NZ hits of 1989

This is a year I didn't particularly care for, mainly because I'm not that big a fan of the final year of a decade in general due to it being more of a recap of the biggest artists of the decade rather than elevating the fresh new talent of the moment. I also didn't care for all of the Paula Abdul and Kylie Minogue rip-offs that sprung from this year.

Although they had success with their albums a decade prior, this was the first hit single that the B52's were able to score in NZ just like everywhere else in the world except for Australia. Indeed, I'm guessing this became a success over there due to it being the perfect book end for the 80's which was a decade filled with joyous party music to distract from all of the stress and anxiety that the world was going through.

It may surprise you to learn that this was actually a hit slightly earlier in NZ than it was in Australia, as such the hierarchy of where this song was a success is as follows, NZ, Australia and America albeit five years later in the latter country. One place this wasn't a success in at all was the brothers native UK.

This was both the final number one single of the 80's and the first number one of the 90's in NZ, meaning that Margaret Urlich was poised for great things to happen in the latter decade which did at first as this song and the album it came from became a massive success over here in Australia for her.

Given how these guys were among the most successful bands of the decade in NZ, it stands to reason that their first Australian chart topper would be their biggest hit over there given how their popularity was twice that it was here back in the day. This is one of the last hits they had to have that 80's bombast as they would strip things back from here on out to better fit with the 90's.

This was originally a hit for Blue mink in the early 70's, so it seems to make sense that supergroup When the cats away would cover it and find more success in their homeland nearly two decades after the original came out for the British group. This group is best known for having Annie Crummer and Margaret Urlich in their lineup, both women would go on to have massive solo success each in the 90's.

They already had three big hits from Rattle and hum in NZ, that did nothing to prevent this from being a massive success for U2 over there as they would close out the 80's with a sombre ballad after having a string of hits with some of their more bombastic material in their catalogue.

Well, if you thought these guys were too low in my rankings on the Australian side of my site, you're in luck as the kiwis were much more lenient towards making them a success over there that all of their singles were much bigger hits and they also managed to score more hits over there as well. Their debut single in particular was indeed one of the biggest hits of the decade over there because of this.

It looks like Jenny Morris had a similar trajectory for success in NZ as she did here in Australia, the only difference I can think of is that her solo debut was a huge flop for here over there as opposed to being a moderate success here a few years prior to this becoming her first hit in both countries. It was a good way for her to not only end the 80's but also begin the 90's due to how successful it was.

Well, there were several mashup singles to become popular in NZ throughout the 80's just like there was here in Australia, so it only makes sense that this hit from Jive Bunny would become a success over there right when the decade was coming to an end. That said they remain a one hit wonder over there despite them having multiple hits in their native UK as well as a second hit here in Australia.

This was the main theme to Tim Burton's Batman film of this year, although calling it a theme is stretching it as it's really a collage of quotes from the film set to a backing beat with Prince occasionally singing over the instrumental. It was a massive hit for the Purple one likely due to the popularity of the film.

This was an even bigger success in NZ likely due to the kiwis allowing these guys to have massive success with their singles throughout the 80's which was something we Aussies didn't allow for them until this became a hit here in Australia this year. Indeed, this was the band's biggest hit in the southern hemisphere and even in America, however that honour went to "Fairground" in their native UK.

It seems strange that this would be Milli Vanilli's biggest hit in NZ, mainly because it was the one bonus track from the American release of their album meaning the kiwis preferred this over anything over their original album. Given this was released on time over there (likely due to them not caring about those pesky rumours that turned out to be true) it was a hit much sooner than it was here in Australia.

While this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia, it overall wasn't as big a hit over there for Yazz as it was down under, proving that even early on, we Aussies would turn out to love the dance floors more than the kiwis. This is a cover of an obscure track from the start of the decade, although I don't think many people would realise that given how infectious this is over the original.

Well, this was the first time the kiwis had heard from Cher the singer since her hit single "Half breed" back in 1973 (it was big on the Listener charts) that was sixteen years of silence from her as far as they were concerned even though she was popular with her films throughout the 80's. I guess this is why her big comeback wasn't as big over there as it was here where it was welcomed with open arms.

