NZ hits of 1986

This feels like a bit of a step back from the previous few years as for some reason, the music industry prioritised making hits out of ad jingles rather than rising new stars, of course this was more of an issue internationally as we Aussies and kiwis largely kept scouring for fresh new talent this year.

One of the biggest hits of all time in NZ was a charity single that was commissioned following NZ's victory at the Caswell cup three years after we Aussies won the boat race against America. It was a one-off project for the supergroup which comprised of many of the biggest NZ celebrities and musicians including Dave Dobbyn who arguably got the biggest push from this release in his career.

Speaking of Dave Dobbyn, here's his first solo single which was so inescapable over in NZ that it even managed to become a massive success here in Australia for the former D.D Smash lead vocalist. Unlike here in Australia where he and Herbs remain a one hit wonder, they both went on to massive success later in their respective careers in their homeland thanks to how irresistibly catchy this song is.

This was only a mild sleeper hit here in Australia, I'm guessing because we Aussies found the idea of a hip hop track about Wolfgang Amadeus in German a bit too silly to make a huge success back in the day even if it came from Falco who scored a hit three years prior with "Der komissar" over here. Fortunately, the kiwis were able to instantly fall in love with this track which allows me to include it on this site.

Well I don't think anyone was expecting me to declare this as the biggest hit from Elton John of the 80's on the Australian side of this site, I get the feeling I'll get fewer objections on this side of the site given how this was such a massive hit for him upon its initial release over there as well as it being one of only three chart toppers he had over there throughout his entire career (at least on the RIANZ charts.)

There wasn't any deviation from what I said about the Bangles on the Australian side of my site, except maybe the fact that they weren't quite as inescapable over there as they were here due to their singles not being as bit for some reason. In any case, this novelty track about err.... I never understood the point of this track, however I think we can all agree it's a ton of fun even to this day regardless.

Well, it was the biggest hit of the 80's in the UK for a female vocalist, so naturally this one and only hit from American born German singer Jennifer Rush would also be a massive hit over in NZ around this time. I guess for nearly a decade, this was the definitive version of this love ballad until Celine Dion made it her own in 1994.

This song is known for two things nowadays, the first is for the music video which has the same style of CGI animation that was a success for Dire straits around this time and the second is that the lead vocalist of the band was Margaret Urlich who would go on to have massive success as a solo artist in the 90's.

It appears the kiwis were only into Bronski beat purely for Jimmy Somerville as the band flopped over there with "Hit that perfect beat" and yet Jimmy scored a massive hit with his new band the Communards. Granted this was a bit late to the party over there as it was already one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia by the time it saw the light of day, but it didn't impact its overall success.

Well, I guess it's time to talk about the song itself given how the kiwis got the release order correctly resulting in the band's instant success over there, this is a song originally released two years prior to deafening silence from the duo but became a worldwide success this year due to them reworking the original to be more in line with the popular trends of the moment.

I'm not sure how successful the original version of this song is for Cliff Richard in NZ given how there aren't any NZ charts that go back to the late 50's or early 60's, however I'm sure this "remix" of his debut single from the Young ones was a bigger hit over there regardless due to it being made for charity.

File this in the increasing category of American women of colour failing to find success on the Billboard charts but finding success in the UK regardless, the success she found over there allowed this to become a chart topper in NZ likely due to the kiwis thinking she was someone like Natalie Cole or Chaka Khan from around this time. It certainly wouldn't feel out of place from either of their catalogues.

Even though he saw massive success in NZ during his first two albums, Billy Idol had little issues with this being his biggest hit over there despite it being a more subdue track from his earlier entries and the album it served as the lead single for being less successful than his previous efforts. I guess comparatively speaking this was a step back for his popularity, but he was still bigger than most by this point.

Much like in Australia and in America, this was the biggest hit in NZ from Bananarama given how it was a cover from a 60's one hit wonder that was produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman from the trio previously known as a new wave group. I'm not sure why "Shy boy" was their only international hit prior to this cover, although their switch towards dance pop did allow their popularity to explode.

