UK hits of the 80's I

Well, I thought I'd cover all the big hits from the UK throughout the 80's that were hits in the southern hemisphere just like I did for the big hits on Billboard a few months back. Once again, I'll be skipping over songs that weren't a success in Australia and/or NZ as well as using different album art to the one's I used for entries on those sides of my site. This list is also homegrown (which you can check out here for reference.)

This was the biggest hit of the decade in the UK, although this was mainly due to it being a hit twice as both the original and remix came in as the fourth and fifth biggest hits of the decade respectively over there. This just goes to show that being banned on the radio and on the BBC for being controversial is all it took to win over audiences of the Margaret Thatcher era (as well as proof that LGBT media was widely accepted back then.)

It looks like the 80's were far more progressive in the UK than what most historians give credit for as Frankie goes to Hollywood has the biggest hit of the decade with a single run on the charts with their second single. The mad max inspired track certainly struck a chord with audiences who were tired of living in a far-right political climate which wouldn't change until the early 90's over there.

OK now to something less politically charged, we have the debut single of Black box which proved to be quite the hit during the final months of the decade for the Italian group. This no doubt ushered in the Italo house craze that boosted the EDM scene that would permeate throughout the 90's worldwide.

It appears the Brits had far more love for this Oscar winning ballad from Stevie Wonder than his fellow Americans did, this would explain why this song refused to die on our charts in the southern hemisphere as this was also the case on the UK charts.

I'm a bit surprised this flopped on Billboard given how Jennifer Rush was born in America as well as this fitting in with all the other adult contemporary ballads that made it on my Billboard list. Suffice to say that Celine Dion's cover from nearly a decade later had no chance of reaching the dizzying heights of this version in the UK even though both versions topped the Australian charts.

This was also credited as a George Michael solo hit in the UK (even though I'm using the American album art which suggests otherwise) suffice to say that his fellow Brits were more interested in his adult contemporary ballads than the otherwise fun and upbeat music he made with Andrew Ridgeley.

There'll be plenty more representation from Culture club on this list given how their fellow Brits couldn't get enough of their first two albums back in the day. This was of course their biggest hit in their homeland as it was internationally due to how much of a bop it remains to this day as well as the brilliant music video that accompanies it.

There's an urban legend that Princess Diana did a seductive dance routine to this track during her marriage with King Charles (a legend that was depicted as fact in Netflix's the Crown.) This would explain how Billy Joel managed to score his first hit in the UK as well as it being moved up to the lead single of An innocent man as opposed to "Tell her about it."

I guess the Brits were massive fans of Mannequin given how A: this was an even bigger hit over there than it was on Billboard and B: this was Starship's only hit over there. For what it's worth, Mannequin was far from the biggest box office success of 1987, meaning that it's survived the test of time purely through cult status.

This was bound to be a huge chart topper for Dexy's midnight runners in their homeland considering they already topped the UK charts with "Geno" two years prior, indeed that song would've easily made this list had it been a genuine hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day due to how big that was.

It didn't take long for us to feature a song that bombed here in Australia, did it? Here we are with T'pau's biggest hit in their homeland which was indeed a massive chart topper even if it only barely made it on the NZ side of my site. It's also worth noting how long it took for the kiwis to make this a hit as it was months after it fell off the UK charts.

I guess the Brits passed up Murray Head's contributions to the Chess soundtrack in favour of its true centrepiece given how this was one of the biggest hits of the decade in the UK whilst "One night in Bangkok" failed to appear on this list. Had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere, "Memory" from Elaine Paige would've also made it on this list.

The Brits certainly loved these two back in the day, their collaboration remains their biggest hit in their respective careers to this day as opposed to it failing to get to number one here in Australia and NZ. As you can imagine, there's plenty of other entries from both artists to come on this list.

It appears we Aussies were the ones to blame for why Rick Astley has been so inescapable over the years as this signature track of his wasn't quite as big in his homeland as it was down under. Even so, we'll be revisiting all of his biggest hits on this list as his fellow Brits also couldn't get enough of him back in the day.

While this isn't Lionel's only appearance on this list, it remains his only chart topper in the UK as his other hits failed to get to number one like this did. I guess the Brits were really touched by the music video which depicts him falling in love with one of his students who I should remind you is BLIND.

For some reason, I thought that mashups would be inescapable in the UK given how this was one of the biggest hits at the turn of the 80's/90's throughout the world. I guess they were rarer than I expected as there were only a couple of mashup tracks that were hits in the UK and not globally.

