Time now to look at the biggest hits of the 90's in the UK, again my source is a list I created on my rateyourmusic account (you can check it out here) and again I'm only including candidates that were a hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day. I'm also using alternate art for entries I'm able to find it for in case you don't recognise them from other areas on my site.
We can file Seal in the increasing category of a British artist failing to score a number one hit in his homeland despite having a massive worldwide chart topper, although in this case it's due to him already having minor success with this track upon its initial release as opposed to it flopping here in Australia and on Billboard prior to its inclusion on the Batman forever soundtrack.
Even though this was Living joy's biggest hit in the UK, it wasn't their highest charting as they went to number one over there with "Dreamer" a year prior to when this was a huge hit for them over there and here in Australia. This is just another example of number one not meaning much as naturally "Dreamer" failed to become a hit down under for the Italian group.
You want to know the weirdest thing about this track? The original from Dream academy was only a minor hit in the UK, meaning that the fellow Brits of those guys and Dario G likely didn't realise this was a remix of that track like we Aussies did when this nearly topped the UK charts.
Given how this has novelty written all over it, can you really be surprised that it was a chart topper for the short-lived group Bombalurina in their homeland? I'm more surprised the kiwis found any enjoyment from this track to be honest as this is the type of novelty track I tend to skip over on these lists I've made for the UK charts.
While I wouldn't exactly call this a new age track like the entries we had from Enigma on this list, it's similar enough to being one that it would fit in with the likes of those guys and Enya from back in the day. All this to say that I'm not surprised this was a massive hit for Neneh and Youssou worldwide even if it did bomb in America.
It took us a while to get to the Real McCoy, didn't it? Just like everywhere else in the world, this was a huge hit in the UK months prior to it topping the Australian charts even though we Aussies were meant to be the EDM lovers of the 90's. It's interesting that this was less popular over there than it was on Billboard despite it coming closer to topping the UK charts.
Even though I'm using the album art for both "Boombastic" and "In the summertime," this entry is for the former as both songs were released as singles in the UK just like they were everywhere in the world except for America. This was Shaggy's second UK chart topper as well as his first over in NZ, this leading to it also being the case here in Australia months after the fact.
Again, don't expect anything harder than this when it comes to rock music on this list because the Brits didn't seem to be that interested in the likes of Pearl jam or Metallica like the rest of the world was. That said, I'm stunned this was a chart topper over there for Deep blue something given how much of an outlier this is compared to even other rock tracks on this list.
As this was a massive chart topper here in Australia as well as OMC's native NZ, it makes sense that this would spark curiosity throughout the rest of the world which would lead to its success in the UK and eventually the Billboard airplay charts. I feel this would've been its position on my Billboard list had it been released as a single in America.
This is the only entry from Hanson on this list, although they had two other minor hits in the UK with "Where's the love" and "I will come to you" likely due to how well those two songs did here in Australia for the trio. Do I even need to say that this was a chart topper for them over there like it was internationally? Thought not.
While it wasn't as popular in the UK as it was in the southern hemisphere, this second single from Britney Spears proved to be a massive hit with the Brits as the decade was coming to an end. I'm not sure why her fellow Americans turned against her after her earlier entry as her Disney rival Christina Aguilera had a string of hits on Billboard.
This is MN8's only appearance on this list as "If you only let me in" was too minor of a hit in their homeland to make it on here despite it being a massive hit over in NZ for the RNB group. Again, this was a hit mainly for its appearance on the Bad boy's soundtrack rather than their fellow Brits being endeared by their fusion of RNB and teen pop.
This is Seal's other entry on this list, as it was almost a chart topper for the RNB singer in his homeland, it makes sense that it would be a massive international success for him including in America as we saw on my Billboard list. He only had minor hits with the rest of his catalogue in his homeland, meaning I'd have to stretch this list quite a bit before they became candidates for it.
Given that this was a ballad as opposed to the hair metal these guys are accustomed to, there was little doubt that this would be a hit with the Brits just like it was throughout the rest of the world. This could've made it to number one over there had it not been blocked off by Bryan Adams top entry on this list as was the case here in Australia.
This was one the final cuts I made from my bonus list I made for the Billboard charts, as such featuring it on a list like this was one of the incentives I had for making these lists for the UK charts. It's easy to see how it crossed over to America given how it nearly topped the British charts for Corona as well as it being a massive hit here in Australia for the Italian band.
Much like in America, this wasn't a chart topper for Billy Ray Cyrus in the UK, likely because the Brits don't tend to gravitate towards country music and likely only made an exception here due to its novelty value. At least this was a genuine hit for him unlike his daughter who would struggle to find success over there nearly two decades later.
