Longest charting hits in Australia 1980-1992 XI

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 lead single from the Eurythmics album Revenge, an album that proved to be the biggest for the duo despite never making clear what they wanted vengeance against. Here they have a song about the possibilities of the future which might have one of Annie's best performances in her career, in fact the album in general has her at her best vocally which is perhaps why it was their biggest album.

This was the big hit off of Cold Chisel's breakthrough album East, a song about how Jimmy Barnes gets day drunk to help him cope with the loss of his girlfriend (who may or may not be the mother of his son David Campbell.) The song remains a classic to this day as does the majority of the tracks from East, it makes you wonder why it wasn't a bigger hit until you remember it coming from a highly successful album.

There haven't been that many Asian pop stars to make it big over the years in Australia, one of the select few was Seiko who scored a hit here with her duet with Donnie Wahlberg during the height of his popularity with NKOTB. Evidently this was the full extent of his solo career as he would go on to produce his younger brothers work while he fancied himself as a rapper.

This was the debut single for Go West, a band who would see massive success this year with their debut album throughout Europe and would return five years later with a song that made it big off the Pretty woman soundtrack. Here they have a song about taking a chance in a relationship, this can be an obvious metaphor about the music industry taking a chance on their music which it did sporadically.

Here's the other big hit that ABC were able to achieve this year, although instead of it being a song about how Martin Fry was bitter at his ex-girlfriend's success, it's about how he's falling in love with another person and that they should take a chance on him. This was the band's biggest hit in their native UK likely due to how bouncy it is, and it even sparked their crossover success over in America.

This was the last big hit that Icehouse managed to achieve in their career, although they did achieve one more minor hit the following year with "Miss divine" from their album Code blue. This came from their greatest hits package named after their signature track from eight years prior, an album that seemed appropriate to close out the decade as they broke through at the start of the decade to massive success.

This was the last hit Paul McCartney had for three decades anywhere in the world, he did eventually score a hit when he was credited for his contributions to "Fourfiveseconds" in 2015 with Rihanna and Kanye West even if he only provided the instrumentation on that track. Here he scores a hit with the lead single to the soundtrack to his film Give my regards to Broad Street, a film that was panned by critics.

Although his earlier entry on this list was the big hit off of Billy's second RNB album Love zone, it was this song that was meant to promote the album as that track came from the Jewel of the Nile soundtrack and was later included on the album. Here Billy scores his biggest hit with and RNB ballad as the rest of his hits in his catalogue are more fast paced and more in line with his disco hits from the 70's.

This was the lead single to No jacket required, an album which many felt was the turning point for Phil Collins given how it was more in line with adult contemporary rather than the pop prog from his earlier hits. This song in particular has received criticism due to the melody sounding similar to "1999" from Prince, perhaps it's this comparison that caused the song to not be as successful here in Australia as it was internationally.

This was the only hit that Little river band scored in Australia to have John Farnham on lead vocals, although they would score a huge hit internationally the following year with "The other guy" proving that people were open to the idea of John having replaced Glenn Shorrock as the lead vocalist at least for a little while. They changed their minds as the band didn't find any further success with this line up.

Even though Lionel Richie had long since left the band by this point in time, that didn't mean the Commodores couldn't still find success without him as they had replaced him with British vocalist JD Nichols and soldiered on. They scored their one and only hit without Richie with this tribute to both Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye who died the previous year, making it an emotional ballad that resonated with audiences.

This was the second hit that Jimmy Barnes was able to score from his album Two fires, it continues his winning streak from his earlier entry proving yet again that he was one of the most popular artists to transition from the 80's to the 90's down under. The third single from the album bombed, however he would return the following year with "When your love is gone" became a surprise hit for him.

These guys were on a roll this year as this became their second hit around the world likely due to how irresistibly catchy it is, although it has been used in sports themes like their earlier entry on this list. They would score two more hits in Australia the following year from their second album, although throughout Europe they were one of the most popular bands of the decade from any genre.

Given how many artists from highly successful bands were finding solo success around this time, it only makes sense that the Who's Pete Townshend would throw his hat in the ring with this solo entry from him. It became his only success both solo and with the band following their 1971 album Who's next, likely due to how bouncy it is as well as having his daughter on backing vocals.

