Well I guess I should look at what was big throughout the 70's in NZ considering how I did the same for Australia on this site, this list will be even shorter given how the RIANZ charts only began in mid 1975, meaning I won't have carry over hits from 1974 like I did on the Australian equivlent due to those songs only charting on the Listener charts which conveniently ceased once RIANZ was launched.
If this feels a little low on this list, that's because it faced stiff competition from several other entries on this list largely due to how unreliable the charts were this year due to the infamous summer break it began with (in my opinion of course.) In any case, this third single from Arrival was a huge success for the Swedish foursome in NZ even if it didn't reach the dizzying heights of success it achieved internationally.
#78 for 1977
This was a little late to the party in NZ compared to the rest of the world, however it was a success once it did see the light of day over there albeit not quite on the same level as the rest of the world presumably because the kiwis weren't as impressed with the double A single as the rest of the world was.
#82 for 1978
This is another RNB group of colour to find massive success two decades after their initial breakthrough worldwide, just like the Drifters, this was due to their sudden popularity in the UK as this ballad managed to become a huge chart topper for them over there which of course sparked its success in NZ. I guess we Aussies passed this up in favour of the Three degrees who sadly flopped in NZ.
#45 for 1975 (#36 website)
Dazz was one of the less popular disco bands to have a hit in their native America this decade, this was the hit they had on Billboard which was groovy enough for it to crossover to NZ this year in the early months of the year, making this another entry that could potential place higher were it not for the long summer gap the charts had at the time.
#79 for 1977
We have a second appearance from Suzi Quatro on this side of my site, you'd think that she would've dominated the first half of the decade in NZ just like she did here in Australia and the UK given how much the kiwis loved glam rock throughout the decade. Alas this wasn't the case as it appears they were as ignorant towards her earlier catalogue has her fellow Americans were.
#83 for 1978
Well, this is a surprise, namely because I wasn't expecting to find out that Jon English had a hit in NZ before he had a hit here in Australia back in the day. I'm not even sure how the kiwis came across his cover of the Bob Seger track given how Bob wouldn't find any success until later in the decade even in his native America.
#46 for 1975
I told you the hits kept on coming from the Carpenters as this was their third from the same album over there even if it failed to connect with their fellow Americans. This is a cover of an obscure Neil Sedaka track from earlier in the decade, suggesting that these guys took away his comeback success over there that he was achieving throughout the rest of the world.
#47 for 1975
I'm guessing we Aussies were a big fan of the film this serves as the official theme song to given how it and Donna Summer's Oscar winning track from earlier on this list both flopped on our charts this year where it succeeded in NZ. The band who brought it to life was a group of session musicians that the producers threw together, making this one of those corporatised songs that mingled in with the genuine articles back in the day.
#84 for 1978 (#48 website)
As this was another song that appeared on the very first week of the RIANZ charts, you can assume that it had some of its potential success cut off back in the day which explains why it appears lower on this list than it likely should. Indeed, this cracked the top ten on the Listener charts right as they were winding to an end.
#48 for 1975
OK to everyone who thought the Teletubbies were bizarre, allow me to present to you the 70's equivalent known as the Wombles who were massively popular in the UK and also in NZ if the success of their theme song is anything to go by. Then again, this was an excellent time for TV themes over there given how many we've looked at on this side of my site already.
#74 for 1976 (#42 website)
It looks like the kiwis were a bit torn on whether they wanted to keep these guys around given how it only makes this list due to its refusal to die on their charts back in the day, I would say this was the final hit the band had except both "Undercover of the night" and "Harlem shuffle" became huge hits over there throughout the 80's, proving these supposed rock dinosaurs still had staying power.
#85 for 1978 (#42 website)
Although these guys didn't see the massive success in NZ that they achieved here in Australia, I will say that they were able to have all of their big hits down under successfully reappear on this side of my site as they each managed to connect with the kiwis back in the day, suggesting that they too were into queer music during a time of systemic homophobia.
#82 for 1979
This was released in NZ around the same time that "Mississippi" began to catch on here in Australia, meaning that these guys already had two hits over there by the time they scored their one and only hit over here back in the day. While it remains the weakest of their four hits they had, it still managed to be a massive success for the Dutch band regardless.
