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.
It took him nine years, but Mike Oldfield was finally able to score a second hit in his career in Australia following the success of his Exorcist theme from 1973. Here he recruits Maggie Reilly to provide vocals for this song about a friend of his who died from a drug overdose; indeed, Maggie gives a compelling performance which no doubt tugged at the heartstrings of many listeners back in the day.
Following the demise of the Gogo's earlier in the decade, Belinda Carlisle embarked on a solo career which went off to a good star with this track becoming a huge success for her here and in her native America. It's essentially a love letter to her husband (who it turns out is a politician who served under Ronald Reagan) and was the launching pad for a highly successful solo career for a decade.
This was the debut single from Mariah Carey, a song that was a massive hit in NZ and her native America but only a moderate hit everywhere else in the world due to it being little more than a showcase for her powerful vocals. Her later material in the decade is where she would find the balance between her vocals and her personality which would find her the success worldwide she had at home.
This was Roxette's final hit in Australia and most parts of the world, mainly because it came from their album Tourism which is part live, part studio and part interview which no doubt confused fans back in the day who likely didn't even know what to do with it. At least there was promise that they would retain their fun pop rock going forward, however that wasn't to be as their next album saw them changing their sound.
While I'm sure fans of the Pretenders were a bit disappointed to see Chrissie go in a pop friendly direction on her fourth album Get close, it did result in her biggest success while still staying true to what made her a household name (minus the "I'm one of the boys" attitude of course.) Here she sings about her feelings of how her mother was no longer with us and how she was going to cope with her loss.
This was the debut single for Bronski beat, another band who was out and proud about their LGBT status as the video to their debut single depicts a fictionalised story of lead singer Jimmy Somerville's experience coming out of the closet. The song itself remains a classic to this day, however it's the visuals of him falling in love with a man who is revealed to be homophobic that sticks with audiences to this day.
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down as they scored a huge hit with the first single from their third album Absolutely which remains their biggest album in their catalogue. This is a more lovestruck track from their catalogue compared to their previous hit, which is about whether heaven existed or not, sure this wasn't as big as "Heaven," but it still managed to resonate with audiences.
This was originally released as Yothu Yindi's debut single from the end of the 80's to deafening silence, likely because we Aussies weren't quite ready for aboriginal music to make it big in the music scene at the time. It was given a second chance when their debut album took off here where it became a huge success for them, although it came about a year after the lead single "Treaty" was a hit.
This was the lead single to Prince's first album with the New power generation, a band he formed following the demise of his previous band the Revolution due to the critical and commercial failure of his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a bit of a novelty hit for him giving how there doesn't seem to be many lyrics in the song, although it was popular enough for his next single to be a worldwide smash.
This was the second single to be released from the Use your illusions era, although technically it was the first as their earlier entry on this list was originally meant for the Terminator 2 soundtrack before being included on the second edition. I'm not sure if was meant to be two albums or one excruciatingly long double album conceptually, either way both volumes became a massive worldwide success for them.
This was originally recorded by Bob Seger for his 1978 album Stranger in town, it wasn't a hit anywhere, but it remains popular on oldies stations to this day. This year Kenny Rogers decided to turn the ballad into a duet with Sheena Easton of all people where it became a huge hit for the two of them, I'm guessing due to audiences finding chemistry between the aging country star and Scottish diva.
I'm not exactly sure what took this song from British group Sniff n the tears to make it big given how it was originally released two years prior, although it did eventually find an audience just as the decade had started despite it never being a hit in their native UK. I guess the rest of the world were able to appreciate the slow ballad more than their fellow Brits.
This was the only hit for both men involved with this track in Australia, although in the case of Clarence Clemons that was more due to him being known for being a saxophonist and this being his only song he recorded vocals for. Jackson Brown on the other hand is one of the most respected singer/songwriters in the music industry and yet was only able to score his one and only hit with this duet.
This was the only hit that the Cars were able to score from their magnum opus Heartbeat city in Australia, even then it was only a moderate success here compared to how inescapable it was internationally likely due to it being the rare ballad from their discography. Here this is about how the narrator feels concern for the person who they believe to be living their life recklessly.