Bet you didn't know that the Royal philharmonic orchestra had a hit single back in the day, did you? They did and it was with a song that was similar to what Stars on 45 released earlier on this list except instead of songs from the 50's and 60's, the orchestra recorded renditions of classical pieces. It was a surprise hit for them and allowed them to have a highly successful album which had more mashups from them.

If this vocalist sounds familiar to you, you likely recognise her for her performance throughout Meat loaf's Bat out of hell album where she is most prominently featured on the title track of the album. Here she scores a hit of her own due to her involvement with the album as well as performing it on Countdown during the start of the decade, although this would sadly be the last we hear from her.

Devo was on a roll when they released the lead single to their second album here in Australia given how it came off the success of their live E.P from earlier on this list, although it appears we Aussies largely passed up this classic in favour of the album itself given how it was only a sleeper hit here, hence why it failed to appear on this site up until now.

It looked like Rick's popularity in the music scene would be more permanent this time around as he scored a second hit in the decade with this track that often serves as a stranger danger lesson in music form. I guess his popularity mainly stemmed from his role in General hospital which is why he didn't have another hit in Australia, although he scored a few more hits over in America this decade.

Well, I hope you're in the mood for more rapping from George Michael as the second single in his career was a song dedicated to how skilled he is as an MC which proved to be a huge hit for the duo this year. The pair would have two more hits in their native UK this year, proving how well loved their style of hip hop was at the time.

Prince was on a roll this year when he released the title track to his comeback album, it proved to be the second biggest hit off the album in his native America due to it being a much dreamier track which was unusual for him throughout his discography. He would release one more single from the album before releasing his next album which had him sporting his new name as an unpronounceable symbol.

This was the one and only hit for the Little heroes, an Australian band looking to make it big along the likes of other stripped back bands such as Goanna and the Reels but only managed to do so with one of their songs. That said, this song has endured over the years more so than many of the entries on this list, likely due to the fond memories people have of watching this be performed on Countdown this year.

This was the last hit that Marcia Hines had here in Australia, although interestingly enough it was also her one and only hit throughout Europe likely due to the success that she had in NZ with "Something's missing" from the start of the decade. I guess she was all geared to take the world by storm but then MTV happened, and everyone wanted to support Diana Ross instead including her fellow Aussies.

Well, I didn't say that this song was a flop for the band even if it was their earlier entry on this list which made them a household name, indeed this second single from the Southern sons was a huge success for them likely due to audiences being charmed by their love of John Farnham in their music.

This was the second single to come from Culture club, although curiously it wasn't included on their debut album which is odd because the song was a huge success for them even over in America. It was eventually included on later issues of the album, although by that stage the band had well and truly broken up due to all of the drama they would find themselves in over the decade.

It appears that Big Pig were a two hit wonder here in Australia given how this managed to appear on this list for the British based Australian band, again we can blame this peaking during the Christmas period throughout the 80's as to why it failed to appear on one of my lists given how Christmas of 1986 was a particularly stacked season down under like the other Christmas seasons were.

Your eyes don't deceive you, Divine really did have a singing career in the 80's with this being their one and only hit anywhere in the world due to them performing the song on Countdown (I apologise if I'm using the wrong pronouns as I was never made clear what they were.) This was also the first hit to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman, making this a first for everyone involved with the track. Sadly, Divine would pass away four years later.

This is another entry I'm surprised wasn't a huge success here in Australia back in the day, although at least it was a Billboard chart topper for Yes even though I'm sure many of their older fanbase cried sellout given how this is a far cry from the prog rock that made them a household name from a decade prior. I'm guessing this was as bit as it was down under due to the success Jon Anderson had with Vangelis around this time.

This was the only hit that Gregory Abbot managed to achieve worldwide, mainly because he seems to be confused as to what the term shake down is as he interprets the phrase which is otherwise affiliated with extortion as a romantic gesture. This is in complete contrast with the tone of the song, which is obviously meant to be romantic, making this an unintentionally hilarious song.

This was a massive hit for CCR back in the day, so it's fitting that the Reels would find success with their stamp on it seventeen years after the original's success. It got them out of the one hit wonder bin here given how their only other hit was their cover of Herb Alpert's "This guy's in love with you" from four years prior.

