After much deliberation, I've decided to include entries from what I believe would be Billboard's 80's list had the website stretched it out to match the success of the singles that appeared at the end of their 90's list. Now obviously this means that this section of my list is unofficial to the list compiled by Billboard, however I do want to highlight the big hits of the decade in America that were also big hits here in Australia to continue forming my thoughts about how the decade turned out to be. I'll let you know when we get to the end of this bonus list of mine what they are, but suffice to say that at a cursory glance at what I've compiled on my list on Rateyourmusic (which you can check out here) my evaluation I gave at the end of the official list will remain the same.
Just a heads up that we'll be evening out the first half of the decade with the second half on this list, meaning there'll be far more entries from this period compared to that period. That out of the way, we have the final hit that the Manhattans had anywhere in the world which of course was a massive hit in their homeland due to it being an RNB jam released at a time where ballads reigned supreme on Billboard.
This is the only near miss that failed to appear on Billboard's 80's list, it would've been George Harrison's final hit in America were it not for his triumphant comeback in 1987 with "Got my mind set on you" which led to his international success with the Traveling wilburys by the end of the decade. In the meantime, this became a hit due to it being affiliated with John Lennon's tragic passing.
This was the only hit that Melissa Manchester had on Billboard just like it was here in Australia, although it's worth noting it was far more popular down under for her than it was in her homeland even though it had a high year end peak in America back in the day. That said, I wouldn't put much stock onto the Billboard year end lists as they've never been particularly accurate.
Honestly the absence of this song on Billboard's 80's list was felt when I constructed my recreation of it for my site, yes it wasn't as inescapable in America as it was in the band's native UK, however it was the catalyst for PM Dawn's biggest hit almost a decade later as well as it being one of the first songs that comes to mind when an 80's aficionado thinks of a song from the decade.
Even though Billy Idol had three hits prior to this track in the southern hemisphere, this was his first hit in the northern hemisphere given how well it did in America right around the time he migrated to New York from his native UK. He wouldn't start seeing success in his homeland until a year after this made it big for him on Billboard which was about two years after he made it big in Australia and NZ.
Much like here in Australia, this was Livie's final hit in America due to it being the theme song to what I've been told is one of the worst films of the decade Two of a kind. Going by the lyrics, this seems like one of those movies that's so bad its good as there's lines about being back in the land of the living, although I get the feeling even at the time us Aussies and Americans didn't make the connection to the film.
This is another mark against the claim that disco was dead in America at the start of the decade, indeed I'm less surprised this was a hit on Billboard for Diana Ross and more surprised that this was a flop here in Australia as surely, we Aussies would've been the ones to make the LGBT comparison this song would eventually gain over the years upon its initial release.
I'm not quite sure how Americans came across this cover of the showtunes classic from the thirties made popular by Gene Kelly, then again this was a huge chart topper in NZ as well as it being a big hit here in Australia, so I'm guessing this was a hit in these three countries due to the novelty of the cover rather than it being a massive hit throughout Europe.
Even though this was the second single for Too low for zero in America just like it was here in Australia, this would up being more successful on Billboard than the lead single "I'm still standing" which unfortunately failed to make an appearance on this bonus list of mine. That said, it's one of the few entries on my list that failed to do so throughout the 80's as there'll be plenty of representation from him moving forward.
While it didn't crack the Billboard top five, there was no denying this was a huge success for the former vocalist for Jefferson starship in his native America upon its initial release. It was a huge hit in NZ which is how it managed to appear on this list, however we Aussies passed this up in favour of the (in my opinion) more interesting offers from British artists around this time.
I would say to expect more entries form Lionel Richie as this was far from his only hit throughout the 80's that didn't make it onto Billboard's 80's list, the problem is that none of his other singles that are eligible for this bonus list of mine managed to be a success in the southern hemisphere which means I won't be featuring it on this list.
It's entries like this that made me decide to fill make this bonus list of mine as I couldn't talk about the biggest hits of the decade in America that were also the case in either Australia or NZ (or both) without mentioning these guys again. Although this wasn't among the biggest hits of the decade in their homeland, they made up for it by having their album be the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard charts.
