I wanted to do a follow up to my OZ Media list by covering the thirteen years prior to when those charts were calculated, the problem of course is that no such alternate charts exist which combines the ARIA and AMR charts of 1988-1992 (as well as there being no alternate charts here prior to that since the Go-set charts ended in 1974.) As such, I've decided to rank the biggest hits of the 80's and early 90's based on how long they charted here back in the day, this means I'll be including several songs which were sleeper hits here during that time that failed to make my official lists due to charting mostly outside of the top twenty here back in the day. As usual, any commentary from returning entries on this list have been unaltered as I feel the change of their placements on this list compared to my earlier lists should speak volumes as to how their success played out here upon their initial releases.
This year Duran Duran split up into two bands, this being one of them which they replaced Simon Le Bon with Robert Palmer as the lead vocalist which helped him score a massive hit in most parts of the world due to his raunchy performance on a track that's named after the Marilyn Monroe flick from 1959. The other half of the band went on to become Arcadia who scored a massive hit with "Election Day."
This was the title track to the Rolling Stone's first album of the 80's, so of course it was going to be a success regardless of the fact that the band was still trying to make disco hits despite the genre supposedly dying out this year. Yeah, I'm here to tell everyone that disco didn't die out when the 70's ended, sure it wasn't as popular in the 80's as it was in the 70's but there were plenty of disco hits still to come.
This was the final hit that Roxy music managed to score anywhere in the world, this is because they would break up once the album cycle for Avalon was done so that Bryan Ferry could focus on his solo career more permanently. Unfortunately, his solo career didn't pan out in Australia this decade despite how big it was internationally, meaning this was the last song to become a hit for him overall.
This was the only hit that Matchbox had throughout the world, although here in Australia they were known as Major Matchbox due to there being a local band with that name and us needing to tell these two bands apart. Naturally we have another rockabilly throwback to become a hit this year, it was a very good year for rockabilly throwback tracks as we've seen throughout this list.
This was the first solo hit that Tim Finn released, although it was his only solo hit in Australia despite him having multiple other hits by himself in his native NZ over the years. I'm guessing this was released to ease the blow that Split Enz were considering calling it quits around this time, indeed that's exactly what happened the following year when they broke up due to creative differences between them.
This was the only hit that Heavy D and the Boyz managed to score worldwide, likely due to it being a cover of the O'jays who were seeing a rise in popularity this year thanks to some endorsements from Kylie Minogue and Dee lite. I guess the song adds some hip-hop verses to help differentiate it from the original track, something that would become very common throughout the 90's with hip hop.
There are two versions of this title track from Whitney's third album, the first was the one that topped the Billboard charts which is something akin to what Janet Jackson would release from around this time. The second version is the one that was released here and in Europe which is a more upbeat dance track that saved Whitney's album from flopping here in Australia as it wasn't received very well.
Even though Madonna is often credited as the first artist to question the concept of religion in her album Like a prayer, these guys had beaten her to the punch by two years as they list a bunch of things that's considered a sin in religion to showcase just how restrictive one's life has to be in order to retain their faith. This naturally connected with audiences back in the day and was another easy hit for the British duo.
From what I can gather, Michael Bow was a German singer who scored a massive hit here in Australia with this song that was used in a Countdown competition during the final months of the show's existence. I consider this to be in the trilogy of queer anthems from this year, the other two songs being "Boom boom" and "Male stripper" due to how well loved they remain in our queer community.
Well, this was a huge hit for both Technotronic and mashup singles, so why not have this song which essentially combines both aspects be a huge success here in Australia?
I feel the title of this track tells you everything you need to know about it, it's a novelty track about absolutely nothing made by a man who was likely just as surprised by its success as everyone else was back in the day. It was a massive hit in his native NZ early in the year and a big hit over here in Australia as well.
This was the biggest hit that Paul Young was able to score in Australia, although it wasn't his biggest hit anywhere else in the world as that widely changes depending on where you're referring to. I guess we Aussies were into the Christmas sounds on this track as it was designed to be the Christmas chart topper of 1983 in his native UK, it didn't quite get there but it came close so there's that.
This was the other big hit that Mental as anything were able to score this year, it's not quite as silly as their earlier entry as it seems to be a role reversal of that situation which makes this a roundabout hit from the album both songs came from. The band would see a quiet period for a while as their next album underperformed on the charts, however they came back strong than ever in 1985.