#75 for 1976 (#49 website)
In a bit of a bizarre twist, this wound up being the big "retro hit" that Abba had in NZ this year as opposed to "Ring ring" following the success they had with all of their earlier entries on this list from their third album. Honestly you can consider this entry the same as "Ring ring" for this side of my site even though this comes from their second album as opposed to their debut like that song did.
#76 for 1976
It's about time I featured a song from Santana that had Carlos Santana on lead vocals, here he covers the Zombies classic from over a decade prior which allowed it to become a success in NZ in lieu of the album it came from. I guess we Aussies passed this up in favour of said album, although this remains a favourite on our oldie's stations to this day.
#86 for 1978
As far as the kiwis are concerned, this was the breakthrough single that the Bay city rollers had as it became a hit over there right when their earlier entry on this list managed to become a hit both there and in America where it became their sole Billboard chart topper. That said, these three entries will be the full extent of their representation on this side of the site given how unimpressed the kiwis were with them.
#77 for 1976
Given how they saw massive success this year in NZ with their live album that captured their performance at Budokan, it makes sense that Cheap trick was able to find success over there even though their breakthrough with this track came here in Australia when they performed it on Countdown. Even so, it was likely because of said performance that it was far more popular here than it was over there.
#83 for 1979
If you want an idea of how much less popular Kiss was in NZ compared to here in Australia, consider the fact that this was just about out of the charts by the time the new decade rolled around over there compared to here where it was still comfortably in the top ten on our charts. That said, this was able to find success over there which is more than I can say for how well it did in their homeland.
#84 for 1979
We've looked at the Faith no more cover twice already on this site, time now to look at the original version of their ballad which does indeed come from Lionel Richie and company as this was a surprise success in NZ given how it was far from the biggest hit on Billboard this year. Even though the 90's version is more popular in the southern hemisphere, you can still hear both versions on oldies stations to this day.
#80 for 1977 (#38 website)
This certainly was an excellent time for country music in the mainstream, wasn't it? Here we have the one and only hit from the Ozark Mountain daredevils (yet another silly band name I have to write up on this site) which likely connected with the kiwis this year thanks to it having some elements of prog sprinkled throughout its runtime.
#49 for 1975 (#37 website)
This is one of those ballads that made it big due to the influx of adult contemporary that made it big during the 70's, although it's worth noting that this guy began his career in the disco genre given how his previous claim to fame was as a part of Disco Tex and his Sexolettes who you may know for their Billboard hit single "Get dancing" from two years prior.
#81 for 1977
This is the only notable hit from Lou Rawls from anywhere in the world, he did have a minor hit here in Australia with "You'll never find a love like mine," however that was a sleeper hit here given how he didn't find much success even in his native America. I think NZ is the only place in the world where he even managed to score a top ten hit and even then, it was only sleeper hit for him over there.
#87 for 1978
This is the only hit that everyone involved with this song had in their homeland, it appears to be a country ballad which was able to find an audience with their fellow kiwis and even sparked international interest given how I was able to find actual album art for its entry.
#50 for 1975
Although he didn't have that inescapable hit in NZ like he did here in Australia throughout the 70's, Billy Ocean more than made up for that by having an additional two hits over there which we'll be looking at on this specific list. This was the first of those two hits which was a disco track much like "Love really hurts without you" that stuck around for quite some time on their charts.
#82 for 1977
It appears the kiwis had so much love for Jim Gilstrap that they gave him a second hit this year in the form of this underrated gem, this would sadly be the full extent of his popularity worldwide in terms of his music as he wouldn't release another album due to the failure of his first album in his native America.
#51 for 1975 (#38 website)
If the name Hues corporation is familiar to you, that's because this is the group that brought the world "Rock the boat" earlier in the decade which is often credited as one of the songs that brought disco to the mainstream due to its success in their native America. The kiwis obviously still had enough love for them to make this a hit long after their popularity had faded throughout the rest of the world.
#83 for 1977
In a bit of a bizarre twist, it turns out the kiwis weren't that impressed with Brotherhood of man's victory single for Eurovision this year like the rest of the world was given how much less successful it was over there compared to here in Australia. Admittedly this could be due to the fact that this is likely the only song of theirs the average kiwi could even name as their debut single "United we stand" was a bomb over there (at least according to the Listener charts.)
