I've decided to make a biggest hits of the 80's list similar to the one I made for the 2010's, although the key difference here is that I'll be including entries that reflect what was popular on the ARIA charts, although I'll only make a mention for which entries are the ARIA entries as I feel their placement on this list will speak for themselves rather than me delivering redundant commentary that will highlight how well/poorly they did compared to the AMR charts.
This was one of two hits that British band the Quick were able to achieve here in Australia, this is curious considering they never had any success in their homeland and yet they scored two hits here during the early 80's. I'm guessing the Brits didn't care for their brand of new wave dance music, perhaps if they had a dance competition like we Aussies did throughout the 80's they would've had more success.
#88 for 1981
This was originally released in 1975 to deafening silence for MJ, likely due to his popularity being in the toilet in the mid 70's as the world had moved on from the Jackson 5 to disco at the time. This was given a second chance when it randomly became a UK chart topper for him the previous year, this proves that even back in the day, no song was too old to find success in the mainstream.
#87 for 1982
It looked like Rick's popularity in the music scene would be more permanent this time around as he scored a second hit in the decade with this track that often serves as a stranger danger lesson in music form. I guess his popularity mainly stemmed from his role in General hospital which is why he didn't have another hit in Australia, although he scored a few more hits over in America this decade.
#88 for 1982
Following his departure from Van Halen, David Lee Roth decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with this cover of the Beach boys classic that became a huge hit for him back in the day. It's interesting to note that the original was never much of a hit for the boys here in Australia, meaning this is likely the only version most of us Aussies are familiar with these days.
#89 for 1985
This was released six years prior to deafening silence for Billy Vera, in fact from what I can gather, this ballad was only a success this year due to it appearing in several episodes of Family ties that involves the romance between Michael J Fox and Tracy Pollan on the show.
#86 for 1987
This is a song I would've thought had done better back in the day, mainly because of how fondly it seems to be remembered on oldies stations to this day. Greg Kihn did manage to score a second hit here in Australia with "Jeopardy" the following year, however that hasn't been as fondly remembered as this track likely because of how Greg seems to miss how songs used to be written here.
#89 for 1982
Well, I hope you're in the mood for more rapping from George Michael as the second single in his career was a song dedicated to how skilled he is as an MC which proved to be a huge hit for the duo this year. The pair would have two more hits in their native UK this year, proving how well loved their style of hip hop was at the time.
#94 for 1983
Well Queen was one of the biggest bands in the world, so why not have a band named King try their hand at success? This was said band's one and only hit which was a massive hit in their native UK as well as it being a decent hit here in Australia likely due to the novelty of Freddie and company having competition in the realms of royalty in the music world. Sadly, this would be King's one and only hit as they called it quits the following year.
#90 for 1985
I guess Sting was still able to find success with his second solo album which goes to show how popular he was throughout the decade despite how people feel about his songwriting abilities. Here he scored a huge hit about how him and his partner will make it through the trials of their relationship no matter what people say, it connected with audiences giving him one final hit down under.
#87 for 1987
This was the only other hit that Gloria Estefan had in Australia with Miami sound machine, I guess the novelty of their breakthrough hit from earlier in the decade ensured that we Aussies wouldn't be able to take them seriously despite how popular they were in NZ and their native America. Her popularity would explode here in the 90's after surviving a horrific crash in her tour bus.
#89 for 1988
Karen Knowles was one of the stars of Young talent time throughout the 70's, so it only makes sense that she would see massive success with this ballad given how she was still a teenager when it was released as a single. It makes you wonder why she didn't have any success once she was all grown up.
#89 for 1981
Madonna was on a roll this year as she scored her third hit from her debut album, although I get the feeling my British readers will be surprised to see this ballad on this list given how it only became a hit over in the UK two years after its initial release. What's more confusing is that "Lucky star" was her big breakthrough on Billboard despite it being a massive flop here, presumably because it was the fourth single and released mere months prior to "Like a virgin."
#87 for 1984
Contrary to popular belief, Nik Kershaw isn't a one hit wonder as he managed to score four hits during his brief time in the mainstream with this being his third hit overall. True to its title, the song is a riddle in song form that Nik presents to the object of his affections which proved to be a massive draw to audiences at the time, although in Australia it did get sidelined with all of the competition on this list.
#91 for 1985
This was the first of three hits that I'm talking was able to achieve in Australia, a band that's best known for introducing Kate Ceberano into the music industry as she served as the lead vocalist for this band of otherwise middle age white men. OK that's not fair as she was one of two female vocalists of colour and there was also a third woman of colour on bass, but Kate was the star of the show thanks to her amazing voice.
