Longest charting hits in Australia 1980-1992 IV

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 a modest success in Betty Boo's native UK as was her second single "Where are you baby," so to see this be a huge success here in Australia is a bit surprising considering how rarely hip hop, let alone British hip hop makes it big here. I'm guessing the video had something to do with its success as it depicts her as a schoolgirl in a science classroom with hijinks ensuing from that premise.

Even though the Bridge was a massive flop everywhere else in the world, it was a huge success here in Australia proving just how much we loved Billy Joel this decade and how we felt he could do no wrong. Indeed, one of his biggest hits in his catalogue down under was the second single from the album which comes complete with a video that pays homage to the Beatles rooftop concert.

This is a song that was false advertising for the music the band in question was making, Extreme are best known for their hard rock tracks and hair metal image and yet it was this acoustic ballad that made them a household name worldwide. The lyrics are often misinterpreted as people seem to think it's a love ballad which it technically is, however, it's actually about how the phrase "I love you" no longer has any meaning given how easy it is for anyone to recite.

This was originally an album track for Rod Stewart that was written by Burt Bacharach, he didn't release it as a single for whatever reason which is why most people are unfamiliar with his version of this ballad. Somehow Dionne Warwick got a hold of this song and decided to get together Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight for this cover where the proceeds when to research for AIDS and HIV.

This was a huge comeback for Rod Stewart given how he hadn't had a major hit on the Australian charts for nearly a decade, it goes to show that while he is willing to experiment with his sound on occasion that his bread and butter are the ballads that appeal to his core audience. This would be his last major hit single on the charts, although he did score a moderate hit later in the decade through his appearance on MTV unplugged.

This was the last big hit that Cheap trick had with their original sound, although it was mainly a hit here in Australia following the success of their earlier hit "Dream police" from the changing of the decades. I'm not sure why their subsequent albums failed around the world, however they did score a massive comeback later in the decade with an album they felt they needed to make for contractual obligations.

Well, here we are with what's often considered the best song not just of the decade but of all time, yes, this lead single from Nevermind was indeed a huge success back in the day much to the chagrin of the band who brought it to life in the first place. Admittedly this was their only big hit in Australia as the success of the album ate up the potential success of the other singles from the album.

Although he saw massive success with Cold Chisel from earlier in the decade, there didn't seem to be any guarantee that Jimmy Barnes would find success on his own given how none of the songs from his debut album Bodyswerve became huge hits for him down under. Fortunately, this lead single from the reissue of that album was a huge success here likely due to the backing vocals from Kim Carnes of "Bette Davis eyes" fame.

If this song sounds familiar to you, that's because you likely recognise the melody from the Gap band's "Oops upside your head" which was a hit for the RNB trio exactly a decade prior to when this became Snap's second hit single worldwide. Their first hit was what put them on the map (which we'll get to) however it was this song that confirmed them to be one of the big names of EDM this decade.

Although this wasn't her debut single (that honour goes to "Similar features" which sadly flopped) this was the song which made Melissa Etheridge a household name due to a persistent rumour that the song was directed at another woman due to details made in the lyrics. Indeed, Melissa confirmed that it was directed at a woman when she came out as gay in 1992 around the time KD Lang also came out of the closet.

Much like the rest of his album, this was initially a flop for Bobby Brown likely due to us Aussies not being interested in the drama he had with his former band New edition. His fortunes changed when he released his theme to Ghostbusters II which helped this upbeat track from his album become a surprise success as the 80's was coming to an end, this allowed the album to also be a success for him.

Well, if you wanted to know what the Models would sound like if they replaced James Freud with Wendy Matthews, this is your chance as both parties joined forces to make an album this year under the alias Absent friends which spawned this huge hit for them as well as the album doing fairly well. This is a cover of an obscure 60's track, something that would become a phenomenon as the decade went along.

This was the first of two big hits that Sophie B Hawkins was able to achieve worldwide, I feel that she deserved so much more success than what she got considering how sharply written and well performed both songs were back in the day. This is another song which caused speculation towards an artist's sexuality as there's lyrics in here which suggest that Sophie is talking to a woman throughout the song.

