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.
I did mention earlier that the release schedule for Prince's album 1999 was slightly different in NZ than it was here in Australia, meaning that this was pushed as the lead single over there whilst the title track was the follow up even though this came out the same time in both countries. As a result, it lasted quite a while longer over there, hence why it qualified for this list despite being a sleeper hit.
#86 for 1983
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.
#81 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.
#82 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.
#81 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.
#80 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.
#87 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.
#80 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.
#89 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.
#88 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.
#83 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.
#76 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.
#77 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.
#83 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.
#81 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.
#78 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.
#82 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.
#90 for 1981
Well, here's that second hit from the Swingers to make it big back in the day, it's not quite as memorable as their earlier entry which is perhaps why it failed to become a success here in Australia and a bigger hit for the band in their homeland.
#91 for 1981
This was originally released towards the end of the previous year to deafening silence for U2, I guess audiences didn't want to hear anything else from the album this was named after given how "Pride" was such an omnipresence on the charts when that first came out. The kiwis gave this track a second chance this year when they repackaged this as its own E.P which resulted in said E.P's success.
#84 for 1985
We have another big hit from New order to feature on this side of my site, this one comes from the Pretty in pink soundtrack which makes it the second single from the album to come from a British alternative band following OMD's entry from earlier on this list. In a bizarre twist, their next single "Bizarre love triangle" failed to become a hit over there despite being their biggest hit over here.
#84 for 1986
This was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, although it at least finally managed to get the Pretenders out of the one hit wonder bin over there likely due to it showcasing the band as a more pop friendly group compared to their new wave that made them big from the start of the decade.
#85 for 1986
#79 for 1987
It's a bit strange that this only became a hit in NZ after the Christmas season given how many have described this track as one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, then again it was commonplace to have Christmas tracks chart well into the new year back in the day given how long Band aid and Wham charted into 1985 with their Christmas staples from 1984.
#70 for 1988
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.
#83 for 1989
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.)
#84 for 1989
Given how he had one of the biggest albums of the decade in NZ (even if it was far from THE biggest album of the decade over there) it makes sense that the lead single to John Farnham's follow-up to Whispering jack would also be a massive success over there even if its low placement on this list was due to most of its success being confided to the lower half of their charts.
#71 for 1988 (#41 website)
This was the Commodores second biggest hit in their native America behind "Three times a lady," although you wouldn't know that going through their catalogue in other countries given how this was only barely a success for them over in NZ. Admittedly this was the second single off their album Midnight magic and the lead single "Sail on" proved to be the big hit over there for them.
#81 for 1980
This will be only one of two entries from Air supply to reappear on this side of my site, suffice to say that the kiwis were even less impressed with their balladry going into the 80's than we Aussies were as we at least gave them a few more hits back in the day before giving up on them. It's lucky that their ballads fitted in well with the yacht rock of the day in America otherwise their popularity would've been close to non-existent.
#92 for 1981
I guess Chicago had a harder time adapting to the MTV era as far as the kiwis were concerned given how much less popular this was over there compared to the rest of the world, this didn't even crack their top ten but managed to make it onto this list due to how long it stuck around their top twenty.
#82 for 1982 (#48 website)
This was the final hit that Dave Dobbyn achieved throughout the 80's in his homeland given how he had one of the biggest hits of the decade with his solo debut from two years prior, although this wouldn't be the last his fellow kiwis would hear from him as he would score a surprise comeback six years later and another one ten years after that.
#72 for 1988
This was the only success that Australian crawl had over in NZ with both their singles and albums, I'm guessing this was because the kiwis felt that their inability to understand what James Reyne was singing on their other tracks was a hinderance to their enjoyability with their catalogue given how this was one of the rare songs that sees the frontman enunciating the lyrics in his performance.