Well, this took its sweet time in becoming a hit over in NZ, it was already a massive hit for Grayson Hugh in Australia and the UK likely due to its admittedly ridiculous video where he shows his sorrow to his ex-partner while packed away in a suitcase. I'm not sure what got this to win over the kiwis, but whatever it was it resulted in it being a massive success over there around this time.

So, a funny story affiliated with this song, apparently the Bush Sr administration used it as a theme song for their campaign despite Bobby McFerrin being a firm supporter of the Democrat party which meant that he wasn't too thrilled at the lack of consent he had for having this song be used in a campaign for a party he didn't even support. This resulted in a lawsuit that was quickly settled out of court.

Well, there would be little surprise that this was a hit earlier in NZ than it was here in Australia, however it may surprise you to learn this was an even bigger hit here in Australia for Womack and Womack likely due to the synth groove connecting better with us Aussies than it did for the kiwis back in the day. At least this was still a massive hit over there as opposed to their native America where this flopped badly.

I never understood why these guys underperformed in their native UK with their two albums, I guess their international success made up for that, but you'd think their brand of new wave soul would've connected with the Brits like it did internationally. Oh well, they still managed to score a massive hit in NZ with the lead single to their second and final album likely due to the lyrics and its hilarious video.

Much like in Australia, this was the final solo hit that Phil Collins was able to score in NZ, although he didn't find much success with any of the singles from Genesis's new album in the 90's, so this was actually the last hit single that the kiwis cared about in his career. At least he still had plenty of love for his albums both solo and with Genesis throughout the decade.

This had a bit of a head start in NZ when it came to its success, although it did need that extra push to become a hit at the start of the 90's which it got when it nearly topped the Billboard charts. This was the only massive hit that Technotronic had in NZ as their other singles while mildly successful, didn't bring in the numbers that they did here in Australia to make reappearances on this site.

The hits kept on coming from U2 in NZ as this second single from Rattle and hum also managed to go straight to number one over there despite it not being a huge hit here in Australia at the time. This was their fourth number one single in a row over there, proving just how inescapable the band was during the late 80's.

Well, these guys weren't nearly as successful in NZ as they were internationally, heck this was their only hit from their sophomore album over there which didn't even become a success until the new decade. I guess the kiwis felt the story of how these two made it internationally was too much of a novelty and thus unfairly treated them as such until we got to the 90's.

This was the bigger hit for Tone loc in NZ, not by much though as his bigger hit here in Australia was also quite big over there likely due to it not relying on nostalgia like this does with the Troggs classic of the same name from 1966. This was the full extent of Tone loc's success in the southern hemisphere as he never scored another hit in his career even in his native America.

It appears the kiwis were as enamoured by this breakthrough single from Enya as her fellow Brits were, although it didn't quite get to number one over there like it did in her homeland likely due to there being more fierce competition by the time it was released in NZ. This opened up many doors for the new age crowd for the 90's including the likes of Enigma and Deep Forest.

This was one of only two notable hits from Richard Marx over in NZ, the other was "Hazard" from the early 90's which both have the distinction of being chart topper here in Australia. This was also a chart topper for him in NZ, likely due to the kiwis thinking he was Bryan Adams who admittedly had yet to have that huge crossover with one of his singles.

I guess the kiwis were a bit pressured into making this title track from Madonna's fourth album any bigger than it already was following the controversy caused from its music video, it was still a massive worldwide hit for the queen of pop regardless of the controversy, but many religious audiences did turn against her back in the day and are still yet to come full circle on her all these years later.

This was almost as big as Tone loc's earlier entry on this list in NZ, naturally it was his bigger hit here in Australia, so the appeal was there for both songs in the southern hemisphere. I guess this was the first signs of west coast hip hop taking over the NZ charts as Tone loc was from California, not that it really mattered as hardly anyone affiliates him with the hip hop wars of the 90's.