Midnight Oil already saw massive success with their previous two albums and even had a hit single with "Power and the passion" earlier in the decade, however this was the first big hit they had down under which is fitting because it was the advanced single for their album which stands to fight for aboriginal rights in Australia. Even though we've made progress over the years, there's still people out there that feel that there's more to be done for the white settlers to atone for how they've treated these people.

Although they had success with "Blue Monday" from earlier in the decade, this was the first mega hit that New order had in Australia despite this being a massive flop in their native UK and only barely being a minor hit in NZ. I'm not sure why this succeeded here but failed in those two countries, I guess it was due to it being more pop friendly compared to what had been released prior.

Technically the first solo hit to come from Lionel Richie was his duet with Diana Ross from two years prior, however this lead single from his solo debut was the first hit he had completely on his own which sounds like something he would've made with the Commodores during his time with the band. Apparently, this was a calculated move to help ease fans into the music he wanted to make.

Tone Loc is nowadays known for his many voiceover roles in kids cartoons due to his deep voice lending credence to characters with mystic or coolness, however he began his career as a rapper who scored two massive hits worldwide beginning with this being the second big hit he was able to score and by far the bigger of the two in Australia. I'm guessing it was due to a lack of nostalgia baiting on this track.

Well, this seems a bit odd, this second single from Big audio dynamite's most recent album became a success around the time "Should I stay or should I go" was a massive success in their native UK. I bring this up because this song is often mistaken for the Clash classic due to them having the same melody as each other, although it's worth noting that Mick Jones was responsible for said melody so it's not like he was stealing from anyone else.

This was the only hit single that Janis Ian managed to score in most parts of the world, it appears audiences weren't interested in her coming-of-age track "At seventeen" but were interested in this jazz track she released five years later. I think this was a hit here due to her performing it on Countdown, either that or we really enjoyed the groove on here more so than her fellow Americans.

Although he's best known for his ballad "Lady in red" from three years later, this was the first hit that Chris De Burgh achieved in most parts of the world which is about as far away as you can get from his bigger hit in terms of sound and tone. Instead of a lightweight ballad about love, we have a borderline angry track about not paying for a service until the service is delivered to one's satisfaction.

This was the only hit that Soup Dragons managed to have worldwide, I'm guessing because they were often mislabelled as a reggae band when they were really more in the Madchester scene that was becoming more popular in their native UK around this time. I guess this made it big here because we couldn't tell this apart from the likes of UB40 and Maxi Priest who were huge at the time.

Following the success of his earlier entry on this list, Eric Carmen was able to score a hit without the assistance of being attached to a film with this lead single to his (then) most recent album. This led people to wondering if he was back for good after a twelve-year absence on the charts, however he wasn't as this was the last time anyone had heard from the singer/songwriter.

This was the only hit that the German band Scorpions were able to achieve in the English language market, although they are one of the most popular bands throughout Europe so it's more our loss that the best they could do internationally was this ballad about how things were changing. This was inspired by the fall of the Berlin wall, making it an anthem to the end of the Cold war which happened this year.

This is a song that seems to be way ahead of its time both in terms of its sound and the lyrics. The sound heavily reminds me of a Sega Genesis game which is why I believe it's ahead of its time there, however the lyrics are very ahead of its time as it's essentially this guy talking to his computer as if Facebook existed back in the 80's. The gimmick of him getting love advice from his computer helped it become a huge success here.

You'd think that the biggest hit from the Machinations would be "No say in it" or "Pressure sway," instead it was this track which lasted quite a while on the charts thus making it their biggest hit by how long it lingered in the mainstream. It was also their final hit as the band would call it quits when their third album flopped later in the decade.

This was the only hit that Black sorrows were able to achieve during their career, although they had better luck with their albums as this song did allow their album Hold on to me to become a huge success as the decade was coming to an end as well as set them up for a very successful album in the 90's. The band is best known for their lead singer Joe Camelleri who previously had success with Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons.

These guys had been active in the music industry since the mid 50's, and while they saw a ton of success in their native America over the years, this was their only hit here in Australia due to it becoming a surprise hit for them in the UK. For some reason, the Brits labelled them as Detroit Spinners, I'm guessing due to there being an up-and-coming band named the Spinners at the time.

This was the only solo hit that Foreigner front man Lou Gramm managed to score worldwide, although the success of this track in Australia likely led to the band scoring one more hit the following year with "Say you will" down under. This was during that time where everyone from a band was launching a solo career, so this did better than you would expect considering what else was coming out at the time.