#88 for 1984
This was one of only two hits that Atlantic Starr was able to score in their career, the other was of course "Always" which was too much of a sleeper hit in NZ to appear on this side of my site. Even though they were in the RNB camp, I'm still a bit surprised they failed to score any success here in Australia if only because it was the type of RNB that wasn't alienating to us Aussies back in the day.
#86 for 1986
Morrissey is best known for two things, the first is that he was the frontman for the critically acclaimed group the Smiths and the second is for his confrontational persona that makes Bono look subtle by comparison. I guess if there was a third thing to his claim to fame, it would be his solo debut single given how it was a modest success for him in NZ and his native UK at the time of release.
#73 for 1988
Considering how much they play "Ride like the wind" on oldies stations to this day, you may be surprised to learn that this was the big hit off of Christopher Cross's self-titled debut album given how it went to number one on the Billboard charts for him at the start of the decade. It was an immediate albeit minor hit over in NZ this year, however it didn't crossover here in Australia despite several attempts.
#82 for 1980
Although it was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, this third single from Paul Young managed to be a huge success over there likely due to the winning streak he was on with his earlier entry on this list. Sadly, this would be the last hit single he had over there even though his second album would be a massive success with the kiwis the following year.
#89 for 1984
I guess there was one benefit to their debut single not being as big in NZ as it was internationally, that of course being that their second single managed to be a success over there even if both of these songs were among the biggest of the decade in the UK as well as the album without any sort of hinderance. They had one more minor hit in NZ with "Cry wolf" the following year before fading into obscurity.
#87 for 1986
I guess the kiwis weren't as kind to their LGBT scene as we Aussies were to our own as this was the only queer anthem that managed to become a big hit over there this year, granted "Male stripper" was a minor success likely due to how well received it was over here, however it didn't rack up the points to appear on this list like this one and only hit from Paul Lekakis did.
#80 for 1987
Although she struggled to retain her success in NZ that she had throughout the rest of the world, Cyndi Lauper did manage to have her final worldwide hit become as such over there even if it struggled to reappear on this side of my site as opposed to it comfortably making it onto the Australian side of my site.
#85 for 1989
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.
#86 for 1989
Dr Hook were certainly on a roll in NZ when they entered this decade with this ballad, certainly more so than they were here in Australia where they wouldn't have their first 80's hit until "Girls can get it" the following year. I don't know why we Aussies had seemingly given up on the band by this point only to change our minds the following year when they scored two back-to-back hits on our charts.
#83 for 1980
This was the last hit that the Eagles managed to score before their
infamous concert this year, I guess they were on a roll over in NZ given how
this managed to be a sleeper hit over there. It somewhat boosted the sales of
their album the Long run given how the title track was a bit of a
disappointment over there despite it receiving tons of airplay on oldies
stations to this day.
#84 for 1980
This was the only hit that Madness was able to achieve in NZ throughout their career, although at least it's with a song that's a better representation of their catalogue given how their two hits here in Australia saw them move away from their ska sound that was prevalent earlier in their career. This was an eventual sleeper hit down under, however it proved too weird for us Aussies for it to chart in the upper echelons of our charts.
#93 for 1981
I told you we'd be revisiting this second hit from Juice Newton, didn't I? Here we have the only other hit she had outside of her native America which was actually her biggest hit on Billboard despite how much more well known her earlier entry on this list remains even among her fellow Americans.
#94 for 1981
It's odd that this would flop here in Australia given how it was a decent success over in NZ, although given the subject matter involving nuclear weapons and using aboriginal land as test sites, you can make the argument it made us Aussies uncomfortable in a way that didn't affect the kiwis. I should point out that my support of the aboriginal community is less about "white guilt" (whatever that's even supposed to be) and more about holding the Australian government accountable for their mistreatment of them over the years.
#74 for 1988
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.
#87 for 1989 (#22 website)
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?
#88 for 1989
If you're wondering why Barry Gibb is on the cover of this track (and indeed all throughout the marketing of Barbra's album of the same name) that's because this is a duet between the two artists despite it only officially being credited to her for whatever reason. It was a decent hit for them both in NZ and in America, although it bombed everywhere else in the world due to strong album sales.