This was the only hit that Alice Cooper had in NZ throughout his career, in fact aside from the album this came from (and possibly some of his earlier albums) this was the full extent of his popularity over there as hardly any of his work from the second half of the 70's found any success back in the day. I guess this was only a hit there due to it fitting in really well with the hair metal scene of the day.

You'd think that "Buffalo stance" would be the big hit from Neneh Cherry this year in NZ, while that was a huge sleeper hit for her over there, it was this second single from her debut album that convinced the kiwis that the Swedish rapper was worth handing success to. Naturally she didn't have any success here in Australia until she moved more towards new age music in the 90's.

To think that this becoming a surprise hit in Australia was what it took for NKOTB to find success outside their native America this year, granted this was a minor hit in NZ at first when it was initially released over there, however it skyrocketed up their charts when it became a number one hit here which encouraged the kiwis to almost have it repeat that success over there.

Well, this managed to be an even bigger hit for Martika in NZ this year, although it was the only hit of hers to be more successful there than it was here as her other two big worldwide hits were far bigger here in Australia after this. I guess the kiwis made this a huge hit due to it being her only Billboard chart topper but kept her around due to how well she did down under and throughout Europe.

I've gone over the Listener charts (the charts that existed for NZ prior to the launch of the RIANZ charts) and it's with a heavy heart that I report that the original version of this track from Bob Dylan was a massive flop over there back in the day. Three years prior to when Guns N Roses scored a massive hit with their version, it was originally a hit for Randy Crawford and Eric Clapton as an RNB jam.

This was also a massive hit in NZ like it was here in Australia, although it was a huge flop on Billboard likely due to supergroups rarely doing well in America unless it's for charity. With the exception of Jeff Lynne who had a bigger hit over there with "Telephone line" with ELO, this was the biggest hit any of the members had on the RIANZ charts, although George did have bigger success on the Listener charts with the Beatles.

This was a huge hit for both parties involved in NZ, although it was strangely Aaron Neville who would benefit from this collaboration over there as he would score a string of hits throughout the first half of the 90's whilst this would remain Linda Ronstadt's final hit worldwide. It was also released slightly earlier over there, possibly suggesting that the kiwis were more on board with her comeback initially than us Aussies.

This was Jason Donovan's only hit over in NZ, even then it was a duet with the much more popular Kylie Minogue, meaning this was more of a package deal in NZ rather than them wanting to hear the actor try his hand at singing. Indeed, he didn't find much love over there at all as his album was a flop as where all of its singles.

I get the feeling it was due to this theme song from the second Ghostbusters film that finally gave Bobby Brown a hit in Australia, after all this was released here around the same time "Every little step" finally caught on down under. Given how that was already a hit in NZ (stay tuned for it) this was free to become Bobby's biggest hit over there likely due to how well the kiwis liked the film.

Well, we were leaving the 80's and entering the 90's, so what better way to make this transition than having Billy Joel score one of his biggest hits of his career with this lead single to his (then) latest album? Interestingly, this took its sweet time in finding an audience over in NZ and his native America as opposed to here in Australia where it was a hit upon its initial release.

Well, if you wanted to hear the origins of "Somebody dance with me" from 1993, this Austrian band has you covered as they took Abba's "SOS" and mixed it in with a bunch of production from the late 80's whilst also referencing the tender ballad from the Sound of music that they then named themselves after. Now I know why DJ Bobo didn't have a hit over there if the kiwis already had a hit like that this year.

This was also a huge hit for Roy Orbison in NZ, not quite as big as it was here in Australia but still a massive hit for him which goes to show you how bittersweet this song's success was given how he was already no longer with us when it was released as a single worldwide. Heck even the Brits made this a huge hit for him, and it was even a hit in his native America even if it wasn't to this scale on Billboard.

I guess the kiwis were able to instantly buy into the hype that went towards this German duo, they were managed by the former frontman of Boney M after all and his band's music from the 70's is still played on oldies stations to this day. That said, this was more of a sleeper hit over there like it was over here, although it did chart much higher over there which is how it appears higher on this list.