This was the third hit that Cyndi Lauper had from her debut album, in fact she broke records on Billboard with this album by being the first artist to score four top five hits from a single album in America. This is one of her wackiest songs given that it's about female masturbation, although for the longest time I had no idea what this song is about due to how vague she comes across in the lyrics.

This was the second single that the Choirboys released from their sophomore album, it continued their winning streak this year as it became a success around the time they released the album which was also a huge hit for them here. The album was able to crossover to NZ which was a sign that there was international interest in the band which sadly never translated to success in the northern hemisphere.

This was the only hit that Gyan Evans managed to achieve in her career, although it was a promising start to a career that deserved so much better given how opulent her vocals and production are on the track. I guess Australia had no shortage of talented female vocalists by this stage in time, which meant that she fell by the wayside going into the 90's while other women thrived in the mainstream.

It's the song that's been described as the one bridging the gap between rock and hip hop, not least because it's essentially a hip hop cover of the Aerosmith classic that the rock band gave this trio full endorsement for covering. They were so thrilled with the idea that they even appeared in the music video where they help Run DMC destroy a literal wall that there was between the two genres.

Well, here's that big UK hit that helped the Pointer sister's earlier entry on this list become a hit worldwide, it's a new wave/disco hybrid that I'm surprised there wasn't more of given how well the two genres mix on here. Lyrically it's about how the girls feel like they've lost control with the person they're singing to, basically feeling robotic despite knowing that they have their own autonomy.

It's hard to think that these ladies were in danger of being a one hit wonder with "Push it" given how long it took for them to release their more iconic work from their discography, what's even harder to think is that this new jack swing track is what got them out of said bin given how this was released before their iconic "Let's talk about sex" both here and in the UK.

Well, this 90s had Guru Josh kickstart its decade, so why not have a similar gimmick from the short-lived Australian band the Monitors doing the same for the 80's? Although this was their only success and it was a sleeper hit at that, apparently this novelty was enough for them to spark international success throughout Europe even if that didn't translate to success over there.

Contrary to popular belief, "True" wasn't the first hit that Spandau ballet had as they had released two albums prior to when their signature track became a hit worldwide. That honour goes to this song which became a decent sized hit for them here and in their native UK, although we Aussies wouldn't hear from the band again until they released their magnum opus two years later.

While this wasn't the inescapable hit here in Australia it was in NZ and Jona's native UK, this was enough of a sleeper hit here to qualify for this list likely due to us Aussies finding the production to be too irresistible even if the same can't be said for the lyrics. Indeed, this feels like an outlier to his two big hits over here that he would achieve the year after this became a success for him.

While we were still a year off from when these guys would score their first inescapable hit with "If you leave me can I come too," this was a decent success for Mental as anything which proved them to be the real deal for their fellow Aussies right at the start of the 80's. It was an early sign of great things to come for the band that would last the entire decade for them.

24 Weeks

This was the first song that MJ released following the final stages of his plastic surgery which transitioned him from a man of colour to a Caucasian, naturally this was meant to be a song that inspires racial harmony from a man who have a very wide demographic regardless of their skin colour.

This was originally released as a single on its own for Bobby Mcferrin, however it achieved massive success thanks to it being included in the Tom Cruise flick Cocktail which many consider to be one of the worst films of the decade. It also has the distinction of to this day being the most successful track to be performed entirely a Capella.

It looked like the debut album from the Moving pictures had crashed and burned upon its initial release, however the success of this second single from their album Days of innocence ensured it would be a huge success for the band. Nowadays the song is known for two things, the first is the inferior (in my opinion) cover from Shannon Noll and the second is criticism that it glorifies suffering from first world problems (it doesn't.)

And who says joke songs have only become a recent phenomenon? OK so this was a huge success back in the day, proving that even back then, people thought that the idea of clowning on toxic narcissists like these guys do throughout the track was the height of comedy. I'm in no way saying this is a bad thing, rather I feel that people find this way funnier than I do.

It's easy to forget that this wasn't the lead single to MJ's album Thriller, no that honour goes to the critically panned "The girl is mine" which was a modest success due to it being a collaboration with Paul McCartney. I'm guessing this wasn't the lead single due to its subject matter, one that seems oddly more relevant since its initial release given the multiple accusations levied against him.