While this wasn't their debut single or even the lead single from their biggest album, this was the song which made Midnight oil a household name given how we Aussies connected with the lyrics about how the political system was corrupt at the time (unfortunately it's always been corrupt here in Australia.) This was a bigger hit in NZ given how it was the lead single to their album over there.

This is the only hit that Mental as anything had from their album Creatures of leisure, an album that was sandwiched between two of their most popular throughout their career and is thus often forgotten even exists due to the tepid reception it received back in the day.

Contrary to popular belief, Nik Kershaw isn't a one hit wonder as he managed to score four hits during his brief time in the mainstream with this being his third hit overall. True to its title, the song is a riddle in song form that Nik presents to the object of his affections which proved to be a massive draw to audiences at the time, although in Australia it did get sidelined with all of the competition on this list.

We have another new entry from Huey Lewis on this list, this time it's the second single from his biggest album Sports which is best known nowadays for its bizarre music video which includes close ups of him and his bands faces. I guess this was amusing enough for us Aussies to make it a modest success despite the album already selling like hotcakes here by the time it was released as a single.

This is another entry on this list that had the unfortunate bad luck of peaking during the Christmas period of the year it was released in, in this case it peaked during the Christmas of 1981 which is a shame as this ballad feels perfect for the holiday season (at least musically it does) as well as continuing the winning streak that the trio had here in Australia.

This was the second single from Lenny Kravitz's sophomore album Mama said, a song that's quite different from the rest of the album as it feels more like a Prince track rather than him attempting to be the (then) new Jimi Hendrix. It became a huge hit for him likely due to the goodwill he had from writing "Justify my love" for Madonna and this being a horny sex jam like that track.

This was the final hit that Tears for fears had anywhere in the world, it was the lead single to their third album which came almost half a decade after their second album following a bunch of behind-the-scenes drama that had reduced the quartet back to a duo during this albums production. It was a massive hit for them in NZ and America, although it was only a minor success in Australia and their native UK.

I guess this was the big hit off of Talking heads magnum opus Little creatures here in Australia after all given how "And she was" still fails to appear on this site despite it cracking our top ten following the success of this staple in the band's discography. It blows my mind how much we Aussies ignored these guys back in the day; however, you can consider their success in NZ an accurate reflection of their legacy.

While this wasn't the final song to be released from Born in the U.S.A, it was the final hit that Bruce Springsteen had from the album outside his native America due to the rest of the world passing up the other singles on there in favour of making the album itself a massive hit. This is one of the shortest songs to become a hit since the early 70's, clocking in at two and half minutes even on the album.

Following the massive success of their (then) most recent album, Talking heads decided to allow their frontman David Byrne to make a theatrical film where they composed the soundtrack for which resulted in this lead single being the theme to said film which resulted in its success worldwide. It's best known for its music video where several 80's celebrities lip sync to the track which helped out with its success.

It looks like Dr Hook wanted to return to their roots with this entry which I'm guessing we Aussies were against for the most part given how this was likely only a hit here thanks to them performing it on Countdown this year. Although this was a much bigger hit over in NZ, it appears that the lack of positive reception this track received left a bad taste in their mouths as they would break up later in the decade.

We finally have a song from the Eurhythmics’ second album to feature on this site of mine, although I'm not sure why we Aussies gravitated towards this second single from said album given how it's very different from the new wave they were offering at the time and even the synth pop they would offer later in their catalogue. I guess the uniqueness of this track is what clicked with us back in the day.

This was the second advanced single to be released from Kids in the kitchen's debut album, it was released a full year prior to said album which must've been seen as a risky move back in the day given how already it appeared that interest in the album had faded when it came out. The risk paid off as the album went on to be a massive success when it did finally drop the following year.

17 Weeks

If you need proof that Tina Turner was always a welcomed presence in Australia, consider the fact that she starred opposite Mel Gibson in the third Mad Max film as well as providing the theme song to the film which went on to be one of her more iconic songs in her catalogue. The film was a critical and commercial success despite it being the final film in the franchise for thirty years.

Following the massive success they had with their second album, Wham released this track which has a cool video which starts out with George's supposed frustration at performing in a low-capacity venue despite selling out arenas. This was obviously done to show the band (more specifically George) wasn't going to abandon their core fanbase and indeed he never did even after cutting ties with Andrew Ridgely.