Again, how could I not feature this song on a list containing big hits in America that were also as such in the southern hemisphere for the 80's? This became a hit on Billboard around the same time "Stand back" by Stevie Nicks was released (and was also equally as popular from what I can gather) which makes this the earliest entry from the Purple one on this this retrospective of mine.
There's going to be a number of songs on here that was only a hit in NZ and were flops here in Australia, this was one of those hits even though I get the feeling it was a hit over there more for its surprise success it had in the UK where this almost topped the British charts for the trio in question.
Diana Ross is another artist that thrived during the first half of the decade on Billboard, she would've also swarmed this bonus list of mine if I didn't skip over every song that flopped outside of her native America throughout the decade. Sadly, this means this is her final appearance on this list as "Chain reaction" bombed on the Billboard charts later in the decade.
This was the only hit that the Manhattan transfer had in their native America, it was far from their only international success as they were a massive deal throughout Europe in the 70's, however none of their earlier material managed to be a success on Billboard. This was more of a hit in NZ as it almost topped their charts, although I don't know why as they’re a one hit wonder over there as well.
This is another absence from Billboard's 80's list I felt when reconstructing that list for my side, fortunately this was a massive hit in Scandal's native America throughout the decade which allowed it to find an audience with us Aussies as a result. This was their only hit over there like it was over here, much like the fact that vocalist Patty Smyth wouldn't have another hit until eight years later with Don Henley.
I'm not sure how the Brits got a hold of this (at the time) six-year-old track from Charlene that bombed in her native America, what I do know is that it was a massive chart topper in the UK which allowed it to be an even bigger chart topper here in Australia and eventually a huge hit for her on Billboard. At least "Mickey" from Toni Basil didn't have this convoluted of a route to become a hit in her homeland.
You're guess is as good as mine as to why this was a flop in Stray cats native America upon its initial release in 1981 only to become a huge hit on Billboard two years later despite the trio finding massive international success from their debut album, my guess is that their fellow Americans weren't too into the rockabilly revival from the start of the decade like the rest of the world was but eventually changed their minds.
We're finally able to feature the song that made Billboard history from Cyndi Lauper as this became the first time an album spawned four top five hits from the same album, pretty impressive as this was done before the change in chart format which naturally gave a lot of albums a huge advantage throughout the rest of the decade as this allowed for airplay data to be factored onto the main charts.
If there was any doubt that Sheena Easton would be a novelty act with her top entry on Billboard's 80's list, then that was put to rest when her Bond theme managed to be a huge success for her in America like it was here in Australia and NZ. Her other big hit she had here in Australia is still to come on this list, however she had other hits in America that failed to be as such in the southern hemisphere.
Given this was the lead single to Rod Stewart's second album of the decade in America like it was internationally, it meant that it had little chance of it being a flop on Billboard as it managed to appear on my bonus list of mine and likely only barely failed to appear on Billboard's 80's list much like every entry we've looked at so far on this list. I will say it's impressive it found most of its success here in Australia even though it was the second single from the album here.
If you were wondering if the Commodores found any success on Billboard with Lionel Richie as their frontman throughout the 80's, this song's presence should be an easy answer to that question even though it was far more popular in NZ than it was in their homeland given how it topped the NZ charts and all. They had other hits in America this decade, however this is their only appearance on this bonus list of mine.
It appears this was also a big hit in America two years after its international success for the Stray cats, again I'm not sure how this wound up being the case other than perhaps the success of their hit "She's sexy + 17" which curiously bombed in NZ where both of these two hits were popular.
This is the only entry from Duran Duran on my bonus list, although "I don't want your love" would've also been a shoe in for this list had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere for the band. This means that only their first album failed to produce a Billboard hit for the British band even if this was their biggest hit in their native UK behind "The reflex."
Even though her on again off again girlfriend Stevie Nicks had far more presence on the Billboard charts throughout the decade, it appears that Lindsay Buckingham at least has the consolation prize of having a huge chart topper here in Australia even if this was far from the biggest hit of the decade in his homeland.
