Longest charting hits in Australia 1980-1992 II

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 was the debut single for one of the most well-beloved bands from around this time, to think this sat on shelves for an entire year largely ignored due to their debut album having original album art that was completely horrifying. This has become a staple in hair metal from the late 80's, to the point where I don't think I can add anything to the conversation that hasn't been said a thousand times over.

Well, we saw massive success here with the Gipsy kings the previous year, so why not have this track from French group Kaoma find success with their Spanish influenced pop music? I guess you can say that the Latin craze began much earlier than you otherwise thought given how many Latin influenced tracks there were to make it big, however it saw a large dry spell this decade before regaining its popularity.

My NZ readers will recognise this guy for several of his hits from the 70's, indeed how he was able to find a huge crossover hit with this track here in Australia when he hadn't troubled his local charts in over a decade is a bit of a mystery to me but here we are. This sadly didn't lead to him having much success after this even in his homeland, proving this to be a fluke hit for the aging pop star.

This was the debut single for Johnny Diesel and the Injectors, an Australian pub rock band who took our music scene by storm with their debut album the released the following year which sparked international interest in the band. Indeed, this lead single became a surprise hit over in NZ, proving that the kiwis were all about our rock scene even if they were inconsistent with what they made popular there.

For everyone who reckons that body positivity songs are only a recent phenomenon, allow me to acquaint you with this hip hop track from Sir mix a lot who made the brave decision to attack Cosmopolitan magazine for promoting unhealthy standards for women and how he prefers women who as he puts it "have big butts." The song was a massive success for him worldwide as it takes a positive stance towards inner beauty.

With the popularity of John Farnham being at its peak around this time, it only makes sense that a band clearly inspired by his comeback would follow in his footsteps and find massive success in their own right. Enter Southern sons, an Australian band who wanted to lead of the decade with their album which many have mistaken for one of Farnham's, it's a large reason why they were a huge success this year.

This was a massive hit worldwide before crossing over to America where it topped the Billboard charts, it makes sense that it would be a success in America given how the rest of the world fell in love with the passionate vocals as well as how lovestruck the overall theme of the song is. Interestingly there was a separate video released for this song in America compared to the rest of the world, a common trend from this time.

Tiffany might have had more success with her singles overall in Australia, however her rival Debbie Gibson was able to score a massive hit this year with the lead single to her second album Electric youth due to ballads being at the height of their popularity around this time. This allowed the album to be a moderate success here as this was bigger than anything Tiffany put out despite her being massively successful worldwide.

Well, we needed to have another version of the Village people eventually, enter the Skatt bros who managed to copy the formula of the LGBT band and score a massive hit here in Australia around the time they released their film Can't stop the music. This was an excellent year for queer disco in Australia it seems.

Karen Knowles was one of the stars of Young talent time throughout the 70's, so it only makes sense that she would see massive success with this ballad given how she was still a teenager when it was released as a single. It makes you wonder why she didn't have any success once she was all grown up.

This was the only hit that Big pig managed to score here in Australia, I guess they were technically a British band as they were based in the UK when they started releasing songs two years prior, however they're often claimed as an Australian act likely due to them not having any success over there. This was a massive success over in NZ for some reason, I guess it pop up on a popular DJ's set over there.

This was released on the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death in the duo's native UK, naturally it interrupted the album cycle for their sophomore album Actually which is perhaps why the album wasn't as big a success as their debut Please was. It's success this year was due to the album cycle not being altered internationally which means this cover came out months after the anniversary.

This was the only hit that Jon Secada managed to score in Australia, although I wouldn't feel too bad for him as he went on to massive success in his native America throughout the rest of the decade. This has often been cited as one of the earliest songs to launch the Latin craze that would dominate the second half of the 90's, it's more of an adult contemporary track but it does have Latin elements to it.

This was the first song that Fischer Z released when they reformed the previous year, as a result it felt like no time had passed between their last hit from the start of the decade and this hit they had this year. Although the band never broke up again, this would be the last time we Aussies would hear from them as they wouldn't have another hit after this.

This is another song from the acid house genre, meaning that it was inescapable from the band's native UK as well as it being a huge international hit for them. If the vocalist sounds familiar to anyone, that's because it's Sonique who's best known for her hit single "It feels so good" which she released ten years after this became a hit for her.