I bet you're surprised it's taken me this long to feature a Backstreet boys single on this list, here we are with their biggest hit in the UK which was also their biggest hit in Australia and NZ back in the day. It lucked out from getting to number one due to the strong competition it had from the late 90's over there, however it made up for that by sticking around for quite a bit on their charts.
It turns out this song was used in a Levi's jeans commercial, meaning this was a hit in Babylon zoo's homeland due to it being an ad jingle rather than their fellow Brits being intrigued with its other worldly influences. I'm guessing it's the appeal of the song itself that made it a hit here in Australia and NZ given how out of place this feels with the other popular songs of its year.
It still staggers me that this was a worldwide hit due to it being a hit here in Australia, again how we Aussies came across this track before the rest of the world else is anyone's guess given how much of a failure it was in Alannah's native Canada. The Brits were the last to get on board with this track, though not by much as it became a hit over there just as it was dropping out of the charts here.
Despite having a fairly low peak position during the second half of the decade in the UK, this has a comfortable spot on my list as it managed to stick around for quite some time on their charts as opposed to debuting high and falling off quickly like many of the songs that outranked it during its chart run. Not bad for the younger brother of Neneh Cherry.
Now here's a song that was very late to the party in the UK given how it had already topped the Australian and NZ charts at the start of the decade as well as dropped off the Billboard charts by the time it was released over there. Then again, I'm guessing this was the Brits introduction to this wacky band given how their early 80's material bombed over there.
Of all the bizarre EDM tracks to make it big here in Australia, I wasn't expecting this remix of the Charleston to be among the few that was a massive hit in the UK given how Doop would go on to release a dance remix of a Jack Nicholson quote under the alias of Hocus pocus. I guess this was what the Brits considered to be the strangest chart topper of the decade as we Aussies consider "Here's Johnny" as such here.
Given that this was a huge hit here in Australia for Scottish singer Edwyn Collins, it only makes sense it would also be as such in his homeland even if it's another song that was more of a sleeper hit on the UK charts (comparatively speaking compared to some of the other entries on this list of course.) As it turns out, he had a hit with his band Orange juice a decade prior with "Rip it up" in his homeland.
Given how F.R.I.E.N.D.S was a global phenomenon by the midpoint of the decade, it only makes sense that its theme song from the Rembrandts would be a massive success in the UK upon its initial release just like it was internationally (except for here in Australia of course.) This song would have most of its success over there as it was rereleased two years later where it became a minor hit again.
This is the only candidate I had for Shola Ama for this list, although she had other minor hits in her homeland after this became a massive hit for her on the UK charts as well as over in NZ. It's another case of a song making the cut here more through perseverance rather than high sales.
Although it wasn't as inescapable in the UK as it was here in Australia (at least according to the AMR charts) this was nonetheless a massive hit for Stardust over there given how it almost managed to top the UK charts due to how much the Brits loved EDM even as the 90's was coming to an end.
Given how Neighbours was a cultural phenomenon in the UK, it only makes sense that Craig Mclaughlan would join in on the action by scoring a massive hit both here in Australia and over there with this track. It's another song that almost made it to number one on the UK charts, although this was the best he could do in both countries.
Again, I don't know how the Brits managed to get a hold of this dance classic before Dee lite's fellow Americans, however this resulted in it almost being a chart topper in the UK and NZ as well as it actually being a chart topper here in Australia for the New York trio. All this success led their fellow Americans to making it a top five hit on Billboard.
Whereas this was the weakest of the three international hits that Arrested development had in their homeland, in the UK it was by far their biggest given how it almost topped the UK charts for the hip hop group likely due to the Sly and the family stone sample it named after. Had it been more of a hit over there, "Mr Wendal" would've made this list as well.
Well, if having a controversial cover art was what it took to sell CJ Lewis as a reggae superstar, then it succeeded as this was a massive hit in his native UK just as it was over in NZ. This was his only hit in his homeland, however he had much better luck in NZ as he had other hits from his first two albums with the kiwis.
I hope this song's placement on this list is an adequate explanation as to why I'm surprised it was a Billboard chart topper for EMF, obviously it was a massive hit in their homeland (hence its placement on this list) just not one so inescapable that I can see the Americans repeating its success over there.
I definitely wasn't expecting this to nearly top the British charts as the reason as to why it was a massive hit here in Australia, such was the case for this one and only hit for Heavy D and company as this grossly underperformed on the Billboard cheats for the hip hop group. This along with "Let's talk about sex," "More than words," "Wind of change," "I'm too sexy," and "Get ready for this" were all blocked off from Bryan Adams top entry.
We are three entries in from the Spice girls catalogue and we're still yet to feature a single entry from their second album Spiceworld (spoilers all the singles from Spice were their biggest in their homeland.) This was the Christmas chart topper of 1996 likely due to the production making it sound like a Christmas single when it isn't.
