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.
If you ever wondered why "Power and the passion" was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, that's because this was the lead single to Midnight oil's breakthrough album 10-1 as opposed to that song being the albums lead single in NZ. Both songs have a strong theme of the misuse of political power, meaning that they both resonated with audiences back in the day as well as now on oldies stations.
Given how rare it was to see a post punk band make it big here in Australia, it's odd that Public images limited would score a sleeper hit with this track which is by far their least conventional due to it being about them not wanting to sellout for a hit single. At least they had one more hit here than the likes of Joy division and Siouxsie and the banshees.
So, Guns n Roses managed to score a second hit in Australia as the decade was coming to an end, not with their more worthy songs like "Welcome to the jungle" or "Paradise city" but with a song from their second album which I'm sure many of their fans have long since forgotten about over the years.
This was the first hit single that Prince had in Australia, although he did score success from his first album in NZ with "I wanna be your lover" two years prior. His prominent songs would start to come out the following year which led to him becoming one of the biggest artists of the decade thanks to his funky instrumentation and provocative lyrics like the ones found on his first Australian hit.
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Hot chocolate given how it seemed like they were yesterday's news once the new decade rolled around, although their popularity didn't waver entering the 80's as they scored a massive hit with "No doubt about it" at the start of the decade in their native UK. This was one of two hits they had internationally this year, the other being "It started with a kiss" which sadly underperformed here.
Although the original version of this song charted upon its initial release here in Australia, it was this version from their 1987 album which became the sleeper hit here due to it being released around the time of their American breakthrough "Is this love" (stay tuned for that in a bit.) Sadly, this was the full extent of Whitesnake's popularity here in Australia given they were just one of many hair metal bands of the moment.
It looks like Lisa Stansfield managed to get herself out of the one hit wonder bin here in Australia with this gem, although once again, that's mainly due to this being a sleeper hit despite it being very similar to her biggest hit "All around the world." The next time her influence would be felt was when Joanne covered one of her tracks during her time with Bluezone years after this became a hit for Lisa.
It turns out this was a modest success here in Australia for Psychedelic furs after all given how it managed to chart long enough to qualify for this list of mine, although I guess it was seen as too bizarre for us Aussies for it to be a genuine success with the likes of ABC and Madness upon its initial release. Regardless of its minimal success back in the day, it's presence on oldies stations has since ensured its legacy here.
It looks like the Quick were able to score a second hit in Australia, this is impressive considering how their first hit wasn't a hit for them anywhere else in the world the previous year. Perhaps this was used in another of Countdown's dance competitions (they had a lot of those this decade) which encouraged people to check out the song.
It took me long enough, but I've finally managed to feature a track from Hunters and collectors on this side of mine with the lead single from their biggest album Ghost nation. Now obviously this was yet another victim of a highly successful album when it came to its commercial success, however it seems said album wasn't enough to eat up all of its success given how long it remained on our charts for.
Although they didn't see the dizzying heights of success here in Australia that they did internationally, it appears the Brothers Johnson were able to find massive success with their brand of RNB and disco given how both of their entries on the NZ side of my site managed to be sleeper hits over here back in the day ("Strawberry letter 23" would've made the cut here had I included 70's tracks.)
Given how "I want a new drug" was the big hit for Huey Lewis over in NZ from their breakthrough album Sports, it only makes sense that the other favourite on oldies stations from that album would be their big sleeper hit here in Australia which thankfully didn't have any baggage attached to it back in the day involving a song ripping off its melody like their anti-drug classic did.
It's rather bizarre that this would be OMD's biggest hit here in Australia given how it owes its success to the band performing "We love you" on Countdown around the time it was released as a single, then again stranger things have happened throughout the 80's when it comes to our music scene. This won't be the band's final appearance on this list given how their theme to Pretty in pink is still to come.
Just like in NZ, this debut single from Fine young cannibals was also pushed aside here in Australia upon its initial release in favour of all the Live aid shenanigans found in the midpoint of the 80's. That of course didn't prevent this from being a massive success for the band here back in the day, rather it just slipped through the cracks of mainstream relevancy which prevented it from appearing on my 1985 list.
This is a song that initially flopped in T'pau's native UK; however, it was given a second chance when it appeared in a jean commercial over in America which resulted in it taking off on Billboard and eventually the rest of the world. This has tainted the song for some people over the years as it was originally praised for its heartfelt performance from lead singer Carol Decker and its personal lyrics.