Well, here we are ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between, the first hip hop track to go to number one in NZ which should tell you how serious the kiwis were at making the genre a household name compared to America where it originated. It was also Run DMC's only hit outside their native America for many years, although they finally got out of the one hit wonder bin in the late 90's with a few remixes.

Given how the kiwis got the album cycle correct for Dire straits, it only seems fitting that this third single from the album would be a massive success over there due to it being an upbeat pop rock track about living your life to the fullest. This was a minor success in Australia around this time, however it was pushed back as the fourth single here due to the band unveiling the video for the title track of the album.

For some reason, this novelty track about a British guy wanting to be a cowboy was an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia. I guess this became a big hit due to the spoken word lyrics which reminded us Aussies and kiwis of the Pet shop boys, they were both British bands with this gimmick after all.

I just realised something, there haven't been many all-girl groups of colour that played their own instruments to find success over the years, normally girl bands of colour are merely vocal groups such as the Supremes and En vogue after all. Here we have Klymaxx who can best be described as the Bangles if they were black and specialised in RNB rather than jangle rock.

Much like here in Australia, this lead single to the band's biggest album Fore was their biggest hit in NZ, I'm guessing because they now had plenty of hype going into the album over there following success of their previous album Sports and their contributions to the Back to the future soundtrack.

It turns out this was the biggest hit from Madonna's album of the same name, admittedly this might be due to it being the title track of an album she dedicated to her (then) husband Sean Penn which means the kiwis likely saw this as her love letter to him at the time. That would likely explain why she omitted this from her Immaculate collection album despite how much of a hit it was worldwide.

Timex social club are known for being the sister band for Club Nouveau, I bring this up because the success of this song no doubt led to the success of the latter band's cover of "Lean on me" the following year worldwide. I know the two songs have very little in common with each other, this being a fast-paced track about the dangers of spreading rumours whilst the other being a reggae cover of a song about putting your trust in the narrator.

What was is with aging performers around this time being introduced as the wrong person? First there was John Farnham being introduced as Jack which resulted in his comeback album being called Whispering Jack, and now we have this comeback single from Paul Simon about how people are referring to him as Al instead of Paul. Naturally this was also a huge hit in NZ, although nowhere near as big as it was in Australia.

While Genesis did have hits with the two songs I featured on the Australian side of this site in NZ, this was their biggest hit over there which is odd because it came from their self-titled album from three years prior and only became a success this year due to their (then) most recent album Invisible touch. The success of this track over there encouraged the kiwis to bring further success to the album it came from.

This was the only hit that Chris De Burgh had in NZ, heck I'm willing to bet this likely wouldn't have even been a hit over there if it weren't for the fact that it was such a huge success here and in his native UK. An interesting fact I have about its success in the southern hemisphere is that it was exactly the same over there as it was for Paul Simon's earlier entry in both countries, I just found that interesting.

This was the only chart topper that Wham had in NZ throughout their career, it's further proof that number one isn't everything over there as though it was a success for the duo, it wasn't their biggest hit as their earlier hits lasted longer on their charts despite not charting as high as this did. Still, it was a massive hit for the duo thanks to how popular they were upon its initial release.

As it turns out, this wasn't the biggest hit Madonna had from True blue in NZ given how her earlier entry on this list managed to be the biggest hit she had over there from the album. I guess the kiwis wanted to hear her love of Sean Penn (wow does that sound wrong) more than this poignant track about teenage pregnancy back in the day, heck this was the only hit from the album that was a bigger hit here in Australia.

Much like the rest of the world, this was the final hit that the Rolling stones was able to achieve in NZ, likely for the music video which has some pretty stilted animation from future Nickelodeon animater John Kricfalusi which likely gave Disney some ideas with their film Who framed roger rabbit two years later.

This was a little late to the party in NZ, likely because it was released here in Australia mere weeks after it became a chart topper for Feargal Sharkey in his native UK. Indeed "You little thief" (which wasn't a hit over there) was also a hit here in Australia fairly soon after it was as such in the UK, which is normally an unusual phenomenon from back in the day where songs needed that gap between international releases.