#78 for 1976
This really struggled to appear on this side of my site due to how much more chaotic the charts were in NZ this year due to there being a huge shakeup on how they were calculated (so much so that it was originally a top 40 that got expanded to a top 50.) As such, it's hard to say if this was simply pushed aside due to stronger competition or if the kiwis naturally didn't gravitate towards this track from Raydio.
#85 for 1979
In a strange twist of events, "Right back where we started from" was only a minor success in NZ and thus won't be reappearing on this side of my site. I bring this up because Maxine Nightingale did manage to have a hit over there with this gem three years later likely due to it being a massive hit in America even though it flopped here in Australia and throughout Europe.
#86 for 1979
Much like here in Australia, this was the final hit that Boney M had over in NZ as the kiwis had also grown tired of their brand of Euro disco by the time the 70's had come to an end. Again, it's tough to say if this was a victim of stiff competition or if this was able to benefit as a "fan single" given how suddenly chaotic the charts had become this year.
#87 for 1979
Although you wouldn't know it based on the RIANZ charts alone, however these guys were on a massive roll in NZ this year as their lead single to their fourth album managed to become a decent success for them despite it being a massive flop everywhere else in the world. In my bonus section we'll get to in a bit, you'll see just how inescapable these guys were with their earlier material.
#52 for 1975
This was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, I would say it was due to strong album sales except A: that doesn't explain the success of songs from highly successful albums over there this decade and B: the album was a huge failure over there despite its massive success over here.
#88 for 1979
Here's the other big hit that Billy Ocean had this year in NZ, it was his first top ten hit over there even though his earlier entry managed to last longer on their charts and thus appear higher on this list. This would be the last anyone would hear from him until 1984 where he scored his first Billboard chart topper with "Caribbean queen."
#84 for 1977
This was released the exact same time as Linda Ronstadt's earlier entry on this list in NZ, naturally the two had to compete with each other with "Blue bayou" obviously coming out on top over there. That said, I'm surprised this bombed here in Australia even if it was obviously due to how well the album did here.
#88 for 1978
This is Jackson Browne's only solo success he had in the southern hemisphere when it came to his singles, even then it was only a sleeper success in NZ given how Running on empty (the album it came from) wasn't that big of a success for him over there like it was here in Australia. It could also be the kiwis were torn on whether they appreciated his take on the Maurice Williams classic or not.
#89 for 1978 (#50 website)
If I were to go further back in the decade, there'd be an increase in "story" songs such as this one and only hit from David Geddes that tell a story rather than just be poetry set to music like so many other songs we've looked at on this site. This is one of the sillier songs to tell a story as the song is about the narrator knocking up his girlfriend and her father wanting to kill him for it.
#53 for 1975
Although it didn't crack the NZ top ten like it did here in Australia, this one and only hut from Warren Zevon did manage to find an audience over there likely due to it being a decent hit for him in his native America. I guess this shoots down my theory that Warren performed this on Countdown in order for it to find an audience here as the kiwis didn't have a Countdown equivalent and it wasn't that big here.
#90 for 1978
Considering how much bigger these guys wound up being in NZ compared to here in Australia, it's odd that by far their biggest hit down under was among their weakest hits over there even if it might be due to the kiwis not appreciating this cover of the Rooftop singers classic from the early 60's. It might’ve also been big due to a Countdown appearance, however that's lost media if that's the case.
#85 for 1977
Much like here in Australia, this was the Captain and Tennille's final hit of the decade in NZ until they came back in 1980 with their biggest hit "Do that to me one more time." Although unlike in Australia, that was their biggest hit over there as "Love will keep us together" was much more of a sleeper hit which we'll look at on the next list.
#79 for 1976
Well, we looked at the remix of this track on my 1986 list on this side of my site, so why not look at the original version which I did say was a hit upon its initial release this year. I'm not sure why this didn't crossover here in Australia given how many of the other disco tracks from musicians of colour were able to back in the day.