This was the third and final hit that Bros were able to score worldwide, although in their native UK they kept at it for two more albums before finally calling it quits in the early 90's. Here they have a song about how they owe their exes nothing after the relationships had ended, although you can make the argument this is also meant for their haters as they no longer had anything to prove to them.
This was a bit of a comeback for the Cars given how their previous album was a massive flop here in Australia, although it's worth noting that their overall popular down under was pitiful when compared to what they achieved in NZ and their native America. This is especially noticeable with their next album which was only a modest success here despite it being on the biggest hits of the decade in those countries.
This was the only hit that Vicki Sue Robinson was able to score here in Australia, although American readers will be more familiar with her Billboard hit "Turn the beat around" from ten years prior which was made famous ten years later by Gloria Estefan's cover. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to how much love we Aussies had for disco this far into the 80's compared to her fellow Americans.
Darryl Cotton was the lead singer of Zoot from a decade prior, so he seems to be a little late to the party when it comes to 60's rockers finding it big on their own given how the likes of Glenn Shorrock and bandmate Rick Springfield already had massive success by this point in time. Even so, he got there eventually with this one and only hit about how a girl he used to date hasn't changed over the years.
Even though he had appeared on Countdown almost a decade prior, Iggy Pop never had any success in Australia until this year where he scored a surprise worldwide hit with this new wave track of his. This made it big in the UK of all places, I know the Brits welcomed punk rockers worldwide with open arms, but surely, they could've given this guy success back in the day when he was with the stooges.
Given how she left the 80's with one of the biggest hits of all time here in Australia, it’s a bit surprising that the third single from Heart of stone wouldn't be more of a success here were it not for the fact that said album was a massive success in its own right and thus would've eaten up most of its success here. Even so, that didn't prevent this track which compares Cher's relationship to that of an American outlaw from being a success here.
I'm not exactly sure how this song managed to become a hit here in Australia, mainly due to it being a huge flop for the band Missing persons in their native America and them never having a hit on Billboard during their career. I'm glad it was a hit here as it's a unique song about how the singer feels like her partner isn't listening to her and that she feels like communicating with them is a waste of time.
Although Whitesnake had achieved moderate success in their native UK prior to this ballad, this was what made them an overnight sensation internationally due to it nearly topping the Billboard charts due to it being their first song they released in the hair metal genre. This led to their earlier entry becoming a massive chart topper in America for the band and putting them on the level of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard in America.
This was Joe Cocker's last hit in Australia, although at least his career went out with a bang as he scored a minor sleeper hit with this cover of the Ray Charles classic from the early 60's. Indeed, these covers of soul classics is what the English rocker is best known for throughout his career, although his biggest hit was with his Oscar winning ballad from earlier in the decade.
Ric Ocasek was the lead singer of the Cars who at least internationally was one of the biggest bands of the decade, as such it makes sense that he would score a solo hit this year with the lead single to his second album even if this song flopped in NZ and his native America where his band was the most popular. This would be the last hit he would have both solo and with his band as his subsequent follow ups flopped.
This is a bit of an odd entry given how we have a classic two for one deal here, it's also odd since both of these songs made the cut for this list but not "Love dimension" which was the second single from Kate Ceberano's solo album from the end of the 80's. I guess all three songs are about as big as each other were you to separate these two from each other in terms of popularity.
This was the lead single to John Mellencamp's biggest album the Lonesome jubilee, it feels weird that this was the big hit off the album when "Cherry bomb" and especially "Check it out" receive a ton more airplay on oldies stations these days over this track. Then again this is one of his bigger hits overall despite him having a ton of other songs that didn't see this level of success that receive love nowadays over this.
This was the only version of the 30's ballad that was able to become a hit over the years in most countries, although Americans had Robert John score a hit with his version from a decade prior. As this was the dawn of MTV, this version is more bombastic and, in your face, compared to other versions which is perhaps how it managed to become a huge success for Tight fit but also leaving them as a one hit wonder.
I'm dumbstruck as to how this wasn't a bigger success here in Australia back in the day, sure it charted for quite some time which is why it appears on this list, but surely this Billboard chart topper and staple on oldies stations deserved to at least crack our top ten right? In any case, this title track to Bruce Hornsby's debut album was able to make waves thanks to its timeless piano riff amongst all the sophistopop of the moment.