Although it wasn't that huge chart topper in NZ like it was in most other parts of the world, this second single from the Bangles third and final album Everything was still a huge success in NZ for the girl band this year proving that their two biggest hits over there were the ones that saved their two big albums from flopping as was the case throughout the rest of the world.

In a strange move, this was selected as the second single in NZ as opposed to "I'll be loving you" likely to try and sell the boys as much tougher than they actually were to the kiwis who had discovered the likes of Run DMC and LL Cool J by this point in time. The kiwis made this a hit for them, although it's hard to say if it was because they genuinely liked this or if they felt it too hilarious not to give this attention.

This proved to be an even bigger success for Sinitta over in NZ than it did here in Australia, this is interesting because A: this was Sinitta's only hit over there as she at least had a minor hit here three years prior with "So macho" and B: the original from Maxine Nightingale wasn't a big success over there back in the 70's despite it being released at a time where female musicians of colour were dominating their charts.

Well, this is the one big hit that Milli Vanilli had worldwide that I had yet to feature on this site, admittedly we Aussies were very sceptical of this duo from the start only to be briefly won over by them in the new year which is why only their earlier entry on this list appeared on the 1989 list on the Australian side of this site. Everyone else made this debut single from the duo a success upon its initial release.

If you were surprised by the Cult's entry from my 1987 list on this side of my site, you'll be dumbstruck to learn that this actually topped the NZ charts this year which goes to show you how hip the kiwis were to what the internet would describe as the cool side of the decade back in the day. Sadly, they didn't have much success going into the 90's despite them fitting in perfectly with that scene.

Well at least this song's success was punctual in NZ, likely because the kiwis were in love with Bobby's solo debut album this year thanks to the success of "My prerogative" (which is still to come on this list.) I guess I should talk about the song itself given how it's one of the catchiest songs in Bobby's career, it also comes with a rap verse depending on which version of the song you're looking at.

This was the highest charting song from Guns n Roses's debut album in NZ, although it was an instant success over there as opposed to their earlier entry floating in and out of the top ten which explains why it was so inescapable for such a long time back in the day. This is another song of theirs that remains a staple on oldies stations to this day thanks to it being a song about getting away from the stress of the world.

This wasn't as big for Madonna in NZ as it was here in Australia, in fact Madonna's popularity overall wasn't as big in NZ as it was internationally despite her still being very popular over there as the decade was coming to an end. Still, this was an inevitable success for her given that it's an empowerment anthem about not settling for superficial cues in a relationship and demanding the absolute best from one's partner.

It looks like these guys were a one hit wonder depending on which country you're from in the southern hemisphere, in Australia it was with "Love rears its ugly head" whereas in NZ it was this lead single to their debut album Vivid which was also a huge success over there this year for the funk rock band. I'm not sure why their success wasn't more in harmony in the southern hemisphere, but that's how it panned out for them.

Well, this is a song I definitely felt the absence for given how it manages to permeate on oldies stations in Australia to this day, at least it was a success in NZ as it was everywhere else in the world for Paula Abdul. Prior to this becoming the first of multiple Billboard chart toppers for her, Paula was an in-demand choreographer for the likes of Janet Jackson and even the king of pop himself.

This was another hit that Ruby Turner managed to achieve in NZ despite it being a flop for her in her native UK, I guess her success over there was what led to a trend of RNB artists finding bigger success over there than their homelands throughout the 90's. In any case, we have her cover of the Stevie Wonder track which was a huge flop for him back in the day, meaning this is likely the definitive version over there.

This was a medley of two covers from 70's staples that Will to Power made that became a number one hit in their native America, those two songs being "Baby I love your way" from Peter Frampton and "Freebird" from Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was a flop in most parts of the world except for NZ where it became a big hit for the band likely due to the kiwis nostalgia for the two tracks this year.

This is the signature track from Bobby Brown both solo and with his time with New edition, I'm guessing because it remains his only Billboard chart topper despite "Humping around" being by far his biggest hit even in his native America. This song is about how he felt the need to break apart from his group in order to be who he wanted to be, a theme that Britney Spears would find inspiration in with her own version in 2004.