It looks like Extreme were able to have a second hit here in Australia just like they did in NZ and their native America, although we Aussies were a bit more confused with this second single than the kiwis and their fellow Americans were given how it was more of a sleeper hit for the band here than it was in those two countries. I guess they're another example of a band breaking through too late to have more of an impact in the music scene.
This was originally released two years prior to deafening silence in Cathy's native UK, I'm guessing her fellow Brits didn't find much love for this dance pop number amongst all of the Kylie Minogue rip-offs that dominated their charts during the final weeks of the 80's. It was given a second chance this year when she began sparking interest over in America with "Touch me" as that eventually became a huge hit on Billboard for her.
21 Weeks
One of the more sombre tracks in Prince's catalogue was the original version of this track, even so it's certainly more upbeat than Sinead O'Connor's rendition who injected raw emotions she was going through at the time which tugged at the heartstrings of the general public of this year. This was her only major success worldwide given how she ruined her career in 1992 with her infamous SNL performance.
It's easy to forget that this was the second single from Men at work's debut album Business as usual given how it's overshadowed the actual lead single "Who can it be now" over the years, it's easy to see how it did so given that it's one of the first songs people think of when they think of an iconic Australian song. Another fun fact about this is that it helped the band become the first to top the Billboard and UK charts simultaneously with a song and album.
It looked like Queen's fortunes had run out as the 70's was coming to an end given how they had failed to score any noticeable hit singles since the release of "We are the champions/We will rock you," however their popularity was revived with this lead single from their album the Game. One thing I'll point out about this track is how different Freddie sounds on here, almost like he was going for an Elvis impersonation.
If you're a fan of this collaboration between Bonnie Tyler and Jim Steinman (yes, this was originally meant for Meat loaf) then do yourself a favour and don't check out the music video for this classic as it will ruin any and all fond memories you have of it. That out of the way, we have this comeback single for Bonnie who briefly went MIA following the success of "It's a heartache" due to issues she had with her previous management.
With a premise as arrogant as the one on display with this band's signature track, you'd think they'd be all bark and no bite much like most modern indie artists. Fortunately, not only is this track one of the more iconic hit singles to emerge from this year, but the rest of their catalogue follows suit with them not conforming to the trends of early MTV (for the most part that is.) That didn't stop these guys from calling it quits the following year so that Adam could pursue a solo career.
You'd think that a duet between a woman of colour that's been active for almost as long as her much younger male partner who was a closeted gay man would be a recipe for disaster, you'd be wrong as the two somehow managed to find chemistry on this track about how they can always rely on each other being there when they need each other the most.
Following the success of their Joshua tree album, U2 released a highly contemptuous documentary that did manage to produce a successful soundtrack which launched arguably their biggest hit in the form of this lead single of theirs. The album would spawn more future classics for them, proving that no amount of arrogance from Bono could dissuade their fans into supporting their music.
This was originally a song from a guy, and as such the lyrics had a different meaning to what Cyndi gives them on her debut single as there the narrator was a player whereas here it's a female empowerment anthem. The song rightfully launched her career worldwide and even had her as an early rival of Madonna given how both women struggled to find mainstream success prior to appearing on Countdown.
This was the debut single for Culture club, a band who would become synonymous with wanting to creature racial harmony around the world with their instantly catchy music and charming personalities. They were off to a good start with this song as it conquered the world charts with its quirky video which details some of the discrimination people like Boy George have experienced over the years.
Many people find this to be Billy's most annoying song due to how the melody is structured, I don't agree but can see where they're coming from as it does seem like it was metered this way to accommodate for the lyrical structure which is just him shouting out a bunch of pop culture references that took place during his lifetime. This gimmick paid off for Billy commercially as this remains his biggest hit worldwide despite the backlash it's received.
So, this is another song that fits into the sub-genre I've dubbed as nursery pop as this sounds like it was built off the melody of a nursery rhyme before becoming a pop tune. Despite this I find myself enjoying this track due to how playful Sheena sounds on this track, and it appears most of the world shares this sentiment as it became a huge worldwide success albeit after having its name changed to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton track.