This was the first of many Billboard chart toppers that George Michael would have both solo and with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely, however that would come six months after this topped the charts throughout the rest of the world proving that he really didn't need the approval of the American market he was so desperately trying to appeal to with his songs.

Here's a fun fact I came across while researching for new information on Billy Ocean, all of his Billboard chart toppers have exactly eight words in them which is a bit of a freaky coincidence the more you think about it. In any case this was the final hit single he had anywhere in the world, presumably due to RNB evolving away from the bombast that it was known for throughout this decade.

This was a fantastic year for the sister duo Mel and Kim, although it would be a bittersweet year for them as Mel would tragically be diagnosed with cancer which would them claim her life in 1990. It was because of this diagnosis that the girls didn't record much material after their debut album, although I'm sure if they did release new music, it would've been as fun as their biggest hit and also dripping with as much personality.

One of the cheesier films to come out of the decade has to be Footloose, mainly because the plot hinges on the fact that no one in the town the film is set in thought to suspect the obvious delinquents they have was responsible for a tragic accident that occurred there and instead blame it on popular music. Stupid premise aside, the film remains a classic thanks to how excellent the songs written for the film were such as this title track.

Given how Marcia Hines was beginning to see a decline in her popularity in Australia, it seemed like the perfect moment for Diana Ross to reclaim her throne as the woman of colour we Aussies gravitate towards outside the disco scene. Here she is with her first big hit in seven years since "Touch me in the morning" was a success, proving that no comeback is out of the question here.

This was the lead single to INXS's magnum opus Kick, the reason why it's their magnum opus is because not only is it their biggest album worldwide, but it also spawned them a Billboard chart topper with this very single from the band. Even though the song was released on its own, the video has it bundled up with "Mediate" which is the song which immediately proceed after this song ends on the album.

Their previous album was a decently huge hit for these guys, however following the success he had with his main band Genesis, Mike Rutherford saw a huge surge in popularity worldwide to the point where the main vocalist Paul Carrack scored a huge hit two years prior with "When you walk in the room." All of this led to this ballad becoming a huge success for the band when it did.

If you've somehow never heard of this song, then I suggest you rectify that because it's one of the most quintessential songs not just of the decade but of all time due to how timeless that synth riff has remained since its release. Apparently, this was originally released a year prior albeit as a slightly different song, in that I mean the instrumentation has a more oriental feel that they then changed probably to avoid accusations of cultural appropriation.

This was the debut single for one of the more prominent bands to emerge from Australia, I feel that people tend to forget that "Down under" was the second single from this band given how it's easily eclipsed everything else in their catalogue with how iconic it's become over the years. This managed to top the Billboard charts the following year despite it only getting to number two here.

One of the most powerful scenes in cinematic history was when this song was playing over a massacre that took place throughout Vietnam, it took this completely innocent song about how beautiful the world was and flipped it to be the most cynical piece of irony you could imagine. The scene in question was what allowed this song to finally become a hit in Australia twenty years after its initial release.

Following the success he had with the Power station from the previous year, Robert Palmer released his album Riptide which was unfortunately all set to fail upon its initial release. He rescued the album from obscurity by filling the music video to this classic with what I can only describe as clones of Lilith Crane from Cheers as his backing band which in turn helped this song top the Billboard charts for him.

Hey, remember when censorship was considered a bad thing in the Mainstream media? Here we have the Clash scoring their biggest hit with a song that was critical of censorship in the middle east, complete with a video that.... OK I guess they went a little too far with pushing the boundaries of good taste with that. In any case, this proved to be a huge success for the band including in America.

Boy howdy has this song being used in every ad you can think of over the years, it's impossible to think that once upon a time it was a genuine hit single for this new wave band back in the day. I'm not sure why this was only a hit in Australia given how frequently I've seen it used in international media; I'm guessing audiences back then didn't want to hear a song from a band who's lead singer was also the drummer.

It looked like that the Game would only produce one hit single for Queen, that changed when the band released this as the albums fourth single which thanks to its funky bassline, was able to become their second consecutive chart topper on Billboard as well as a massive hit throughout the rest of the world.