#95 for 1981
Much like here in Australia, this was Eddie Rabbit's only hit in NZ despite him having multiple hits in his native America from around this time. I guess we Aussies and kiwis only wanted the bounciest tracks he had to offer with this being the only one that passed our threshold, although again, he had a much lower bar of entry in his homeland that he effortlessly cleared.
#96 for 1981
This was a bit of a return to form for George Benson given how this is more in line with his 70's material rather than his pivot towards disco from his previous album, as such, it was more of a sleeper success in NZ hence its low placement on this list despite how long it lasted on their charts over there.
#83 for 1982
This wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia much like the duo's earlier entry on this list, although at least all three of the Eurythmics entries on the Australian equivalent of this list managed to reappear on here which goes to show that the kiwis were impressed with their output, just not as much as we Aussies were.
#85 for 1985
This was the only noticeable success that the Mary Jane girls were able to achieve in their career, they were a Motown group who began their career by providing backup vocals to Rick James and were so well received on his albums that they finally got a chance to appear in the spotlight with this entry. It titillated audiences enough to become a huge hit, however they broke up later in the decade as they failed to score a second hit.
#86 for 1985
Given how Dave Dobbyn managed to achieve massive success following the release of the theme to Footrot flats from earlier on this list, it only makes sense that Herbs would also capitalise off that song's success by releasing their new album which contained their biggest hit in the form of its lead single.
#81 for 1987 (#35 website)
Their earlier entry might not have been as big a hit in NZ for Womack and Womack as it was here in Australia and in the UK, however the trade-off seemed to be that the second single from their breakthrough album was a decent hit over there where it flopped in those countries. In any case, they certainly did better internationally than they did in their native America where they had no hits on Billboard.
#89 for 1989 (#50 website)
It appears the kiwis weren't very impressed with this title track to Steve Miller's sellout album this year like the rest of the world was, although then again, this was the first of only two hits he had over there given how "The joker" wouldn't be a success over there until seven years later when it was featured in a Levi Jeans ad in the UK. At least he had success with his albums over there throughout the 70's.
#84 for 1982 (#50 website)
This was also the biggest hit to come from Revenge in NZ like it was here in Australia, although considering it's the only single from the album to reappear on this side of my site, that's not saying much. For what it's worth, "Missionary man" barely missed the cut on appearing on this side of my site due to being too much of a sleeper hit over there.
#82 for 1987
Not only was this far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia this year, but it also appears that it needed to be a success here in order for it to be a success over there given how much later it charted over there compared to over here. I guess the kiwis were a bit put off by the Japanese riff the song uses, that or they didn't appreciate the masturbation metaphors which the band insists were unintentional to this day.
#85 for 1980
This is a mashup of two tracks which served as the second single from David Lee Roth's solo E.P he released this year, it turns out he wasn't the first to put these two swing classics together as Louis Prima did just that forty years prior which I'm sure bringing attention to it was the purpose of David releasing this as a single this year. This was the big hit for him over "California girls" in NZ for some reason.
#87 for 1985 (#44 website)
This proved to be slightly more successful for the Police in NZ than "Message in a bottle was" (we'll get to that in a minute) likely due to the kiwis finding more enjoyment out of the premise of the trio walking on the moon over them repeating the title of that song multiple times. Like I said earlier, they did have plenty of success over there throughout the decade, just not on the level that they had here in Australia.
#86 for 1980
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this Bond theme as we Aussies were given how much less popular it was in NZ compared to here in Australia, it could also be they just didn't like Sheena Easton as much as we did as apart from "Strut" from later in the decade, she didn't have any other hits over there throughout her career.
#85 for 1982
Even this fourth single from Madonna's second album was able to find an audience with the kiwis this year, again I feel this was more due to the live version which serves as its official music video as that offers something unique that fans wouldn't have already had access to by the time it hit the store shelves.