Following the success of his last album with Mental as anything, Martin Plaza decided to briefly embark on a solo career which began with this cover of an obscure track from the 60's that was able to rival the success of "Live it up" from the previous year. He rejoined the band shortly after releasing his solo album so that they could release a new album to cash in on their sudden rise in popularity worldwide.

This was the big hit off Split enz's album Time and tide, although it wasn't the lead single which is perhaps why it wasn't as big a hit as you'd otherwise expect from the band. You'd think that a band who seemed tailor made for MTV would find more international success with their material from around this time, they did chart in the lower half of international charts but didn't find much success outside of Australia and NZ.

I don't think anyone was expecting to see Bobby Brown achieve such a massive hit with the lead single of his second album outside of America given how he didn't find that much success internationally with his debut album. I'm guessing New jack swing had become less stigmatised by international audiences by this point, either that or they really wanted to hear a song about his sexual escapades with his new wife Whitney Houston.

I wouldn't have thought that a hip hop track from two underage rappers would be among the bigger hits of the year in Australia, boy did these two prove me wrong as their infectious flow combined with as they put it the "smooth groove melody" helped them find an audience in a country that seemed to be very picky with which hip hop tracks made it big. Indeed, the rest of their catalogue didn't find much success down under.

The 90's were here, which means it was time to get our love for the 70's into gear which Kylie was here to do with the second single to her third album Rhythm of love. Indeed, this was a huge hit for her due to everyone's love for the 70's, specifically the O'jays despite them not having any success here back in the day. The decade would have many highs and lows for her as she would experiment with her sound.

Given how the Rolling Stones were back on top of the charts here in Australia, I guess it makes sense that the bassist Bill Wyman would score a massive hit here with this track about how he's a rock star which he curiously sings in French about during each chorus. I guess the novelty of him wanting to be as recognisable as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards allowed this to be a success here and in NZ.

This was the other big hit that Livie managed to achieve worldwide from the Xanadu soundtrack, although this time she has the assistance of Electric light orchestra who were also present on the soundtrack as this play's during the final dance sequence of the film. As a bit of a trivia, her earlier entry was her big chart topper in Billboard this year whereas this was her big chart topper in the UK.

Given the success of their E.P from earlier on this list, we have the debut single from Ratcat which promised them a ton of success this decade that ended up being restricted to their debut album which admittedly was a huge hit for them this year. There was a ton of hype for these guys when the album dropped, so there was little chance that it was going to fail which is more than I can say for their later material.

Years before it was featured in the first Shrek film as a montage of Shrek and Donkey's journey to save Princess Fiona, this was a huge hit for the Proclaimers in the southern hemisphere following the massive success they had with their earlier entry on this list. This helped the album be a massive success as it proved they were more than just a novelty act and were able to sustain an audience with their pop rock.

This was the second single to come from Be yourself tonight here in Australia, and one that was a success likely due to how well it did in their native UK where it remains their biggest hit in their catalogue. I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of this track from them, I prefer their less opulent songs overall and the video admittedly was always strange for me to watch.

This was the only hit that Michael Sembello was able to score throughout his career, to think this was originally written as a horror song before he had to rework it as a theme to Flashdance. I guess he didn't do much to the song as the lyrics do seem to describe a serial killer more than a dancer working at a seedy night club, although I'm guessing that's why it's endured over the years like the film itself.

This was the first big hit that the Angels were able to score in their career, mainly due to how Doc Neeson describes the woman in question as someone who usually keeps her guard up except for the person he's talking to. It's a compelling performance he gives and a large reason as to why it remains one of their biggest hits in their catalogue, although there would be a huge quiet period for them after this.

It appears that Donna Summer hadn't completely transitioned into being a feminist with this track as while it's more in line with new wave than disco, it's still a sexually charged track largely thanks to her performance. Her feminist tracks would come later in the decade and would culminate with her next hit "She works hard for the money" which seems to be her finally disowning her previous album Bad girls.

