Well I guess I should look at what was big throughout the 80's in NZ considering how I did the same for Australia on this site, at least this list will be more straightforward as (at least as far as I'm aware) there wasn't more than one chart chronicling what was popular over in NZ like there was here in Australia.
This was the first big hit that Herbs had in their homeland, Herbs of course being the band who collaborated with Dave Dobbyn's one and only hit here in Australia later in the decade. They were much more popular over there for two reasons, the first was they were a Maoris band and the second was that they used reggae in their sound.
#73 for 1982 (#43 website)
Contrary to popular belief, Spandau Ballet's earlier entry on this list wasn't the lead single to their album True as that honour goes to this track which was largely ignored in most parts of the world save for NZ where it became the band's first big hit. I feel like this can go hand in hand with their other entry on this list as it shares the same lyrical content as that track does, which would explain both songs popularity over there.
#79 for 1983
They saw massive success in NZ the previous year with their rendition of a Surfaris track (well more specifically, them rapping over the instrumental of the Surfaris track provided to them by the Beach boys) so why not repeat the formula with them rapping over the song that made Chubby Checker a household name? This was the only other hit that the Fat Boys achieved worldwide as this formula ran its course.
#60 for 1988 (#44 website)
You'd think with all of the country making it big in NZ this year that this would've been an even bigger hit for Juice Newton over there, alas it wasn't as it only managed to be half as successful over there as it was over here. At least she was able to have both of her big hits here in Australia reappear on this side of my site as we'll be revisiting "Queen of hearts" later down this list.
#73 for 1981 (#50 website)
This was released fairly soon in Australia after it became a UK chart topper for Dead or alive, as a result, it was also a big hit here due to it being the second track to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman for an LGBT act. This was released on time in NZ where it didn't end up being a big a hit over there, although it was big enough that it was the first hit over there to be produced by the trio.
#73 for 1985 (#36 website)
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.
#70 for 1986 (#49 website)
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.
#68 for 1989 (#24 website)
It turns out the kiwis also wanted to hear a mashup of classical music this year just like the rest of the world did as this became a huge hit over there like it did internationally, in fact the album this comes from was far more popular over there than it was over here, proving that they were more into what RPO had to offer at the time.
#74 for 1981
This was the only hit that new wave singer Thomas Dolby was able to achieve in his career, it's a novelty track about how the girl of his dreams blinded him with science (whatever that's supposed to mean.) I'm willing to bet this song inspired the plot of Weird science as that's about two nerds creating their own girlfriend with science, something I can see this guy doing in the real world if it were possible.
#80 for 1983
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.
#71 for 1986 (#35 website)
Jody Watley was the sole female member of Shalamar who already had a massive hit from the start of the decade with "The second time around" in NZ, here she is seven years later with this solo single which became a big hit over there likely due to the success of Janet Jackson boosting the popularity of this type of song worldwide. It was a minor hit for her here in Australia, but too minor to be noteworthy for this site.
#65 for 1987
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.
#69 for 1989
This was only a minor hit here in Australia this year, although at least it charted for a while here where it became a sleeper hit which is more than I can say for the likes of "Long hot summer" and "Walls come tumbling down" which have both surpassed this song as the signature tracks for the band. It was more of a success in NZ likely due to how the kiwis were quick in making them a household name over there.
#74 for 1984
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.
#70 for 1989 (#30 website)
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.
#71 for 1989
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.
#72 for 1989
Even though this song is in Spanish, it became the first hit from Julio Iglesias in the English-speaking parts of the world as it led to his first UK chart topper "Begin the beguine" later in the year. Of course, we Aussies didn't allow for him to have a hit in Australia until he learned English later in the decade which resulted in his first English speaking album, 1100 bel air place.
#75 for 1981
It's hard to say if this was a hit back in the day despite it being satire of the 80's era of greed or because of it, either way it remains one of Madonna's more contentious songs in recent years for glorifying materialism in the mainstream from people who don't get the intent of the song. Commercially it was a bit of a stumble for her, however she bounced back with her earlier entries on this list.
#74 for 1985
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.
#72 for 1986
This wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Madonna, I'm not sure why because it's clear the kiwis were cool with her newfound appreciation of Latin music given her earlier entry on this list. I guess they were hyped for her third film named after her earlier entry which from what I can gather, was a huge disaster thanks to her performance where she channels her rival Cyndi Lauper.
#66 for 1987
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.
#73 for 1986 (#37 website)
Much like in Australia, only the original version of this cover from Kylie Minogue managed to become a success over in NZ this year, likely because the kiwis were intrigued by how Charlene from Neighbours was able to score a massive hit this year with this cover and decided to check it out. This makes it the second cover of the Little Eva track to make it big over there following the disco rendition from the start of the decade.