The Brits were a bit late to the party when it came to making this a chart topper, however they made up for that in 1990 when this became a hit again for seemingly arbitrary reasons. I'm guessing they came around to this ballad initially when it was announced as a nominee for an Oscar which it eventually won.

As this was Kylie's debut single internationally, it makes sense that it would be her biggest solo hit as this was the world's introduction to her discography as opposed to "The locomotion" (which we'll revisit in a bit.) I'm not sure why this bombed in America given how "The locomotion" was a massive hit for her on Billboard.

Don't think for a second that the Brits were against musicians of colour back in the day, in fact I would argue they were more receptive towards artists such as these guys than their fellow Americans as this is just one of many entries from Kool and the gang and other musicians of colour to make this list.

I'm guessing Rocky III was also a massive success in the UK as Survivor are one hit wonders with this track as they are internationally, I get the feeling it was their failure to score subsequent hits internationally that led to their fellow Americans declaring them a one hit wonder even though they had other hits on Billboard back in the day.

Again, don't think for a second there's going to be a lack of representation from musicians of colour on this list, this ballad which was a sleeper hit here in Australia proved to be a massive chart topper for Phyllis Nelson in the UK which goes to show how much these "pasty white Brits" were in tune with more urban music.

If this appearing on my Billboard list was due to its success here in Australia, then its appearance on this list is due to how well it did in NZ as like the kiwis, the Brits ignored this upon its initial release only to make it a chart topper when the TV spinoff of the film premiered two years after the film.

I wasn't expecting this family group to owe their success to the Brits as they surprisingly never had much success in their homeland throughout their career, indeed this ballad managed to be a massive chart topper for them in the UK which more than explains its success in the southern hemisphere five years after their initial breakthrough.

Whereas America passed up this iconic single for Europe's second single "Carrie," the UK had little issue in making this a chart topper for the Swedish band which encouraged us Aussies to nearly do the same several months after this happened. For what it's worth, "Carrie" was just as much a flop in the UK was it was internationally.

It was an inescapable hit here in Australia (despite failing to get to number one) so it makes sense it would be equally as successful in Yazz's homeland as it remains the biggest acid track in the UK to this day. Her other NZ hit is still to come on this list; however, she had no other hits even in her homeland.

As this wasn't bundled with "Angel" like it was here in Australia and on Billboard, it was able to become Madonna's biggest hit in the UK which likely suggests that the Brits couldn't get enough of Desperately seeking Susan as this was only included on Like a virgin as a bonus track on its deluxe edition.

This is without question one of the cheesiest songs of the decade, so it makes sense that it would be a massive chart topper in the duo's homeland. That said, it took us Aussies quite a while to come around on this track as it was a chart topper during the Christmas of 1982 and didn't crossover here until mid 1983.

I have no idea why this bombed in Womack and Womack's native America; however, it was a massive hit for them in the UK which is why it managed to become a huge chart topper for the husband-and-wife duo in the southern hemisphere. It was their only hit over there just like it was here in Australia, so we won't be revisiting "Celebrate the world" on this list.

Even though this was equally as successful in the UK as it was here in Australia, this failed to get to number one over there (although it was blocked by John Lennon's postmortem tributes) meaning the band would have to wait until their second album before they had a chart topper in their homeland.

This was a hit in the UK around the same time it was here in Australia, I guess we Aussies couldn't wait to see if this was a proven success for the quartet which is perhaps why it failed to reach our top ten despite it being a chart topper for them in their homeland.

Just a heads up that like here in Australia, getting to number one isn't everything in the UK as there'll be several entries on here that went to number one ranking low on this list. I bring this up because this was Paul Young's biggest hit in his homeland despite failing to reach number one on the UK charts, mainly because it peaked during the highly competitive Christmas season.

Further proof that going to number one isn't everything in the UK, this was infamously blocked from the top spot by Joe Dolce even though this easily outranks the novelty track on this list (we'll revisit that in a bit.) It was the only notable success that Ultravox achieved in their homeland despite many other attempts.

I guess getting kicked out of his own band was a blessing in disguise for Jimmy Somerville as his first single with his second group the Communards managed to outperform the entire catalogue of Bronski beat in his homeland as well as here in Australia. As you can imagine, this was also much bigger in the UK than the Thelma Houston original from a decade prior.

While she wasn't as inescapable in the UK as she was in her native America, the Brits did allow Whitney Houston to have several massive hits over there with this being one of three chart toppers she had (one we'll look at in a bit and the other being "I will always love you" in 1992.)

I'm not sure how the Brits came across this track from Diana Ross given how it bombed on Billboard, however they did and made it a huge chart topper like we Aussies did for the 60's legend. I'm guessing it was due to us recognising the brothers Gibb on backing vocals where her fellow Americans didn't.

