in making it on this site) it was the first hit single over there to reach the upper echelons of their charts likely due to it being a huge Billboard chart topper for the band.

This was a modest success for Split Enz this year, although like I said before, they weren't nearly as popular over there as they were over here this year which makes this a bit of an off year for them as their popularity would return to what it was the previous year with their next album.

It may surprise you to learn that this was never a hit here in Australia or indeed Joy Division's native UK, it's more surprising considering the fact that this became an instant chart topper in NZ following the news that the band had reformed as New order. I'm guessing this was what compelled the kiwis to make the sequel band have the biggest hit of the decade with "Blue Monday" given how inescapable that song was over there.

This was such a pain to do research on, apparently this is an instrumental track from German composer Mike Korb that became a surprise hit over in NZ and even briefly charted here in Australia back in the day despite it being a massive flop throughout Europe due to how obscure this track was.

This was such a success here in Australia that it was able to crossover to NZ for the Aussie country legend, I guess this is the best proof I have that the NZ charts are a good alternative to what's popular down under given how I doubt this would've been a hit over there if they weren't familiar with our outback culture.

Marty Balin was a vocalist for Jefferson Starship back in their heyday (as opposed to the vocalist who gave us their entries on the Australian side of this site) as such it's little surprise he was able to score a huge hit this year in NZ and his native America with this track that sees him making the type of soft rock that MTV would eventually sweep away the following year.

From what I can gather, Laurie Dee was a country artist in NZ who scored his one and only hit with this sports anthem about how much he loved to bet on rugby games.

I told you we'd revisit this one and only hit from Visage didn't I? here we are with that big hit from the band which like I said earlier, the kiwis mostly passed up in favour of the Ultravox entry we looked at. Midge would find success over there with his solo hit "If I was" before he faded into obscurity like he did everywhere else in the world.

Well, here's that second hit from the Swingers to make it big back in the day, it's not quite as memorable as their earlier entry which is perhaps why it failed to become a success here in Australia and a bigger hit for the band in their homeland.

This will be only one of two entries from Air supply to reappear on this side of my site, suffice to say that the kiwis were even less impressed with their balladry going into the 80's than we Aussies were as we at least gave them a few more hits back in the day before giving up on them. It's lucky that their ballads fitted in well with the yacht rock of the day in America otherwise their popularity would've been close to non-existent.

This was the only hit that Madness was able to achieve in NZ throughout their career, although at least it's with a song that's a better representation of their catalogue given how their two hits here in Australia saw them move away from their ska sound that was prevalent earlier in their career. This was an eventual sleeper hit down under, however it proved too weird for us Aussies for it to chart in the upper echelons of our charts.

I told you we'd be revisiting this second hit from Juice Newton, didn't I? Here we have the only other hit she had outside of her native America which was actually her biggest hit on Billboard despite how much more well known her earlier entry on this list remains even among her fellow Americans.

The last time this guy troubled the charts anywhere in the world was with his Billboard chart topper "Quarter to three" from two decades prior, fast forward to this year and we have him scoring arguably his biggest hit with the help of Bruce Springsteen who wrote him this song which connected with audiences from around the world except for here in Australia where this flopped for him.

It appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with this second single from the trio's third album as we Aussies were, likely due to them struggling to accept the premise of a copout chorus which Sting claims to be the reason why said chorus in this track is complete nonsense. At least the rest of the world was on board with this premise, hence its international success.

This was the second chart topper in a row for Joy Division following the news that they had reformed as New order this year, just like their earlier entry, this also recharted many times throughout the decade over there likely to keep the memory of Ian Curtis alive as the rest of the members saw massive worldwide success with their new endeavours.

This is a parody version of the Deane Waretini entry from earlier on this list from a NZ radio DJ, naturally it was a moderate success despite how clearly in poor taste this song was even back then.