This was the second solo hit that Tim Finn managed to achieve in his homeland, although given how it came two albums and six years after his first solo hit anywhere in the world, it was a bit surprising that this succeeded for the former Split enz frontman until you remember that this was the final year of the decade and thus likely became a success as a last hurrah for a popular artist of the 80's.

This was the first hit that Poison had in NZ, it was a minor hit here in Australia, but it appears we Aussies preferred their more bombastic hair metal tracks over this Billboard chart topper where the band dials it back for the easy listening crowd. This ballad helped their album finally become a success over there given how "Nothing but a good time" didn't even chart there in the previous year.

Although they had success earlier in the year with "Keep on moving" in NZ and their native UK, this was the song that made Soul II Soul a household name worldwide thanks to how catchy this soul number is as well as the vocal performance from Caron Wheeler. It even managed to become a hit on Billboard just before the decade ended, although it wasn't a success here in Australia.

I guess the kiwis really didn't want to allow the Beach boys to make it big again in the mainstream, it certainly wasn't because they didn't like the Tom Cruise flick this song was written for as the soundtrack was a massive success over there because of the movie. That said, it appears the kiwis were being contrarians to what was popular here in Australia in general in the last stretch of the 80's.

Unlike here in Australia where this was the first we Aussies heard about this cover the 50's staple, this briefly charted earlier in the decade in NZ for the Belle stars while they were still together despite the girl group not having a hit over there during their time together. It became a success there the same way it did here, by appearing in the Oscar winning flick Rain man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Even though this charted higher in NZ than it did in Australia (even going to number one over there) this still wasn't as big a hit over there as it was over here for the Art of Noise which suggests it only became a hit over there due to the kiwis love for Prince which was at an all-time high at the time. At least it brought attention over to Tom Jones who salvaged his career on this track with the line "I think I better dance now."

Well, this proved to be less successful for Bette Midler in NZ than it was here in Australia, it wasn't because the kiwis weren't as emotionally invested in the film Beaches as that soundtrack proved to be equally successful over there as it was over here. I guess they didn't like that they cried during the scene that this song plays in the film, or more accurately they felt this song doesn't work outside of that context.

At least this was a much bigger hit for Janet Jackson in NZ than it was here in Australia, although that might have doomed the rest of the singles from the album as she wouldn't score another hit from Rhythm nation 1814 over there like she did over there in the new decade. It's a bit disappointing that she wasn't more popular throughout the 80's in the southern hemisphere like she was in her native America.

This was another sophistopop track to make it big in NZ around this time, this time it's from the Scottish band Deacon blue who achieved a minor hit with this song in their native UK the previous year which goes to show how much the kiwis had fallen in love with the genre if this was bigger over there than it was in their homeland. This was also a minor hit here in Australia, but too minor to appear on that side of my site.

This was a minor hit here in Australia at the start of the year for Clarence Carter, likely because we Aussies had nostalgia for his big hit from the start of the 70's "Patches" and wanted to see him adapt to the late 80's with this number. It was a more immediate success on NZ which is odd because it was his first hit over there after two decades in the music industry.

Even though Collette was originally from NZ, she was living here in Australia when she recorded this cover of the Anita Ward track which means it was a success here months prior to it becoming a hit back home for her. Much like here in Australia, it was the only hit for both women who recorded this track meaning this is a classic case of a one hit wonder covering a one hit wonder.

I was honestly shocked when I realised this iconic single from Guns n Roses was a flop here in Australia, I realise this was more due to the album sales eating up its success, but you'd think we Aussies would've found room to have this become a genuine hit here. Fortunately, it was a genuine hit in NZ as were the other singles from this era of the hair metal band thanks to its anthemic instrumentation.

This was the biggest hit that John Mellencamp had over in NZ, admittedly he did have hits the previous year over there such as "Cherry bomb" however this was the hit of his that made the biggest impact on their charts throughout his career. It seems curious that the last hit he had in Australia (even if it failed to appear on the Australian side of this site) would be his biggest hit over there.