Following the success of their Clunk E.P, Frente released their debut single which was another cutesy track that they had become known for during the first phase of their career. I bring this up because they did change with the times on their next album which resulted in them being more hardcore, an image that many people (me included) felt didn't suit them very well.
Well, this was a complete 180 from Steve Miller's previous work, granted it's always good to change with the times but I don't think anyone was expecting to see these guys go in this direction with their music. Although it remains their biggest hit worldwide, it spelled the end for their relevancy as they haven't had a hit single since this came out.
If you can believe it, Carole King's version of this classic was never released as a single as it was only ever the B-side to her biggest hit "It's too late" from almost two decades prior to when Martika made it her own with this cover. I guess her fellow Americans didn't appreciate this cover from her as this flopped hard on Billboard despite her previous single being a chart topper on there.
Before it was chosen as the theme to the cult classic the Lost boys, it was a huge success for INXS and Jimmy Barnes who teamed up on this collaboration to combine their respective audiences from their most recent albums Listen like thieves and For the working-class man respectively.
How is it that a song whose lyrics suggest that it's a stalking anthem can come off as one of the most beautiful songs to ever become a success? That's the power of this trio's instrumentation and Sting's vocals and a large reason as to why his songwriting has been given a pass by audiences whenever they find themselves listening to one of their songs. This was their biggest hit in America and the UK due to how timeless if feels even to this day.
While it wasn't their debut single by any means, this was the song which launched Bananarama into the big leagues likely due to it telling a story about how the girls made a boy into a man that they collectively dated on this track. Even though their popularity in their native UK remained consistent throughout the decade, we Aussies wouldn't hear from these three again until their cover of a Shocking blue track.
This remains the biggest hit from the Eurythmics in Australia, primarily due to Annie arguably sounding her best on this track which admittedly is a bold claim considering how many powerful performances she's given throughout her discography. This flopped in the duo's native UK, however their next single was their biggest hit over there, so I guess it all worked out for them.
Before Rage against the machine and even the commercial breakthrough of Red hot chili peppers, we had Faith no more bridging the gap between rock and hip hop which led to them having a massive hit with this lead single from their third album here in Australia. These guys are one of many American bands to see more success here than in their homeland, joining the ranks of P!nk, Suzi Quatro and the Offspring.
This was the biggest hit to come out of Belinda Carlisle worldwide, mainly due to the theme of finding heaven on earth (and more specifically how you define that word) resonating with audiences during a time where the world seems more interested in spreading chaos and madness over anything else. It led to her second album being a massive success everywhere except for Australia where it underperformed.
This was meant to be a parody of the Beastie Boys classic "No sleep till Brooklyn" which these guys somehow knew about given how the hip hop trio were only successful in their native America at the time of this song's release. Hip hop wasn't even that popular when this song came out, making this feel like the trio is punching down as opposed to taking out a popular genre.
Given how both of them were established singers at this point (debatable so for Jason) it makes sense that Scott and Charlene from Neighbours would collaborate in real life and make a ballad to cash in on their onscreen wedding which had just aired in the UK when they released this as a single. The duo would go on to have further success this year thanks to how popular they were with the Brits.
There were no signs of INXS's popularity slowing down when they released the lead single to their album Listen like thieves, in fact this would go on to be their first hit single in America the following year due to how popular it was here in Australia. This was the only hit to come from the album, however the album itself was a massive success so I don't think they minded.
The Bee gees are here to save the day once again as they were able to resurrect the dying career of Dionne Warwick by giving her this ballad to sing which allowed it to become a huge success throughout Europe and here in Australia. The last time Dionne had any success here was back in 1964 when "Anyone who had a heart" first broke her through onto the scene, and indeed this wouldn't be the last time we hear from her.
I've never particularly cared for this track from Blondie, mainly because I feel that Debbie is high while on this track which I'm guessing was the point given the nature of the lyrics. Naturally I'm in the minority as this was not only a massive success for the band back in the day but it's also persisted on oldies stations to this day thanks to the reggae beat and for Debbie's vocals.
This was the only hit single that Wilson Phillips managed to achieve outside of their native America, although considering how big they were on Billboard during the first half of the decade, I doubt they minded that their success was largely contained to America and little place else. Lead singer Chynna Phillips would make a comeback here in Australia later in the decade with her solo material.