You knew this would rank high on this list given how it was a massive hit over in America for the soul group, indeed this was a massive chart topper for Soul II soul just as the decade was coming to an end which makes the failure of their 90's material in their homeland all the more disappointing.

Much like here in Australia, the Supremes didn't have much success in the UK in their heyday which means that most Brits likely didn't realise this was a cover of one of their tracks back in the day. It was Phil Collin's first chart topper anywhere in the world as well as the song that put him on the map in America.

There's no surprise this was a massive chart topper for UB40 in their homeland upon its initial release, you can expect plenty of other entries from them on this list as their fellow Brits couldn't get enough of their brand of reggae just like the rest of the world back in the day.

There was little chance this would flop for the Human league given how it was fighting for the Christmas number one of 1981 which it successfully claimed, the real surprise is that it took the rest of the world six months to release this as a single given how their album had already been released by this time this became a chart topper in their homeland.

It turns out Madonna had a bit of buzz in the UK prior to her second album just like she did here in Australia, this meant that the title track to that album managed to be a massive hit over there the same time it topped the Billboard and Australian charts back in the day even if it failed to get to number one on the British charts.

I hope you're prepared for an abundance of novelty tracks on this list as the Brits sure love their novelty tracks, this was by far the biggest of the 80's courtesy of Black lace who it turns out wasn't a one hit wonder in their homeland as they had a hit the year prior with "Superman."

I'm not sure if I should classify this as a novelty track as it was considered a genuine hit upon its initial release in 1957, I somewhat consider it as such due to how bizarre the music video was which of course the Brits lapped up when they made it a hit during the Christmas of 1986.

There's little surprise this was a chart topper for Paul Hardcastle in his homeland given how it also topped the NZ charts back in the day, again I feel this underperformed here in Australia due to there being a much more heartfelt tribute to the victims of the Vietnam war conscription in the form of "I was only 19" by Redgum.

Well, this is a surprise, I wasn't expecting to find out that this was more successful in the UK than it was on the Billboard charts for the Bangles. Granted there had to be a reason why it was the biggest hit of 1989 here in Australia back in the day and its high placement on this list is as good an explanation as any for that happening.

Had he had more hits outside of his first two albums in the southern hemisphere, I'd say to expect a ton of representation from Shaking Stevens as the Welsh Elvis impersonator had a ton of love from his fellow Brits back in the day with this being the biggest hit he achieved in his homeland.

It appears that the Brits also appreciated Madonna's support of teenage pregnancy as this was also a huge chart topper for her in the UK back in the day like it was here in Australia and her native America. It was also the only chart topper she had from True blue in both America and the UK for an extra fun fact.

I'm not sure why the Brits passed up on Belinda Carlisle's catalogue up until her magnum opus from her second solo album, however they instantly fell in love with this track as it proved to be just as successful over there as it was in her native America. This was a bit of a passing the baton moment as she would have more success in the UK than her homeland from here on out.

The definitive proof that hitting number one was a mere bonus in the UK back in the day, this only peaked at number nine in New order's homeland and I haven't bundled its chart run with its 1988 remix (that's still to come on this list) which means there's going to be plenty of sleeper hits on this list.

We have another entry that was a hit twice in the UK, although its second time came in 1991 meaning I'm only looking at its original success from six years prior. While it's possible the Brits were fans of Vision quest back in the day, I feel this was more of a hit due to Madonna's winning streak she had worldwide.

And we have another cheesy ballad to rank high on this list, although this being a chart topper in Boris's homeland does explain why it was so inescapable in the southern hemisphere given how popular ballads set to reggae music was throughout the decade.

I have to wonder just how popular Buster was internationally as it was a box office bomb in America upon its release, I suppose this is an example of the music overshadowing the movie as both singles from its star Phil Collins will be reappearing on this list due to how well they did in his homeland.

We have another novelty hit to rank high on this list, this time it's this cover of a 30's track from the short-lived novelty group Tight fit who score a massive chart topper in their homeland with this track. They had other hits in their homeland that would've made it on here had they crossed over to the southern hemisphere (those being "Fantasy island" and "Back to the 60's.")

This had the same trajectory in the UK as it did in the southern hemisphere, namely it failed to get to number one and yet managed to stick around for quite some time due to the popularity of the film it's named after. This is Ray Parker's only entry on this list as he was unpopular in the UK throughout his career.

This was the other chart topper Whitney Houston had in the UK throughout the decade, I'm guessing it was when this topped the British charts that her winning streak began in her homeland as this was the lead single from her self titled over there as opposed to "You give good love" internationally.