He may have been fired from Van Halen, however that didn't mean the world was done with David Lee Roth as his cover of the Beach boys classic proved to be a huge success in his native America following his departure from the band as well as a decent hit here in Australia. This is his only appearance on my list, although he did have a second hit on Billboard with "Just like paradise" later in the decade.
Given how this was the song that saved their album Breakout by almost topping the UK charts, it only makes sense that this would be a success in the trio's native America as it was internationally. This is their only entry on this bonus list of mine since I covered all their big Billboard hits on the main list, however they did have a minor hit with "I'm so excited" shortly after this became a hit over there.
This along with "Lost in love" are the oldest songs to become a hit in America as they were both already falling off the charts in the southern hemisphere by the time the decade had begun, although I guess international audiences will say this is the oldest song given how Air Supply didn't see an international breakthrough until the start of the decade.
Although this is the only song from the Pretenders to appear on this list, I should note that they had a string of minor hits on Billboard throughout the 80's with this being the only notable success they had in America throughout their entire career. I guess this was because they were seen as an alternative band in America even though they found a ton of mainstream success internationally.
You'd think that Dr Hook would've had a ton of representation on the Billboard charts especially during the first stretch of the decade where country music reigned supreme in America, alas this was their only notable success over there despite how big they were internationally. Heck this was a huge chart topper in NZ even though this was a massive flop for them here in Australia.
This was Julio Iglesias's only hit in America, in fact I'm willing to bet this was only a hit on Billboard due to Willie Nelson's presence as he had a huge hit over there with "Always on my mind" two years prior that would've made the main list had it been a hit anywhere else in the world.
If I included songs that weren't hits in the southern hemisphere, there would be a ton of Huey Lewis tracks on this bonus list of mine. Alas we're only looking at two new entries with this being the first, it makes Ray Parker JR's top entry on the main list look that much more sus given that this was a genuine hit in both acts’ homeland.
This is another huge hit that failed to appear on a Billboard year end list back in the day, there were several huge hits back in the day that had this fate which goes to show how unreliable their yearend lists have always been. You'd think that Stephanie Mills would've had more hits in her homeland given her connections to the Wiz, alas you'd be wrong as this was the full extent of her popularity worldwide.
This is the only new entry for Paul McCartney on this list as his other two candidates "Take it away" and "Spies like us" both failed to become a hit outside of America throughout the decade. It's interesting to note that until recently, his two final hits were from films as this came from the critically panned Give my regards to Broadstreet whereas "Spies like us" comes from the commercially successful film of the same name.
This is the only other new entry from Huey Lewis and the news on this list of mine, it saw an equal amount of success as their earlier entry as well as "Heart of rock and roll" which goes to show how much of a roll they were on in their native America when they released their third album Sports.
If you're wondering why this song is only on this bonus list of mine, that's because it was the fourth single from Make it big in America as "Everything she wants" was released as the third single over there which allowed it to become their third Billboard chart topper. As it was too much of a "fan single" here in Australia and NZ, it failed to make either side of my site and thus failed to appear on the main list.
You'd think this would've been a huge chart topper for Sheila E given how she was the longtime girlfriend of Prince throughout his lifetime, alas it was only a top ten hit for her and roughly as successful on Billboard has it was here in Australia despite it failing to crack our top ten back in the day. She's also a one hit wonder as "The belle of St mark" failed to become a hit in her homeland.
If you're wondering how this title track failed to appear on the main list despite it being a massive hit in Australia and NZ for MJ, that's because we Aussies and kiwis were infatuated with the video which allowed us to buy this track despite everyone already owning the album by the time it was released as a single. This didn't seem to be the case for his fellow Americans which is why it's only here.
It appears the fellow Americans of Bon Jovi weren't as impressed with their foray into country as the rest of the world was, that said this was a decent hit over on Billboard even if it was pitiful compared to what appeared on their 80's list. They would've had one more entry with "Born to be my baby" had that been a hit in the southern hemisphere, but alas it wasn't so it won't be appearing on this list.
I have no idea how this managed to nearly top the Australian charts given how it was far from a chart topper in Bertie Higgins native America, it makes sense that this was a hit for him even if this was released just after the launch of MTV which was a death note to easy listening such as this back in the day.