This was the only hit that either artist involved had without the bands they were a part of worldwide, Patti Labelle scoring a hit over a decade prior as a member of her group Labelle with "Lady marmalade" whilst Michael McDonald was a member of the Doobie Brothers who also saw massive success throughout the 70's worldwide. This is also a bad representation of their respective discographies as it's an adult contemporary ballad rather than a soul number for the former and soft rock for the latter.

There's debate about whether this version or the Art of noise cover is the definitive version of this track, Prince of course wrote it for his second feature film Under the cherry moon, however Tom Jones is so much more sexually provocative on the cover that it puts this version to shame. For what it's worth, this is the bigger version of the two tracks worldwide likely because it was the theme to an overhyped film.

This was a hit in NZ slightly earlier than it was here in Australia for Princess, I'm guessing because this was an RNB track from a woman of colour which seemed to be a theme for songs that made it big in the southern hemisphere back in the day. Princess did score a second hit with "After the love has gone," a song that was also produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman like her big international hit was.

Grace Jones was on a roll around this time given how she not only scored yet another hit in NZ with this title track from her (then) latest album, but she also received critical acclaim for her performance in the James Bond flick A view to a kill and is generally considered to be the highlight of an otherwise critically panned film in the franchise.

Well at least I can finally feature the signature track from Miami sound machine on this site, I'm not sure why this flopped here in Australia but was a success in NZ considering A: "Dr beat" was a huge hit for them the previous year and B: this is less of a novelty than that track was. Indeed, this is a straightforward party jam from Gloria Estefan and company that continues to light up dance floors to this day.

This was a hit in NZ and the Real thing's native UK ten years prior, so it makes sense that an anniversary remix would be issued in both countries where it would become a success all over again for the band. This is another example of a two-hit wonder who became as such with the same song as they never had any success with their other material over there.

This proved to be an even bigger hit for Nu Shooz in NZ, in fact I think Australia was one of the only places in the world where this didn't crack the top five as this was also a massive hit in the UK and their native America. These guys did have a minor hit after this over there, however I'm sure even the kiwis would regard them as a one hit wonder given how much bigger this was over there.

This is only one of two new appearances from Whitney Houston on the NZ side of my site, it was a hit here in Australia but only a sleeper hit likely because I doubt we Aussies wanted to hear an unknown singer of colour sing a cheating anthem that was originally performed by a married couple. This revelation didn't bother the kiwis as it became her first hit over there as it did in the UK.

The legends are true people, Eddie Murphy did indeed have a singing career back in the day which was off to a good start when this nearly became a Billboard chart topper for the Comedian upon its initial release (it was held off by Lionel Richie.) I can see this song working if it were performed by someone who had been in the music industry much longer than Eddie had been when he first released it.

Even though these guys are best known for their earlier entry on this list, this ballad from the Miami sound machine is a better representation of their music given how they were more in line with adult contemporary which perhaps explains Gloria Estefan's musical direction once she left the band later in the decade. It was their third and final hit over there after the success of "Conga" and "Bad boy."

This was Duran Duran's final hit in NZ, although considering it only barely charted here in Australia, I think it's safe to say that the kiwis still had plenty of love for these guys long after we Aussies lost our love for them. This may be as bombastic as their earlier work; however, it appears the band were no longer relying on flashy imagery for their videos as this song's video is rather mundane.

Genesis might have had the more popular hit in NZ this year, however their earlier entry came from an album from three years prior and their actual new single (which is still to come on this list) wasn't nearly as big as Peter Gabriel's pop breakthrough over there. This proved to be equally successful in both countries in the southern hemisphere, likely because of the music video and the strange and quirky lyrics.

This was a hit in NZ slightly sooner than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing so that the kiwis could show their support to those who wanted to see an end to apartheid if the big protest anthems from a few years prior becoming huge over there was anything to go by. On a slightly more depressing note, this was written in response to Queen performing at the titular Sun city despite there being laws against doing so at the time.