This was a sleeper hit here in Australia for Def Leppard, in fact you can make the argument that this eventually becoming a success here was what helped the album take off over a year after its initial release despite how much of an instant success it was internationally for the British hair metal band. They did have a minor hit with "Rocket" from the album, however it won't be appearing on this list.

This took its time in finding success here in Australia, mainly because it was already a huge hit in NZ and the duo's native UK the previous year and it was an Irish pub rock track from the duo during a time which we Aussies were into this sort of music. I guess it didn't have the flashy imagery that had taken over MTV and as such had to work our way into our playlists while were we at the pub.

I'm not sure why this wasn't an instant success here in Australia like it was internationally for Whitney Houston, although it did stick around for quite some time on our charts likely due to her winning us Aussies over once "How will I know" was given a music video shortly after its release. It may have been a humble beginning to her career, but it's one that people look back on fondly to this day.

This is a cover of a song that was made in the late 50's, even so I wasn't expecting to see this on one of these lists considering I was dead certain this was always meant as a commercial jingle and not a critically acclaimed art pop track from the start of the 80's. Even though this remains well loved in the music community to this day, the band couldn't shake off their novelty status which led to them breaking up in 1984.

Well, I did mention this was a moderate success here in Australia when I mentioned it on the NZ side of my site, so here we are with the one and only hit that Skid row managed to achieve outside of their native America likely due to it being similar to what Bon Jovi or Def Leppard would release from around this time. I get the feeling these guys would've had more luck internationally had they broken through sooner.

This was the second single from Mariah Carey's debut album, a song that confirmed her to be the real deal as many divas have tried to make it big over the years with a good voice and little else to offer in their catalogue. Again, Mariah's true potential would come later in the decade when she added flavour to her music that only she could provide, although there's still merit to her earlier work nowadays.

Well, here's that song from Slade that I mentioned earlier on this list, although it's worth noting that they already had their comeback in their native UK the previous year with "My oh my" which makes this songs success a little less surprising considering that and Quiet riot's entry. Even so, this comeback was short lived as the band failed to adjust to the 80's with their sound.

28 Weeks

This was among the first songs whose music video was banned, although not by MTV as the video for this title track of Olivia's biggest album in her career was banned in her native UK due to its shameless depiction of body shaming. The song is a bop to this day; however, most people have described it as a body shaming anthem due to the (admittedly offensive) visuals in the video.

Even though this appears on Wham's sophomore album Make it big, this is curiously credited as a George Michael solo ballad which goes to show that even before they took America by storm, he was already having ambitions of making it big without his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The two stuck together for one more album before going their separate ways two years later.

Although this wasn't the lead single to Icehouse's biggest album Man of colours, it was their biggest hit both in Australia and NZ as well as their one big hit over in America due to how big it was in both countries in the southern hemisphere. I guess it's their best song even though on a technical level, their work from Primitive man from five years prior is better.

Lionel admitted himself back in the day that his first solo album was made to appease his fanbase from when he was a part of the Commodores, this was to ease them into the change in music direction that he wanted to make in his career which resulted in his magnum opus Can't slow down and this lead single of his. It's a party jam that's since become a staple of parties since its initial release.

It seems rather curious that Kim Wilde wasn't even aware of the original version of this track from the Supremes at first, admittedly it is shocking to know that Diana Ross and company didn't receive much love in the mainstream outside of America back in the day. Kim's version of this track about making a clean getaway from someone fooling around with the narrator's heart managed to equal the success the original version had two decades prior in America where it topped the Billboard charts.

This was a massive success for Fine young cannibals for a few reasons, the first is how dynamic of a vocal performance Roland Gift gives throughout the track which highlights just how messed up he feels about the woman he's singing about. The second is for the video which is both hilarious and gives unique visuals to convey the lyrics about this relationship, no wonder it found a captivating audience worldwide.

It looked like that Leo Sayer had become yesterday's news by the time the 70's became the 80's, however the English crooner had other ideas as he decided to record an old Buddy Holly track after seeing an advertisement for a greatest hits package of his and his band the Crickets. This resulted in this ballad being his biggest hit in most parts of the world and kept his career going for a little while longer.