#88 for 1985
I did mention the last time we looked at Joan Jett that this was a hit over in NZ this year, I guess this was her way of adapting to the hair metal scene as this was originally written for Bon Jovi in mind. It served as a mini comeback for the band over there and in their native America, although the rest of the world wasn't too impressed with this change in direction.
#75 for 1988
It seems strange that these guys would achieve far less success in NZ than they did here in Australia given how they found instant success over there the previous year with their debut album as opposed to here where they needed this song specifically for that album to be a hit. I guess the kiwis found this a bit too repetitive to have it match the success of "Roxanne" or even their earlier entry on this list.
#87 for 1980
This was a moderate success here in Australia; however, it charted too low to appear on this list as it took its sweet time in finding an audience here from the end of the previous year. It was also slow in finding an audience in NZ, however once it did, it lingered in the upper half of their charts long enough to qualify for this list of mine, which allows me to feature one of the more seductive RNB tracks of the decade.
#90 for 1984 (#45 website)
Given how much bigger their earlier entry was in NZ compared to here in Australia, it makes sense that this would also be a bigger hit over there even if it wasn't that much bigger overall. This is sadly the final hit that Go west had in NZ given how the kiwis weren't impressed with their contribution to the Pretty woman soundtrack in 1990 like we Aussies were.
#89 for 1985
He's best known nowadays as a protestor, however back in the day, Billy Bragg was a musician who began in the punk movement before moving on to the folk scene of the 80's which resulted in him scoring his one and only hit about a woman who's new to town and is distinguished by her brunette hair. It caught the attention of the kiwis as it was a hit over there, but not so much us Aussies where this flopped.
#83 for 1987
While I did mention the last time I talked about these guys that they continued to chart over in NZ as the decade went on, this was their only other hit they had over there likely due to it being a tribute to Smokey Robinson (despite Smokey still being alive as of this writing) that the kiwis likely felt to be touching for the Motown legend.
#84 for 1987
This was the first of two chart toppers for Tex Pistol over in NZ, the second came the following year which was much more prominent given how it was a duet with fellow kiwi Rikki Morris.
#85 for 1987
This was a solid year for Australian artists finding international success, although I guess these guys were a mix of Australian musicians with international musicians that happened to be based here in Australia more than anything. In any case, they found enough success in NZ this year that this was given a UK release where it unfortunately bombed for the supergroup with the Brits.
#86 for 1987
Given how many "fan singles" will appear later down this list, it's a bit surprising that we managed to have somewhat of a sleeper hit in the form of this lead single to Robert Cray's first breakthrough album with his self-titled backing band over in NZ this year. I'm not sure how this managed to be a success and nothing from his solo album from the previous year, however that's where we're at.
#76 for 1988 (#48 website)
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.
#90 for 1989
I guess this was meant to be the more serious equivalent of Rupert's earlier entry on this list as this is more about how he feels like he's been cheated on in the song rather than him and his partner looking to cheat on each other only to end up with each other. We Aussies passed this up due to our inability to take this seriously, however the kiwis didn't hence why it became a moderate success over there.
#88 for 1980
Given how Lulu managed to score a surprise hit with her earlier entry on this list in NZ, it appears the kiwis wanted to make her a household name for the third decade in a row given how she had previous success over there (at least on the Listener charts) with her earlier material. Sadly, her revival period would be short lived as she would fail to score any further success over there after this.
#86 for 1982
Cyndi was certainly on a roll this year as all three of her entries that I've featured from her debut album managed to reappear on this side of my site, although this proved to be far less popular over there than it was over here as was everything else she released outside of her debut single from earlier on this list.
#91 for 1984
If you still need proof that the kiwis loved their reggae at any given point in time, consider the fact that they allowed a Jamaican duo by the name of Sly and Robbie to find success over there this year even though they were a complete failure everywhere else in the world. This is also proof they were quick to get on board the hip hop scene even if that genre would explode in popularity not long after this became a hit.