This was the first solo single to come from Phil Collins, it's a song that's had many theories to it as people believe this to be about Phil outing out a fan of his who allowed someone to drown when they had an opportunity to save that person. I think this is one of the more ridiculous fan theories in music as there's been no proof that this even ever occurred, and people are basing it on very vague lyrics.
After a bit of a stumble with her second album, Kate Bush was able to retain her popularity going into the 80's with this lead single to her third album which has to have one of the most horrifying music videos I've ever seen. The song is a classic and one of her most recognisable in her catalogue, however I can't get over the terrifying facial expressions she gives during the video's runtime.
This was the biggest hit that Maxi Priest achieved in his career, mainly because it was a surprise Billboard chart topper for him this year and a good sign that reggae would be a huge success this decade. Maxi is one of many British artists to find more success outside of his homeland over the years, I'm guessing because of his connections with UB40 who were very popular in America around this time.
And who says that feminist anthems are only a recent phenomenon? Here we have two of the most powerful women in the music industry to ever exist combining forces with this song about how they've had enough with being mistreated in this world. This comes after Donna realised that she was sending a dangerous message with her earlier material as well as Barbra wanting to appeal to Helen Reddy's audience.
Now that Cliff Richard's comeback was well and truly established, it appears that he had little issues with retaining his fanbase despite being in his forties throughout the decade. Although I will say that his popularity in America didn't survive past the launch of MTV like it did throughout the rest of the world.
This was the second big hit that Christie Allen achieved in Australia, and much like her earlier hit "Goosebumps," this was a disco track that became a success during what was meant to be the dark age for disco which is further proof to me that the disco backlash was only a phenomenon in America and nowhere else in the world. Sadly, this would be the last we hear from Christie as her subsequent follow ups flopped.
This was the debut single from Tina Arena which was apparently released two years prior to deafening silence, well so much for this being a cheap knockoff of Paula Abdul if this came out before we Aussies knew anything about the American pop star. I'm not sure what took this so long to finally become a success here, however once it did it put Tina on the map despite her secretly hating the song at the time.
This was a very good year for Jona Lewie as this was his second big hit following the success of his pseudo-Christmas track "Stop the Calvary" (which we'll get to in a bit.) I always got this guy confused from Kevin Roland from Dexy's midnight runners as the two men looked similar to me for some reason, although this guy was way cheesier than Kevin could ever hope to be.
This was the final hit that Barry Manilow managed to achieve in Australia, although it's worth noting that his final hit seems to be different depending on where in the world you're from as he had a different hit from around this time here, in the UK and his native America. In this case we have this cover of the Four seasons classic which likely helped keep nostalgia for Frankie Valli alive a little while longer.
Yeah, I'm still not convinced that the disco backlash was a thing outside of America given how this managed to be a huge success for the Jackson 5, heck this was even a hit in their native America which really makes me wonder how much impact that fiasco had back in the day. This would be the family's penultimate hit in Australia as they would score one more hit later in the decade with Mick Jagger.
It's hard to tell if Marilyn is trans or just a really androgynous male performer (I'll be using they pronouns with this entry) either way they were able to score a massive hit in Australia with this song about their relationship with Boy George and how the two grew apart once their respective careers took off. It remains their only hit worldwide as their subsequent follow ups failed to make an impact in the music industry.
This was always meant to be the third single from Break out, however it was delayed due to it being chosen as the lead single for the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack due to it being played during the first chase scene of the film. It remains the Pointer sister's biggest hit in Australia due to how incessantly catchy it is as well as the lyrics connecting with audiences detailing how stressful their lives are.
This was the final hit single that ELO were able to achieve in most parts of the world, presumably because fans felt it was a return to form with their more operatic catalogue after two albums of disco hits. After this they struggled to find mainstream relevancy due to them not fitting in with MTV, this was a fate shared by many prog bands of the 70's despite their music being melodramatic enough for the era.
It's strange to think that this was the biggest hit from the Reels and not one of their fan favourites like "Quasimodo's dream," then again, I guess we Aussies would've been nostalgic for the Herb Alpert classic they covered which would explain why it was a huge success for them right when MTV launched.
This is a companion band for the Timex social club, a group whose best known for their hit single "Rumours" which sadly didn't become a hit here in Australia. I bring this up because we went from that dance classic to this cover of the Bill Withers track which became a massive success thanks to its reggae beat. It appears that UB40 wasn't the only band to score a huge hit with a reggae cover of an RNB classic.
