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 definitely a "fan single" on the Australian side of my site given how it quickly dipped in and out of our top ten on our charts, I guess it was also as such in NZ but I'm including it anyway because it did rack up the points necessary to qualify for this list of mine. That and of course, this was mor popular over there due to the complete failure of its B-side "Last Christmas" as opposed to over here.
#108 for 1985
Even though David Lee Roth's earlier entry on this list was the big hit for him in NZ, that didn't mean that this was a complete dud for him over there as this also racked up enough points to appear on this side of my site even if I would consider it a "fan single." Admittedly this is where the charts became completely chaotic and wouldn't stabilise again until the end of the decade.
#109 for 1985
Well, this is certainly a surprise, I certainly wasn't expecting to feature the Cult on my site given how they're up there with Sonic Youth and Melanie Martinez as bands and artists people love to complain about how they never saw much mainstream success in their days. It appears the kiwis did give these guys success this year with this hair metal track likely due to it being released at the height of hair metal.
#105 for 1987
So, it turns out that these guys were able to get onto this list after all as the kiwis couldn't get enough of their brand of ska reggae this year, although like I said earlier, it was more of a sleeper hit for the British band given how it was a complete dud for them in their homeland.
#106 for 1981
From what I can gather, the Screaming meemees (what is with that name?) were a NZ punk rock band who scored a minor hit with a song that actually topped the NZ charts before forever fading into obscurity even in their homeland. If you're wondering why these lists are longer on this side of my site, that's because it was harder for me to determine what songs were "fan singles" comparted to the Australian side of my site.
#107 for 1981
I kind of jumped the gun when I said that Laura Branigan's earlier entry was her only hit in NZ as she did manage to appear on this list for a second time with her second single, admittedly it was way less popular over there than it was over here likely due to its popularity here coming from her performing both of these songs on Countdown which went over well with us Aussies.
#98 for 1983
This was the only other hit that Talk talk had in NZ, again it wasn't "It's my life" as nobody would care about that track until 2003 when No doubt put their spin on it as their final single. That said, it's easy to see how Gwen and company came across that track given how these guys remain a critical darling in the music scene to this day thanks to the small clout they had back in the day.
#101 for 1986
I bet you didn't realise this became a hit a second time over in NZ, admittedly this was due to the fact that Grace Jones released her infamous greatest hits album which depicts her in a yoga pose that's physically impossible to perform in order to find new fans of her back catalogue. Indeed, the cover art here further accentuates her......... assets which the kiwis appreciated more so than anyone else in the world.
#102 for 1986
If you're shocked at how much less successful Los lobos’ big international hit was in NZ compared to the rest of the world was, then rest assured that the kiwis made up for that by allowing the second single from the soundtrack to La Bamba to be a huge hit over there where it flopped internationally for the band. Obviously, this too is a cover from Ritchie Valens just like the title track.
#103 for 1988
OK so I kind of fibbed when I said there were only two new entries from John Cougar Mellencamp on this side of my site as it turns out the fourth single from his album Lonesome jubilee managed to make the cut for this list. How this connected with the kiwis and not "Check it out" is beyond me, particularly since that song remains a staple on oldie's stations to this day whilst most would think this was an album track.
#104 for 1988
This is the only hit that Van Halen had in NZ, even then, it was only barely a success likely due to how inescapable it was here in Australia and in their native America. This did allow their album to become a sleeper hit over there, although it failed to translate to any further success for them moving forward.
#106 for 1984
I guess the kiwis weren't as intrigued with the return of Pete Townshend as we Aussies were given how this only barely managed to make a reappearance on this side of my site, then again, many older artists who made it big on the Australian side of my site struggled to replicate their success over in NZ, so this was still an impressive feat for the Who vocalist.
#103 for 1986
It's little surprise this managed to become a minor success in NZ this year for Bon Jovi, however it's worth noting that it was pushed back as the second single over there likely due to the kiwis following the album cycle the Brits used for Slippery when wet given how their top entry on this list was the lead single over there. As such, it was sandwiched between their two entries on this list in the release schedule.