This was originally a hit for Duane Eddy back in the late 50's, in fact this is more or less a remix of that version as the Art of noise simply took the original recording and turned it into a dance track by having Duane rerecord his instrumentation to better fit the beat they were going for. This led to them having a second hit later in the decade with a cover of Prince's song from earlier on the list with Tom Jones.
This was originally released as the B-side to Don McLean's second single from his American pie album "Vincent," however for some reason it was given its own life a decade later which allowed him to score a hit with the song again here in Australia this year. This allowed fans to rediscover his back catalogue as a greatest hits album from the start of the decade suddenly became popular when this was released.
This is another song that I would've thought had been bigger this year, it goes to show how fierce the competition was this year when some of the most noteworthy songs only barely made the cut for my list. In any case, we have the one and only hit from American band Animotion about the obsession the two vocalists have for each other, they play off each other really well which is why it remains a classic.
This is another entry that could've make the cut for one of my lists had it not peaked during the Christmas period of 1984, although I was willing to write this off as a victim of high album sales given how it's the fourth single from Cyndi's debut album as well as it being the second ballad from said album. Even so, it remains one of her most iconic songs in her catalogue due to its critical acclaim.
It appears our love for Alison Moyet was mostly confined to her solo debut album as well as her time with Yazoo as this lead single to her second album wasn't that big of a success here in Australia for some reason. I guess this was due to the lack of sophistopop that made it big this year in our music scene as this was a much bigger deal over in NZ and her native UK around this time.
So, this was the song that Sinitta decided to introduce herself to the world with, this feels like something the Village people would've released at the start of the decade which perhaps explains why it was such a huge success in her native UK as well as doing reasonably well here in Australia upon its initial release. What makes this track hilarious is that she would be the longtime mistress of one Simon Fueller, which I guess is what this song is about.
George Benson is best known for being a jazz artist in the music industry, so to see him score his one and only hit here in Australia with a disco track is a bit of a surprise especially given how it was released during the supposed dark ages of disco. He had better luck in NZ with his singles given how this wasn't his only hit over there, although this seemed to come at the expense of how well his albums did.
This is one of those songs that's way more intelligent than you'd otherwise realise given how the lyrics are very political but are hidden in what many will describe as highly irritating production even for the mid 80's (I'm sadly inclined to agree on this point.) This was the only hit for the American duo Sly fox, although it was a huge international hit for them as well as on the Billboard charts.
19 Weeks
As far as non-Australians and kiwis are concerned, this was the debut single from Kylie Minogue as the updated version of "The locomotion" was released as the third single from her self-titled album released this year. As well respected as she is nowadays, critics and audiences from back in the day were rather harsh on her, going as far as to call her the singing budgie likely due to her chipper vocals here.
You may think that this songs appearance on this list was due to how much we Aussies love it during the 1979 Eurovision, until you realise that this wasn't the song they performed on there (that being "Dschinghis Khan" for the record.) No this was a number one hit in Australia due to it being chosen as the unofficial theme to the Moscow Olympics this year here in Australia during our coverage of the controversial sporting games, and the less said about them on this blog the better.
This was indeed a good year for Shaking Stevens as his second single proved to be equally as big as his first single despite this being an original track while his earlier entry was a cover of a 50's rockabilly tune. I guess this is the formula to his release schedule, mixing up his original tracks with covers of songs in order to provide old and new experiences for his audience.
This was the E.P that contained "Twisting by the pool," a song people feel divided on as they're unsure if it's meant to be an homage or parody to the surf rock trends of the early 60's. I personally don't care either way as Dire straits looking back with nostalgia on an older genre is still awesome in my book and it appears audiences of the day agreed as this was a huge success for them.
Although Midnight oil holds the distinction of having the first entry to debut at number one on the Australian charts, the honour for the first song to debut at number one goes to this third single from Kylie's debut album which should tell you how much anticipation there was for said album here in Australia. The anticipation was met as it was one of the more popular albums from the late 80's.
This was a bit of a surprise hit for A flock of seagulls, mainly because it wasn't that big in their native UK and only became a hit in America after it crossed over to Australia. I'm guessing we Aussies latched onto this track because of the video which even by the standards of new wave videos, is strange and bizarre to watch. It cemented the band as a one hit wonder despite them scoring a hit in the UK with "Wishing I had a photograph of you."
This was the debut single from the KLF, that's right, a band that would go on to make some of the most well respected EDM tracks of the 90's began their career as a novelty duo who made this joke track about the Doctor who franchise. Maybe if you enjoy picking on nerds, you'll get a chuckle out of this track.