This was the only hit that Howard Jones was able to score here in Australia, even then it's a remix of a track from his second album he released the previous year which had little success upon its initial release down under. I think it's safe to say that we Aussies preferred Nik Kershaw over this guy even though I do tend to hear his big UK hit "What is love" from time to time on the oldies station.
Well at least there was an upbeat track from the soundtrack to Phil's first starring role in Hollywood, here we have a love ballad about how he feels that he has as he puts it "two hearts living in one mind" which means there's two sides of his personality which are very different from each other. From what I can gather, Buster is a film loosely based on The great train robbery of 1963, which means this song gives details to a potential romance subplot in the film.
Well, here's that Billboard chart topper I brought up earlier in the list, it was also Air supply's final hit here as we Aussies moved on from them in favour of fresher local talent that would dominate our music scene while they dominate the American scene. I guess if you want a song that perfectly sums up their entire catalogue, this would be it as it has lyrics about love that most find sappy set to a simple melody.
I may be out of line by saying that Whiplash smile was Billy Idol's foray into sophistopop, it definitely feels like sophistopop especially on his third single which is by far the most subdue song in his entire career due to how dreamy it is. It helped the album be his biggest following the failure of its second single "Don't need a gun" which was more in line with his work from earlier in the decade.
Well, this album art is sure to not offend anyone, jokes aside this was the lead single of Cold chisel's final album together before they went their separate ways to allow Jimmy Barnes to pursue his solo career. It was a decent success for the band and likely would've appeared on one of my prior lists had it not peaked during the Christmas season of 1983.
Although she had minor success earlier in the decade as the lead singer of Q.E.D, Jenny Morris was able to finally score a massive hit on her own with this track from her solo debut album. It would lead to her releasing a second album as the decade was coming to an end where she saw even more success with her hit "She has to be loved" both here and her native NZ.
Mariah was on a roll this year given how this became her fifth Billboard chart topper in a row since all four of her singles from her debut album went to number one in America, indeed this is the best song in her career so far as it's both bouncy and displays a personality she had lacked up until this point in her career. She would appear on MTV unplugged the following year to silence any rumours she wasn't the real deal.
This was the only hit from the American husband and wife duo Nu shooz, a song that was released to deafening silence the previous year but was given the remix treatment where it became a massive hit this year. For some reason, I always thought this was an Ace of base track, I think because the woman sounds similar to the girls from the 90's band. It was their only hit but at least it was a huge international one.
This is a ska cover of a track from 1970 from the Australian band the Allniters, while this wasn't quite as successful as the original from Bobby Bloom, it was a different spin on the original which is good because this was released nine years after the death of Bobby. Unfortunately, this was the band's only hit despite being active for several decades after this became a hit.
This was the lead single to Janet's album Rhythm nation 1814, an album that wouldn't peak here in Australia for another two years due to it needing the success of her rare rock track "Black cat" to find success here for some reason. In the meantime, she did achieve success with this track about how she feels that she ended a relationship too soon and that she misses her ex.
This was the second hit that Flowers had from their debut album as well as the final hit they had with that name before they named themselves after said album due to international interest forcing them to change their name. They would release their debut album internationally as Icehouse which would make it their self-titled album, and indeed they did chart in the lower half of the European charts with the album.
I guess these kids were meant to be the 80's equivalent of the Jackson 5 as they began their career with something similar to the likes of "ABC" or "I want you back" with this track. This was a massive flop in their native America; however, it became a surprise hit for them in the UK which allowed it to become a hit everywhere else in the world. They did eventually find success in their homeland later in the decade.
It seems rather odd that this version of the Kool and the gang classic was the biggest hit here in Australia, the original flopped earlier in the decade as did Kylie's cover from the early 90's. In any case, this was the final hit that Dragon had in their career, although "Young years" from their next album does still receive a ton of airplay suggesting that that was unfairly ignored at the time.
Oh look, an entry that made its first appearance on the Countdown list I made a while back. Here's the third and final hit that Wa Wa Nee had here in Australia which was one of the earlier victims of being released at different times here in Australia depending on which state you're in. It's technically bigger than "I could make you love me" because of its lengthy chart run compared to that single.
Bet you didn't know the Muppets were able to have hits in the mainstream, did you? Yes, this opening ballad from the first Muppet movie became a success here in Australia likely due to our love of the show and the film being a box office success at the time. Evidently the theme song to the show was a huge success worldwide in the mid 70's, although that song wasn't a success here in Australia.