It appears that the two big hits Billy Ocean had in Australia this year had their success reversed in NZ, then again that was also the case in America as this was the bigger hit for Billy on Billboard than his theme to Jewel of the Nile (which is still to come on this list.) Billy would have one more hit after this year worldwide before he faded into obscurity in time for the 90's.

I should mention that this was more successful here in Australia than anywhere else in the world, this should explain why the song is so much lower on this list than it was on the Australian side of my site as the kiwis likely didn't find this as titillating as us Aussies upon its initial release. It also wasn't as big in her native UK as it was here either, meaning it's success on Billboard was likely due to its success down under.

Although this almost went to number one in NZ, it didn't mean that it was the same level of success over there as it was here for Robert Palmer which is a shame because it remains his signature tune to this day for a good reason. I guess the kiwis didn't want to have him be a success over there as this and "I'll be your baby tonight" were the only big hits he had with his singles and even his albums.

This proved to be an even bigger success for the Art of Noise in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because for some reason, the Blues brothers soundtrack became a success over there this year which allowed it to rebound on the charts once it was a hit initially as the original instrumental from Duanne Eddy was heavily used in the film.

The original from Norman Greenbaum wasn't even a hit in NZ back in the day, meaning that it's likely the kiwis won't even realise this is a cover of a song that was released around the time of the Jesus Christ superstar phenomenon. This perhaps explains why it was slightly bigger over there than it was here in Australia as we would've been torn if we appreciated a hair metal cover of a hippy track or not.

This was the only hit that Jonathan Butler had in NZ, he was an African performer who had a bit of success in the UK around this time but no one who was inescapable in the 80's. Ruby Turner on the other hand was very much popular in NZ as this was the first of several big hits she had over there, it would even be the advanced single to her debut album which was also a massive hit for her there.

This was the third single for the Pet shop boys in NZ, naturally since the kiwis got the album cycle for their debut correct, it proved to be a massive hit for them as opposed to here in Australia where I'm pretty sure it didn't even chart (and if it did it was only barely.) This proved the duo were here to stay as their second single "Love comes quickly" wasn't as big over there (although it's still to come on this list.)

Unlike here in Australia where this was Billy Ocean's biggest hit, in NZ it was one of his weaker hits as the kiwis didn't seem to be as impressed with this theme to the Jewel of the Nile as we Aussies were back in the day. Still, it was a huge hit for the British crooner over there, meaning they just felt there were other more worthy songs back then to make a huge hit which we've looked at on this list.

This is the only hit that Maurice White was able to achieve outside of his work with Earth wind and fire, it's a cover of the Ben E King classic which coincidentally was released a full year prior to the original version being featured in a ton of commercials which resulted in its popularity two decades after its initial release throughout the world. This was also the final hit that anyone from the band had both solo and with the group.

This was the only hit that British singer Haywoode was able to achieve anywhere in the world, although how it became a hit in NZ is anyone's guess as it flopped on the British charts upon its initial release. I'm guessing the kiwis were really on board with making Stock Aiken Waterman a commercial success as this was another song to be produced by the trio which also happens to have a woman of colour performing on it.

It's a bit surprising that this theme to the TV series Miami Vice wasn't a big hit here in Australia, mainly because it often appears on greatest TV themes of all time in addition to the show being considered one of the best shows of the 80's. As TV themes were among the more popular songs of the decade in NZ, this was a shoe in for success over there even if it wasn't a number one hit there like it was on Billboard.

I told you Princess wasn't a one hit wonder in NZ, this was her second hit over there which was also produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman which goes to show how much the kiwis were willing to accept anything from the production trio this early on with their catalogue. She would have one more single chart over there with "I'll keep on loving you" which underperformed on their charts.

Well, this is a song I wasn't expecting to feature this low on this list, I honestly would've thought the kiwis would be more on board with Diana Ross collaborating with the Brothers Gibb more than they were back in the day considering A: their support for their collaboration with Dionne Warwick earlier in the decade and B: the staggering success Diana had over there with her hits.