#67 for 1987
While this did float around in the lower half of the charts in NZ prior to its surprise success in the UK, it wasn't until their earlier entry was released that it skyrocketed towards the top half of the charts over there which confirmed that the Pointer sisters were a household name there like they were over here throughout the decade. It still blows my mind how much less popular the trio were over there compared to over here.
#75 for 1984 (#34 website)
The winning streak that Billy Idol had in NZ continued with his second single from his second album as it too managed to be more popular over there than it was over here for the punk rocker, although you'd think it would've been an even bigger hit given how it was the song that finally broke him through over in America. I guess it was a bit ahead of its time given how it's a sophistopop track made prior to that genres peak.
#76 for 1984 (#49 website)
This will be the only song from Nik Kershaw that will appear on this side of my site as he unfortunately didn't have much success in NZ like he did here in Australia and his native UK, although it's worth noting that this at least did far better over there than it did over here likely due to them being amused by the music video where the director predicts Jim Carrey's performance as the Riddler a decade before it happened.
#75 for 1985
While it's not that surprising to see this reappear on this side of my site given how Shona Laing is a NZ artist who previously found success with "1905" in her homeland, what's surprising is that she had to find success over here in Australia before her fellow kiwis realised the beauty of this ballad given how it was a success over there long after it was over here this year.
#68 for 1987 (#36 website)
Well, this managed to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, although it was pushed from the second biggest hit he had down under to the third over there due to his two earlier appearances on this list being much bigger. In fact, his success with his singles was the complete inverse over there of what they were over here to give you an idea of how unpredictable our respective music scenes were.
#69 for 1987
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.
#73 for 1989 (#42 website)
MJ was able to score one more hit in NZ this year with this fourth and final single from his comeback album Off the wall, this is a bittersweet ballad about how he lost the love of his life and how he was going to cope with the loss that clearly connected with audiences back in the day given its success. Heck it was even a minor success here in Australia and likely would've been a genuine hit had it been released as the lead single.
#75 for 1980 (#48 website)
This was another post disco hit that managed to become a success in NZ throughout the 80's, although I get the feeling it was more due to Shannon's vocals on the track than the kiwis wanting to keep disco alive as it wasn't that big a hit compared to other 80's disco hits of the era. It was also her only hit, suggesting even they wanted to move on to other black music becoming popular of the day.
#77 for 1984
This was another song that could've made the cut on the Australian side of my site had I allowed myself to include as many minor hits in Australia throughout the years as there were, as such it missed the cut but was fortunately a much bigger hit in NZ for David Bowie likely due to how inescapably popular he was over there throughout the 80's.
#78 for 1984
Although they had more success in NZ overall than they did here in Australia, it's worth noting that this second single from the band was released slightly later over there than it was over here which admittedly didn't seem to hamper its success over there given how it managed to reappear on this side of my site.
#79 for 1984
#76 for 1985
This was the only song to not only be a success for Sheila E in NZ, but to even chart over there as "The glamorous life" was a massive flop for the American drummer for whatever reason. This was also a minor success here in Australia, although it didn't rack up the points to make an appearance on that side of my site. It's strange that she was a one hit wonder in the southern hemisphere with a different song in each country.
#77 for 1985
Rick Astley really did get the short end of the stick in NZ compared to what he achieved here and in his native UK, this title track was a big hit over there, however it was far less popular than it was throughout the rest of the world which somewhat surprises me given how it wasn't even like the album was any bigger over there to compensate for this.
#61 for 1988
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.
#74 for 1989
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.
#75 for 1989
This was way less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for Bertie Higgins, I'm guessing it was only a success over there due to how popular it was over here as it crossed over months after it dominated our charts here. I guess the kiwis were willing to leave this sort of easy listening behind but were briefly won over by how sincere and heartfelt this ballad was from the one hit wonder.
#74 for 1982
This was the only hit that Robert Plant was able to score as a solo artist throughout his career, although it's worth noting that he achieved massive success as the lead singer of Led zeppelin during their heyday and would even score another hit as the main front man of the Honeydrippers two years later.
#81 for 1983
This was originally a hit for Joy Division at the start of the decade in NZ, a number one hit in fact despite it being one of the weakest chart toppers of all time over there. It was given another life this year likely due to people predicting the end of the world due to the Orson Welles book named after this year, I bring this up because it was far from the only song to return to the NZ charts this year.