Bruce Springsteen is another artist that would've flooded this bonus list of mine if he had more hits that crossed over to the southern hemisphere back in the day, heck this is one of three entries from him on this list of mine to give you an idea of how thorough I'm being with representing each of his biggest hits on Billboard that were also hits internationally back in the day.
Fans of Axel Rose and company can rest easy as the three other big hits they had internationally from their first two albums will be appearing on this list starting with the second single from their debut album. I guess these songs weren't that big on Billboard due to an oversaturation of hair metal during the last stretch of the decade as I can't think of another reason why they weren't that big in their homeland.
We'll also be covering all of Livie's big hits she had here in Australia on this bonus list of mine as she managed to make quite a splash on the Billboard charts during the first half of the decade. It makes sense this would be a big hit for her over there given how it was the follow-up to THE biggest hit of the decade in America.
To give you an idea of how truly unreliable Billboard's year end lists were back in the day, this was supposedly the twelfth biggest hit of 1980 despite it barely cracking the top ten and not being considered a sleeper hit either. That's not to take away from the success it actually achieved as this was a massive UK chart topper for Gary Numan which managed to find crossover success in America and Australia at the start of the decade.
If Billboard ever did a 70's list on their website, you could rest assure that "Dancing queen" would appear quite high on there given how it's considered their signature track for a reason. It appears the Americans just enough love for the Swedish quartet to give them one more hit at the start of the 80's, or rather in 1981 as this was delayed over there despite it being an instant chart topper in the UK the year prior.
If you felt the absence of these guys when going through Billboard's 80's list, you can rest assure that they will have several entries on this list with one I already skipped being "King of pain" which unfortunately wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world despite being a massive hit for them in America. This was their first top five hit over there given how it nearly topped the Australian charts and was a chart topper for them in their native UK.
All things considered, I'm shocked at how little success Heart had throughout the rest of the world given how inescapable they were during the midpoint of the decade in their native America. This makes the cut for my list due to its success in NZ where it proved to be a bigger hit for them over there than it was in their homeland, although it was a hit on Billboard back in the day.
Given how this was their only international hit, this will be the only appearance from ZZ Top on this list even though "Sleeping bag" was also a massive hit for them in their homeland throughout the 80's. It appears they had a similar trajectory to finding success in America as they did internationally as their breakthrough album Eliminator only achieved success when this became a surprise hit a year after its release.
It appears that these guys had another hit in America after all as this second single from their album Brothers in arms managed to be a huge hit for them on Billboard even if it didn't quite reach the dizzying heights of success it had in NZ and their native UK (where it was their biggest hit funnily enough.) Unfortunately, they had no other success on Billboard even with airplay on their side.
We have another appearance from Guns n roses on this list, this time it's the lead single to their second album which was able to become a success given the momentum the band had from their first album. There's not much I can say about this track I haven't already mentioned throughout my site as its popularity in America was identical to what it was internationally.
At least we're able to have both of Don Henley's international hits on this list, although both "All she wants to do is dance" and "The end of the innocence" would've appeared at the end of this bonus list of mine had they been hits anywhere outside of America for the former Eagles frontman. I guess he wound up losing out to Glenn Frey in his native America just like he did here in Australia with this entry.
We looked at Arcadia on the main list, time now to look at what the other half of Duran Duran were doing throughout 1985 as they were able to score a hit with Robert Palmer as their temporary lead singer with this gem. It wasn't as big on Billboard as it was here in Australia, however it did put the British soul singer back on the map following his breakthrough in 1979 with "Bad case of loving you."
It appears Rupert's fellow Americans were also willing to give him a second hit with this gem just like the kiwis did following the success of his debut single "Escape," that would've easily made the main list had it not been the final Billboard chart topper of the 70's which naturally makes it a 70's hit rather than an 80's hit.
We have another appearance from Elton John on this bonus list of mine, this time it's the lead single to his album Breaking hearts which did decently well in America like it did internationally at the time. We still have one more entry on this list from his next album, although he had other appearances that could've made the list had they been successful internationally.