It seems odd that this would be the big hit off of Hall and Oates’ album of the same name here in Australia and not "I can't go for that" which still fails to appear on this side of my site despite appearing on a yearend list back in the day. They were another band that didn't see much mainstream popularity here back in the day but was nonetheless massively successful due to the sheer volume of chart entries they had.
I guess we Aussies weren't too adverse to the idea of Poison having success with one of their ballads even if this wasn't the big success here that "Nothing but a good time" or "Unskinny bop" was, I have to agree with audiences back in the day who felt this was a cheesy sellout for the band even if in retrospect that puts me in the minority given how fondly remembered this remains to this day.
We have another entry on here that only appeared on my Countdown list, this time it's the big breakthrough that Machinations had as this catchy little number managed to stick around for quite some time on the charts despite failing to usurp the likes of Wham and Culture club upon its initial release. Like many new entries to this list, this remains a staple on oldies stations to this day.
If you're wondering why "Forever now" wasn't as big a hit in NZ as it was here in Australia, that's because this was the lead single to Circus animals over here as opposed to "Forever now" being the lead single over there. I guess we Aussies didn't quite take to this track upon its initial release despite remaining one of the band's more recognisable hits in their vast catalogue.
If you were to go back and read about one hit wonders from the 80's, you'd find that these guys were dismissed as such with "Rock lobster" despite this lead single from their second album doing quite well albeit only here in Australia due to them performing it on Countdown upon its initial release. It retains the wacky energy from their debut single even if it omits the LGBT references in the lyrics.
I guess we Aussies weren't as invested in having Diana Ross be one of the biggest names of the 80's as the rest of the world was given how much less successful this cover of the 50's classic was here compared to NZ and her native America. At least this reached the upper echelons of our charts as opposed to "I'm coming out" which was a massive flop for her down under.
Well, this is a bit different from Bon Jovi from their earlier entry, mainly because this was a country ballad whereas their other hit this year was one of the most iconic hair metal ballads of the decade. I think most people tend to forget that Bon Jovi was partially a country band considering how much more iconic their hair metal tracks have become over the years, although they were a good country band as well.
Madonna was on a roll this year as she scored her third hit from her debut album, although I get the feeling my British readers will be surprised to see this ballad on this list given how it only became a hit over in the UK two years after its initial release. What's more confusing is that "Lucky star" was her big breakthrough on Billboard despite it being a massive flop here, presumably because it was the fourth single and released mere months prior to "Like a virgin."
This is the final hit that Icehouse had here in Australia, it's the lead single to their album Code blue which you'd think would be a runaway smash due to them coming off one of the biggest albums of the 80's with Man of colours. Alas, it appears these guys had very little shelf life in the 90's even at the beginning of the decade as they would be yesterday's news once this fell off the charts.
This was one of only two hits that Erasure scored here in Australia, although the other hit was an Abba themed E.P they released in the early 90's so realistically this was the only hit single they had here. They were far more popular in their native UK despite this being a flop for them over there, I guess they needed some time to adjust to their love ballads set to catchy dance pop before making them a success.
Well, we can finally have the Pretty in pink theme on this side of my site as it was indeed a moderate success here back in the day for OMD, I guess we Aussies were a bit adverse to having the new wave band be a success but changed our minds once they appeared on Countdown with Kim Wilde months after this became a worldwide smash for them.
I did mention on the previous list that Greg Kihn managed to achieve a second hit here in Australia with this song, although it was far less successful than "The breakup song" which is why you don't hear it as much on oldies stations as that classic. Still, this was a sign that him and his band would survive in the MTV era even if this was the last anyone would hear from them.
Although this wasn't the inescapable success that their two earlier entries on this list were, this nonetheless lasted quite a while for 1927 on our charts for it to be a massive success for them back in the day even with how inescapable their album was. "Compulsory hero" almost qualified to appear on this site but was too much of what I like to call a "fan hit" to do so due to how quickly it fell off our charts.
It looked like that Tina Turner's album Break every rule would be a massive flop here given how its lead single "Typical male" failed to become a success with us Aussies, however the album was saved when the second single became a huge sleeper hit for her here despite it failing to become a hit anywhere else in the world. Even "The best" was a massive hit throughout Europe by the end of the decade.