If Lionel's earlier entry on this list wasn't the indication that he was about to become one of the biggest names in music this decade, then this third single from his sophomore album cemented his place among the A-list despite it being subjected to heavy backlash over the years for what many perceive to be highly creepy lyrics. That's to say nothing of the video which makes them arguably worse by having them be directed at one of his students at a university.

This was a bit of a surprise hit for NKTOB given how it wasn't much of a hit in their native America, I'm guessing it crossed over here due to how incessantly catchy the track is compared to the rest of the album which is mostly filled with ballads from the boys. This eventually led the song to be released in the UK where it was an even bigger hit for them.

Angry Anderson is best known as the lead vocalist for Rose tattoo, an Australian band who rivals AC/DC as the band who rocks the hardest from the 70's and 80's. So, you can his fans horror when he agreed to rerecord one of the bands earlier songs and rework it as a wedding theme for Scott and Charlene in Neighbours (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue for the uninitiated.)

If you're wondering what took these guys so long in finding an audience here in Australia, I think it's because we Aussies were sceptical of their musical talent initially given how they had sung with perfect American accents on record and yet could barely speak English in interviews. We gave them the benefit of the doubt this year by allowing this to become one of the biggest hits of the year, however our scepticism was proven right by the end of the year.

Well, this is a change of pace from Billy Idol, his earlier work was among the loudest songs to come out of the decade whereas this was more subdue as was the album it was pulled from Whiplash smile which traded in Billy's bombast for a sound more in line with the quieter bands of the decade. This change in direction paid off for him as both this song and the album were his most successful in his career respectively.

We have another Oscar winning ballad to grace us with its presence on this site, this time it comes to us from Berlin who had previously been known as new wave band and who you may recognise for their hit singles "No more words" from two years prior (especially if you're from NZ where it was a huge hit.) As usual, we have an indie band whose fans cried sellout to once they made it big worldwide by attaching themselves to a Tom Cruise flick.

We had "Computer games" from Mi-sex, now it's time for the music scene to get specific with this song written about the Space invaders phenomenon from the Australian novelty act Player 1 (not to be confused with the soft rock band Player.) Before "Pac man fever" and around the time that arcade classic was launched, this song was making it big down under with a specific arcade unit.

This was the final hit single that Chicago had outside their native America, now this might shock some of my readers, but I really like this ballad as it does a good job of balancing out Peter Cetera's vocals with the instrumentation in a way I feel many of their other tracks fail to do. I guess my love for this ballad was tested when the RNB group Az yet convinced him to rerecord this track for their hit in 1997.

By far their most successful song in their catalogue, this was the lead single for AC/DC who scored a massive comeback this year following the tragic death of their original front man Bon Scott earlier in the year. They replaced him with British singer Brian Johnston who was able to successfully match the energy that Bon brought to these tracks and also make the band an international household name.

This was the debut E.P from Ugly Kid Joe, an E.P which was largely ignored upon its initial release until the signature track "Everything about you" became a surprise hit for the band over in the UK months after its initial release. This allowed the E.P to become a huge hit in Australia and no doubt led to the band releasing their debut album which it too needed a surprise hit in the UK to take off down under.

Given how Madonna was by far the most successful artist of the decade, I guess it only makes sense that there would be rip-offs to try and steal her throne as the queen of pop. One of the more successful was Stacey Q who scored massive success with this track where she titillates her audience with her seductive vocals while going on about how she found the love of her love in the lyrics.

With the negative press that Madonna received from her album Like a prayer, I think Bette Midler wanted to reassure audiences that God was real with this song originally written by Nanci Griffith while also acknowledging that yes, bad things do happen to good people sometimes because God simply isn't looking hard enough at the problems of the world. The only thing I'll say is that it's songs like this that make me glad I don't follow religion.

This was the song that encouraged us Aussies to check out Black box's one and only album Dreamland this year, I'm guessing due to it being a cover of an Earth wind and fire track we unfairly ignored back in the day and Martha Walsh doing an admirable job in updating the 70's RNB jam on this track. This would be the last song the Italian group had a hit in Australia, although they would score two hits in America this year.

It looked like that Richard Marx would be considered as yesterday's news when he released his third album Rush Street, after all Bryan Adams was back in the spotlight and it appeared that the world didn't have any use for this American singer/songwriter. They were proven wrong when this ballad about how he witnessed a murder became a surprise worldwide hit, proving there was room for multiple singer/songwriters in the 90's.