#80 for 1984 (#48 website)
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this ballad about how Elton believes that a sad song says so much about a relationship a lover is in as we Aussies were, admittedly he did struggle to score hits with his singles this decade as this is so far only the second song of his to reappear on this side of my site, however I would've thought his singles were more popular with the kiwis given how big his albums were over there.
#81 for 1984
These guys were on a roll as they released the lead single to their third and final album this year, it wouldn't be the biggest hit from said album as that would come the following year with "Magic" but this was nonetheless big enough to convince Dave Dobbyn to embark on a solo career once the album cycle came to an end.
#82 for 1984
Sting didn't have as much success over in NZ as he did in Australia both solo and with the Police, so it's interesting to see him with a new entry on this site given how this was an instant success over there while his big hit from his solo debut here in Australia would be with "Russians" from the following year. This and his debut album with the Police were the only things from his catalogue to find more success over there than they did over here.
#78 for 1985 (#38 website)
I'm a bit surprised that this proved to be the big hit off of Whispering jack in NZ for John Farnham, granted "You're the voice" did eventually become a hit over there, however it was only a sleeper hit that would've still missed out on this list had its success been more compacted over there like this was. The only conclusion to this is that the kiwis genuinely preferred this track over that back in the day.
#70 for 1987 (#49 website)
It's little surprise that this was more of an immediate hit in NZ than it was here in Australia given how the acid house sub-genre had reigned supreme over there and throughout Europe this year, it also explains how Sonique would eventually find more success over there when she embarked on her solo career than she did over here given that the kiwis clearly had fond memories of this track when that happened over us Aussies.
#62 for 1988
It's odd that these guys would be far more successful international than they were in their native America even if they were the type of rockabilly band that would appeal to the fans of Shaking Stevens and Racey from around this time, this was their only notable hit in NZ even though "Runaway boys" was the big hit that they had here in Australia (well it was a sleeper hit at least.)
#76 for 1981
I guess the kiwis were also fans of this one and only hit from Pete Shelley back in the day, although it was noticeably less successful over there than it was over here likely through a combination of them finding it more annoying than us Aussies and not getting into the bizarre music video like we did.
#75 for 1982
One of the more popular TV shows of the decade was Hill Street blues, it was a detective series about a pair of cops solving crimes that was a big hit with audiences back in the day. Nowadays it's best known for its theme song which was a huge hit over in NZ this year likely due to how iconic the kiwis felt it was back in the day.
#76 for 1982
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.
#74 for 1986
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.
#75 for 1986
These guys did achieve a moderate hit in NZ the previous year with "Digging your scene" however this proved to be the big hit for the sophistopop band over there given how the sub-genre managed to explode in popularity this year both there and in the band's native UK where this was also a decent success. Naturally the Blow monkeys didn't achieve any success here in Australia due to the genre's lack of popularity.
#71 for 1987 (#26 website)
There is close to no information about this song or the band who brought it to life on the internet, as such I can only assume that it was a track from a NZ band that made it big through either a charity or because of a well-timed event that time has since thoroughly erased.
#72 for 1987
There will only be two entries from John Cougar Mellencamp on the NZ side of my site, although at least they'll be two new entries to this site as he was unable to score any further hits in Australia after the lead single to his biggest album the Lonesome jubilee. This was that album's second single which became his first hit over there as well as the song that finally allowed him to have mainstream success in NZ.
#63 for 1988
Well here's another new entry from MJ's album Bad, coincidentally it was written by the woman he duetted with from my previous list who originally wrote the song for her own album but was requested by Quincy Jones to donate it to the king of pop due to it being a heartfelt ballad about wanting to make a difference in the world by first looking at oneself in the mirror to find out if they need to change themselves.
#64 for 1988
This was another successful song from the acid house genre to make it big in NZ and the UK this year, this time it comes to us from the British EDM group Bomb the bass who went on to have critical acclaim in their homeland throughout the 90's even if this was their only big hit worldwide.
#65 for 1988
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.
#76 for 1989 (#40 website)
Although this wasn't the first hip hop number to become a success in NZ (that honour goes to "Rapper's delight" which was a huge sleeper hit the previous year that unfortunately didn't make the cut in making it on this site) it was the first hit single over there to reach the upper echelons of their charts likely due to it being a huge Billboard chart topper for the band.
#77 for 1981
Well, this was far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, although this might be due to the album this came from being far more popular over there than it was over here despite album sales rarely affecting the success of a single over there like it does over here. In any case, we have the one and only hit that this British band had outside of their native UK making its second appearance on this site.
#77 for 1982 (#31 website)
I guess the kiwis weren't as big of fans Culture club's singles from their second album as we Aussies were given how this is the only other single from the album to reappear on this side of my site, although the album itself was a massive success over there so it's not like they rejected their music outright.