This was the debut single for Jason Donovan, the on-screen love interest for Kylie Minogue's character Charlene on Neighbours. While Kylie wowed audiences with her impressive vocals from around this time, it's clear that Jason's popularity was due to the novelty of being from the show as many people (me included) believe that he had no business being in the music industry.
This is one of the strangest songs to become a hit in Australia, mainly because it's literally about how the singer daydreams about being a cowboy and how he wants his girlfriend to be his cowgirl. I don't know how we Aussies and kiwis discovered this track; however, we did, and it became a huge hit in both countries for the British band.
This was a song that was more in line with their sellout cover of "Funkytown" that made them a household name, mainly for the use of the keytar which added more synths to the track than they already had. Fortunately, the lyrics are still sharply written as it's about how Brian and company are only happy when they have the comfort of their partner due to nightmares they have without them.
Well, this is a song that divides fans of Prince to this day, mainly because it's less of a song and more of a collage of moments from the Batman film with Prince occasionally singing to remind audiences that this is a track from him. This proved to be a huge success for him even if I would've gone with "Partyman" as the lead single from the soundtrack, not only is it a more conventional song but it plays in one of the better scenes in the movie.
This was the big showstopper on Whitney's debut album, so naturally it was the final single to be released from the album where it coincidentally became her biggest hit from the album worldwide. This is a cover of a George Benson track from the mid 70's, however I doubt many people realise that this wasn't originally meant for Whitney given how she owns this version with her killer vocals.
Well, this is a cover that led to interesting developments in Jimmy Barne's career, we have him covering a Percy Sledge track during a live show which proved to be so well received that it was released as a single where it became a huge hit for him.
Before there were the Spice girls, there was this Australian equivalent who made a huge splash with their first album here. Indeed, this was their debut single and yet it went straight to number one which should give you an idea of how well marketed these young women were during the height of their popularity. Unfortunately for them, their second album went nowhere due to the notable absence of Robyn Loau.
It was a collaboration that could've only been made by the rock gods themselves, we have David Bowie and Queen teaming up for a song about how times were tough in the 80's and that everyone seemed to be living under pressure. The song was an instant success for both parties involved and helped Queen overcome an otherwise rocky album that was panned by critics for its weird experimentation.
Contrary to popular belief, this was the lead single to Faith and not the title track. It's easy to forget given how this was originally written for Beverly Hills cop II for a throwaway scene that got it the Razzie for worst original song, however this was meant to signal George's first solo hit away from his former partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. I think it's safe to say that it paid off for him much to the chagrin of the Razzies.
Following the departure of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski beat picked a new vocalist by the name of John Foster and soldiered on with their second album which was off to a good start with this lead single becoming a huge hit both here and in their native UK. Unfortunately, the album itself was a massive flop, which is especially embarrassing considering Jimmy found massive success with his new band the Communards.
Here's the title track of Madonna's third album, it's a song that hasn't been as fondly remembered as her other hits this decade likely due to its exclusion from the Immaculate collection from 1990. I'm guessing because this is the song on the album that she has the worst memories of given how she dedicated it to her then husband Sean Penn and how that marriage wound up turning out.
Here's that Christmas track I mentioned from earlier on this list, indeed this was written to be a Christmas chart topper in Jona's native UK despite it failing to become as such over there. I think this wound up being a bigger hit here due to us Aussies connecting with the lyrics better, that or it being a perfect candidate for what I've dubbed nursey pop due to the simplistic melody.
This was the biggest hit to come from the Hoodoo gurus, likely due to the video which perfectly mirrors the lyrics about who these guys are supposed to be with their respective relationships. If you can believe it, these guys remade this song many years later titled "That's my horse" which was made for a marketing campaign to promote gambling, how the mighty have fallen if they resorted to doing that.
This was the only hit that either of these artists managed to achieve in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to the nostalgia people had for the Lesley Gore original as well as audiences being intrigued by the Kate Bushified nature of this cover. I guess if you're a mega fan of hers then you'll get something out of this cover.
So, we're all familiar with the story of Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, right? Well Men at work decided to make a song about the story only to switch it around so that it's Dr Heckyll and Mr. jive which as you can guess, is about a mad scientist and a rock star split personality similar to the Jerry Lewis flick the Nutty professor. This proved to be a winning formula for the band as it became a success from their second album.