#87 for 1987
This wasn't quite as popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for George Michael, although it could be due to the stiff competition it had over there as there were a ton of songs that failed to make it on this list due to them all failing to stick around long enough to do so despite how popular they clearly were over there back in the day.
#77 for 1988
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.
#91 for 1989
Although their earlier entry was a bigger success thank this debut single from Soul II soul was in NZ, it's worth noting that songs success did carry over to the 90's hence why it still has a much higher placement on this list even though this was mainly a success as a sleeper hit over there. It's also worth noting this song's popularity skyrocketed over there once their earlier entry was released as a single there.
#92 for 1989 (#19 website)
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.
#93 for 1989
Well, this is certainly a surprise, if there was any comedy routine that would become successful over in NZ from an Australian comedian, I would've expected it to come from the likes of either Austen Tayshus or Billy Birmingham AKA the 12th man. Instead, we have this one and only entry from George Smilovici who managed to take the NZ charts by storm with this track that only barely cracked our top ten.
#90 for 1985
It really is impressive how little success Phil Collins had in NZ compared to the rest of the world back in the day, this is yet another track of his that appears much lower on this side of my site than it did on the Australian version despite how fondly remembered it remains on oldies stations around the world to this day.
#91 for 1985
This was the second of three hits that Ruby Turner scored in NZ from her debut album she released the following year, it wasn't as popular as her earlier entry, however it still did well enough to appear on this list over several international chart toppers.
#88 for 1986
We finally have a song from Suzanne Vega on this site that wasn't a remix from a British group, this was the lead single to her second album which did reasonably well in NZ as well as in her native America which is perhaps how it managed to become a hit for her over there. I guess we Aussies passed this up for making the album a success as I do tend to hear this on our oldie’s stations from time to time.
#88 for 1987
Technically this was a chart topper here in Australia as it appeared on the Devo Live E.P that the band released back in the day, however it appears the kiwis were more on board with their signature track upon its initial release than we were given how it managed to be a sleeper hit over there without the assistance of the E.P. It was a sleeper hit, but a hit nonetheless likely thanks to its bizarre music video.
#97 for 1981
Well, this is certainly a surprise as I was expecting there to be a new entry from the queen of pop on this side of my site, indeed this was too much of a dud here in Australia due to us Aussies choosing to buy the album True blue rather than supporting this track which was reportedly written with Cyndi Lauper in mind. This wasn't too much of a hinderance for her in NZ and was a non-existent problem everywhere else in the world.
#89 for 1987
I'm not sure why these guys in particular failed to achieve any success here in Australia, this is even taking into account that sophistopop wasn't well received here back in the day as I would've thought we Aussies would make an exception for them like we did for Swing out sister and Alison Moyet. Alas it wasn't the case here, but fortunately this title track to their biggest album was a big deal in NZ.
#90 for 1987 (#50 website)
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.
#78 for 1988
#94 for 1989
With all of the "fan singles" we're going to be looking at from this point forward, it's interesting to note that the Fine young cannibals managed to achieve somewhat of a sleeper hit in NZ this year with their debut single. I say a sleeper hit but really, it's low placement on here is more due to the stiff competition the trio had with all the other entries given how chaotic the charts were around this time.
#92 for 1985 (#46 website)
There haven't been as many entries from the Eurythmics on this side of my as there have been on the Australian side, so it gives me great pleasure to finally feature the second single from Revenge on this site even if it was more of a sleeper hit over there back in the day. This did crack the Australian top ten upon its release; however, it was too much of a "fan single" as it quickly dropped of our charts after the fact.
#89 for 1986
Unlike here in Australia where Michael Bolton would become one of the biggest names in music throughout the 90's, it appears the kiwis weren't as on board with this idea as this wouldn't be the case for him in NZ. That said, this did manage to scrape onto this list due to how long it lasted in their top twenty even if it failed to compete with all the "fan singles" that’s to come on this list.