#82 for 1983
This was the first hit that the Rolling stones had in NZ in the 80's, it's curious that they would have two hits in Australia prior to this and yet this would be a flop here despite it being a hit for them in NZ. They would score one more hit in both countries as well as the rest of the world with "Harlem shuffle" three years after this.
#83 for 1983
#83 for 1984
It was such a pain to do research on this particular entry given how time has thoroughly erased it from existence, from what I can gather, this was a politically charged track that became popular in NZ this year concerning which side of the political spectrum you were leaning in and that all of them had their ups and downs when it came to society.
#79 for 1985
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this theme song to American gigolo as this proved to be far less popular for Blondie over there than it was throughout the rest of the world, it's hard to say if the film's reception had anything to do with its lack of success over there given how I wouldn't have guessed in a million years this was written for a film about a male sex worker.
#76 for 1980
This might seem a bit low on this list given how inescapably popular it was upon its initial release back in the day, alas it was only inescapable in the UK as the rest of the world was a bit wary of making this duet between opera singers Elaine Paige and Barbrara Dickson a huge success back in the day. It was a huge hit in NZ, although it was a sleeper hit hence why it's so low on this list.
#80 for 1985 (#14 website)
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.
#76 for 1986
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.
#77 for 1986
Even though this was a hit much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia for Salt n Pepa, it had its success doubled over here once it finally saw the light of day proving how much we Aussies were willing to allow a female hip hop act to find success here over the kiwis back in the day. In fact, the trio wouldn't find anywhere near as much success over there throughout their career as they did down under.
#66 for 1988 (#42 website)
This was a modest success for Split Enz this year, although like I said before, they weren't nearly as popular over there as they were over here this year which makes this a bit of an off year for them as their popularity would return to what it was the previous year with their next album.
#78 for 1981
This barely missed the cut from appearing on the Australian side of my site given how it was one of those weak top ten entries that clearly had its success eaten away by strong album sales, fortunately this wasn't a factor over in NZ which means I'm able to finally feature this third single from Wham's debut album on this site. It appears the kiwis weren't impressed with their official rap theme as that flopped over there.
#84 for 1983
It may surprise you to learn that this was never a hit here in Australia or indeed Joy Division's native UK, it's more surprising considering the fact that this became an instant chart topper in NZ following the news that the band had reformed as New order. I'm guessing this was what compelled the kiwis to make the sequel band have the biggest hit of the decade with "Blue Monday" given how inescapable that song was over there.
#79 for 1981 (#19 website)
Given how songs from highly successful albums weren't impacted by said albums success over in NZ like they were here in Australia, this allowed the second single from Born in the U.S.A to become a massive hit over there where it was only a minor hit over here this year for Bruce Springsteen. That said, this was the only song from the album to benefit from this arrangement over there for him.
#84 for 1984
I would say that the kiwis were more on board with Bon Jovi's country sound of their catalogue except the more likely explanation for this song's success over there was due to the strong albums sales of Slippery when wet not impacting its popularity there like it did over here in Australia. For what it's worth, "You give love a bad name" was a top ten hit over there even though it won't be appearing on this list.
#73 for 1987
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this tribute to Elvis Presley that the Pet shop boys made as the rest of the world was, bearing in mind in only had such a low appearance on the Australian side of my site due to it being more of a sleeper hit here and thus, charting in the lower half of our charts far longer than it did on its upper regions. That said, this was still a huge hit for the duo over there regardless.
#67 for 1988
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.
#77 for 1989 (#48 website)
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.
#78 for 1989
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.
#79 for 1989
This was another hit that Wet wet wet managed to score in NZ this year, although at least their earlier entry did chart here in Australia which is more than I can say for this third single from their debut album (which also came out the previous year in their native UK.) They wouldn't score another hit over there until "Love is all around" from the Four weddings and a funeral soundtrack.
#68 for 1988
Yannis Markopoulous was a Greek composer who scored a massive worldwide hit this year with this instrumental track that seems to have been composed for a TV series from the UK that time has seemed to have thoroughly erased over the years.
#77 for 1980
There was no escaping from Billy Idol over in NZ this year as he managed to score his sixth hit in a row over there with this third single to his second album, this hasn't been as fondly remembered over there years likely due to its failure here in Australia and throughout the rest of the world once he caught on with his previous entry on this list.
#85 for 1984
Unlike here in Australia where the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack was inescapable (at least as far as the singles were concerned) it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with the soundtrack as this was the best said soundtrack could achieve over there given that both "Neutron dance" and "The heat is on" flopped over there this year. At least this is proof they enjoyed the film given that it's a character theme.