Another woman to score massive success this year for the female singer/songwriters of the world, this time it's Tracy Chapman who scored a massive worldwide success with this ballad about how her partner was weighing her down and how she eventually told them to as she puts it "take your fast car and keep on driving" when she realised they were no good for her. It became an inspiring tale about self-preservation that still resonates with audiences to this day.
This was the second Billboard chart topper in a row for MJ, even though it was technically released the previous year over in America, it didn't peak until this year which once again makes me question whether the disco backlash was as severe as modern historians make it out to be. Indeed, he would see more success this year with his album which is by all accounts a disco record than the previous year.
This was the second single to be released from the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack, although the real appeal of this track is that it was the first solo single to be released from Glenn Frey and it was released around the same time Don Henley released his second solo album which meant both frontmen of the Eagles were competing with each other on the charts. Suffice to say Glenn won the battle as Don's big hit will be a bit later down this list.
This was the final hit that Stevie Wonder was able to score in most parts of the world, it's a pity because while it wasn't a return to his disco era, it could've led to another revival period for him given the state of RNB at the time. While he would score a surprise comeback in NZ a decade later with "For your love," he wouldn't be heard from again in Australia until his collaboration with Babyface.
This is my favourite song to ever become a hit in Australia, sure there's songs that made it big that are technically better, but the way Marie tries to reassure her audience that everyone deserves a second chance in a relationship (and by extension in life) just resonates with me that few other songs can do. A lot of people agreed that this was a great song as it became their second Billboard chart topper even though "Dressed for success" flopped in America.
This was the first hit that Dannii Minogue scored in her career, although initially she credited herself as simply Dannii in a pointless attempt to differentiate herself from her older sister despite the two having similar sounding voices throughout their respective careers. Even though this wasn't the biggest hit of the year down under, it was nonetheless released in the UK the following year to moderate success.
There were a lot of hits this decade about young couples falling in love weren't there? Here we have John Cougar score arguably the biggest hit with this troupe (at least in his native America) likely due to this being a heartwarming tale about how the couple made it in the end with little hassle. "Young Turks" from earlier was likely the song which started this trend which lasted all throughout the 80's.
This was originally a hit here in Australia a good six months before it finally crossed over to the band's native UK, I guess Countdown came to the rescue again as I'm confident this ballad from PH. D would've never been a success anywhere in the world had it not been promoted on the show. If the vocalist on this track sounds familiar to you, you probably recognise him for his big solo hit "I should've known better" from later in the decade.
I don't think anyone was expecting this to be a success for Stacey Q due to the very poor quality of the music video, alas it was and got her out of the one hit wonder bin that her earlier entry threatened to trap her in. Sadly, this was her final hit anywhere in the world as she was unable to compete with Madonna and later on Kylie Minogue for the title of the pop princess of the music industry.
This was the only hit for Rupert Holmes, a British musician who was based in America who wrote a cheating anthem about how a couple was looking to mutually cheat on each other only to end up getting together when the narrator answers an add placed in the paper by his spouse. The story proved to be amusing enough for it to be a huge success for him but also trapped him in the one hit wonder bin.
This was the first of two big hits that Queen scored from their album The works, the other we'll get to in a bit but for now we have a song that Lady Gaga named herself after due to how bombastic the song remains to this day. The video is notable for having audience interaction, specifically when they raise their arms during each chorus which follows in the footsteps of "We will rock you" as some of the greatest audience interaction of all time.
This was one of only two hits that Mr. Mister managed to score in their career (side note, boy that's a stupid name for a band.) It was the lead single to their second album which was a huge success in their native America due to the cool ambience it has with its instrumentation, although their other hit "Kyrie" would be a different beast as it's an upbeat track about living life to its fullest.
It looked like that Elton's popularity would be more permanent in the 80's now that he had reunited with his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, indeed he scored a string of hits over the next few years including this lead single to his album Breaking hearts which is him justifying how sad songs are necessary in the world of the 80's. He would hit a low point later in the decade when he had his polyps removed.
This was the third and final single to be released from Spandau Ballet's third album True, although one would think that the title track would be the big hit from the album when in fact it was this song at least in Australia (stay tuned for the title track in a bit.) I'm guessing we Aussies were more interested in this upbeat track about comparing the love Tony Hadley has to his partner with that of literal gold.