#92 for 1985
I have no idea why this song became a success this year in Australia, it would've made more sense it if were a hit last year as it was featured in not one but two highly successful films from Hollywood. Those films of course being Ferris Bueller's day off and The secret of my success which fun fact, this song soundtracks a montage of a car being showed off to the protagonist of the films in question.
#90 for 1988
Before he became the lead singer for the Models, James Freud was a solo artist who had a backing band by the name of the Modern Day Poets who scored a huge hit this year with this new wave track about how he fell in love with a modern girl. I'm guessing this was meant to be the antidote to all of the rockabilly tracks that were coming out around this time which was all about living in the past.
#92 for 1980
In Australia, this was the second single from Abba's penultimate album Super trouper, I bring this up here because everywhere else it was the title track which was a massive UK chart topper for the Swedish foursome. This wasn't quite as huge here likely due to it not being among their more memorable tracks, however it was a hit proving that we Aussies still loved the band until the bitter end.
#90 for 1981
I've got to be honest, I'm not sure how this managed to become a hit in Australia as Adrian Gurvitz didn't have any success with this track anywhere else in the world. I guess this was a hit due to audiences who didn't want to buy into the MTV generation getting something out of this ballad.
#90 for 1982
This was the only hit that the Cars were able to score from their magnum opus Heartbeat city in Australia, even then it was only a moderate success here compared to how inescapable it was internationally likely due to it being the rare ballad from their discography. Here this is about how the narrator feels concern for the person who they believe to be living their life recklessly.
#88 for 1984
Well, this was a different side of Sheena Easton that he hadn't seen prior, granted there was always a seductive side of her in her music, but this was the first time she had placed it front and centre in her image. It became a huge success for her here and in America, I'm guessing her fellow Brits weren't interested in watching the woman who made it big with "Morning train" try to titillate them.
#93 for 1985
This was a massive hit for CCR back in the day, so it's fitting that the Reels would find success with their stamp on it seventeen years after the original's success. It got them out of the one hit wonder bin here given how their only other hit was their cover of Herb Alpert's "This guy's in love with you" from four years prior.
#88 for 1986
This was originally released as the B-side to Don McLean's second single from his American pie album "Vincent," however for some reason it was given its own life a decade later which allowed him to score a hit with the song again here in Australia this year. This allowed fans to rediscover his back catalogue as a greatest hits album from the start of the decade suddenly became popular when this was released.
#91 for 1982
This was the lead single to the Divinyl's second album What a life, an album which remains their most successful in their career due to it spawning multiple singles despite this being the only one that became a hit for them. It remains one of their more repetitive tracks, however that didn't prevent it from becoming a surprise hit for them over in NZ the following year and sparking international interest in them.
#94 for 1985
This was the only hit that Gregory Abbot managed to achieve worldwide, mainly because he seems to be confused as to what the term shake down is as he interprets the phrase which is otherwise affiliated with extortion as a romantic gesture. This is in complete contrast with the tone of the song, which is obviously meant to be romantic, making this an unintentionally hilarious song.
#88 for 1987
I may be out of line by saying that Whiplash smile was Billy Idol's foray into sophistopop, it definitely feels like sophistopop especially on his third single which is by far the most subdue song in his entire career due to how dreamy it is. It helped the album be his biggest following the failure of its second single "Don't need a gun" which was more in line with his work from earlier in the decade.
#89 for 1987
This was the only hit single that Christopher Cross was able to score in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to being a theme to the Dudley Moore flick Arthur which allowed it to win an academy award for best original song shortly into the new year. I haven't seen the original version, although I have seen the remake and if the original is anything like the remake, then it's a very overrated film.
#91 for 1981
Even though this has remained a classic on oldies stations over the years, I can't help but feel this was only a success for the Travelin wilburys due to the recent passing of Roy Orbison given how this was released around the same time his own song had become a success from earlier on this list. This would be the last we Aussies would hear from the supergroup, although they did release a second album the following year.
#81 for 1989
This was the lead single to Janet's album Rhythm nation 1814, an album that wouldn't peak here in Australia for another two years due to it needing the success of her rare rock track "Black cat" to find success here for some reason. In the meantime, she did achieve success with this track about how she feels that she ended a relationship too soon and that she misses her ex.
#82 for 1989
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#81 for 1989
Your eyes don't deceive you, Divine really did have a singing career in the 80's with this being their one and only hit anywhere in the world due to them performing the song on Countdown (I apologise if I'm using the wrong pronouns as I was never made clear what they were.) This was also the first hit to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman, making this a first for everyone involved with the track. Sadly, Divine would pass away four years later.
#89 for 1984
This is the last hit that Culture club were able to achieve in their initial run together, it was a more stripped back ballad from the band given how they were no longer the biggest name in music and thus decided to move away from the new wave sound that made them big initially. They would break up shortly after their fourth album was released due to it being a commercial disaster for them.