Although this is his only appearance on this bonus list of mine, both "Run to you" and "Heat of the night" were candidates for this list that I had to skip over due to their failure outside of America. This is often considered to be the one good song from Bryan Adams given how everybody loves to make fun of his songwriting abilities, I and many others don't believe it’s that bad as did audiences back in the day.
Although it failed to appear on Billboard's year end list, that's due to the stiff competition that every year in the second half of the decade had as this did admittedly get lost in the shuffle when it comes to putting together their annual year end list back in the day. It makes the cut here due to how long it spent in the upper echelons of the Billboard charts, although it did admittedly drop out of their charts quickly.
I bet you were wondering if Natalie Cole had any success in her homeland throughout her career, it turns out she did although it was mainly upon her initial breakthrough in the 70's as her later material was much bigger internationally. This was her penultimate hit on Billboard likely due to how big it was in Australia, NZ and the UK upon its release, this led to her having one more hit with "Miss you like crazy" the following year.
Although Rick James won't be appearing on this list, it appears his backup girl band Mary Jane girls were able to find a massive hit in their native America which would explain how they translated that success over to NZ during the midpoint of the decade. This was also a minor hit here in Australia, however it's the presence it had in NZ which earns it a spot on this list.
I have no idea how this managed to become a hit in America given how it wasn't a chart topper in the UK nor was it among the biggest hits of its time here in Australia and NZ. I guess the Americans were very open to sophistopop during the second half of the decade if they allowed this one and only hit from Swing out sister to become as big as it was when it did.
I have to believe this was a huge hit in America due to how inescapable it was here in Australia for the Clash given how they infamously never had a hit in their homeland (unless of course we're counting the reissue of "Should I stay or should I go" in 1991.) Regardless of how it hit their airwaves, it appears Americans loved the message behind this song and its politically incorrect (even for its time) music video.
I know I should include "Into the groove" with this entry given how it was bundled with this third single from Like a virgin in America just like it was here in Australia, however I've decided to only include the lead single for each entry on Billboard for this list. For what it's worth, "Lucky star" was a candidate for this bonus list of mine, and that would appear in the top fifteen for my Madonna ranking.
Just like the rest of the world, Tracy Chapman was a two-hit wonder in her native America with both this and "Give me one reason" from the 90's. It appears her fellow Americans didn't gravitate towards her debut single as much as the rest of the world did given how much bigger this was here in Australia and the UK than it was on Billboard.
This is the second appearance of Bruce Springsteen on this bonus list of mine, it's interesting how his signature track from his biggest album was the least successful of the four hits it spawned internationally in his native America (don't worry we'll get to it.)
Given how this was the final single that the Eagles released in their career, it makes sense that it would be a hit for them in America like it was in NZ even if I'm sure the band wished it was as such under better circumstances. They would've had another entry with "The long run" had that been a hit internationally like this was.
This is the only appearance from Laura Branigan on this bonus list of mine, mainly because it was the only other hit she had in her native America apart from her two entries on the main list. I'm not sure why "Ti Amo" became a massive hit here in Australia other than we Aussies showing our love for her music during the midpoint of the decade.
This is the only other entry from Billy Idol on this bonus list of mine, it appears Americans didn't appreciate his pivot towards sophistopop like we Aussies and kiwis did given how much less popular it was on Billboard than it was in the southern hemisphere. Hey at least it was a hit over there unlike his native UK where it was a flop much like everything else in his catalogue.
Given how successful his band Foreigner was during the first half of the decade worldwide, it only makes sense that frontman Lou Gramm would find success of his own as a solo artist during a time where all of his contemporaries were doing so. I feel this was more popular here in Australia than it was on Billboard despite it having a higher peak on the American charts.
This is the final appearance of Madonna on my list, it's the fourth single from her second album which proved to be quite successful in America even if it was slightly more popular here in Australia and the UK. I'm not sure how that happened as she had airplay on her side on the Billboard charts which is an advantage she didn't have here in Australia or the UK.
If you've been wondering why it's taken me this long to feature a Taylor Dayne song on the 80's list, that's because all of the other hits she scored throughout the decade on Billboard failed to become a hit anywhere else in the world. This is curious as this threatened to put her in the one hit wonder bin internationally due to it being a surprise hit in the UK for her, however she got out of it in the 90's.