Although they already achieved a huge hit the previous year with their cover of Redbone's "Witch queen of New Orleans," the Chantoozies were still seen as little more than a group of models singing covers of older songs until they released this track which seemed to silence their critics by bringing them into the big leagues in the music scene. After all this was one of the biggest hits of the year and allowed their album to be a huge success.

This was released the previous year to deafening silence in Australia, as was the entirety of UB40's Labour of love II likely because we Aussies wanted to leave these guys in the 80's. That didn't end up happening as this became a huge success over in America which meant that this cover of the Al Green track managed to crossover here where it became a bigger his than otherwise anticipated.

If this sounds like it belongs in the 60's to you, that's because this is a cover of an obscure 60's track from Shirley Ellis that the Belle stars somehow knew about when this became a hit for them in Australia. Naturally this wasn't their big hit in their native UK as that honour went to "Sign of the times," a track that has no relation to the Prince song of the same name.

Well, this is a song that's easy to make fun of, although I'll refrain from making the obvious joke that the trio's haters used to make back in the day as it's a pretty mean one all things considered. Of course, the joke was on those who doubted them as this did indeed become a massive hit for Bros as well as their album which spawned a bunch of other hits for them across the world, even though they would be one album wonders.

This was originally a hit for John Paul Young way back in 1978 where it became his big international breakthrough and thus made him a one hit wonder outside of Australia. Fast forward to this year and we have Baz Lurhman commissioning a remix of this track to be used in his film debut Strictly ballroom where this updated version managed to become a hit for John all over again.

Much like the rest of the world, we Aussies didn't realise the beauty of this track from Toto's fourth album until the album won album of the year at the Grammys, I think NZ was the only country in the world that made this a hit upon its initial release which is something they can absolutely brag about. This sadly proved to be their last hit as their subsequent albums flopped around the world.

This was the final single to be released from Roxette's second album, although in the UK this was bundled with their previous song "Listen to your heart" to give the Brits a two for one deal given how "Dressed for success" flopped everywhere in the world except for here in Australia. No doubt these two were destined for greatness this decade which for the most part happened as their next album was a huge success.

This was bundled with the lead single to Sleeping with the past in the UK, presumably to give Elton a chart topper in his homeland which compared to the rest of the world, he had very few of in his career. Here in Australia this was the song to help his album become a huge comeback for him after struggling over the past few years with mental health problems as well as a well-publicised drug addiction.

This likely wouldn't have been a hit here in Australia were it not for a memorable performance that Judie Tzuke gave on Countdown with this song, it was a huge hit in her native UK but there were plenty of hits from British artists over there that failed to see crossover success over the years. Sadly, this was her only hit anywhere in the world, likely due to it being another ballad from a female singer.

I'm not sure how he was able to do it, but Chris Rea managed to see a massive comeback this year eight years after he first charted with "Diamonds" in Australia. I'm guessing this was due to the song almost topping the NZ charts which in itself was bizarre as the British musician never saw any success over there prior to this pop rock track. It was a short-lived comeback but a notable one.

This was the debut single for Mel and Kim, it was a song that was destined to be a flop here in Australia until their earlier entry became a massive hit for them here which allowed it to rebound on the charts and become a hit when that went to number one. It has a positive message about having fun without breaking the bank set to some of Stock Aiken and Waterman's catchiest melodies.

This was the one and only hit from white female rapper Icy blue, an underage MC who made it big with a song about how good she is in bed err.... I mean on the dancefloor given how many guys fail to keep up with her until she comes across this seeming dweeb who outdoes her at the end of the night. The song is notable for sampling "Push it" from Salt n Pepa, which is perhaps why it was a flop in her native America.

This was the only hit for the British duo Wax, although it was more a hit here in Australia as it flopped in their native UK for some reason. This is another song about winning back a lover after the narrator has admitted to screwing up in the relationship, although at least here he acknowledges how bad he was and that he was going to change for the better.

If you ever wanted to know why George Michael added the date he released this song to its official release, that's because he already had a song with this title during his time with Wham six years prior that was a huge worldwide hit for him. Indeed, this is a different approach he takes with the theme of freedom as here he declares his freedom to the pop machine that made him a household name in the 80's.