I guess we Aussies were willing to give these guys a chance once they won the Grammy for best new artist this year, as such we have probably their best song as it was written by Diane Warren who is best known for writing power ballads for many artists over the years. No sooner did this become a hit for the German duo that the scandal was revealed that they didn't in fact sing a note on any of their songs.

This was the only other solo success that Jon Bon Jovi was able to achieve in his career, once again we have the second Young guns film to thank for this as this was also taken from the soundtrack which may as well serve as his solo debut album. He would release his first official solo album later in the decade when he received backlash for his band's album These days due to it abandoning their glam rock roots.

This was a remix of New order's breakthrough single from five years prior, in fact it was no coincidence this came out when it did as it was released on the fifth anniversary of the original version of this track. Curiously, this version was more successful in Australia than the original, mainly because we knew who the band was by this stage.

This is one of those songs that is way too catchy for its own good, the chanting throughout the track will get stuck in your head after more than one listen to this cover of Redbone's track from the early 70's. The Chantoozies consisted of four models turned singers supported by a backing band of four guys, one of them being the young brother of James Reyne during the height of his popularity.

This was the debut single for Depeche mode, and while it was a huge success here in Australia (even more so than their native UK) it would also be their only hit despite them having massive success worldwide throughout the rest of the decade. Indeed, I'm personally more familiar with "Enjoy the silence" from 1990, likely because that was their big hit in America a decade into their career.

This was the only hit that Austrian band Bingoboys were able to achieve worldwide, likely due to the presence of American rapper Princessa giving out (admittedly awful) dance instructions to help people bust a groove on the dance floors of the 90's. The song is notable for its sample of an old dance routine from the 40's, perhaps as a way of juxtaposing the old dance routines with the (then) modern routines.

This was the only song to be found in Dick Tracy that was a hit in the real world, likely due to the songs in the film being sung by Madonna's character who was a vaudeville singer during a time where women's rights were non-existent. As such we have this track that can very easily be seen as sexist even when it first came out, however the context of the film allowed it to be a huge worldwide success for her.

Well, here we are with the only song that Donna Summer managed to score on her own with a female empowerment anthem, although admittedly I would've been dumbstruck if this had of failed here like it did in some countries considering how much sympathy she allows for the protagonist of this song. She wants to reassure listeners that women give their dues to society, and she does it in a very humanising way.

So, there's this resort in South Africa known as Sun city which was once notorious for having relocated people of colour as hotel staff against their will, more notoriously is that they offered financial incentives to bands and artists to perform at the hotel despite there being an international band from westerners visiting the region. This was a protest song made in defiance of those who broke the law to perform as the venue.

If you're a fan of Hi 5, then you'll likely recognise Kelly Haggart on here as this was the band she was with before she joined the children's band later in the decade. I guess you can consider this the female equivalent of the Wiggles in that regard even though the other two members has since faded into obscurity, indeed their biggest hit while a cover, is about how they want you to as they put it "be their baby."

This was the only hit from NZ singer Kim Hart, likely due to it being a disco record which means she was perhaps a little bit late to the party given how disco was supposedly beginning to lose its popularity this year. Admittedly it could also have been that she was only barely in her twenties when she broke through, after all there weren't that many younger female pop stars during the days of Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett.

This was the other hit that Feargal Sharkey had this year, as I said earlier this was written by the ex-partner of the person who wrote his biggest hit which makes his two hits a back and forward between the two during their breakup. Something I forgot to mention earlier is that "A good heart" had Boy George on backing vocals, which likely further boosted the popularity of Feargal's career this year.

This was the only hit that Debarge were able to score outside of their native America, likely because this was the theme to The last dragon which was a Motown produced film that was panned by critics. The family band scored other hits in their native America over the years, as did lead singer El Debarge who wrote the theme to Short circuit which was a huge box office success the following year.

This was the last hit that Pseudo echo had here in Australia before they sold out with their earlier entry on this list, indeed we have another song that some may say is overproduced but to good effect as it's about how the band love thrills and excitements in their lives which is captured in the production on this track. They would release one more single from their second album which sadly wasn't a hit for them.

We have another comedy routine to become a hit this year, this was the final one to do so on the singles charts as comedians restricted themselves to only releasing albums from here on out in Australia. This was a comedy sketch about how George Smilovici felt he was tough, the joke being that he was a redneck how was about as threatening as say, an underweight rock rapper from the 90's on TRL.