I still have no idea why we Aussies gave this a second chance a year after its initial release, this wasn't the case in Take that's native UK obviously as the boys were on a roll when they released this track over there. It's their third biggest hit in their homeland behind their earlier entry and their cover of "Could it be magic."
I'm not sure whose idea it was to take this single which was a complete dud for SWV in their homeland and give it a remix with production from MJ's "Human nature," however they deserve an award for being a marketing genius as even the Brits fell in love with this remix to the point where it was their only hit in the UK much like it was here in Australia.
This is the other entry from Savage Garden I mentioned earlier on this list, I told you it wasn't what you thought it was given how this was actually their third single over there and that it bombed on the Billboard charts. They had other minor hits over there, however none of them were even close to being considered candidates for this list.
Given how this bombed on the Billboard charts for Scatman John, it's another song I have to wonder how the Brits discovered given how it was due to its success on the UK charts that allowed it to be a massive hit for him here in Australia. If you can believe it, he had a second hit over there with "Scatman's world," however it was too minor to be a candidate for this list.
Now this is a surprise, mainly because I wasn't expecting to learn that an RNB ballad from a British group managed to be less popular in their homeland than it was here in Australia back in the day. Indeed, this had no chance of getting to number one on the UK charts despite it being a massive chart topper down under for Lighthouse family.
This is the only entry I'll be featuring from S club 7, mainly because "S club party" was too much of a fan hit to make the cut for this list despite it being a genuine hit for the group in the southern hemisphere. I'll say now that several songs from 1996 onwards suffered this fate due to how chaotic the British charts were from that point onward.
Hello again Shanice, nice to see that you almost topped the British charts just like you almost toped the Billboard charts with this sweet ballad of yours back in the day. It really is amazing how much better this song did in the southern hemisphere back in the day given how we Aussies and kiwis weren't nearly as impressed with it.
Here's a bit of a fun fact, this became a hit in UB40's homeland right when "The way you do the things you do" took off in America, meaning this had to wait on our shelves in Australia for a full year before it became a hit for them despite it being a massive hit in their homeland upon its initial release.
Kenny Dope AKA the Bucketheads (that presenting credit always confused me) never had any success in his native America, once again, how the Brits managed to get their hands on this track is beyond me but the fact they did allowed it to be a massive hit here in Australia as well as it was on the UK charts.
Here's the other big hit that came from the Reality bites soundtrack, it appears that its success in the UK parallels what it achieved here in Australia given how Lisa Loeb and company found less success than Big Mountain in both countries. Admittedly it's a bit of a surprise this was a hit in the UK given how this feels like an outlier compared to other entries on this list.
This was a number one hit in the UK for the Backstreet boys, I thought I'd bring that up as it was their only chart topper over there despite the several appearances they'll be making on this list. I'm actually surprised they didn't do even better over there given how inescapable their British predecessors Take that and East 17 were throughout the decade.
Well at least this makes the list through meritocracy rather than an arbitrary ruling that Billboard made when constructing their 90's list for their site. Much like their debut single, this also almost topped the British charts for Technotronic in the UK which set them up for a promising career throughout the 90's that they failed to capitalise on.
It may have a pitiful ranking on this list like it did on my Billboard list compared to where it appears on the Australian and NZ equivalents, however at least this wasn't MJ's biggest hit of the decade in the UK considering we've looked at three of his other hits already on this list. It's easy to forget how political he got throughout the 90's as this was an obvious plea for racial harmony.
Given how this was a big hit here in Australia for Sub sub (man that name is dumb) and Melanie Williams, it only makes sense that it would be an even bigger hit for them in their homeland which indeed it was. Again no one involved with this track went on to have further success anywhere in the world.
How has it taken me this long to feature a track from George Michael on this list? Granted he did have a bigger hit with Queen over there as the Five live E.P curiously charted as a single rather than an album like it did in the southern hemisphere. Fast forward three years and we have this as his biggest single of the 90's in his homeland just like it was here in Australia.
This wasn't pulled from shelves in the UK like it was here in Australia, meaning that the Brits genuinely didn't enjoy this second single from Aqua as much as their earlier entry on this list back in the day. I guess they couldn't get enough of the satire they made for Barbie but had issues with their fanfiction for Indiana Jones.
As this bombed in New radicals native America, there had to be some reason how we Aussies and kiwis discovered the track. It turns out it was a hit over in the UK even though that just raises the question of how the Brits discovered this track from the American duo, although they did it just as they were ready to call it quits.