I'm not sure how this nearly topped the NZ charts for Timex social club given how it was far from the biggest hit in their native America, I thought it was due to it being a massive hit in the UK but that didn't seem to be the case either. I guess it was a huge hit on Billboard regardless which no doubt led to the success of their sister band Club nouveau six months after its release.
Again, you have to excuse the high placement of this song on Billboard's 1982-year end list as by all accounts, it appeared way too high on that list given how well it did on their charts that year. Even so, it was still a big hit for Soft cell even if it was pitiful compared to how it did internationally for the British duo.
Although they're only known for their two Billboard chart toppers nowadays, Human league did score a third hit in America with this track which was sandwiched between their biggest hits over there. Of course they had plenty of other hits in their native UK, this being equally as popular as the other hit from the E.P it spawned from "Mirror man."
So, what was that about disco being dead at the start of the 80's? Granted this wasn't as big in Shalamar's homeland as it was over in NZ where this was indeed one of the biggest hits of 1980, however the fact that a song this funky managed to make it big on Billboard during allegedly one of the darkest ages for musicians of colour is proof that the disco backlash wasn't as severe as what music historians make it out to be.
I'm not sure how I feel about Icehouse being a one hit wonder in America, on the one hand it makes sense as this was one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia as well as a massive hit in NZ. On the other hand, it puzzles me how this was their only hit given how INXS had reopened the floodgates for Australian music in America with all their entries on the main list.
Although they didn't have a ton of hits on Billboard throughout the 80's, at least the Rolling stones were able to have all their entries on my site from the decade reappear on these lists of mine which goes to show how popular they were two decades after their initial breakthrough worldwide.
It looks like Americans were able to give Julian Lennon mainstream success on Billboard even though he was far from the most popular artist in his native UK throughout his career, indeed this was just as popular over there as it was here in Australia as well as his homeland upon its initial release. He had one other candidate for this list with "Valotte" which didn't make the cut due to it bombing internationally.
Given how this was a massive hit here in Australia, I would've been shocked if it wasn't at least a moderate success in Cheap trick's homeland which indeed it was. This is the last anyone heard from the band as they were notoriously unhappy with selling out when they did, although they needed to in order to not be dropped by their label which thankfully never happened.
I doubt many Americans knew that this was meant to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death given how it was pushed back in the duo's release schedule over there as is most music from non-American artists even to this day. What I do know is that it was their third biggest hit of the decade on Billboard as well as their final hit in America to this day.
This was Stacey Q's only hit in her native America as it was everywhere else in the world except for Australia, how we Aussies came across "We connect" given how it was ignored by her fellow Americans I'll never quite understand. There were a ton of Madonna rip-offs that made it big in America, however she was by far the most successful given her international success with this track.
This is another song that failed to appear on a yearend list for Billboard, it's also Cliff Richard's final big hit in America as none of his other 80's hits he had internationally managed to impress the Americans that much. This is strange as they bowed out of his catalogue right when it saw a massive resurgence in popularity here in Australia given how big his next single "Wired for sound" was.
This is the only new entry for Culture club on this list, although had it been a hit internationally, "Miss me blind" would also be on this list as that was the big hit in America over "Victims" which never saw the light of day as far as Americans are concerned. I get the feeling this song has been forgotten over the years mainly due to people mistaking "Karma chameleon" to be the lead single to their biggest album and not this.
Given how this nearly topped the NZ charts for dance pop diva Shannon, it makes sense that it would be a success in her native America even if it wasn't quite the inescapable hit in her homeland it was with the kiwis. I would say this was a hit in the UK except it wasn't really despite charting on the British charts.
OK full disclosure, I was really struggling to understand how this managed to become a hit here in Australia until I saw this was a decent hit in America given how Aerosmith wouldn't have a hit of their own down under until "Janie's got a gun" from the start of the 90's. Naturally the kiwis didn't need any convincing to make this an instant chart topper for the trio, making this the first hip hop track to top the charts anywhere in the world.
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