This was the first solo hit that Annie Lennox had, OK technically it isn't as this was a duet between her and Al Green which was made for the Bill Murray flick Scrooged which was a modern take of the Ebeneezer Scrooge fable. From what I can gather, the film was a critical and commercial success thanks to Bill's performance as the titular character, thus enabling this to be a huge success for the pair.

There were two versions of this song floating around the charts this year, there's the English cover from British band After the fire which was a bit hit in America and the original from Austrian rapper Falco who scored the bigger international hit. I guess we Aussies had brushed up on our German throughout the decade as there were a few German language songs to make it big throughout the 80's here.

I guess Genesis also wanted to get in on the irony of the decade before we realised irony would be the word to describe the 90's, here they have a song about how they can't dance, despite them not being a dance act and thus no one really caring if they can or not. It was their final hit in the world as well as Phil Collin's final hit here in Australia as his subsequent follow ups flopped here in the decade.

This was the lead single to Split Enz's album Time and tide, although it wasn't as memorable as their earlier entry on this list which is why it wasn't as big a hit here. It did do considerably better in NZ, proving that the band were catering more to their local scene rather than us Aussies with this entry, although it was a huge hit regardless and did lead to the album being a massive success.

You knew there had to be a newer version of Pseudo echo at some point, so here we are with Indecent obsession who were a younger version of the band who managed to score their one and only hit this year with their debut single. Even though the marketing depicts them as the Australian equivalent of NKOTB, they were a proper band who played their own instruments who just happen to be conventionally good looking.

One of the few movies that Madonna starred in to be critically acclaimed was A league of their own, mainly because she's more of a supporting character as the film focuses on Geena Davis and Laurie Petty as sisters who become rivals in the women's baseball league of the forties in what's based on a true story. She also wrote and performed the film's theme song which many feel is the worst part of the film due to how bland and lifeless they feel it is.

This was the only other hit that these girls were able to achieve in their career, at least it was an original track meaning they weren't among the dozens of artists I've featured on this site so far to only find success with a cover or two over the years. Like I said earlier, one of the members would return at the end of the decade as a member of Hi 5, meaning that this was a mere steppingstone for her future success.

This was the lead single to Janet's breakthrough album Control, an album that didn't see much success here in Australia save for this track likely due to it being a display of female empowerment during a time where that was becoming popular in the mainstream. She wouldn't have another hit down under until the lead single of her next album, even then her popularity wouldn't explode here until the 90's.

This song was released here in Australia when Laura Branigan performed it and her earlier entry on Countdown this year, so it was a shoe in for being a huge hit for her down under. Australia was where she was the most successful because of her appeal this year, that appeal comes from her killer vocals as well as her songs mostly being covers of foreign language tracks made popular throughout Europe.

Less than a year after the final album to come from his father, Julian Lennon released his debut album Valotte which was a huge worldwide success for him likely due to him being the son of one of the most famous musicians of the twentieth century. This was the big hit from the album which sounds similar to what his father would've released if he had lived to see the 80's, I guess this was better than nothing.

This was the only solo hit that Steve Winwood was able to achieve in his career in Australia, yes, he had other hits with his bands Spencer Davis group and Traffic as well as having a huge album earlier in the decade with Arc of a diver, however this was the only hit he had to himself here. It's surprising to me it wasn't a bigger hit considering A: how passionate he sounds on the track and B: it being a huge Billboard chart topper for him.

This was the other big hit that the Hooters managed to score here in Australia, it was actually the lead single to their debut album which became a hit exclusively here in Australia likely due to the religious lyrics connecting with us in a way that they failed to do so internationally. Even though they saw massive success with both of these songs and their album here, they would fade into obscurity after this year.

This was the first of three Billboard chart toppers Billy Joel had this decade, it was the second single from his Glass house album which was less a throwback to the music of the 50's and more him wondering why we should glamourise newer music when the older stuff holds up. It's a rather poignant track that seems to be more relevant now that it was back then.

While she hadn't had a hit since the start of the decade, Kate Bush was able to slip her way into the mainstream this year with this track about how she felt she made a deal with God in finding happiness with the person she's singing to. It became a surprise hit for her this year given how out of place it felt compared to everything else on this list, although it's par for the course when it comes to her discography.