I guess the kiwis weren't as into this cover of the Rod Stewart track from earlier in the decade than we Aussies were, I guess there's another possibility for this song not doing as well over there that I'd rather not share with my readers as I'd like to keep this site as fun as possible (it involves why this cover exists is all I'm saying.) At least it was more of an immediate success over there than it was over here.

Now this is a surprise hit for my site, Mick Jagger already had plenty of success in NZ with his album from the previous year, however the album rebounded this year due to this nearly topping their charts over there early in the year. I guess this is what hyped up the kiwis for his band's earlier entry on this list.

This was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for Madonna, I'm guessing because the kiwis were more OK with her marriage to Sean Penn given how this was the theme to his film At close range which wasn't even a critical or commercial success back in the day. It was better received than the movie they did together which was Shanghai surprise, a film that looks terrible even by 80's standards.

Given how inescapable Talking heads were over in NZ this decade, it only makes sense that their theme to the film True stories would be more of a success over there than it was over here for them even if the soundtrack itself was only equally successful in both countries. I'm guessing the film was poorly received by us Aussies and kiwis back in the day as this was the last success they had in either country.

This was a success for Stacey Q much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm not sure why some of the biggest hits in Australia were songs that had their release and/or success delayed but that was certainly the case for Stacey as this wasn't as successful over there as it was over here. She's also a one hit wonder over there and her native America as "We connect" failed to become a hit in both countries.

Well, I guess the kiwis were more neutral to Mondays than the rest of the world was, not so much that this would be a flop for the Bangles but just enough that it would underperform over there compared to here, the UK and their native America. It could also be the kiwis not being that into the girl band as their popularity overall was considerably less so over there than it was internationally.

Much like the rest of the world, this was the final hit that Wham had in NZ before they called it quits as a duo so that George can become a solo artist and Andrew could pursue a career as a racecar driver. There's nothing more I can add to this entry that wouldn't just be me repeating what I said on the Australian side of my site.

It looks like Lionel Richie's popular was quickly dwindling over in NZ given how this title track to his third solo album was the only success he managed to achieve over there following the success of his second album Can't slowdown from two years prior. I guess the kiwis preferred having Billy Ocean over this guy in their mainstream as his British counterpart managed to rack up the hits over there as the decade went on.

This was the final hit that Grace Jones was able to achieve in her career over in NZ, this was fresh off the success of her greatest hits package which has the iconic album art of her in a yoga pose that's physically impossible to pull off after all. I guess her brand of art pop had gone out of vogue after this year much like how Kate Bush's brand went out of vogue the previous year here in Australia.

Well, this was a song that was far less successful for Cyndi Lauper in NZ than it was here in Australia, then again, Cyndi's popularity was much bigger here overall given how only her debut single and album were able to match the success over there they had down under. Considering Madonna's dominance over there over the last few lists, I think it's safe to say the kiwis were already ready to discard Cyndi at this point.

Although Neil was the one to score a massive hit from the Young ones in their native UK, in NZ it was actually Alexei Sayle from the show that managed to have the big music career in NZ as he scored two hits over there with this being the bigger of the two. This is the type of humour you'd expect from 80's British comedy, which is perhaps why it managed to click with the kiwis, makes you wonder why we Aussies passed this up.

This proved to be far less successful in NZ than it was everywhere else in the world, likely due to the kiwis feeling this was a betrayal of Berlin's new wave roots that they had established two years prior which was a massive success over there that year. Still, there was little chance this was going to be a complete flop for the band given how popular they were at the time as well as the film it was written for.

There's a strong possibility that Cherrelle would've had the success that Janet Jackson had over the next ten years given how this was clearly meant to be a song for Janet's third album Control (right down to it being written by Terry Lewis.) Indeed, this was a big hit for the singer in NZ and the UK, however it flopped in her native America likely due to the presence of Alexander O'Neal who also never had a hit on Billboard.