#89 for 1986
This was originally a hit for Duane Eddy back in the late 50's, in fact this is more or less a remix of that version as the Art of noise simply took the original recording and turned it into a dance track by having Duane rerecord his instrumentation to better fit the beat they were going for. This led to them having a second hit later in the decade with a cover of Prince's song from earlier on the list with Tom Jones.
#90 for 1986
It's the song that's been described as the one bridging the gap between rock and hip hop, not least because it's essentially a hip hop cover of the Aerosmith classic that the rock band gave this trio full endorsement for covering. They were so thrilled with the idea that they even appeared in the music video where they help Run DMC destroy a literal wall that there was between the two genres.
#91 for 1986
This was only barely a success here in Australia for INXS, I'm guessing because this felt different from what the band had released prior to this point which must have caught us Aussies off guard when it first came out. It's since become one of their signature tracks over the years as has all of the tracks from their album Kick, proving how timeless each of these songs have become compared to many of the entries on this list.
#91 for 1988 #92 ARIA
D Generation were a comedy troupe that were very popular in the late 80's in Australia, similar to the Comedy club but not quite as successful. Like the Comedy club, they found moderate success in the music industry with this mashup of five popular songs from Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Little river band and James Reyne with them inserting their comedy throughout the runtime.
#83 for 1989
Following the success of their earlier entry on this list, the J Geils band managed to score a second hit worldwide with this gem that I'm surprised wasn't more of a hit here in Australia given how much love it still receives on oldies stations to this day. I guess we can chalk this up to all of the strong competition it had on this list alone given how many songs managed to make it big this year down under.
#92 for 1982
Less than a year after the final album to come from his father, Julian Lennon released his debut album Valotte which was a huge worldwide success for him likely due to him being the son of one of the most famous musicians of the twentieth century. This was the big hit from the album which sounds similar to what his father would've released if he had lived to see the 80's, I guess this was better than nothing.
#90 for 1984
This was a big hit in Swing out sister's native UK the previous year, however it didn't end up crossing over to Australia or NZ until the band became the final act to perform a song on Countdown during the final episode of the show. It was a big enough success in the southern hemisphere for it to crossover to America, making this a rather circuitous route for the band to make it big worldwide.
#90 for 1987
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#93 for 1988
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#94 for 1988
This was a good indication of the type of music making it big in America this year given how disco and other more interesting genres seemed to be excluded on Billboard around this time for some reason, I guess we Aussies found this one and only hit from Steve Forbert interesting enough for it to also be a hit here even though we didn't extend this love for the likes of Robbie Dupree and Billy Preston.
#93 for 1980
Well, here's that Billboard chart topper I brought up earlier in the list, it was also Air supply's final hit here as we Aussies moved on from them in favour of fresher local talent that would dominate our music scene while they dominate the American scene. I guess if you want a song that perfectly sums up their entire catalogue, this would be it as it has lyrics about love that most find sappy set to a simple melody.
#92 for 1981
This was the last hit Paul McCartney had for three decades anywhere in the world, he did eventually score a hit when he was credited for his contributions to "Fourfiveseconds" in 2015 with Rihanna and Kanye West even if he only provided the instrumentation on that track. Here he scores a hit with the lead single to the soundtrack to his film Give my regards to Broad Street, a film that was panned by critics.
#91 for 1984
This was the Hoodoo gurus' first bit hit in Australia, although the lead single to their album Mars needs guitars was a modest success given how "Bittersweet" did crack the top twenty for them earlier in the year. This was their surf rock track which I'm sure was what made them a household name given how there was a lot of nostalgia for that genre throughout the 70's and 80's down under.
#95 for 1985
This was originally a flop for the Angels upon its initial release over a decade prior, however when they went on tour around this time, they performed this live with the crowd shouting "no way get f**ked f**k off" which made it become a staple in their career. This live version was so popular that they released it as a single where it finally allowed the song to become a huge hit for them.
#92 for 1988 #95 ARIA
This was the lead single to Human league's Dare album, an album that had an unusual release schedule as the second single "Open your heart" came out mere weeks before their earlier entry regardless of where in the world you're from and months after this lead single. The album was a success once "Don't you want me" became a huge hit here due to the members performing all three tracks on Countdown.
#93 for 1982
This was the final hit that Queen was able to score during Freddie Mercury's lifetime, I get the feeling this was only a success for them due to this being released at the end of the decade and fans wanting to give the band one final hit for them to close out the decade as a relevant band. Indeed, their last hit was from five years prior when their album the Works spawned two of their bigger hits for them.
#84 for 1989
This was the last hit that Marcia Hines had here in Australia, although interestingly enough it was also her one and only hit throughout Europe likely due to the success that she had in NZ with "Something's missing" from the start of the decade. I guess she was all geared to take the world by storm but then MTV happened, and everyone wanted to support Diana Ross instead including her fellow Aussies.