I don't know whose bright idea it was to have this be the second single released from the Pet shop boys and not their first here in Australia, this resulted in the song not being as successful as it was internationally as their second single "Love comes quickly" was their debut single here. I guess the fact this was still a hit despite how late it was should prove how memorable it was compared to everything else this year.
People tend to think that this is a silly reggae track about partying at a club named electric avenue, they couldn't be more wrong as this is in fact a protest song about starting a riot on a street where a police brutality took place and then taking it to a higher authority to see justice for the victims. This was the only hit that Eddy Grant had in Australia and in America, however he had a ton of success in his native UK.
Although this was recorded long before it became the theme to the TMNT theatrical film this year, it only became a success due to its inclusion in the film as well as the success that rapper Ya Kid K had with Technotronic throughout the year. It seems that Hi tek 3 have all but faded from existence as aside from this becoming a huge hit for them because of the film, their legacy seems to have been erased.
Depending on where in the world you're from, this is either the lead or second single from Elton John's comeback album with Bernie Taupin this year. It was the lead single here due to it being the perfect song for Elton to return to his former roots from the 70's, this allowing it to become one of the biggest hits of the decade in his career and one that cemented his relationship with Bernie as a permanent one.
This is a song that's appeared in just about every bad child's media over the years, so it's easy to forget that it was once upon a time a huge hit single for the British/American band Katrina and the waves back in the day due to how shamelessly happy the song is even for the mid 80's. This was their only hit for the longest time until they reunited in 1997 where they went on to win Eurovision for the UK that year.
This was originally a hit for Tommy Roe back in the late 60's, although it was covered by comedian Vic Reeves and British band Wonder stuff for charity which is why it became a huge success this year. This didn't do the band any favours for their music career, likely due to charity singles having a bad reputation in the music industry.
This was the only notable success that Paul Norton was able to achieve in his career, mainly because he managed to break through at a time that was good for Australian pop rock but not good enough for an artist to guarantee success going into the 90's. I guess he was hoping on receiving promotion from Countdown revolution following the success of this track which he received, but it didn't do him any favours.
This was the first song that Bananarama released without Siobahn Fahay, she left the group claiming that she wanted to spend time with her husband David Stewart (of Eurythmics fame) but later admitted she had issues with the direction the trio was heading with their music when she returned with Marcella Detroit as Shakespeare's sister later in the decade. Indeed, her vocals were replaced with her replacement Jacquie O'Sullivan which helped this become one of their bigger hits down under.
These guys were all set to give up when they released this song as a single, it's a shame they did give up soon after its release because it became a huge worldwide success for them likely due to how heartfelt the lyrics are and how catchy the melody is. Who knows what these guys would've released if they had of believed in themselves after this became a success.
This was the first solo hit that Deborah Harry had following the demise of Blondie from earlier in the decade, admittedly she did try to go solo around the time Autoamerican was tearing up the charts from the start of the decade, however no one seemed to be interested in her solo venture at the time. Indeed, this was a massive flop in her native America and only became a success when it crossed over to the UK for her.
This was the final hit single that Madonna scored in the 80's, mainly because "Oh father" flopped which was her first song to do so since "Lucky star" back in 1984. This is one of her sweeter ballads as she pledges her love to the person this song is dedicated to (which is apparently a Mer person according to the video) and as such it remains one of her most popular tracks from the 80's in her fanbase.
Although they had success prior to this song becoming their first top ten hit in Australia, this is the point where they went from a mere pub rock band into a huge household name here that had them spark international interest in them. Indeed, this track about wanting a relationship to continue even after its clearly over was a minor success over in NZ and even allowed the album to be a hit over there.
This was the only hit that Joan Armatrading was able to achieve throughout her career, although it's worth noting that she was one of the most successful artists of her day if we were measuring her success with her albums sales even though The key was her only album to be a massive success here in Australia. Given how often this plays on oldies stations, I think it's safe to say that this song has resonated with audiences since its initial release.
This was originally a showtune from the 30's film of the same name, it was made famous by Gene Kelly's rendition which has endured over the years for good reason. Over fifty years later, we have Taco's rendition which helped the Indonesian born German star find international success with the track, although it cemented him as a one hit wonder due to how indicative of the times it was.