#79 for 1988
The last time this guy troubled the charts anywhere in the world was with his Billboard chart topper "Quarter to three" from two decades prior, fast forward to this year and we have him scoring arguably his biggest hit with the help of Bruce Springsteen who wrote him this song which connected with audiences from around the world except for here in Australia where this flopped for him.
#98 for 1981
This came really close to appearing on the Australian side of my site as this was on the cusp of cracking our top ten back in the day, alas it was too minor of a hit here for Spandau ballet which is why it failed to appear on this site up until now. Fortunately, the kiwis were still very much big fans of them which allowed this to appear on this list even if their popularity would dwindle by the end of the year.
#92 for 1984
Tina Turner was certainly on a roll over in NZ during the midpoint of the decade as this title track managed to become a moderate hit for her this year following the commercial disappointment that "Better be good to me" was in the southern hemisphere (despite a memorable Countdown performance of the track at the end of the previous year.)
#93 for 1985
Cliff Richard was off to a good start when the 80's began in NZ as he scored a massive hit over there with the second single from his album Rock n roll juvenile, an album that's only best known for its singles given how it was a massive failure upon its initial release as were just about all of his albums throughout his career. This is another ballad from his career, something I thought of bringing up given what his album was called.
#89 for 1980
It turns out that Sade was able to score a second hit in NZ after all given how their lead single to their second album managed to stick around in their top twenty long enough to qualify for this list. I really can't stress enough just how chaotic the charts were during the midpoint of the decade given how we have another entry that by all accounts deserves to be much higher on this list but isn't because of these "fan singles."
#94 for 1985
If you want to know what this song is even supposed to be, this is a collaboration that the Art of noise made with the creators of the fictional character Max Headroom as the latter speaks topical lyrics to a beat that the former created for him to do so to. For the uninitiated, Max was a CGI news reporter (or rather an actor presenting himself as such) who had his own show in the UK around this time.
#90 for 1986
I guess we Aussies were the ones who were able to appreciate how Good morning Vietnam managed to flip this Louis Armstrong classic from a happy go lucky ballad about having a wonderful day to a morbid ballad about how the world is actually terrible with how it was used in the film. At the very least, the kiwis were somewhat appreciative of the scene in question which allowed this to be a hit over there.
#80 for 1988
This will be Wang Chung's only appearance on this side of my site as it appears the kiwis weren't as big of fans of them as we Aussies were back in the day; this was also the case for their fellow Brits as their popularity came more from America where this and their later material became a surprise success on the Billboard charts which of course translated to being a success here in Australia.
#93 for 1984
Even though this cracked the top ten in NZ this year for Sheena Easton, it wound up only being equally as successful over there as it was over here due to just how stiff the competition was on both charts it had. Indeed, I have a feeling that her pivot towards a more seductive image would've been more appreciated by us Aussies and kiwis had she done it sooner in the decade.
#95 for 1985
Although "Heart and soul" was a minor hit in NZ the previous year, it was too minor of a hit to reappear on this site likely due to the kiwis feeling it was little more than a commercial jingle even though it only became as such months after its initial release. They were far kinder to their other big hit from the UK as this became a genuine hit for them over there likely due to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade in their homeland.
#81 for 1988 (#47 website)
This was the fifth Billboard chart topper in a row for MJ on his Bad album, this time we have a song detailing one of his Stan's and how she tried to get him to commit adultery towards his (then) partner by sleeping with him against his will. I feel this song is the best proof anyone could have when it comes to combating his allegations of sexual abuse as it's obvious here that he would never intentionally make anyone sexually uncomfortable.
#82 for 1988
This is one of two hits that Fan club had in NZ during their short time together, a band whose lead singer was a Malaysian woman who would go on to become a politician in her home country once her music career died out. This was their cover of a Spagna song of the same name that was quite popular in the UK, however that version was a flop in NZ which makes me wonder how they came across it.
#83 for 1988
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