Well, I suppose this was bound to be a success for Midge Ure in NZ given how Ultravox had plenty of success over there throughout the decade so far as well as his involvement with Visage and Band Aid. Like in Australia, this was also his only hit in NZ and his native UK, making him a one hit wonder four times in all three countries with each of his acts I mentioned even if Ultravox were more of an albums band.

Well, it looks like the kiwis weren't as impressed with this pop friendly version of the trio's sound this year given how much less successful it was not only compared to what it achieved here in Australia, but also compared to both their earlier entry as well as Peter Gabriel's entry on this list. Still, it was inevitable that this would be a big hit for them over there given how popular they were at the time.

This was the final hit that the Thompson twins were able to score anywhere in the world, mainly because this was the last hit they had as a trio before Joe Leeway departed the group and leaving Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey as a duo. If this song were a bigger hit in Australia, its video would definitely qualify for my weird video list due to it having a robot servant and dancing nuns.

Well at least all three of George Michael's big hits he had this year both solo and with Andrew Ridgely managed to reappear on the NZ side of my site, in the same order no less which tells you where the mindset was for audiences at the time when the pair decided to go their separate ways to pursue their respective interests.

Well, this seemed like it should've been a shoe in for the Australian side of my site given how it was pushed as the third single here as opposed to their earlier entry, I guess the kiwis were impressed with the pencil styled animation in the video as well as this being a stripped back ballad from the band that they allowed it to be a hit over there even after all the success the album already had.

This was one of two big hits that the Blow monkeys had in NZ, indeed this was also a minor hit here in Australia this year but too minor to appear on that side of my site like it does here. This is further proof that the kiwis had welcomed sophistopop with open arms this year given how it had no trouble finding an audience with all of the competition we've looked at so far on this list.

Unlike in Australia where this was the only hit that David Bowie had this year, the kiwis were willing to give him two hits over in NZ with this theme to the critically panned film of the same name being the first of these two hits he scored over there. From what I can gather, the film's backlash came mostly from its convoluted plot rather than any acting faults from Bowie, meaning his involvement had nothing to do with its failure.

It may surprise you to learn that several of the theme songs from the Rocky franchise managed to become hits over the years, this is second only to the instrumental theme from the original film as the biggest the franchise has spawned as it manages to recruit James Brown of all people to provide the theme to the fourth instalment which became his one and only hit over in NZ this year.

I was surprised that this theme from the Pretty in pink soundtrack failed to appear on the Australian side of my site, fortunately it was a much bigger hit in NZ given how the kiwis were clearly in love with the film about a poor girl winning the affection for an upper-class rich guy (it's cliched but it still works to this day.) This and "Maid of Orleans" from four years prior was the only success that Orchestral maneouvres in the dark managed to achieve in the southern hemisphere.

It may surprise you to learn that this lead single to the Divinyl's second album was the only hit they were able to achieve in NZ, this is impressive given how it wasn't even their biggest hit here in Australia at the time (that honour going to "Boys in town" from earlier in the decade.) Another fun fact I have to share here is that this is the only entry from an Australian artist to appear on this list.

From what I can gather, this freestyle track was commissioned specifically for the Goonies soundtrack which I'm guessing takes place in a dance sequence in the film (I haven't seen it, nor do I plan on doing so.) If this was the case, the scene in question must have been well received by the kiwis as this proved to be the big hit over there from the soundtrack and not Cyndi's theme song from the previous year.

Well, this was the debut single for the Pet shop boys here in Australia, naturally it was a poor choice to introduce the duo to an Australian market if it wasn't even their biggest hit in NZ where they were far more successful throughout their career. They would score one more minor hit over there with "Suburbia" later in the year before going back to the studio to record their second album.

This is the other big hit that David Bowie had in NZ this year, this one coming from his second film Labyrinth which he stars as the film's antagonist Jareth. The film is more fondly remembered these days despite it also being a critical and commercial disaster back in the day, however it appears this wasn't the case for the theme song which both opens and closes the film.