#81 for 1985
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.
#78 for 1986
This is the final hit that Alison Moyet managed to achieve anywhere in the world, it's a cover of an obscure track from a band known as Floy Joy who recorded their version of this track the previous year to deafening silence even in their native UK. Naturally Alison owns this song with her rendition which explains why it was such a huge success for her, although her vocals wouldn't give her any more success after this.
#74 for 1987
This was such a pain to do research on, apparently this is an instrumental track from German composer Mike Korb that became a surprise hit over in NZ and even briefly charted here in Australia back in the day despite it being a massive flop throughout Europe due to how obscure this track was.
#80 for 1981
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.
#79 for 1986
This was such a success here in Australia that it was able to crossover to NZ for the Aussie country legend, I guess this is the best proof I have that the NZ charts are a good alternative to what's popular down under given how I doubt this would've been a hit over there if they weren't familiar with our outback culture.
#81 for 1981
Marty Balin was a vocalist for Jefferson Starship back in their heyday (as opposed to the vocalist who gave us their entries on the Australian side of this site) as such it's little surprise he was able to score a huge hit this year in NZ and his native America with this track that sees him making the type of soft rock that MTV would eventually sweep away the following year.
#82 for 1981
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.
#80 for 1986
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.
#81 for 1986
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.
#80 for 1989
This was the breakthrough single for the Dance exponents, a rock band from NZ who would become better known as the Exponents due to how big their 90's material was when they released it under that name. As such, I'll have more to say about these guys when we get to that era of their music.
#78 for 1982
This is a bit of a surprise entry given how this flopped here in Australia for Jo Jo Zep, I'm guessing this was supposed to be the success that "Taxi Mary" was to receive over there given how that was his big solo hit following the demise of his backing band the Falcons the previous year which did chart prior to this song over there. This was around the time he would form his new band the Black Sorrows who didn't have any success over there.
#85 for 1983
Here's that minor hit that Jon Stevens had with Sharon O'Neill this year that I mentioned earlier on this list, it was a decent size hit for the two teen idols this year before he temporarily faded into obscurity while she became a more mature adult contemporary artist.
#78 for 1980
From what I can gather, Laurie Dee was a country artist in NZ who scored his one and only hit with this sports anthem about how much he loved to bet on rugby games.
#83 for 1981
This will be the only entry from Don Henely I'll be featuring on this side of my site as "Boys of summer" failed to become a hit for him in NZ like it did here in Australia later in the decade, I guess the kiwis made this a success for him this year due to their eagerness to see more Eagles material. Said eagerness with die out later in the decade with his next album as well as the failure of Glenn Frey over there.
#86 for 1983
I bet you weren't expecting to see a song from the Temptations on this site, were you? Well, here we are with the final hit they managed to achieve in their career which naturally flopped here in Australia as the band sadly never had any success down under for reasons I'd rather not get into (it's what you think they are.) This became a success due to the 60's nostalgia that was in full swing around this time.
#82 for 1985 (#50 website)
This was the only song that Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam (what a stupid band name) managed to achieve outside of their native America, it's a song I've seen be frequently compared to Motown due to its throwback style in the production as well as Lisa's vocals being reminiscent of the likes of Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick. Naturally this caught on with the kiwis, however we Aussies were clearly unimpressed.
#75 for 1987 (#41 website)
It's no coincidence that this cover of the Tommy James classic was a hit when Billy Idol's version from earlier on this list became a success in NZ, although I am surprised this was the only hit that Amazulu managed to achieve over there given how they had a few other hits in their native UK with this being one of the weaker entries in their catalogue over there.
#76 for 1987
#69 for 1988
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.
#82 for 1986
I'm flabbergasted that this wasn't a bigger hit in NZ than it wound up being considering how inescapable their earlier entry was this year over there, I guess the kiwis felt these guys were more suited to being an albums band given how both of their albums from this year saw way more success over there than any of theirs singles again save for their earlier entry on this list.
#79 for 1982 (#49 website)
Following the success of their E.P from earlier in the decade, the Chills were able to score a massive hit with this track from their debut album which helped said album climb up the charts this year after having a weak start to its success the previous year. Indeed, this was the full extent of their popularity from the project, however they would come back stronger than ever in the 90's with a chart-topping album.
#77 for 1987
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.
#81 for 1989
I told you we'd revisit this one and only hit from Visage didn't I? here we are with that big hit from the band which like I said earlier, the kiwis mostly passed up in favour of the Ultravox entry we looked at. Midge would find success over there with his solo hit "If I was" before he faded into obscurity like he did everywhere else in the world.
#84 for 1981
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