#106 for 1987
This was a last hurrah single if I've ever seen one, after all we have both Tim Finn and the Herbs joining forces for this track about Māori culture that likely would've flopped at any other point in time due to how out of place it feels with the more conventional music on this list.
#104 for 1989
We looked at the big hit that Rock steady crew had here in Australia on that side of my site, time now to look at their signature track which managed to scrap the NZ top ten at the start of the year likely due to it being a surprise hit for them in the UK of all places. This is widely accepted as the song that brought breakdancing into the mainstream due to the sick moves the band would pull off during each of the song’s life performances.
#107 for 1984
You'd think that a band that named themselves Afrika Bambaataa would be from Africa, I guess they are if we included their ancestry, however they're in fact from New York and their music is more in line with early hip hop rather than traditional African music. They managed to score a decent hit over in NZ this year, although I feel that's more because they recruited UB40 on this particular track.
#105 for 1988
This really struggled to reappear on this side of my site even though it was a massive international hit for Billy Ocean, again this is where the charts became completely chaotic given how much stiff competition it had over the likes of these other "fan singles" this year alone. That said, it could also be due to the kiwis being unimpressed with the weird as hell music video.
#110 for 1985
From what I can gather, this was an E.P that Jimi Hendrix's label released sixteen years after his death which charted on the NZ singles chart this year (back when E.P's were considered singles) although I've seen sources that claim the live version released in 1972 was the version that charted this year even if there's no evidence of a rerelease of that version this year.
#104 for 1986
Well, this is a surprise, mainly because I wasn't expecting to feature a single from Alan Parsons on this site as they are commonly known as an albums band. Alas here we are with the title track to their biggest album which I guess was pop friendly enough to chart alongside the likes of every other entry on this list in NZ this year.
#92 for 1982 (#45 website)
I did mention on my previous two lists that A-ha had more success in NZ than they did in most parts of the world, here they are with the second single from their second album which became a minor hit over there at the start of the year due to how much they were on a roll with the kiwis. Sadly, this would be the last they would hear from the band as their Bond theme was so poorly received that it killed their winning streak.
#107 for 1987
Given how "Secret lovers" was a huge hit for these guys the previous year in NZ, it makes sense that this would also be a hit for Atlantic Starr over there even if it was curiously a sleeper hit for the American RNB group. I guess the kiwis felt obligated to make this a hit due to it being their biggest international hit but only begrudgingly made it as such.
#108 for 1987 (#47 website)
We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill out this list as this only makes the cut due to how long it lasted in the NZ top twenty this year, even so, this was a huge sleeper hit for Toni Childs as was many songs that had a low peak position over there I've featured on this side of my site. This did crack the Australian top twenty due to how catchy it is; however, it got eaten up by album sales to appear prior to this point.
#105 for 1989
Even though the Divinyls were the only Australian act to score a top ten hit this year in NZ, that didn't mean there was a lack of Aussie representation over there as this solo debut from Mental as anything frontman Martin Plaza managed to sneak onto this list despite having stiff competition back in the day from all the "fan singles" we've looked at on this list.
#105 for 1986
This is another song that appears low on this list more due to the fact it got pushed aside by the "fan singles" we've looked at on this list, indeed this made it onto the official year end list for this year which should give you an idea of how it managed to persevere in NZ back in the day for Taylor Dayne. Sadly, this is her only appearance on this side of my site as the kiwis weren't too big a fan of her.
#106 for 1988 (#50 website)
Holly Johnson is the lead singer of Frankie goes to Hollywood, following the demise of his band earlier in the decade, he embarked on a solo career which included two massive hits he scored this year in his native UK. This was the second hit and the one that saw crossover success in NZ due to it being the bigger of the two, although "Love train" did chart for quite a bit on the lower half of their charts.
