Hits of the 80's Australia IV

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.

#48 for 1988

#22 for 1985

#49 for 1988

#27 for 1981

#21 for 1982

#23 for 1985

#42 for 1987

#50 for 1988

#22 for 1984

#51 for 1988

#31 for 1986

#22 for 1982

#28 for 1981

#52 for 1988

#28 for 1983

#23 for 1982

#24 for 1985

#53 for 1988

#54 for 1988

#23 for 1984

#32 for 1980

I can see why this wasn't as much of an immediate success here in Australia as the other two big hits Wang Chung had during their heyday as it's nowhere near as catchy as "Everybody have fun tonight" or "Dance hall days," that said, it was a decent success for the band and proof they didn't need to resort to gimmicks in order to find an audience during the height of the sophistopop era.

Although country music wasn't the big rage here in Australia at the start of the 80's like it was internationally, there was enough love for the genres down under for ballads such as this from Don Williams to be a moderate sleeper hit whilst the wackier new wave tracks dominated the upper echelons of our charts.

I guess Richard Marx had a bit of bad luck with his more upbeat tracks as this is the second track in that vein to appear on this bonus list of mine for the first time following "Should've known better" from earlier. At least this was more of an immediate success in his homeland as it became his second consecutive Billboard chart topper following "Hold on to the nights" from his first album.

Although they refused to use Countdown as a platform for their music (a bold move for them to make) Midnight oil nonetheless managed to achieve sound success with their breakthrough E.P even if the best was yet to come for the band.

This was the final hit that Chicago had here in Australia or anywhere outside their native America for that matter, I guess the rest of the world was tired of their brand of soft rock even though they continued to rack up the hits well into the 90's on the Billboard charts. Even then, this was only a success here in Australia thanks to how long it stuck around for on our charts.

#41 for 1989

Whilst these guys were able to rack up the hits in America and their native Canada, this was their only other noticeable success here in Australia which even then was likely due to the success they had with their debut single from earlier on this list (although I don't have any inappropriate album art to share with you on this entry, I'm afraid.) It's another case of a sleeper hit finding a long shelf life on oldies stations nowadays.

23 weeks

#29 for 1981

#43 for 1987

#44 for 1987

#29 for 1983

#24 for 1984

#30 for 1981

#33 for 1980

#31 for 1981

#25 for 1984

#25 for 1985

#26 for 1985

#26 for 1984

#27 for 1985

#32 for 1981

#28 for 1985

#34 for 1980

#30 for 1983

#27 for 1984

#29 for 1985

#35 for 1980

#36 for 1980

#33 for 1981

#55 for 1988

#42 for 1989

#31 for 1983

#43 for 1989

#37 for 1980

#24 for 1982

#32 for 1986

#34 for 1981

#44 for 1989

#35 for 1981

#56 for 1988

#38 for 1980

#36 for 1981

#28 for 1984

#25 for 1982

#32 for 1983

#45 for 1989

#37 for 1981

#26 for 1982

#33 for 1983

#39 for 1980

#40 for 1980

#34 for 1983

#41 for 1980

#45 for 1987

#42 for 1980

#46 for 1987

#30 for 1985

#46 for 1989

#38 for 1981

#27 for 1982

#33 for 1986

#35 for 1983

#47 for 1987

#36 for 1983

#39 for 1981

#31 for 1985

#43 for 1980

#44 for 1980

#45 for 1980

#28 for 1982

#51 for 1990

#37 for 1983

#29 for 1984

#40 for 1981

#32 for 1985

#57 for 1988

#38 for 1983

#48 for 1987

#47 for 1989

#41 for 1981

#29 for 1982

#49 for 1987

Well, I did mention on the NZ side of my site that this required several attempts to take off here in Australia, it just so happens that each failed attempt contributed to this track's placement on this list which resulted in confirming its status as a sleeper hit back in the day for the jazz musician Herbie Hancock. Believe me, this is a bad representation of the man's otherwise down to earth work.

#58 for 1988

I guess we Aussies had enough room for the occasional novelty track back in the day given how this managed to stick around for quite some time on our charts even if it wasn't the inescapable hit here like it was in NZ or the UK. For what it's worth, there were far more novelty tracks in this vein throughout Europe than what managed to crossover to the southern hemisphere.

#33 for 1985

This is another song whose tardiness at finding success here in Australia ensured it a high placement on this list given how it easily could've made the cut on one of my lists had it found an audience with us Aussies upon its initial release. It remains the only hit from the SOS band down under, although most people these days are likely more familiar with the Fatboy slim cover he made seven years later.