It's a bit staggering how this only barely failed to appear on both side of my site up until this point given how I can imagine this being one of the most inescapable songs of its time given how iconic that chorus remains to this day, admittedly it took a while for the world to gravitate towards these guys given how hip hop up until this point was either hardcore gangster rap or cartoonish pop rap.

From what I can gather, Simon Gallaher and Jackie Love were two theatre performers who scored a surprise sleeper hit with this duet with each other in the early 80's. I wish I could elaborate on this entry; however, it appears this was only a success due to how well showstoppers from theatre productions were doing at the time worldwide.

27 Weeks

Personally, I've always preferred the Dolly Parton version of this ballad, however there's no denying that Whitney Houston made it her own when she starred in the poorly reviewed romantic thriller the Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner and had this rendition of her track play over the emotional climax of the film.

It may shock you to learn that in their native America, Survivor aren't a one hit wonder. This is because even in America, this is the only song of theirs that has endured the test of time as opposed to their other tracks which people often tend to think are from the likes of Loverboy or Foreigner. In any case, we have this theme to the third Rocky film which was both a critical and commercial success for Sylvester Stallone.

One of the more divisive films to be released this decade was Flashdance, mainly because people feel that while the imagery is striking even for its time, there isn't much of a story to it which makes the film feel meandering at times (I disagree but can see where people are coming from.) One thing many people will agree with is how amazing the theme song is, so much so it was the second academy award that Irene Cara won this decade after her theme to Fame.

For the sake of simplicity, I've decided to bundle these two songs together on this list even though the latter didn't chart until a month after the former's release. That is to say that both songs are among the most successful of all time here in Australia in their own right, although most will tell you that their respective success here is integral to each other.

Following the demise of his band Wham, George Michael decided to continue in the pop direction he established for himself during his time with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The results were his solo album named after this signature track from him which was a huge success for British superstar.

It looked like the Bangles would become a one hit wonder with "Manic Monday" given how the second single from Different light failed to become a success anywhere in the world and that said album was initially a flop for the girls. Fortunately, this third single was enough of a novelty that it managed to not only become a huge hit for them but encourage audiences to check out their album which has far more serious material.

If there was one band who desperately didn't want to sell out to save their career, it would be Cheap trick as despite this being their biggest hit in most parts of the world, the band have come to despise it as they've described it as a contractual obligation their label made them do rather than it being a passion project. I guess if this is them not putting in the effort and it still turns out this good, then it goes to show you how great they are as a band.

Although he remains a one hit wonder here in Australia with this theme to a long forgotten animated film from his native NZ (and one that doesn't look good judging by the animation displayed in the music video) Dave was a huge superstar in his homeland by originally with his band D.D smash and for many years after his first solo hit with the reggae group Herbs. I defy anyone to get this song out of their heads after hearing it, it's virtually impossible to do so.

It seemed like Diana Ross was yesterday's news when she scored a massive hit with this track, of course this was written by the Bee gees and even has the Brothers Gibb provide backup vocals, which meant that it had massive international appeal even if it bombed in her native America. The video is also really cool as it serves as a montage of how she began as a Motown artist twenty years prior and where she was at this moment.

This was a huge comeback success for Alice Cooper who had been MIA on the charts for exactly a decade worldwide as the last hit he had was with "How you gonna see me now" from the end of the 70's. Here he is with a song that seems to be a perfect fit into the hair metal that was popular around this time, meaning that he sadly wasn't able to retain his popularity going into the 90's.

Although he had already achieved success worldwide with his misguided cover of Otis Redding's "Dock of the bay," many consider this to be the moment when Michael Bolton began his chart dominance worldwide due to much more of a hit it was compared to his earlier work. Despite him being the writer for this ballad, it was originally a hit for Laura Branigan seven years prior in America.

Well, here's a song whose story on how it became an international success is more interesting than the song itself. It was a huge hit here in Australia and the UK of all places before it became a hit in NZ and throughout Europe which finally allowed it to crossover to Toni's native America where it topped the Billboard charts. Since then, it's become a staple in cheerleader culture thanks to its striking video.