#106 for 1989
This is the last hit that the Dance exponents had in their homeland before they rebranded themselves to just the Exponents in the early 90's, I guess the rebranding did them good as when we get to the 90's, we'll see just how inescapable they would become.
#108 for 1984
This came so close to scraping the top ten in NZ, although considering it was more of a success here in Australia than Scandal's native America, I get the feeling the kiwis were merely following Australia's lead in making this a hit rather than their fellow Americans in making this a hit over there. This is sadly the best that Patty Smyth could do as her duet with Don Henley bombed over there eight years later.
#109 for 1984
For what it's worth, Big country's debut album was way more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia which would explain why their signature track "In a big country" bombed over there when it was a hit over here. Here we are two years later, and they scored a decent hit over there with the lead single to their third album which helped them escape the one album wonder over there.
#106 for 1986
Much like Paul Lekakis entry from earlier on this list, this too was less popular in NZ due to the kiwis not having as big a queer scene as we Aussies did. That said, you'd think this would've at least done a bit better over there given how this was a huge hit in the UK for Man 2 man (I'm not typing out the full name of this act again) but alas they were thoroughly unimpressed with this.
#109 for 1987
It turns out these guys were able to score two hits in NZ from their breakthrough album, although this really does need to consider itself lucky for appearing on this list as we're truly scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to entries for this list. Naturally their popularity would explode the following year due to the success of the lead single to their next album.
#99 for 1983
Much like here in Australia, this became a hit in NZ through the skin of its teeth due to just how chaotic the music scene had become worldwide by the midpoint of the decade. Admittedly it's hard to say if this was a success in the southern hemisphere because of American or the UK as this was a transatlantic hit for the American band.
#111 for 1985
It's odd that Simply red managed to score a second hit in NZ with a song that was a complete bust everywhere else in the world, although it's worth noting that this is another song that only got on here through the skin of its teeth given how we're scraping the bottom of the barrel to ensure I include all eligible entries on this side of my site.
#110 for 1987
From what I can gather, Blam blam blam (that name might be the worst I've featured on this site yet) were a short-lived punk rock band from NZ who scored a decent hit with this ironic track about how the country is actually a shithole despite what the media would otherwise portray it as. This isn't meant to be a political site, however, let's just say the sentiment behind this track rings truer than ever worldwide.
#108 for 1981
It turns out Falco was able to score a third hit in NZ as this follow up to his earlier entry managed to rack up the numbers to appear on this list. I have to say that this is way catchier than his earlier entry which makes me wonder why the rest of the world allowed this to flop given how it's not like anyone could understand what he was saying in his other songs (unless of course they spoke German.)
#107 for 1986
So, you know that woman who has two Oscars by duetting with Joe Cocker and Bill Medley? It turns out she had a career away from making movie themes with 60's legends as she managed to score a decent hit in NZ with this track written by Leonard Cohen (of "Hallelujah" fame) that failed to be a success anywhere else in the world.
#111 for 1987
This is another hit for this list that would've appeared much higher had it not been pushed aside in favour of all the "fan singles" we've looked at on here so far, this time it's a surprise hit from Herbs given how it comes from the same album as "Sensitive to a smile" a year after that become a hit for them in their homeland.
#107 for 1988
This is here to commemorate the second time this became a hit in NZ, I mentioned why on my previous list but to summarise, the band embarked on a successful world tour for their (then) most recent album which compelled the kiwis to rediscover this track less than a year after its initial release.
#108 for 1986
This was another charity single that became a success throughout the world, although I guess we Aussies and kiwis mostly passed up on it given how it only barely appears on this side of my site and was a complete dud here in Australia. Apparently, it was commissioned by the UK newspaper the Sun in response to a boat capsizing which was major news back in the day.
#112 for 1987
This managed to be a minor success for Stevie Wonder in NZ following the success of his collaboration with Paul McCartney from earlier on this list, it's another disco track during what was supposedly the dark age of the genre, which likely explains why it wasn't that big anywhere in the world.
#93 for 1982
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