I did mention on the Australian side of this site that this was more of a hit over in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were more intrigued by this single from the duo's third album than we were likely due to them feeling like it was a good way to celebrate the achievement they had throughout the decade over there.

Well, this also proved to be a big hit for Fine Young Cannibals in NZ, it was equally as successful over there as it was over here for the quirky trio given how the song also managed to top the Billboard charts like their earlier entry did. It's a shame that their first album from earlier in the decade didn't do so well over there considering how it put them on the map in most parts of the world.

Well, I guess the tradeoff for their earlier entry on this list being so inescapable in NZ was that their second single from their sophomore album wouldn't be nearly as big over there as it was over here. Admittedly this was over a decade prior to when it appeared in the first Shrek film, so it's not like there was a famous traveling montage this could be featured in to promote its success over there.

Given how their earlier entry on this list finally broke these guys through to a mainstream audience in NZ, they no longer had any issues with finding success with their more traditional hair metal tracks such as this cover of the Loggins and Messina track that wasn't even a hit here in Australia due to how successful the album was over here by the time it was released as a single.

Well at least these guys managed to have a much bigger hit over in NZ with this final hit they achieved in the southern hemisphere during Freddie's lifetime, I would say the world except that they did score one more hit in their native UK in the 90's with "Innuendo" before he tragically passed away.

Like her other two entries on this list, this third single from Madonna's Like a prayer album was far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia due to all of the stiff competition it had with the other entries on this list so far. Even so, the kiwis weren't willing to completely pass up on this heartfelt ballad from an otherwise controversial album about exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the catholic church.

You may recognise Marc Almond as the vocalist from Soft cell from earlier in the decade, well here he is covering another obscure track from yesteryear by recruiting Gene Pitney who also covered this song from an obscure 60's group back in the day to massive success in NZ and Marc's native UK. This was one more hit that Gene Pitney managed to score after the 60's following "Blue angel" from 1975.

Well, I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed by this cover of the Carole King classic as we Aussies were, although Martika did perform this on Countdown revolution so perhaps its popularity was boosted here and that this was the level of success we Aussies felt it deserved had she not toured Australia this year. I guess the fact that there's a version of this classic to make it big in both countries is better than neither version being big in America.

While this wasn't as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were also on board with having Jimmy Barnes release covers of Motown classics which would be further incentive for him to do just that with his Soul deep project from 1991.

Although these guys had several minor charting singles over in NZ throughout the 80's, this was their only hit over there likely due to it being released in a year that seemed to be a celebration of every major trend throughout the decade. It could also be the band's attempt at cashing in on the success of Madonna's single from earlier on the list as it also seems to be an attack on religion and other political nonsense.

This is the best proof I have that Guns N Roses were far more popular in NZ than they were here in Australia given how it managed to become a massive success for them this year even after the fact that they scored three huge hits in a row from their debut album prior to its release. This is in sharp contrast to what they achieved here in Australia where this was a hit albeit a sleeper hit from their second album.

It's hard to believe that LL Cool J began his career in the mid 80's given how his popularity didn't explode until the mid 90's worldwide, indeed it appears the kiwis were far ahead of the curb when it came to his popularity given how this was a genuine hit for him over there even if it was the type of "thugs need love too" track that many of his fellow gangster rappers would come to despise over the years.

From what I can gather, this is a mashup between a cover of the Ray Columbus track from the mid 60's (complete with a chorus from the original singer himself) and a hip hop remix of the track from the NZ hip hop group Double J and Twice the T. These two had a few minor hits in their homeland back in the day likely due to the kiwis seeing them as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince but with NZ accents.

Although this wasn't the first hit that R.E.M had over in NZ (that honour goes to "The one I love" which wasn't big enough the previous year to make it on this site) this was the song which made them a household name over there as well as it being the first taste of success they had over here as it was a minor hit in Australia as well. Their popularity would explode in the new decade with their next album.