Given how inescapable Jimmy Barnes was during the second half of the decade, it only makes sense that the other vocalist from Cold Chisel would follow in his footsteps and release his own album to prove that he was a worthy member of the pub rock band. Indeed, Ian Moss scored massive success with his first solo album largely thanks to its lead single which tells the story of a girl he's in love with but also knows is bad for him.

This was the biggest hit that Huey Lewis and the News had in most parts of the world, granted their theme from Back to the future was also huge but this ended up being a bigger hit for them likely due to the production as well as how lovestruck Huey seems to be on this track. This in turn led the album Fore to be a huge success for them outside of America.

Kiss were on a roll when they released their second single from Dynasty, this is despite the backlash they received from their original fans claiming that they sold out for a more mainstream audience. True the lyrics and compositions aren't as complex as their earlier material, however they still had plenty of energy to their tracks which is why they were able to find massive success with this material.

This was the biggest hit that Snap was able to achieve in their career, although there's a bit of minor controversy with this song as it contains the line "I'm serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer" which rubbed people the wrong way upon its initial release. That didn't prevent the song from being a massive success for the German band, although it would prove to be their last hit in certain places.

In most parts of the world, Robbie Nevil is a one hit wonder with "C'est la vie" likely due to audiences only connecting with the one song from him and none of his other tracks. In Australia, he scored a second hit with this track where he expresses a desire to be with someone he finds inspirational, this helping him escape the one hit wonder bin down under with a song twice as big as his previous entry to boot.

This was the second act that John Waite managed to find success with here in Australia, the other one being the Babys from back in the 70's as well as him finding solo success during the mid 80's. Even with his name being well familiar with the average Australian, it appears this song was a bit delayed with its release here as it came out months after it already topped the Billboard charts for the super group.

You better believe this song managed to become a huge hit in Australia and NZ with this cover to promote the song, that should tell you how well loved this breakthrough single is for Canadian band Loverboy and how it's endured over the years as an oldie classic. Their big breakthrough in America was their next big hit "Working for the weekend" which sadly didn't do as well in the southern hemisphere.

This was a happy ending for Jenny Morris's career given how she had struggled to score a hit throughout the 80's and finally achieved massive success just as the decade was coming to an end here and in her native NZ. Here she sings about how this woman (presumably herself in the third person) needs to be treated with love and respect from however she's singing to, and it happened to be well appreciated by audiences of the time.

Well, if fulfilling their record label's wishes involved making this note for note cover of the Elvis Presley track, then I can understand why these guys weren't too thrilled with selling out this year as this is certainly a far cry from their earlier material from the start of the decade. That said, it appears there were plenty of us Aussies who appreciated this update to the Elvis classic as it became a huge hit for them.

Aerosmith are known for their sentimental side in their music; however, it seems surprising that their only two big hits here were with ballads considering how well remembered they remain to this day down under. Here we have the first of their two chart toppers which tells the story about the titular Janie and how she went insane after a rocky relationship with her partner and how she shot him.

Even though they were among the most popular bands going into the 80's, Dr Hook's popularity in Australia was quickly diminishing save for this upbeat ballad which managed to become a hit for them around the time they released their greatest hits package. They did score a second hit later in the year (which we'll get to) proving that their time in the spotlight wasn't quite over yet here.

Well, here's a song that requires a certain level of arrogance from the performer in question, I guess this follows in the footsteps of Adam and the Ants as they too entered a new decade with a song about how awesome their music was. Hilariously this was Guru Josh's only hit single throughout the world, although this did receive a popular remix in 2008 which technically helped him escape the one hit wonder bin.

This was a rare hit from a Canadian band to be a hit in their homeland, I'm guessing this was due to the presence of Bryan Adams who provides backing vocals to this track. This was able to crossover to America and eventually Australia due to it sounding like something from Reckless, although this was the only notable success that Glass tiger managed to achieve outside of their homeland.

Although their other big hit from this time left these guys as an international one hit wonder, they were able to score a second hit with this song due to the video being filmed while they were on their Australian tour. This no doubt led the song to be even bigger here than their earlier hit, although it did their albums no favours as it unfortunately crashed and burned here like it did everywhere else.