#80 for 1976 (#44 website)
Whereas most entries on this list suffered from the infamous summer break this year began with, this wasn't the case for Manfred Mann and company given how this was heavily delayed over there (likely due to said summer break) meaning that it really did struggle to appear on this list for no other reason than the kiwis being uninterested in what he had to offer.
#86 for 1977
This only barely makes the cut for this list due to how it managed to hang around long enough during the early existence of the RIANZ charts to qualify for this spot, if I were to go over the Listener charts, this would've been much higher on this list due to it dominating the final stretch of that chart’s existence.
#54 for 1975 (#34 website)
You would think that these guys would've been inescapable in NZ throughout the decade given how disco has run even more rampant on this list compared to its Australian counterpart, alas this was initially they best that KC and company could do until their earlier entry on this list officially put them on the map. In fact, said entry was the only song in their catalogue that did better over there than it did over here.
#81 for 1976
From what I can gather, Danny Mirror was an Elvis impersonator from the Netherlands who saw a quite a bit of success in his homeland due to his gimmick of being an Elvis impersonator amongst his fellow Dutch men. Naturally he was all shook up (ha ha) when the king of rock and roll passed away this year, so much so that he recorded this tribute which became a huge worldwide hit for him.
#87 for 1977
We looked at the spiritual successor to these guys Coup D'etate on an earlier list, now let's look at Hello sailor who were a pop punk band who achieved massive success with this sleeper hit in their homeland back in the day. They had a bunch of other minor hits over there, making them the NZ equivalent of Flash and the pan.
#88 for 1977 (#42 website)
It seems odd that the rest of the world had turn their backs on Glen Campbell right when he was at the peak of his popularity in his native America, this was his second Billboard chart topper and yet the best it could do internationally was as a sleeper hit in NZ likely due to the lack of competition it had over there compared to our local music scene in Australia.
#89 for 1977
I wasn't expecting to feature a second entry from Supertramp on this side of my site; however, it appears that the kiwis were so infatuated by these guys that they allowed them to have two minor sleeper hits over there in addition to their albums dominating their album charts throughout the decade.
#90 for 1977
Even though she struggled to achieve success in NZ compared to Australia, Dolly Parton can at least take comfort in the fact that all three of her hits on that side of my site appear on this side even if they appear much lower. Indeed, this was her big breakthrough in NZ just like it was internationally, although you'd think it would've been bigger there given the lack of Countdown to disincentivise its success.
#91 for 1978
This managed to sneak onto the list due to a lack of competition from when it came out, after all, I can't see why the kiwis would still be supporting the Hollies even at this level given how their popularity died out throughout the rest of the world.
#82 for 1976
So, you know how big "Telephone line" from ELO was right? Well, it turns out that Meri Wilson made a response song of sorts to that track which became a surprise hit for her in NZ despite it bombing in her native America. It appears the Brits also appreciated this song for what it was as it was a surprise hit in the UK as well.
#91 for 1977
Given how there wasn't a Countdown equivalent to stifle songs like this from becoming a success in NZ like what happened here in Australia, this meant that Michael Murphey was able to score a decent hit over there with a song that you can still hear on oldies stations to this day due to how popular it was in his native America.
#55 for 1975
Here we are with the earlier hit that Billy Ocean achieved in his career, he did try to find success under the alias Les Charles which explains why he was in his mid-twenties when he finally scored his first hit which was rare back in the day for pop artists. Again, it's worth noting that his popularity would be much bigger once we get around to the 80's.
#83 for 1976
While this wasn't Sharon O’Neill’s debut single, it was her first song to catch on amongst her fellow kiwis and thus put her on the map going into the 80's. Even so, it was only through extensive appearances on Countdown that she was finally able to score success with her magnum opus in 1983.
#89 for 1979
Barely squeezing onto this list is Peter Frampton who returns to this site with his one and only appearance from the Australian side, I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this track as we Aussies were or the Americans where this became a hit for the English rocker originally.
#92 for 1977
There were a ton of hits on Billboard throughout the decade that failed to see international success for whatever reason, this is one of the lucky few that saw success worldwide even if it was a mere sleeper hit in NZ for Earrth wind and fire back in the day. Hey at least it did better over there than the Black box cover from 1990 which wasn't the case here in Australia.
#92 for 1978
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