#93 for 1981
There didn't seem to be any signs of Kenny Rogers slowing down in the mainstream as he had recruited Lionel Richie to write him his first Billboard chart topper from his second greatest hits package in a row. OK so it was his first greatest hits package in his native America as the first one he had was only released here in Australia as the 70's was coming to an end. He would struggle to retain his popularity during the MTV era.
#94 for 1981
Following the massive success of their (then) most recent album, Talking heads decided to allow their frontman David Byrne to make a theatrical film where they composed the soundtrack for which resulted in this lead single being the theme to said film which resulted in its success worldwide. It's best known for its music video where several 80's celebrities lip sync to the track which helped out with its success.
#92 for 1986
Ric Ocasek was the lead singer of the Cars who at least internationally was one of the biggest bands of the decade, as such it makes sense that he would score a solo hit this year with the lead single to his second album even if this song flopped in NZ and his native America where his band was the most popular. This would be the last hit he would have both solo and with his band as his subsequent follow ups flopped.
#93 for 1986
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#82 for 1989
Celtic music might not have reached its peak until the Riverdance craze of the 90's, however it did see a massive spike in popularity around this time which no doubt led to Foster and Allen scoring a hit with this ballad dedicated to a Maggie in their lives. The success it had in Australia led to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ.
#95 for 1983
This was the only other major hit that Bucks Fizz was able to score here in Australia, I guess we Aussies were only interested in these guys for their affiliation with Eurovision despite being a regular guest on Countdown which was highly unusual for an international artist to be so back in the day. They tried to have their song "Are you ready" a big hit here as that was the song they performed on the 75th anniversary of the ABC channel down under.
#94 for 1982
This was the only version of the 30's ballad that was able to become a hit over the years in most countries, although Americans had Robert John score a hit with his version from a decade prior. As this was the dawn of MTV, this version is more bombastic and, in your face, compared to other versions which is perhaps how it managed to become a huge success for Tight fit but also leaving them as a one hit wonder.
#95 for 1982
This took its time in finding success here in Australia, mainly because it was already a huge hit in NZ and the duo's native UK the previous year and it was an Irish pub rock track from the duo during a time which we Aussies were into this sort of music. I guess it didn't have the flashy imagery that had taken over MTV and as such had to work our way into our playlists while were we at the pub.
#96 for 1983
This was another song that required multiple attempts to make it big here in Australia, although it's the debut single for one of the most influential women in music even if her influence wouldn't be felt until her second album. This made it big once "Holiday" became a surprise success here in Australia, proving how much we Aussies love the future queen of pop even back in her earliest days.
#92 for 1984
This was the final hit that Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons had here in Australia (although they were now simply going by Jo Jo Zep) it seems odd they would achieve their highest charting single before they went their separate ways but that was a surprisingly common trend in the music industry over the years. Lead singer Joe Camilleri would form a new band after this known as the Black sorrows.
#96 for 1982
This was the second single that the Choirboys released from their sophomore album, it continued their winning streak this year as it became a success around the time they released the album which was also a huge hit for them here. The album was able to crossover to NZ which was a sign that there was international interest in the band which sadly never translated to success in the northern hemisphere.
#93 for 1988 #96 ARIA
Bet you didn't know the Muppets were able to have hits in the mainstream, did you? Yes, this opening ballad from the first Muppet movie became a success here in Australia likely due to our love of the show and the film being a box office success at the time. Evidently the theme song to the show was a huge success worldwide in the mid 70's, although that song wasn't a success here in Australia.
#94 for 1980
This was the breakthrough for Miami sound machine, I'm guessing it was big here due to it being a surprise success for them in the UK despite this being a massive flop in their native America. The song nowadays is best known for a remix it received two decades later which allowed it to become a hit again in the mid 00's.
#96 for 1985
While this was far from the first song that these guys released in their discography, it was the song that put them on the map as it became a modest success for them this year. This is more in line with their earlier sound as their later hits in the decade was more pop friendly, although they were also more successful which is perhaps why this wasn't as big as the likes of "Barbados" or "Out of mind out of sight."
#97 for 1983
While this wasn't the final song to be released from Born in the U.S.A, it was the final hit that Bruce Springsteen had from the album outside his native America due to the rest of the world passing up the other singles on there in favour of making the album itself a massive hit. This is one of the shortest songs to become a hit since the early 70's, clocking in at two and half minutes even on the album.
#97 for 1985
This was the last big hit that Icehouse managed to achieve in their career, although they did achieve one more minor hit the following year with "Miss divine" from their album Code blue. This came from their greatest hits package named after their signature track from eight years prior, an album that seemed appropriate to close out the decade as they broke through at the start of the decade to massive success.
#85 for 1989
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