While this was indeed a huge hit in her homeland for Donna Lewis, it wasn't anywhere near the levels of what it achieved in America given how it would've been a Billboard chart topper for her were it not blocked by the Macarena back in the day. It's due to its success in America that it almost topped the Australian charts (it actually did if we're referring to AMR.)
Now that they had one of the biggest hits of the decade in their homeland, this was an easy chart topper for All saints especially since it wasn't pushed back over there like it was here in Australia to allow their debut single to become a hit (mainly because it was a hit the first time over there.) Even if they had other international hits, this would be their final entry on this list.
I wasn't expecting to discover that the Brits were massive fans of South Park back in the day, certainly more so than the Americans it seems as this was a massive chart topper for Chef (AKA Isaac Hayes) through the strength of the Chef aid episode where it failed to make any impression on the Billboard charts.
It feels like things are back to normal now that Britney Spears has outranked her rival Christina Aguilera on this site once more, although this was a chart topper for her in the UK as opposed to it getting stuck behind Lou Bega's entry like it was in Australia and NZ. Naturally she would go on to have massive success in the UK throughout the 00's just like she did worldwide.
Even though this never had a physical release in America (I just thought it flopped on Billboard given how it didn't receive much airplay for some reason) that didn't prevent this from being a massive worldwide success for Lenny Kravitz due to it being a huge chart topper for him here in Australia. The Brits even got in on making this a hit for him, as well as "Fly away" which won't be appearing on this list.
It's taken us a while to feature another Mariah Carey track on this list, here we are with her second entry which was the second single from Music box. It had a bit of a low peak position on the UK charts (all things considered) mainly due to it peaking during the Christmas of 1993 where it had a bunch of stiff competition from entries I skipped over on my rateyourmusic list.
What I said about Donna Lewis's entry applies here too as this also wasn't among the biggest hits of its year in Nicki's homeland and yet it was a massive international hit for her. Admittedly this could be due to it being a remix of a Bonnie Tytler classic which was a huge international chart topper over a decade prior, however that just adds confusion as to why it underperformed in the UK.
To think that some commercial that aired in the UK in 1990 was what got Steve Miller and company out of the one hit wonder bin that "Abracadabra" had trapped them in almost a decade prior. I probably wouldn't even be bringing this to your attention except that this story compelled the kiwis to make this a hit several months later where it also went to number one for the band.
Given how this almost topped the British charts for DNA and Suzanne Vega, I'll give a pass to it becoming a hit in America even though it has a fairly low placement on this list. Once again, this is the closest that the latter had to having a hit in the UK given how there was little chance she would find mainstream success with her brand of indie music.
The last time Rod Stewart had a worthy hit in his homeland was with "Every beat of my heart" from 1986, fast forward five years and he scored a massive hit not just in his homeland but throughout the world as if the public had time travelled back to the late 70's. This was the only other hit that he had in his homeland throughout the 90's other than his earlier entry with Sting and Bryan Adams.
Even though this was a chart topper for Amy Grant in her native America, it was only when it nearly repeated that success in the UK that the rest of the world gravitated towards her first non-Christian single in her catalogue. Much like everywhere outside of her homeland, this was the only hit she had in the UK.
I would say I'm surprised that this wasn't a chart topper for Mr. Big in the UK like it was everywhere else in the world, but then I remember that the Brits aren't as kind towards rock music (even if its folk rock like this ballad) as the rest of the world is. Even so, I would've been dumbstruck if this was a flop over there given how inescapable it was internationally.
This was slightly bigger in the UK for East 17 than it was here in Australia, mainly because it was their first big hit over there as "House of love" underperformed on the UK charts despite it being a massive hit for them down under. I guess we Aussies considered it an EDM jam which explains why we made this RNB jam a hit as well.
This was a hit in the UK mainly due to Celine Dion's presence given how Barbra Streisand hadn't had a hit over there since "Woman in love" from 1980. Admittedly her collaboration with Bryan Adams was a modest success over there, however nowhere near enough to be a candidate for this list like this was.
There were no signs of Snap slowing down once the decade had begun as this proved to be a massive hit for them in the UK just like it was in the southern hemisphere for the German band. They have one more entry to come on this list, and I even skipped "Exterminate" from my rateyourmusic list as that almost went to number one over there too.
This had a bit of a low peak position for Steps on the UK charts, meaning that its placement on here is due to perseverance which is becoming more common for songs from the second half of the decade. It was this perseverance that led to it being a huge hit for them here in Australia, although at least it made the UK top ten unlike an entry from them that still to come on this list.
Here's another British group that I'm sure you're surprised has taken me this long to feature on this list, although this was Five's first chart topper in their homeland given how everything else they released in the 90's failed to get to number one on the UK charts. Not that any of this matters as they greatly benefitted from TRL which got them an American audience regardless.
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