Much like in NZ, these guys are a two-hit wonder with this and "Waiting for a girl like you" in the UK (we'll revisit that track later down this list.) Even so, I'm a bit surprised this was a chart topper over there as this soft rock ballad feels out of place with the higher emphasis of pop and new wave dominating the charts back in the day.

As this was a massive chart topper for Feargal Sharkey here in Australia, it only makes sense it was also a chart topper in his homeland even though his fellow Brits also knew little of his previous projects. He wound up being more successful here as his second single "You little thief" failed to make it on this list despite being a decent hit over there.

It would've been funny if this had of flopped in the UK back in the day given how it was a hit for Chris De Burgh over in America, indeed this was a massive hit for the Irish crooner in his homeland which no doubt explains why it was a huge hit here in Australia where crooner ballads didn't do as well.

I don't know why this was a mere sleeper hit for Falco here in Australia, although I'm less surprised it was a chart topper for him in the UK given how it has novelty written all over it. Another surprise is that "Der kommissar" was a flop over there, meaning I have no idea how we Aussies and kiwis came across it three years prior.

There's nothing more I can say about this ballad I haven't already talked about on this site, it's rise to success in the UK was the same as it was internationally which makes it a bittersweet chart topper for both parties involved.

I keep thinking this is a Wham track given how similar it is to the duo's earliest material; their fellow Brits must've felt the same way back in the day as this proved to be more popular for Freeez than anything from Wham's debut album as evidence by its placement on this list.

This may have gotten to number one for Paul Young in his homeland, however as we've seen, it wasn't his biggest hit over there which goes to show how number one isn't always everything when it comes to success in the UK. There's a bit of a drop off with the rest of his catalogue as far as success is concerned, however he would've had plenty more representation on here had they crossed over internationally.

I guess the Brits were the reason why Don Mclean was able to have success in the 80's as this was only a hit in his native America a year after it topped the British charts for the "American pie" singer. This makes its failure here in Australia all the more confusing given how it was a sleeper hit over in NZ.

You knew this would have a high placement on this list given how it nearly topped the Billboard charts for Culture club, indeed this ushered in a new queer friendly phase in music which is the best proof I have that left wing media has been popular for far longer than what most modern audiences realise.

This is more of a 70's hit for Pink Floyd, however I included it on this list as it stuck around for quite some time in the first months of the 80's given how late it was released in 1979. This means I won't be getting any "you missed this iconic classic!" comments from my readers even though like I said, this is more of a 70's hit as far as the Brits are concerned.

Of all the acts that I'm surprised didn't make it in America, Mel and Kim is one of the biggest as they were prominent clients of Stock Aitken and Waterman, and they had a massive worldwide chart topper with their second single. Even so, I feel they were slightly more successful in the southern hemisphere if only because their other singles did slightly better here than in their homeland.

Whereas we Aussies only gave this guy success due to his role on Neighbours, it appears the Brits genuinely liked his music (or at the very least were able to look past his lack of singing talent) as this was a massive chart topper for him over there in the final year of the 80's.

I'm not entirely sure how this managed to become a huge chart topper for Tiffany in the UK, mainly because this was quite late to the party as it had already fallen off the Billboard charts by the time it topped the British charts for the (then) young teen pop idol. Her other Billboard chart topper is still to come on this list, albeit much later.

I guess the Brits were only interested in the theme to the lead character in Beverly hills cop much like the kiwis were back in the day, as such his theme was a huge success over there despite the other singles from the film failing to catch on.

I would say there was little surprise this was a chart topper for Kelly Marie in her homeland, except her other big hit here in Australia "Make love to me" didn't even chart in her homeland which makes this song's success a bit of a surprise to me. Sadly, this means this was her only hit in the UK as her other songs flopped over there.

There was little doubt this would be a massive chart topper for Soft cell in their homeland, indeed they had a bunch of other hits in the UK which all failed to crossover internationally hence why this is their only entry on this list. They'd have two other entries if "Bedsitter" and "Torch" were a hit in Australia and/or NZ.

It's little surprise this cover of the Norman Greenbaum classic was a chart topper for Dr and the Medics in their homeland given how the original was also a huge chart topper for the singer/songwriter sixteen years prior. This is another example of a band being style over substance as they were a one hit wonder even in the UK with this cover.

You'd think these guys would have representation peppers all throughout this list, alas this is their only appearance on here as none of their other songs managed to find an audience in their homeland for whatever reason. At least their best song (in my opinion) remains their biggest worldwide as it became the first chart topper of the decade in their homeland.