I guess this was also a big success here in Australia for Alison Moyet like it was over in NZ, although it failed to fight through all the Christmas entries upon its initial release which is why it failed to appear on this side of my site up until now. For what it's worth, "Love resurrection" almost made the cut for this bonus list of mine given how it cracked our top twenty like it did internationally.
Many believe Rick Astley to be a one album wonder, unfortunately that's mostly true as save for this lead single to his second album and "Cry for help" from earlier on this list, he didn't have much success outside of Whenever you need somebody even in his native UK. I guess leading the album with the lone song not produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman didn't pan out well for his prospects.
If we were to exclude his remix of "Love is in the air" from earlier on this list, this was the final hit that John Paul Young had in his career which is fitting as it sees him trying to adapt with the times which is a far cry from the more insightful songs he released earlier in his career.
This will be the only appearance that Malcolm McLaren will be making on this side of my site, I'm guessing we Aussies finally gave into his quirky brand of music enough to make this a success even if its success here pales in comparison to what he achieved over in NZ. At least this was a hit here as opposed to the UK where it was a complete failure for him.
18 weeks
This was originally the debut single for Cliff Richard that was released all the way back in 1959, it was a modest success for the English crooner and launched a very lucrative career for him that persisted as recently as 1999. This year he rerecorded it with the cast of the Young ones for charity, and let's just say that this version doesn't do the original any favours for me liking this man's music.
This was the first time Madonna had released a song with a poignant message attached to it (and it certainly wasn't the last) here she advocates that should a teenage girl fall pregnant that it's ultimately up to her if she decides to keep the baby or not and not her parents or guardians and certainly not anyone else. It became the clear hit from her third album True blue due to feminists of the day applauding her approval for providing teenage girls with agency.
Well, this is a Christmas staple that refuses to die in the current day and age of streaming payola, although at least this only comes around during the Christmas season so it's not like it's clogging the charts all year round or anything. I guess it's good to know that it was a huge hit for the duo back in the day, although it came at the expense of arguably their best song "Everything she wants" being a bigger hit here.
Well, this is a song that hasn't received much love since its initial release, I'm guessing this is due to the music video which depicts the two rock icons dancing around with some of the strangest choreography ever put to film. The fact this is a cover of a 60's classic made specifically for charity likely doesn't help its cause either as this suggests it was only a hit because of this charity rather than people like the song itself.
This was another huge success for the Police due to the strength of their musicianship, although it appears that Sting's songwriting had significantly improved on this track as I haven't seen anyone criticise it in any way over the years. This was from their penultimate album which was admittedly not as successful as the two albums it was sandwiched in between.
Even though this was a massive comeback success for Skyhooks following a lengthy breakup from the mid 80's, it sadly wasn't well received by critics who felt that this didn't live up to the standards they had set throughout the 70's. Apparently, the band didn't take to well to this criticism and as a result, they broke up shortly after this became a success.
This was the biggest hit that Elton John had throughout the decade, likely due to this being a heartfelt ballad towards a Nikita in his life which tugged at the heartstrings of listeners back in the day. Despite this being his biggest hit of the 80's, this would be the start of the very difficult time in his life as he would suffer from drug problems that would persist for the remainder of the decade.
Given how Wings were no more once the 80's began, it appears that Paul McCartney finally felt comfortable to release his second solo album which spawned easily the biggest hit of his career he had without the assistance of anybody else. Whether it be with the Beatles, Wings or a musician of colour, Paul has had a ton of success with other people, however very few of it came from a solo performance.
Well, this is one of those songs that's easy to hate, instead of me bashing it, I'll say the one positive I can about it. This song does have good intentions as it's clear that both Paul and Stevie want to achieve racial harmony between black and white people, they clearly have their hearts in the right place on this track.
This was originally a hit for Merilee Rush in the late 60's, so Juice Newton had a lot to prove with her rendition which obviously she was able to when it became a massive worldwide hit for her. It turns out she performed this track on Countdown which is why it became much bigger here in Australia than most parts of the world, this no doubt led to her second hit which is still to come on this list.
This was the theme to Prince's second film Under the cherry moon, a film that received the opposite reception of his first film Purple rain as it was heavily panned by critics and was a box office flop for the rock star. At least the soundtrack was still well received, showing a far more sexually provocative side of Prince which he was already known for being sexually charged in his music by this point.