This was the lead single to Australian crawl's biggest album Sirocco, it's a good representation of their music as while the music continues to captivate audiences to this day, people feel that James Reyne needed to learn to enunciate his vocals as they tend to have a hard time trying to figure out what he's trying to say. For what it's worth, the song is about how the person he's singing to is in denial with things going good for them.

This was the debut single for Paul Young (not to be confused with Australia's John Paul Young) it was a cover of a Marvin Gaye song which technically means the Motown icon had two hits in Australia this year. In any case, Paul would score a second hit here the following year with his Christmas track "Love of the common people" which in turn would allow his album to be a success here.

Well, if you wanted to imagine Cliff Richard as your daddy, I guess this is the song for you as that's essentially what he's doing here on this cover of an obscure track from the early 60's. It was a big hit for the aging pop crooner following the success of his earlier entry, although he wouldn't trouble our charts gain for another four years before he teamed up with the Young ones to remake his debut single for charity.

These guys were on a roll this year as they managed to score a second hit here in Australia as well as their second Billboard chart topper in their native America. As the name of the song implies, this is a song dedicated to a Sara who was the ex-girlfriend of the lead singer of the group. They would have one more hit the following year with the theme from the film Mannequin.

This was one of only five hits that Fleetwood Mac managed to score in Australia, that should give you an idea of how our music scene works as artists who dominate our albums charts rarely do so for our singles charts. In any case, we have the lead single to their album Mirage which was their way of adjusting to the MTV era, they somewhat struggled compared to their previous work, but they pulled it off.

This was the lead single to Noisework's second album, an album that didn't live up to the hype set up by their debut album likely due to there being plenty of pub rock coming out from around this time. The band would come back in the early 90's with their third and final album where they added some bombast to their sound which helped them stand out from their contemporaries and made them a success.

This is the only other hit that Boom crash opera was able to achieve with their singles, although their popularity was more from the album this served as the lead single for as it went on to achieve massive success the following year. I'm a bit surprised these guys didn't achieve further success in the 90's, sure this might be too bombastic for that decade, but they did adapt with the times unlike their contemporaries.

This was the third hit that Johnny Diesel and the Injectors were able to score from their debut album, proving that they were one of the hottest Australian bands of the day right when the 80's was beginning to come to an end. Their popularity was so huge this year that they scored buzz over in the UK which likely explains why their music occasionally pops up in international media throughout the 90's.

There was simply no stopping U2 from dominating our charts this year given how well they had adapted into the new decade with their album Achtung baby; indeed, this was the first album where the singles managed to truly dominate our charts here in Australia as opposed to their 80's output where they only had the one big hit.

It had been several years since Martha Davis had troubled the charts anywhere in the world with her band the Motels, however it appears we Aussies had enough nostalgia for her work following the news that they had called it quits to allow her to embark on a solo career that this solo entry became a hit for her here. Sadly, this was her only hit here despite it fitting in perfectly with the likes of Melissa Etheridge and Tracy Chapman.

Well, I did mention this track when we looked at the second single from Clues from earlier on this list didn't I? It turns out it was also a decent success here in Australia back in the day, proving how much of a roll Robert Palmer was on down under following the breakthrough he had with his performance on Countdown with "Bad case of loving you" as well as his appeal over in America.

Following his departure from Van Halen, David Lee Roth decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with this cover of the Beach boys classic that became a huge hit for him back in the day. It's interesting to note that the original was never much of a hit for the boys here in Australia, meaning this is likely the only version most of us Aussies are familiar with these days.

This was a good indication of the type of music making it big in America this year given how disco and other more interesting genres seemed to be excluded on Billboard around this time for some reason, I guess we Aussies found this one and only hit from Steve Forbert interesting enough for it to also be a hit here even though we didn't extend this love for the likes of Robbie Dupree and Billy Preston.

Although it came close to appearing on this list, "The big l" ultimately didn't stick around long enough to be considered a sleeper hit here in Australia as opposed to the fourth single from Roxette's third album Joyride which had the misfortune of peaking during the Christmas period of 1991 to appear on one of my lists proper up until this point. This was their penultimate hit they had here before they released "How do you do."