This was the band where Madonna began her music career with, albeit as their drummer as the lead singer was always Dan Gilroy during their time together. I'm guessing the success that their former drummer was having worldwide allowed audiences to check out their music which would explain the success of this track, well that and the fact that it's one of the catchiest songs to come out of the decade.
It looked like that the Euroglider's third album would underperform given how it initially only spawned a hit with its lead single, however it saw a massive rebound this year due to the success of the third single which became a huge success for the Eurogliders in the early months of the year. They would have one more hit later in the decade with "Groove" before they called it quits in 1989.
This was the winner of Eurovision for this year, boy howdy did the marketing want you to know that as it's impossible to find album art for this song that doesn't mention that it one Eurovision this year. It's easy to see how this British band won as they were effectively a British version of Abba and Abba was still one of the most popular bands throughout Europe even leading up to their breakup.
This was the first hit that both men on this track had in Australia, in fact it was their only hit here for both of them as they didn't have other hits here like they did internationally. At least this duet helped Julio score a massive hit with his first album in English, although it did no favours for Willie Nelson who didn't bother the charts outside of his native America after this.
This was the debut single for a man who was promised so much success this decade between this and his earlier entry on this list, as I said this was an even bigger hit in NZ proving that there was plenty of crossover appeal for Billy's lounge music that sadly didn't end up coming to be after this year. I guess he was deemed to kitschy during a time where Barry Manilow and the Captain and Tennille were superstars.
This was originally released in 1982 to deafening silence for the Belle stars, likely because we didn't need yet another update of the calypso track from the 50's by the early 80's and that the Belle stars already had success with their hit "The clapping song" here in Australia and "Sign of the times" in their native UK. The girls had broken up by the time their cover had appeared in the Oscar winning film Rain man, so the video was reedited to have scenes from the film spliced in with the original clip.
This was the third and final hit that Euphoria was able to achieve back in the day, this time we have Andrew Klippel on lead vocals which is perhaps how it was able to find success given how the other two tracks featured Holly and Keren on lead vocals. Sadly, this story doesn't have a happy ending to it as Holly would tragically take her life later in the decade due to family drama.
This was the second Billboard chart topper that REO Speedwagon was able to score this decade, this of course meant that this ballad about not realising what you have until it's gone would be a huge hit for them here in Australia due to the lyrics connecting with audiences of the day. This would be the last anyone would hear from the band as they would fade into irrelevancy after this fell off the charts.
The last time Heart saw any success in Australia was ten years prior when "Magic man" became a huge hit for them, here they are ten years later with their biggest hit on Billboard which (to me at least) sounds like a prototype of Roxette's "Listen to your heart" which makes it a favourite of mine. They would have one more hit in 1990 with "All I wanna do is make love to you" worldwide.
This was the second hit that Kim Wilde was able to score here and in her native UK, the latter was because the Brits looked after their own throughout the 80's whilst the former was due to a memorable performance of it and her earlier entry on Countdown. Indeed, she was well liked during her first time on the show, which would explain how she scored two more hits the following year that weren't that big in her homeland.
I hope you appreciate all of the Australian entries on this list because they're about to become scarcer as we move forward in the decade, Rick Price was another Australian artist pipped for good things this decade as this was the first of two hits he was able to score from his debut album this year. Sure, it's another rip-off of John Farnham, however John was well loved at the time and these songs do hold up to this day.
This was Laura Branigan's biggest hit throughout Europe, likely due to it being a cover of a popular hit over there by a pop artist by the name of RAF. Here in Australia, it was her third biggest hit due to the themes of her losing control over a partner she's with, similar to how Christine Daae loses her self-control whenever she's around the Phantom of the opera which this video pays homage to two years before the stage show premiered.
This was the only hit that Joe Jackson was able to score here in Australia, although given its subject matter about what it's like to be a real man (something that was up for debate even back then) it was a surefire hit for him as he challenges the very notion of toxic masculinity on this track which connected with audiences this year. This led to his album being a massive success for him which put him on the map.
I don't know how this hip hop track managed to become a hit in Australia, even if it was a hit in their native America (which it wasn't) hip hop didn't do well here in Australia until 2000 when Eminem broke down the barriers with his album the Marshall Mathers L.P. In any case, we have this track from the hip hop posse becoming a surprise success here which was a rarity for anyone from the east coast of hip hop.