It's little surprise that the kiwis were able to discover De La Soul much earlier than we Aussies did, in fact the biggest mystery is how we knew about "Ring ring ring" given how few hip-hop tracks made it big over here back in the day (even comedic tracks such as that one.) Here we have something more serious as it's an anti-drug song that naturally paved the way for more wack tracks throughout the 90's with this subject matter.

I'm guessing the kiwis were only as big of fans of the Bill Murray flick Scrooged as we Aussies were given how this theme song from Annie Lennox and Al Green appeared to be equally as successful in both countries (taking into account it had stiffer competition over there than it did over here.) This would be the final hit either of them would have in their careers regardless of what they released afterwards.

Guns were a Scottish hard rock band who scored their one and only hit worldwide with this entry, although they're perhaps best known nowadays for their cover of "Word up" which featured heavily in the Pamela Anderson flick Barb wire (more specifically, in a montage of her pole dancing.)

I didn't realise how much the kiwis loved the music from Malcolm Mclaren given how this is the second of three appearances he'll be making on this side of my site, I feel this was only a hit over there this year due to this year being an excellent time for artists who made it big earlier in the decade to score one last hit as a form of a last hurrah with him being no exception to this trend.

This was an EDM track that came from the Canadian duo Kon Kan, they managed to score a surprise hit with this entry throughout Europe including in the UK which would explain its success in NZ this year. There's honestly not much to say about this other than this would be the type of song that dominated the Australian airwaves had it been released in the 90's.

Well, INXS were the hottest name in music from Australia as the 80's was coming to an end worldwide, so why not have this side project from Michael Hutchence be a success in NZ like it was here in Australia?

This is the most recent entry I'll be featuring from New order/Joy division, suffice to say that the kiwis grew tired of the band going into the 90's likely due to how overexposed they were given that they had easily the biggest hit of the decade with "Blue Monday" and its remix from the previous year.

It seems weird that Yello would have a different entry on each side of my side given how this was a massive flop here in Australia whilst the same was the case for "Oh yeah" over in NZ, I guess the kiwis passed up their movie theme in favour of this sports track several months after the former was a success down under.

This is the only notable success from the Fan club, a NZ band with a frontwoman who would go on to become a politician in her native Malaysia following the failure of her solo career once the band went their separate ways. Although they didn't find too much success in their homeland, there was some interest in their work here in Australia that I'm sure would've blossomed into something more with better promotion here.

While none of the singles off the Cocktail soundtrack were able to take the NZ charts by storm, at least it was able to spawn one more hit over there than it did over here with this cover that John Cougar made of a 50's classic that was included on the album.

I guess the trade-off for her earlier entry on this list not being as big in NZ as it was here in Australia was for Yazz to have a second hit over there in the form of this original track of hers, indeed this proved to be just as infectious as her signature track even though it was much less successful over there and in her native UK as well as it being a bomb over here.

Given how this was one of the biggest hits of the year here in Australia, it makes sense that this wouldn't see any issues with crossing over to NZ especially considering how Ian's former bandmate Jimmy Barnes was finding a ton of success over there with his own solo material. Sadly, this would be the full extent of his popularity with the kiwis as the album was a huge flop over there.

"Stop" was only a modest sleeper hit in NZ this year, however the kiwis were far more impressed with the second single from Sam Brown's debut album as it's her take on the Marvin Gaye classic from the early 60's. This allowed the album to become a massive success over there thanks to her love of 60's RNB being recognised by the kiwis by this point, however she still remains a one album wonder over there.

This was only barely a hit for U2 in NZ, I'm guessing because the kiwis weren't big fans of B.B King's involvement on the track given how the soul legend wouldn't achieve full appreciation from them until his collaboration album with Eric Clapton from over a decade later.

Knightshade was a NZ hair metal band who managed to score a moderate success with this number just as the 80's was coming to an end, who knows how much more successful they would've been in their homeland had they broken through sooner than they did.

This was a last hurrah single if I've ever seen one, after all we have both Tim Finn and the Herbs joining forces for this track about Māori culture that likely would've flopped at any other point in time due to how out of place it feels with the more conventional music on this list.