While this wasn't the song to come from the Eurogliders, it was their first hit due to them asking the question of whether or not heaven actually exists. This isn't like Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a place on earth" where it's a metaphorical heaven, but rather if heaven is real which makes this a song about questioning one's faith in religion. That combined with how catchy this is helped make this song a hit for the band.

It appears that these guys had redeemed themselves for their "joke" song about the Doctor Who fandom from the late 80's, now they're one of the most well respected EDM groups who scored a massive worldwide hit with this live rendition of one of their earlier tracks that flopped due to them being seen as a novelty act. This led to them having a highly successful album that spawned multiple hits for them.

This was the only hit single that Melissa Manchester was able to achieve in Australia, although at least it's a bouncy love ballad about how she's letting the narrator know that there's a woman who's clearly into them. I'm not sure how this managed to crossover for her considering the other hits she's had in her native America; however, I'm not exactly complaining about its success here.

There's been much confusion as to what this song is actually about, it's not an endorsement of being an American but rather a laundry list of all the atrocities the American government has done to both its citizens and the people of the world. It remains one of the most politically charged songs to ever become a hit throughout the world, although I doubt many of the people who love it even realise its message.

This was a song whose success was very late in Australia, namely because it was already a huge chart topper in NZ six months prior to when this finally caught on here for the Dutch group Time bandits. Although we were late to catch onto their music, we made up for that by giving them a second hit with "Endless road" which became as such due to the band filming the video here while they were on tour.

Well, this is one of those story ballads that leaves you feeling hollow inside, we have the tale of a wife of a missionary who one day finds her husband has left for a mission only for him to never return home despite reassurances from the air force that he would be back one day. The way Kim delivers the story leaves me in tears every time, almost as if she was speaking on behalf of someone she knew who was going through this dilemma.

Man staying positive on this site has been a challenge for me, I guess one thing I can say in this songs favour is that Collette does seem like a better fit for the lyrics over Anita Ward, although that's about it. This was her one and only hit in Australia and her native NZ, meaning that this is an example of a one hit wonder covering a one hit wonder as opposed to Pseudo echo who were massive here.

These guys will unfortunately be forever remembered for their 1997 album which many regard as one of the worst albums ever made, eight years prior they scored a massive success with their debut album with its lead single due to it being a country ballad that connected with audiences as the 80's was coming to an end. They would fade into obscurity going into the 90's until their infamous comeback.

There were many early hits from the EDM scene that would explode throughout the 90's, I think one of the earliest comes from this band who scored their only hit with this acid house track before calling it quits. Don't ask me why they gave up after only one track, it was a common troupe for EDM artists throughout the 80's and 90's as we'll see going through these lists.

OK I'm giving you a three for one deal with this entry, mainly because all of these songs charted separately in the UK despite them being bundled as one entry here in Australia. I'm guessing this was done to allow these guys to have at least one hit single here, although "Cherish" was the song that was marketed as the lead single despite it being one of their cheesiest songs in their entire discography.

To think that this was Tiffany's biggest hit here in Australia, or it would've been had her debut single (which is still to come) not being a huge sleeper hit this year due to the success of this second single. Apparently, this was the first song that Tiffany recorded in her career, and by that, I mean it should be obvious as compared to the rest of her album, she sounds completely terrified on this ballad.

Given how MTV had taken over the mainstream, it only makes sense that this art rock track from Johnny Warman would be a huge success when it was. With that said, it's little wonder that it hasn't endured the test of time given how it seemed to be tailor made for the launch of the program and little else.

This was the second hit that Laura Branigan managed to achieve in Australia with a cover of an Umberto Tozzi track, although unlike "Gloria" this was only a hit here as the rest of the world had since moved on from her ballads. Indeed, this would be her final hit here as we too decided to was time to give success to other pop divas who had unique voices from this decade, it's a shame because she was talented.

This was the biggest success that Paul Kelly achieved back in the day, it's a song that still resonates with audiences to this day due to the story he tells about an abusive husband who seeks to redeem himself to his wife. Even though he never achieved mainstream success outside of this hit he had, he remains one of the most well-respected Australian artists of all time to the point where his greatest hits package was a huge success in 1997.

This was the only hit that ZZ Top managed to achieve in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to it being about how much the trio likes the legs of a woman they were singing about on this track. Whatever the reason was for this being a hit, it allowed their album Eliminator to be a huge success this year after sitting on shelves ignored for over a year, making this a very happy ending for the band.