While this wasn't the only hit that Daryl Hall and John Oates scored in Australia back in the day, it was by far their biggest hit thanks to a memorable performance of the track on Countdown as well as the lyrics which detail a money hungry gold digger that the audience should look out for. This was a success here slightly before it was as such anywhere else in the world, proving how much we loved these guys.
Yeah, as far as the music industry is concerned, the 80's didn't officially end until around the time where Nirvana took the world by storm by introducing grunge to a wider audience later in the decade. In the meantime, we have this lead single to INXS's album X which details the type of woman that Michael Hutchence is into by describing her as a "suicide blonde," whatever that's meant to mean.
Before it became the theme song to the Michael Keaton flick Gung Ho, this was originally the title track to the reissue album of Jimmy's debut Bodyswerve which became an instant Australian classic due to it being dedicated to the working-class society of our country. It seemed like an obvious choice for a film that centres around this plot, however it wasn't able to help him score a hit in the northern hemisphere.
Following her departure from Bananarama, Siobahn Fahay formed a new group with Marcella Detroit who scored initial success with their debut single "You're history" from the start of the decade. Their second album was where their popularity exploded as this lead single became a huge worldwide smash for the duo, although it led to them struggling with mental health issues which resulted in their breakup.
This was the second hit that Rod Stewart managed to achieve this decade in Australia, although it should've been the first as it was meant to be the lead single from his second album this decade but wasn't for some reason. This unique album cycle paid off for him as he got two big hits here with two of his more upbeat tracks in his catalogue, and many will tell you (me included) that this is his best song.
While the second single from the Swing was a hit (we'll get to it in a bit) it wasn't a huge success for the band like the third single was, indeed, this is likely the reason why the band were able to appeal to an international audience as it has a really catchy instrumental which makes it different from most songs that become popular over the years. They had one more single from the album before they went to work on their next album.
This was the first of two highly successful covers of track from Diana Ross and the Supremes this decade, the other coming from Kim Wilde with her rendition of "You keep me hanging on" later in the decade. Much like her cover, Phil's rendition of this track proved to be more successful than the original outside of America, suggesting that the Brits were trying to atone for sleeping on her music back in the day.
This was the first of two big hits that Livie managed to score from her film Xanadu, a film that's gone down in infamy as one of the worst to be ever made due to its bizarre plot and wooden acting from its star Michael Beck. This song plays in a scene where the two formerly meet for the first time, namely that Livie is skating around in an abandoned roller rink to the song itself.
This is where it all began for Wham, a British duo who would go on to have massive success this decade thanks to the charisma of its two members George Michael and Andrew Ridgely. If you're wondering why their debut album didn't crossover in America, it's likely due to it featuring a ton of rapping from George as he wanted to make music that he felt would cater to an American market.
Fans of Madonna's Confessions on a dance floor will recognise the beat to this song on her hit single "Hung up," however here it was used for a song that's about wanting to hook up with a man for a one-night stand in the middle of the night as opposed to Madonna being fed up with her partner wasting her time. The success of this track proved that Abba's popularity was still going strong entering the 80's.
This was the first major hit that John Swan was able to score here in Australia, I'm guessing this became a hit for two reasons. The first was that it's a pub rock cover of the Bobby Darin classic from the 60's and the second was that he's the older brother of Cold Chisel front man Jimmy Barnes who was scoring massive success around this time with his own music. He would score another hit the following year with "Lady what's your name."
This was the big hit off of Icehouse's second album Primitive man, so much so that it was chosen as the lead single for their international release where it became a minor hit in the UK for them. This would be their last hit in Australia and NZ until their comeback album Man of colours, mainly due to them experimenting with their sound throughout the midpoint of the 80's to varying results.
Here we are with the third single from NKTOB's second album here in Australia, it was their second Billboard chart topper in a row which should tell you how popular these kids were around this time. This song has received a lot of flak over the years for it desperately trying to prove how tough these kids are when in reality they obviously had it pretty easy in life up until this point.
This was the last hit that these guys had here in Australia before they broke up so that Adam Ant could pursue a solo career the following year, I guess it retains their bombastic sound that they promised from earlier on the list even though the visuals in the video are far wackier than they have any right to be. They did score a couple of more hits in their native UK before they broke up for what it's worth.
