Hits of Australia and NZ: Hits of the 80's Australia X

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.

#93 for 1980

#83 for 1984

#94 for 1980

#89 for 1981

#89 for 1983

"The love cats" might've been the song that put the Cure on the map here in Australia, however this was the first time the goth band managed to achieve some success after several failed attempts to catch out attention by appearing on Countdown as semi regulars. Indeed, none of the songs they performed on the show managed to cross over here in Australia, making their appearances pointless in the long run (at least as far as success was concerned.)

We have one more entry to come from Australian crawl on this list, this was technically their first mainstream crossover as it very nearly cracked our top ten upon its initial release (it actually did according to the Countdown charts.) Alas it didn't rack up the points to appear on my 1980 list, however it did last long enough to appear on this bonus list of mine.

#84 for 1984

Well, the absence of this single has certainly been felt on this site, here we are with the breakthrough single from Sade which remains a household name on oldies stations to this day thanks to how smooth it feels compared to most of the bombastic tracks of its time. I get the feeling this would've been a massive chart topper in NZ had this been their debut single as opposed to "Your love is king."

#88 for 1985

Of all the hits that Hazell Dean scored in her native UK, this is the only one that crossed over here in Australia which even then struggled to find its footing during the midpoint of the 80's. This is one of many camp classics which showcases a woman looking for a man from back in the day, something that of course appeals heavily to gay men hence the target audience for this type of music.

My American readers will perhaps be a bit shocked to see this song on this list given how it became a hit on Billboard during a period not covered on this list, indeed this was a hit for Melissa Etheridge here in Australia upon its initial release given how it was the follow up to her earlier entry on this list as well as coming off a highly successful album that did eat up a bunch of its success here.

#90 for 1983

It turns out we Aussies were also somewhat interested in this track from David Bowie back in the day, not too interested mind you as this only makes it on this side of my site due to it being a sleeper hit as opposed to a chart topper like it was in NZ, but the interest was there regardless. It's hard to say how big the film was in the southern hemisphere as box office numbers for Australia and NZ are sadly limited.

This is the fourth and final single from INXS's magnum opus Kick, it's a slower ballad that many believe to be their signature tune which is perhaps how it became a hit despite coming from an already highly successful album. It was their final hit of the 80's as their next hit would be "Suicide blonde" from their next album X.

16 weeks

#85 for 1984

#89 for 1985

#91 for 1983

#90 for 1981

#91 for 1981

#86 for 1982

#87 for 1982

#92 for 1983

#92 for 1981

#93 for 1983

#88 for 1982

#89 for 1982

#93 for 1981

#82 for 1986

#86 for 1984

#81 for 1989

#83 for 1986

#90 for 1982

#82 for 1989

#87 for 1984

#96 for 1988

#91 for 1982

#97 for 1988

#92 for 1982

#90 for 1985

#98 for 1988

#84 for 1986

#83 for 1989

#88 for 1984

#84 for 1989

#93 for 1982

#91 for 1985

#85 for 1986

#94 for 1983

#86 for 1986

#89 for 1984

#85 for 1989

#90 for 1984

#94 for 1981

#94 for 1982

#91 for 1984

#95 for 1980

#96 for 1980

#92 for 1985

#95 for 1982

#93 for 1985

#92 for 1984

#96 for 1982

I'm a bit surprised this was a minor hit here in Australia and not in NZ given how this feels like something Prince would record on one of his off days, it’s more surprising given how this was a Billboard chart topper for the funk band Ready for the world (what is with that name by the way?) Even in their homeland, they remain a one hit wonder with this track despite how inescapable it was in America.

#94 for 1985

#87 for 1986

#88 for 1986

Even with expanding this list of mine the way I have, this is the only other entry from Def Leppard to achieve any notable success here in Australia as it was a surprise hit when Hysteria randomly saw a spike in popularity in 1989. This brings the number of hits they had down under up to four which goes to show how unpopular the hair metal band was here compared to the rest of the world.