Well, it took a little bit longer to feature the king of pop on this list as opposed to my Billboard list, however there's no denying that MJ was just as inescapable in the UK as he was internationally with this magnum opus from Thriller remaining as his biggest hit in his career over there.

This is another example of a song that got stuck at number two outperforming the song that prevented it from getting to number one (that being "We are the world") even though they never hit number one in their homeland, Tears for fears were nonetheless inescapable in the UK which is why they translated that success internationally.

Get ready for a puzzling fact about this classic, this failed to get to number one in the UK despite it being A-ha's biggest hit over there like it was internationally. Admittedly this was stuck behind Jennifer Rush's earlier entry, so it's not like they had anything to be ashamed of at the time.

Even though Tina owes the success of her comeback to the Brits when they made "Let's stay together" a surprise hit for her (stay tuned for that on this list) you can file her in the category of biggest artists of the decade over there that never hit number one on their charts as this failed to get to number one on their charts like it did here in Australia and on Billboard.

It seems weird this was Adam and the Ants first chart topper in their homeland given how their earlier entry on this list was a chart topper for them here in Australia, admittedly there wasn't any competition for this getting there as opposed to "Antmusic" competing with John Lennon's postmortem which is why it got to number one.

This is Rod Stewart's only appearance on this list, although "Every beat of my heart" would've also appeared on here had that been a hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day. It's also a rare chart topper for the spikey haired crooner in his homeland given how he was always more successful in America for some reason.

It appears the kiwis had taken a page out of the Brits page book by ignoring Phil Collin's singles from No jacket required in favour of his collaboration with Phillip Bailey back in the day. This was a chart topper for the duo in the UK which ensured its high placement on this list of mine.

It's hard to say if Sinitta's fellow Brits made her debut single a hit due to their nostalgic love for the Village people or if she had a strong marketing push even prior to her on again off again relationship with Simon Cowell, either way this remains her biggest hit in her homeland as opposed to "Right back where we started from" in the southern hemisphere (which is still to come on this list.)

 

I'm not sure why the Brits decided to make this the lead single to Slippery when wet and not "You give love a bad name," however it paid off for the band as this was a massive hit for them over there which no doubt led to its success in their native America as the albums second single.

Even though Billy Ocean had plenty of prior success to his theme song to Jewel of the Nile in his homeland, this was his only chart topper on the UK charts which suggests this was more of a hit due to his fellow Brits love of the film rather than his artist momentum. I still don't know why this failed to get to number one in America for the record.

And now for more proof that the Brits were more receptive towards female musicians of colour back in the day than Americans were, this breakthrough single from Chaka Khan was a chart topper for her in the UK which no doubt led to its success internationally including on the Billboard charts where it failed to get to number one.

I'm sort of cheating with this entry as this was technically the B-side to "Everything she wants" in the UK, however I'm including it on here as the British charts would insist on having these two as a double a-side given how they were released simultaneously worldwide. Admittedly this did rechart the year after its release over there, however that re-entry failed to appear on my list.

Disco was dead by 1983 huh? Considering this was a massive chart topper for KC and the Sunshine band in the UK which led to it being a massive worldwide hit for them, I beg to differ even if this flopped in America at the time of its release. You have no idea how much pleasure I have disproving the disco backlash theory whenever I look back at pop culture from the 80's on this site.

This may seem a little low on this list given how charity singles were all the rage back in the day, however it appears the Brits were already pulling Christmas singles from their shelves by the early months of the new year by the 80's as opposed to us Aussies and kiwis which kept them around indefinitely. This also recharted a few times throughout the decade, however only its initial release made the list.

Well this failing to appear on this list would've been awkward given how it appeared quite high on my Billboard list, although it originally did fail on an early draft as I originally only included songs that made the UK year end lists from back in the day, I bring this up because they too were highly unreliable given how many big hits of the day I would've had to skip over had I followed through with this method.

If you're wondering why this is lower on this list compared to its ranking on my 80's lists for Australia, NZ and Billboard, that's because this Oscar winning track failed to get to number one in the UK which I guess means the Brits weren't as big of fans of Flashdance as the rest of the world was. Further proof I have of this theory is that "Maniac" by Michael Sembello won't be appearing on this list.

I bet you weren't expecting this to be Queen's biggest hit in their homeland throughout the decade, were you? Even if it was a hit in the 80's and not the 70's, this would still outrank "Crazy little thing called love" as that didn't get to number one over there for the band, in fact they only had one chart topper this decade with David Bowie which we'll get to in a bit.