Following the demise of Abba, Frida decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with this song about how she believes her partner is cheating on her, basically how she felt about her relationship with Benny during their final years together. To date this is the last anyone has heard from any of the members when it comes to them in front of the mic, however Benny and Bjorn have seen success as songwriters.
This was another big hit that is directly targeted towards the LGBT community from this year, although unlike Paul Lekakis's hit from earlier, this was a massive hit in the UK for the American group involved. Like Paul's hit, this was used in a dance competition during the final months of Countdown's existence, which more than explains how it was a hit here given how it was promoted on the show and then crossed over to the queer community.
Even though this was the second single from Too low for zero in Australia, it proved to be a massive success for Elton John like it was the first single from the album due to how much we celebrated his reunion with Bernie Taupin on the album. While his earlier entry on this list was meant to be a celebration for his comeback, here it's a return to form as he brings Bernie's lyrics to life like it was made ten years prior.
This was the biggest hit that Cold Chisel managed to achieve in their career, although it's worth noting that they were more successful with their albums during their initial run than their singles hence why they never had that huge chart topper here in Australia. They almost did in NZ with this track, likely because this was the lead single to their album Circus animals whereas it was the second single here.
Much like their earlier entry on this list, this was also a live recording of a song that the KLF recorded earlier in their career that only became a success due to their redemption arc they made after angering fans of Doctor who with their novelty track "Doctering the tardis." This is my favourite song from the duo as it feels the most like a finished song to me, that and the train metaphor speaks to me.
This was the song that made Duran Duran a household name in America, likely because it was the first video they released to have a high budget which their earlier songs in their catalogue didn't have much of. The song remains a classic largely due to the video which depicts Simon Le Bon hooking up with a tribal woman in the jungles of South America which continues to captivate audiences to this day.
This was the lead single to Culture club's second album Colour by numbers, a common misconception is that "Karma chameleon" was the lead single to that album likely due to it being their signature track. It turns out it was this song that the band chose to lead their sophomore album with likely due to it sounding similar to a Human league song we'll get to in a bit with the harmonica and melody of the track.
This song sounds slightly different depending on if you're listening to the single or album version, the album version isn't as bombastic which likely suggests this wasn't meant to be released as a single from the band. They obviously changed their minds when they put more bombast in the production and released it as a single which was for the best as it became their biggest hit in America and their native UK.
This was the only hit that Pete Shelley was able to score here in Australia both solo and with the Buzzcocks, yeah, I hope you're not prepared to see a lot of punk music on this site because I'm afraid that was unfairly ignored in Australia back in the day. I don't know what this song is about, and admittedly I don't think many people do either as it seems to be a success more for the instrumentation than the lyrics.
In most parts of the world, this was the third single to be released from Colour by numbers as it displays a more sombre side of the band as opposed to their more upbeat tracks about racial harmony. In America, this was never released as a single as they skipped over this in favour of "It's a miracle" likely due to them being seen strictly as a fun band over there.
This was the theme song to the theatrical adaptation of Orson Welle's book 1984, a film that coincidentally came out in the year it was named after and was a box office success back in the day. I guess that explains the dystopian sound of this song which is very different from what we'd expect from the Eurythmics, after all the film and book had a dystopian setting for the year it was set in.
My introduction to this ballad was with the remix from the late 90's by UK group Dario G which ruined the emotions of this track enough for me to not like it at first, of course I was eventually won over by the beauty of the track which no doubt tugged at the heartstrings of audience from back in the day. This was the band's only success even in their native UK likely due to how different it was from everything else.
Years before she scored a minor hit with "It's only the beginning" which continues to be a favourite on oldies stations to this day, Deborah Conway was the lead singer of this band who named themselves after the song from the Sound of music. They scored their one and only hit with this song that's about pubic hair, that's right, a song about pubic hair was one of the biggest hits of the year in Australia.
It seemed like these guys were accused of being frauds much like Milli Vanilli this year, as such they gave a live concert proving that they sung on their songs which got them in the clear in the music industry. Before all of this went down, they released the title track to their third album which became a massive hit for them worldwide, although it would be their final hit due to those allegations.