Well, this was a surprise hit for Paul Simon, mainly because the last time he had any success throughout the world was ten years prior when "50 ways to leave your lover" was a Billboard chart topper for him. I guess the premise of him allowing people to call him Al was endearing enough for this to become a massive hit throughout Europe and Australia, but not in his native America for some reason.

The last time we mentioned Maria McKee on this site was when she wrote Feargal Sharkey's biggest hit "A good heart" from five years prior, here she is now with a song of her own that she wrote for the Tom Cruise flick Days of thunder which sees the heartthrob play a race car driver hotshot. The film is noticeable for being the first of three he made with his future wife Nicole Kidman.

Given that this Oscar winning ballad was written for a film called White nights, I think it's safe to say that it's since become an anthem for those who would describe themselves as the name of the film. Originally this was meant to be the title track of his third album, however said album took so long to make that he changed the name to the second single that would also serve as his final hit single to date.

This isn't among my favourite tracks from Fleetwood Mac, granted it's certainly a departure from their previous sound as this feels more in line with a prog track as opposed to their usual folk rock but something about the marching beat just doesn't sit right with me. I'm obviously in the minority as this remains their biggest hit in their catalogue outside of America (where "Dreams" has that honour) and is still well loved to this day.

This was the first of three highly successful tracks to come from Wa Wa Nee (man what a stupid band name they gave themselves) it's also one that sparked international interest in them given how huge it was this year for them. Even though they scored all of this success with their singles, it didn't translate to their albums which caused them to break up when their second album failed to spawn a hit for them.

Well, this was the decade of obvious sampling, so it makes sense that this short-lived Hispanic hip hop group would score a massive worldwide success with this track given how it samples the Champs classic from 1958. I will say that hip hop was able to find success down under back in the day provided it had a gimmick to go along with the rhymes, this happened to use nostalgia baiting.

This was the one and only hit from Grayson Hugh not just in Australia but throughout the world, I'm guessing because this flopped in his native America likely due to the video which is admittedly ridiculous even for its time. The lyrics do make up for the cheesy video which apparently were meant for Olivia Newton John to sing, however I feel this guy does a better job then she could ever hope for.

While this wasn't the lead single for Diesel and dust, this was the song which was released once the album dropped which proved to be a massive hit worldwide as audiences became invested in the plight for aboriginal rights (and are still fighting for them to this day.) This led to the album being a massive success for the band and it being declared one of the best albums from an Australian act of all time.

Kelly Marie was a Scottish pop star who scored her one and only hit throughout Europe with this disco track that was originally meant for the king of rock and roll himself Elvis Presley, that should explain why she's singing like him on the track. Here in Australia, this was her second big hit as she previously saw success with "Make love to me" just as the 70's was beginning to wind down.

These guys were about a year off from experiencing the 90's and yet it appears they were already sick of the 80's, I guess the rest of the world was as well given how this managed to become a huge hit for them. Interestingly this was a Billboard chart topper for the English band despite this flopping in their native UK, perhaps it was due to the American flags that were waved so patriotically in the video.

Following the success of MJ's earlier entry, this track from two years prior became a surprise success for his family band likely due to him being a welcome presence on our charts that he apparently wasn't upon this track's initial release. I don't even know why this song flopped in Australia initially as MJ didn't seem to have any problems with finding success with his album Off the wall when it came out.

Much like in their native America, this was the bigger hit for Color me Badd in Australia likely due to it being catchier than their debut single from the New jack city soundtrack. It's impressive to think that these guys were as successful as they were considering how few people fondly remember their music, sure it was upbeat, but it didn't win a ton of critical praise for the quartet.

This was the only other success that Iggy Pop was able to acquire anywhere in the world, although here he required the assistance of Katie Pierson from the B52's fresh off the success she had with their album Cosmic thing. Neither artist on this track would see any further success with their subsequent material.

There was a lot of hype going into Toni Child's second album, that hype was met when the lead single became a huge success for her here in Australia despite her still being unable to find success in her native America (something that she never wound-up accomplishing.) Indeed, this would be her last hit single anywhere in the world as once the album cycle ended, she was considered yesterday's news.