This was a flop in 2 in a room's native America, likely because dance tracks in general don't do well on Billboard especially if they're from local artists over there. This didn't prevent the track from being a huge success throughout Europe which had its success translate here in Australia where dance music was often welcomed with open arms. Like many American dance acts this decade, they were a one hit wonder.
This was the second single to come from Madonna's ill-fated Who's that girl soundtrack, a soundtrack that would've been a success has it been an album tie in that Madonna made herself rather than it only having three songs from her, and the rest filled with filler tracks sprinkled throughout the film. This was played in the animated intro of the film, which many consider to be the only good part of its runtime.
The last time anyone had heard from Eric Carmen was back in the mid 70's where he scored a hit with "All by myself," this means that for twelve years he was a one hit wonder before this song appeared in one of the more iconic scenes in Dirty dancing where Patrick Swayze teaches Jennifer Grey how to dance. This allowed the song to become a huge success and even give Eric a second hit later in the year.
Even though this is credited to the Art of noise as the lead artist, I think we can all agree that this cover really belongs to Tom Jones for the simple phrase "think I better dance now." There's debate on whether this is better than the original, however there's no denying that both songs sees both men of colour at their sexiest as the lyrics encourage them to be as provocative as they can allow themselves to be.
You know if you can ignore the fact that both of Melissa's biggest hits this year were from a sixteen-year-old, you'll find that both of them are really fun dance pop tracks that showcases the confidence of a young woman who isn't afraid to explore her sexual nature to an audience. I guess audiences back in the day were able to walk this line as both of these songs were a massive hit for her and criticisms only came years later.
From what I can gather, St Elmo's fire is arguably one of the best Joel Schumaker films due to it being the story of a bunch of young adults which happens to comprise of some of the most popular actors of the 80's in the 20 something year old bracket. By far the best part of the film according to modern audiences is the theme song which was a huge success for John Parr due to the inspirational lyrics.
Their earlier entry might have been what got them their well-deserved buzz in America, however it was this song about how much they wanted to holiday in Barbados that gave them a huge hit here in Australia before their earlier entry became twice as big here. The video is very clever as it depicts them as going AWOL from the Vietnam war in order to holiday in the Caribbean, although it does have a shocking ending to it.
This was originally a hit for Maxine Nightingale back in the mid 70's, indeed it was a bigger hit for her back in the day even though Sinitta scored a massive hit with her cover thirteen years later. Sinitta is best known for two things, being the longtime girlfriend of Simon Cowell and the niece of Amii Stewart. The former is why she had a career in the first place and the latter explains her overall popularity.
This was the only hit that the Australian dance group Radio freedom scored in their career, although while this was a dance hit it also feels like it would've been a massive hit with the Latin craze had that begun earlier in the decade. While the band did release an album during their time together, the album was a massive failure which led to them breaking up as a result of its fallout.
This was one of two hits that Midge Ure scored throughout the world this year, the other being with his other band Ultravox which wasn't as big a hit as this was (though stay tuned for it later on this list.) This was his more Avant Garde hit of the two likely due to him wanting to cash in off the success that Kate Bush and Lene Lovich had with their material from around this time.
Following the success of her live album the previous year, Pat Benatar was able to score a second hit in Australia with this lead single to her album Tropico likely due to the inclusion of a children's choir in the final chorus. This would be her final hit in most parts of the world, although she would score one more hit later in the decade with "All fired up" here in Australia which was a return to her rock roots.
This was the second hit that Rocky Burnette was able to score in Australia this year, likely because he appeared on Countdown to perform his two big hits on this list as this didn't chart anywhere else in the world from what I can gather. The rockabilly revival was huge throughout the 70's and early 80's, so much so that I'm sure it would've continued had MTV not launched the following year.
While this wasn't the debut single from Annie and Dave (heck they saw success earlier in the decade as members of the Tourists) this was the song that made them a household name worldwide due to how hypnotic the song remains to this day. Many songs have tried to replicate its success of blending trance with new wave to little success, mainly because they come off as lazy whereas this comes off as endearing.
This was the only hit that Quarterflash were able to achieve throughout the world, I get the feeling this was a hit here in Australia due to us confusing this for a Motels track given how big Martha Davis and that were with their debut single "Total control" two years prior. Indeed, when that band finally saw international success this year, it didn't translate back here likely because of this song.
This was the only solo success that Don Henley managed to achieve in Australia, although it's worth noting that his second album was a huge hit here as opposed to Glenn Frey's which was a massive flop despite the success of his earlier entry on this list. Even though this is a distinctly summer jam, it was a hit here during our autumn which is perhaps why it wasn't as big a success as it should've been.