There's a really touching quote that I want to share that Cyndi gave when she was asked about why she was the way she was when her second single from her debut album went to number one on Billboard, "I'm not trying to be different, I'm just saying it's OK to be yourself, and if you have a few quirky things, that's OK too." This is more or less the message she tries to convey in the video to this track about being there for an ex-lover if they want to resume a relationship with her.
This was the debut single for one of the more popular Australian bands for the next ten years, although it was their only massive hit as their popularity came more from their albums as well as their overplay on the radio. I've never quite been clear about what this song is about, I know metaphorically it's about diving up society but I'm not sure what wall they're referring to as there were a lot of walls back in the day that did that.
This was a very impressive year for Rick Price as he was able to score two hit singles from his debut album despite already being in his thirties when he released said album, although he was a popular session musician throughout the 80's which explains why it took him so long to release said album. He did score minor success with his second album later in the decade, proving there was potential for him to be even bigger.
Well, this is a song that's bound to get stuck in your head after repeated listens, Haysi fantayzee scored their one and only hit with this psychedelia throwback both in Australia and their native UK before calling it quits for some reason. They even performed this on Countdown mere months before they broke up, so I'm not sure why they gave up on their careers so quickly.
It had been four years since these guys had a hit anywhere in the world, although at this point this was more of a Chrissie Hynde solo project as the other original members of the band had left for various different reasons. This meant that she went in a more pop friendly direction as opposed to her new wave roots from earlier in the decade which would explain how she was able to score hits from Get close.
This is arguably my favourite song from John Farnham, everything to admired about him can be found on this second single from Chain reaction from the passionate vocals to the inspiring lyrics to the melody and then some. It remains a staple on oldies stations to this day as do a lot of the songs on this list, although it wasn't the biggest hit of his career as you've likely noticed on this list alone.
This was the lead single to Cold Chisel's biggest album East; it was also the final song they released in the 70's as it found its success during the first months of the 80's thanks to the sentiment of the lyrics and Jimmy's performance. Their earlier entry on this list was the bit hit from the album, although both of these songs do remain popular in their discography regardless of which one was bigger.
This was the final hit single to be release from True blue, an album that had five out of five chart toppers if you were to combine the Billboard and UK charts. Here we have a Latin flavoured track from the queen of pop which was very different to everything else coming out at the time, no doubt this and a later entry on this list led to the likes of the Gipsy kings finding success as the end of the decade.
There were no signs of Guns n Roses slowing down this year as they released the third single from the Use your illusions era which was this cover of the James Bond classic. I guess the original remains one of the best remembered Bond themes due to how bombastic it is (it's my personal favourite despite not being a Wings fan) so it makes sense that these guys would take a stab at it and find success.
You know a film has connected with an audience when even its main character's theme song manages to become one of the biggest hits of the year worldwide, that's exactly what happened here as Axel Foley was so well liked by audiences that his theme was a huge success for composer Harold Faltermeyer. It's perhaps best known for the Crazy frog remix two decades later, a remix that's best left in the 00's.
This was the only hit either artist involved was able to achieve in Australia, although Stevie Nicks did see a ton more success with her albums and during her time with Fleetwood mac, so we at least knew who she was. Tom Petty on the other hand had less success here back in the day, sure his songs have popped up on oldies stations, but none of them found much success and his albums weren't big either.
This was the last hit that Roxette had over in America, although the rest of the world would keep them around a little while longer given how well they had aged into the 90's from their 80's material on their album Joyride. Here we have Marie trying to cope with a breakup she went through and how that person makes her have conflicting emotions about how it ended, it was a surefire hit for the duo thanks to the complicated feelings she provides in the lyrics.
Sheila E was the on again off again girlfriend of Prince, so it only makes sense that she was able to score a massive hit with a song that he wrote for her during the height of his popularity. She was another vocalist to achieve massive success by playing the drums on her songs, although I think she's the first solo female drummer/vocalist to achieve a hit in the music industry and second after Phil Collins.
This was the other big hit that Midge Ure had this year worldwide, and it's the song that was blocked from the UK top spot with Joe Dolce's hit from the start of the list which angered a lot of people back in the day. It seems appropriate that it would be a hit down under, although it wasn't nearly as successful as you'd think given how it's endured over the years as well as Midge Ure's reputation in music.
No comments:
Post a Comment