This was the only hit that Princess had here in Australia, oh yeah there was an RNB singer from the UK who called herself Princess just how there was a British band who called themselves King from around this time. This was one of the earlier hits to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman, meaning that their earliest cliental consisted of women of colour and members of the LGBT community.
This was the other big hit that Queen achieved from their album the Works, indeed it's the more recognisable song of their two on this list largely thanks to who Freddie longs to be free from a toxic relationship he found himself in around this time. There was a bit of minor controversy from the video as it depicted the members in drag during a time where homophobia was at the height of its popularity.
This was the debut single for Seal, an RNB singer who began his career as an EDM vocalist with this song about how it was good to take chances in a relationship or as he puts it "being a little crazy." This would be a far cry from his later material which would have him become a more contemporary RNB singer which would lead to his biggest success not just in his native UK but throughout the whole world.
This was the final hit that the Angels were able to score in Australia during their time together, although this was likely due to them taking their sweet time in releasing another album this decade as they wouldn't release one until 1998. That's an eight-year gap between Beyond salvation and their next album, and needless to say the times had changed against their favour which led to them breaking up.
This was the only hit that Canadian singer/songwriter was able to score in Australia throughout his career, it's curious because he did score success with his earlier hit singles on Billboard and in his native Canada and yet this was his only hit here despite this being a huge bomb in both countries. I guess this became a hit due to us wanting to give him at least one hit down under and this was our favourite track from him.
Here we are with the lead single to the band's third and final album, naturally it was a continuation from their earlier sound but with them appealing to the early MTV crowd months prior to when the program would launch later in the year. This was likely a success here for two reasons, the first was that they performed it and "Antmusic" on Countdown this year and the second was that it and their previous entry were both chart toppers in their native UK.
This was the final hit that Foreigner were able to achieve in most parts of the world, heck this was a bit of a surprise hit here in Australia considering how these guys didn't have much success after their previous album Agent provocateur in their native America. I guess they were more popular here over the years hence why we were able to give them one more hit ten years after they first broke through.
If I had to pick a favourite track from these guys, this would be it as it's by far the bounciest song in their catalogue as well as it being an ode to the ladies who were admittedly their biggest demographic back in the day. Their next song would be their sole Billboard chart topper, although it's also the point where they became more popular in America than they did in Australia (stay tuned for it.)
This is the final hit that Billy Idol managed to achieve in his career, likely because it came out when the 90's was still considered to be the 80's and thus was able to connect with audiences upon its initial release. Now unlike many other people on this list, Billy did try to change with the times with his next album. The album was Cyberpunk which sees him moving towards industrial rock to hilarious results.
Considering James Brown lived for another fifteen years when this song was recorded, I'm guessing what the Dutch group meant by him being dead was his legacy which even back then couldn't have been further from the truth due to how much nostalgia people had for soul. I guess we Aussies found this concept to be hilarious which is perhaps why it became one of the bigger hits of the year.
This was the first big hit that R.E.M were able to score in Australia, although they did have minor success in NZ during the late 80's with the likes of "The one I love" and "Orange crush" which have both become staples on oldies stations down under. I'm guessing this made it big due to the sudden rise in popularity of people questioning their faith in religion, that and the jangle instrumentation being catchy as hell.
One of the sillier tracks to become a hit here, we have this metal band scoring a hit with a track about how they don't like to be called dude. If there's a more dated song to become a hit from the start of the decade, then I'm unaware of it as this couldn't be more dated if it had the TMNT rapping over this with Vanilla ice for one of their films.
This was the song that initially made INXS a household name, so much so that it no doubt led to the success of their breakthrough album Shabooh shoobah which would of course lead to them conquering the world as the decade went on. This is less conventional than their later tracks as they did begin their career in the new wave trends before becoming increasingly more contemporary as the decade went on.
Whereas this was released as the second single in NZ from Billy Idol's solo debut, this was the first single here in Australia which meant that this was his first impression on us Aussies as opposed to "White wedding" with the kiwis. That said, the main reason why it didn't appear on one of my lists on this side of my site was due to it peaking during our Christmas period of 1982 where it faced stiff competition.
*Also, I should take this opportunity to mention that I used the incorrect album art for this entry on the NZ side of my site, I'll leave it as is given how it's the 1988 remix which I included for the NZ 80's list.*
No comments:
Post a Comment