My NZ readers will recognise the lead singer of this Australian band as Tina Cross who was a teen idol in her homeland before she migrated here to form this new wave band. I have to say, she had one of the most unique voices of the decade which makes it a shame that none of the other band's material caught on back in the day, I'm not sure why as they were regulars on Countdown as were most Aussie artists.

Apparently, EMF stands for Epson Mad Funkers and not Ecstasy Mother F**ker's like I and many others had assumed, I thought I'd bring that up as the band came from the Madchester scene the previous year before scoring a massive Billboard chart topper with this track. Indeed, this has gone down as one of the most quintessential dance tracks to play in a scene that involves strip dancers or a seedy night club.

Well, here's that other hit that Juice Newton managed to score in Australia this year, this time it's a cover of a Dave Edmunds track from a few years prior which in addition to it being a bouncy number is likely why it found success here for the country singer. Although these two songs on this list were the full extent of her popularity in Australia, she found further success in her native America as the decade went on.

This was the only success that Carl Carlton was able to have in his career, he's a musician of colour who was perhaps a little late to the party when it came to 70's soul as this only became a success here in Australia due to how inescapable the likes of MJ and Prince were throughout the year.

This was another band who scored a big hit this year that was completely misleading to what their usual sound was, in this case we have Roxus scoring their only hit with this ballad which seems like the opposite of their other songs from their one and only album Nightstreet which was more in line with what Rose tattoo or AC/DC was offering from the mid 80's, they're basically the Australian equivalent of Extreme in that regard.

Following the mediocre reception of Kick's second single "Devil inside" (which we'll look at in a bit) INXS were able to bounce back with the third single here thanks to how energetic it was proving they were still able to have a banger in their catalogue as they appealed to an international market. The fourth and final single from the album was "Never tear us apart," a song that's considered their signature track.

This was originally a hit for the French trio Gibson brothers just as the decade was starting throughout Europe, I guess we Aussies weren't interested in it at first due to it coming off as a bit too silly for us. We changed our minds a year later likely due to us wanting to support disco whenever we could given how to this day, Americans will claim that the disco backlash of 1979 forever killed the genre.

This was the only other hit that Gloria Estefan had in Australia with Miami sound machine, I guess the novelty of their breakthrough hit from earlier in the decade ensured that we Aussies wouldn't be able to take them seriously despite how popular they were in NZ and their native America. Her popularity would explode here in the 90's after surviving a horrific crash in her tour bus.

This was the debut single of Snap, a German band who took the world by storm with this song that's been used in many sports montages over the years thanks to the lyrics fitting well with workout routines. Naturally their earlier entry on this list was what confirmed these guys to be the hot new EDM act of the moment, however this remains their most popular song in their catalogue due to that chorus.

This was one of several songs that appeared on the NZ side of my site that was only a sleeper hit at best here in Australia, although it does feel odd that this didn't do even better over here considering how this was released at the height of the medley craze that had taken over the music scene worldwide.

This took a while to be a success here in Australia, I'm not sure why other than it being a more upbeat track compared to their other hit "Send me an angel" from the previous year. It eventually reached the upper echelons of our charts and even did quite well in Europe considering the success of their other big hit, although this would sadly be the last anyone would hear from the Australian band.

This was the only other hit that Kenny Loggins managed to achieve in Australia, although you'd think that "I'm alright" from Caddyshack would've been big here as well considering how iconic his movie themes were this decade. The Top gun soundtrack was an inverse of the Footloose soundtrack when it comes to his success, he had the big hit there but only the moderate hit here.

This is the only entry from Scarecrow that managed to become a hit for John Cougar Mellencamp here in Australia, I guess had it been released as the lead single rather than the third single, it probably would've been more of a genuine hit here rather than a sleeper hit like it wound up being. Still, it and the rest of the singles on the album remain staples on oldies stations to this day and for good reason.

While it's true that "Stay" remains the song that everyone affiliates with Shakespear's sister to this day, it's worth noting that their debut single was also a decent success for them back in the day likely due to the star power that Siobhan Fahey had following her departure from Bananrama. As you can imagine, this was completely different from anything she has released with her former band hence its mixed reception upon its release.

As this was released much sooner here in Australia than it was in NZ (it was still released a year after it became a success throughout Europe) it only makes sense that we Aussies were a bit puzzled with what to do with this track as opposed to the kiwis who made it an instant success when it saw the light of day over there.