This was the lead single to Jimmy Barne's Soul deep project, an album filled with covers of Motown classics that was a massive success here and in NZ for the otherwise pub rocker. It has its fans given how many sequels it's received as well as it being his bestselling album in his catalogue.
This was the first of three songs with this title to become a hit this year, although considering we've looked at the other two songs earlier on this list, you probably already knew that. This was a different song from the band's previous two hits as this feels more in line with sophistopop rather than the LGBT banger of their debut or their politically charged second single, making them one of the more eclectic bands to find success this decade.
There was a film released this year by the name of Starstruck which became an instant cult classic due to it telling the story of how a young woman became an overnight sensation through her personal antics. The film spawned this hit that was performed in universe by its star Jo Kennedy which became a surprise hit due to it being a duet between her onscreen partner as well as it being a partial gender flipped cover of a Split Enz track.
This was the third single to be released from Man of colours for Icehouse, normally the band wouldn't score a third hit from one of their albums but in this case, they did due to how passionate Iva Davis is in his performance on this track. No doubt this helped the album becoming their most successful in their career, although their popularity would die out once the decade came to an end.
This was the title track to by far the most popular album that Spandau Ballet released in their career, in fact this is easily their most recognisable song in their discography for a two of reasons. First off, it's widely regarded as having some of the worst lyrics in a song, I personally disagree as even back then there were some pretty awful lines that make these look professionally written in comparison. Secondly this was sampled in P.M Dawn's big hit "Set adrift on memory bliss" in 1991.
This was the theme song to the film of the same name, a film that happened to be Dolly Parton's acting debut which garnered her critical acclaim for her performance as well as a Golden globe nomination for her role. The film remains a classic to this day as it's a perfect display of female empowerment as her, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin overthrow their sexist boss after refusing to give into his sexual demands.
This is the closest that Suzanne Vega will ever have to having a hit single worldwide, although this is more of a DNA track hence why they're credited as the main artist on this hit. The original is an a Cappella track from her album Solitude standing, however the British duo added production to the ballad which helped it become a hit on the radio and also made them an in-demand production team going forward.
This sounds like it was recorded forty years prior, I can assure you it wasn't as Fiddler's dram were a British band from the 70's who scored their one and only hit just as they were calling it quits but this really does sound like something made for a vintage Gene Kelly flick. I have no idea how this became a hit during the height of the disco era, but it somehow did.
This was the third time this ballad became a hit in Australia, the previous two were from the original singer Dusty Springfield and Bay City roller's version from 1976. This time we have Annie Lennox taking a stab at the track with her first band the Tourists, although technically this was the Eurythmics as David Stewart was part of the group as well. They would become the Eurythmics while the band were on tour here in Australia.
This was the only hit that the Bureau managed to achieve during their short time together, although I get the feeling they called it quits due to them failing to score a hit in their native UK. I'm surprise this wasn't a hit over there considering how popular ska reggae was around this time, in fact I'm even more surprised this was a hit down under considering how Madness had yet to score a hit here.
This was the only hit that country star Eddie Rabbitt was able to achieve here in Australia, likely because this was a Billboard chart topper for him but also due to how incessantly catchy this is compared to the rest of his catalogue. This was a surprisingly good time for country music given how disco had begun to lose its popularity, although country would follow suit once MTV launched this year.
This was Simple Mind's biggest hit in most parts of the world, likely due to it being the theme to the cult classic the Breakfast club which wasn't well received back in the day despite it being considered a masterpiece nowadays. The song essentially sums up what the movie is about, that being a bunch of misfits who unexpectedly form a friendship with each other due to circumstances only for them to wonder if that friendship would carry on once they go their separate ways.
Even though Journey never found success outside of their native America, lead singer Steve Perry was able to score a massive hit with his solo debut single here in Australia. I'm not sure why we Aussies love this track so much but never cared for the rest of his catalogue as everything found on this track can be found on the likes of "Don't stop believing," 'Separate ways" and "Open arms."
This is one of the catchier songs to become a hit this year, it comes to us courtesy of a British band who failed to score any success in their homeland once again making me wonder how we Aussies discovered this track back in the day. This is a song about how the Members prefer listening to the radio rather than the stereo, presumably due to the arbitrary nature of what they'll hear when they tune in to the radio.
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