Hits of Australia and NZ: July 2024

I know this feels a little reductive considering every entry on this list appeared on my biggest hits of 1980-1992 lists, however I love the 80's and I'm sure the 80's aficionados in my audience would want a list like this given how I've already done one for the 90's and 70's on this site. The same rules I applied to the 90's list apply here, I'll only add commentary to songs that didn't appear on one of my official year end lists and will be ranking them based on how long they lasted on our charts.

#12 for 1985

#13 for 1985

#17 for 1986

#27 for 1987

#8 for 1982

#17 for 1983

#18 for 1980

#9 for 1982

#12 for 1981

#19 for 1980

#28 for 1987

#28 for 1989

#18 for 1986

#29 for 1987

#29 for 1989

#20 for 1980

#30 for 1987

#21 for 1980

#13 for 1981

#10 for 1982

#14 for 1981

#36 for 1990

#18 for 1983

#31 for 1987

#35 for 1988

#32 for 1987

#19 for 1983

#11 for 1982

#20 for 1983

#12 for 1982

#19 for 1986

#36 for 1988

#15 for 1981

#37 for 1988

#14 for 1985

#21 for 1983

#33 for 1987

#22 for 1983

#16 for 1981

Given how this was John Cougar's first massive success in NZ, it's only fitting this would be a decent success here in Australia even if said success was largely eaten up both by strong album sales as well as "Paper on fire" being said album's lead single. Still, this did stick around for quite some time which was impressive given how the heartland rocker had been active for a decade by this point.

#13 for 1982

This came very close to making the cut for my 1988 list given how it did scrap the top ten here in Australia, alas it was pushed aside in favour of many of the entries which did make the cut for that list likely due to being released at different times across the country throughout that year. In any case, he did make a huge splash with this second single from his album down under thanks to how upbeat it is.

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.

This was the first taste of success that Jenny Morris had throughout her career both here and her native NZ, indeed she was largely ignored in her homeland throughout the 80's even though she managed to achieve moderate success here with members of several Australian bands of the moment including the likes of Air supply and the Eurogliders at the height of both bands’ respective popularities.

As far as the world is concerned, John Denver hasn't had a hit since "Calypso" from 1975. That's mostly the case here in Australia as well, although he did manage to have a sleeper hit here thirteen years later with the lead single to his album Higher ground for reasons I can't seem to fathom as it's far from the country pop we're all used to from his catalogue.

It appears we Aussies couldn't entirely resist this showstopper from Chess given how it managed to chart for quite some time in the lower half of the charts during the midpoint of the 80's, although we certainly didn't have the same love for this duet that the kiwis and ESPECIALLY the Brits did upon its initial release as it was one of the biggest hits of the decade in the UK.

We've looked the debut single from Simply red on the NZ side of my site, so let's now look at the big breakthrough they had in America as this managed to chart for quite some time here in Australia despite never reaching the dizzying heights of success here it had on Billboard and in their native UK. I guess the kiwis weren't too fond of this ballad from the band which is odd given how sophistopop was in full swing over there by this point.

Now if you've come from my 1992 lists, this may seem like a completely different band than the one that appeared on those lists given the noticeable absence of Deni Hines on lead vocals. This is because the band was notorious for its different lineup changes as we have John Kenny on lead vocals with their breakthrough single which only became a success due to its refusal to die on our charts back in the day.

25 weeks

#22 for 1980

#20 for 1986

#21 for 1986

#34 for 1987

#23 for 1980

#17 for 1981

#38 for 1988

#30 for 1989

#31 for 1989

#22 for 1986

#21 for 1979

#24 for 1980

#18 for 1981

#32 for 1989

#25 for 1980

#19 for 1981

#14 for 1982

#15 for 1985

#35 for 1987

#20 for 1981

#23 for 1983

#21 for 1981

#15 for 1982

#14 for 1984

#16 for 1985

#39 for 1988

#23 for 1986

#24 for 1986

#33 for 1989

#16 for 1982

#45 for 1990

#17 for 1985

#40 for 1988

#34 for 1989

#25 for 1986

#36 for 1987

#24 for 1983

#35 for 1989

#26 for 1980

#25 for 1983

#41 for 1988

#15 for 1984

#37 for 1987

#36 for 1989

#27 for 1980

#38 for 1987

#16 for 1984

#42 for 1988

#37 for 1989

#26 for 1986

#17 for 1984

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.

#22 for 1981

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