This was the debut single for Taylor Dayne, a woman who would go on to have massive success in the early 90's thanks to her powerful vocals albeit with ballads rather than her more upbeat dance tracks such as this song. It turns out this crossed over here in Australia due to it being a massive success in the UK as this was only a modest success in her native America, although it would be her only hit there.

This was the first song that Van Halen released with Sammy Hagger on lead vocals, while it wasn't as big a hit as their final song with David Lee Roth, it did launch a new era for the band as the album proved to be a massive success for them. Sammy would remain with the band for the next ten years before he departed under similar circumstances to that of David and was replaced with the guy from Extreme.

This was the first of only two hits that Madness had in Australia, although a little-known fact about it is that it's a cover of a Labi Siffre track from ten years prior which surprised me considering that these guys were known for writing their own songs. Their second hit came when they appeared on Countdown to perform all of the singles from their greatest hits album Complete madness.

Given how "Here I am" managed to get a second wind on the Australian charts the previous year due to how well it did in America, it only makes sense that this song would also be given a second chance as it was the band's biggest hit from Labour of love II in their native UK two years prior. The other two international hits on the album "Homely girl" and "The way you do the things you do" weren't given a second chance here.

This was the only hit single that Christopher Cross was able to score in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to being a theme to the Dudley Moore flick Arthur which allowed it to win an academy award for best original song shortly into the new year. I haven't seen the original version, although I have seen the remake and if the original is anything like the remake, then it's a very overrated film.

This was the debut single for Toni Childs, a woman who struggled to find success in her native America as did many of the other entries on this list as America was slow to adapt the female singer/songwriter trend into their mainstream. Here she was a massive success thanks to the popularity of her debut album where it became one of the biggest of the decade, in fact her next album was also a huge hit for her.

You'd think that this would be a fast-paced RNB jam judging by the name of the band who made it as well as the name of the song, instead we have a smooth RNB jam that wouldn't have felt out of place on the Saturday night fever soundtrack making it big this far into the 80's. This was their only hit back in the day, and sadly Fat Larry would pass away later in the decade putting an end to their time together.

I've got to be honest, I'm not sure how this managed to become a hit in Australia as Adrian Gurvitz didn't have any success with this track anywhere else in the world. I guess this was a hit due to audiences who didn't want to buy into the MTV generation getting something out of this ballad.

This was the lead single to the Divinyl's second album What a life, an album which remains their most successful in their career due to it spawning multiple singles despite this being the only one that became a hit for them. It remains one of their more repetitive tracks, however that didn't prevent it from becoming a surprise hit for them over in NZ the following year and sparking international interest in them.

This is another song I'm surprised wasn't that much bigger in Australia back in the day, then again that might be due to how many times I've seen the scene where this is played in Priscilla queen of the desert which turned this heteronormative track about getting over a bad relationship into a queer anthem about coming out of the closet. This needed two attempts to become a hit in the UK, likely due to the dozens of remixes it has.

This was the first of three hits that Maxi Priest scored in Australia over the years, it's also his only cover as he took the Cat Stevens original and turned it into a reggae track to help him establish a career away from UB40. This was likely one of the songs to kick star the 90's fascination with reggae given how many other tracks from the genre made it big that decade.

Although "Should've known better" did scrape the top ten here in Australia, it won't be appearing on this list due to how it was only barely a hit here this year. Fortunately, Richard's second single from his debut album was a much bigger hit despite it having a lower peak here. I do prefer his earlier single mainly because it's more upbeat than this ballad, however they both showcase his strengths as a vocalist.

This was another song that required multiple attempts to make it big here in Australia, although it's the debut single for one of the most influential women in music even if her influence wouldn't be felt until her second album. This made it big once "Holiday" became a surprise success here in Australia, proving how much we Aussies love the future queen of pop even back in her earliest days.

Before he became the lead singer for the Models, James Freud was a solo artist who had a backing band by the name of the Modern Day Poets who scored a huge hit this year with this new wave track about how he fell in love with a modern girl. I'm guessing this was meant to be the antidote to all of the rockabilly tracks that were coming out around this time which was all about living in the past.