UB40 were certainly on a roll in NZ around this time as they found success with the lead single to an album that didn't receive much love back in the day even in their native UK, indeed they wouldn't reach the dizzying heights of success they had earlier in the decade again until the 90's even if they still had a hit here and there for the remainder of the 80's.

This is the last hit that the Human league achieved anywhere in the world outside of their native UK, it was their second Billboard chart topper due to them working with the producers who brought to life Janet Jackson's album this year albeit with a bunch of behind-the-scenes drama which killed the albums goodwill. One of the issues was that the band was reduced to a trio which explains why only Phil Oakey and the two female vocalists appear on the cover art.

Tina was certainly on a roll in NZ when she released the lead single to her second album of the decade, while it didn't reach the dizzying heights of success like her earlier entries, it was enough of a hit to appear on this side of my site and even made the album an instant success over there to boot. I guess this was why "The best" flopped later in the decade over there given how this was a flop here in Australia.

We have another big hit from New order to feature on this side of my site, this one comes from the Pretty in pink soundtrack which makes it the second single from the album to come from a British alternative band following OMD's entry from earlier on this list. In a bizarre twist, their next single "Bizarre love triangle" failed to become a hit over there despite being their biggest hit over here.

This was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, although it at least finally managed to get the Pretenders out of the one hit wonder bin over there likely due to it showcasing the band as a more pop friendly group compared to their new wave that made them big from the start of the decade.

This was one of only two hits that Atlantic Starr was able to score in their career, the other was of course "Always" which was too much of a sleeper hit in NZ to appear on this side of my site. Even though they were in the RNB camp, I'm still a bit surprised they failed to score any success here in Australia if only because it was the type of RNB that wasn't alienating to us Aussies back in the day.


This was the second of three hits that Ruby Turner scored in NZ from her debut album she released the following year, it wasn't as popular as her earlier entry, however it still did well enough to appear on this list over several international chart toppers.

If you want to know what this song is even supposed to be, this is a collaboration that the Art of noise made with the creators of the fictional character Max Headroom as the latter speaks topical lyrics to a beat that the former created for him to do so to. For the uninitiated, Max was a CGI news reporter (or rather an actor presenting himself as such) who had his own show in the UK around this time.

This was far less popular in NZ than it was internationally, in fact it didn't even begin to become popular until the early months of this year as opposed to it already being a top ten hit over here the previous year and a chart topper in his native America. Either the kiwis were quickly becoming fed up with his brand of RNB or they really didn't like the film this was attached to (which won him an Oscar no less.)

This was sandwiched between Miami sound machine's two earlier entries on this list; indeed, this was a fantastic year for the Latin band given how Australia was one of the few countries in the world where they didn't find much success with these songs. Sadly, this would be the full extent of their popularity in NZ, however Gloria Estefan would find further success over there in the 90's like she did worldwide.

This was the final single to come from Please for the Pet shop boys, it did decently well in NZ where album sales rarely affected the success of its singles, but it wasn't the showstopper that their earlier entries on this list were.


It looks like these guys were able to achieve a second hit during their time together in their homeland, although given how there's no horrifically dated CGI in the accompanying music video, it didn't stick around for quite as long meaning its success was purely through the dulcet vocals of Margaret Urlich.

One of the more prominent indie bands of the 80's was the Pogues, they will be making two appearances on this side of my site beginning with this E.P they released this year that appealed to the kiwis likely due to the strong Celtic influences throughout its runtime. Their other big hit was the Christmas classic "Fairytale of New York" which occasionally recharts during Christmastime in recent years.

I guess the kiwis weren't as intrigued with the return of Pete Townshend as we Aussies were given how this only barely managed to make a reappearance on this side of my site, then again, many older artists who made it big on the Australian side of my site struggled to replicate their success over in NZ, so this was still an impressive feat for the Who vocalist.

This is here to commemorate the second time this became a hit in NZ, I mentioned why on my previous list but to summarise, the band embarked on a successful world tour for their (then) most recent album which compelled the kiwis to rediscover this track less than a year after its initial release.