As far as I can tell, this was a duo who scored a massive hit with this disco number before going their separate ways when they failed to score another hit, they weren't even a couple so I can't even say it was due to a rocky personal relationship which drove them apart. At least they managed to score a big hit before they both forever faded into obscurity.
Elton John had success prior to this Billboard chart topper, however it was when he released this track that he went from just another blues singer to a household name due to how inescapable it was back in the day for him. It likely owes part of its success to it feeling right at home with the glam rock genre which had exploded in popularity around the time of its release.
I'm a bit surprised that David Cassidy didn't have a second inescapable hit here in Australia given how popular his top entry on this list was, at least he has another entry on this list as this two for one deal managed to be a success for the pop crooner and actor down under.
While this wasn't meant to be used as an anthem for unionisation, the fact that this folk-rock track has such an anthemic chorus with the subject matter has since made it a popular choice for union protests over the years. It was the Strawbs only hit here in Australia and their native UK, although that might be due to the rest of their catalogue being more in line with prog rock which typically didn't spawn many hit singles.
Well, we looked at the remix of this track on my 1986 list on this side of my site, so why not look at the original version which I did say was a hit upon its initial release this year. I'm not sure why this didn't crossover here in Australia given how many of the other disco tracks from musicians of colour were able to back in the day.
This was the second single to be released on Abba's self-titled album, a song that initially flopped internationally but was such a surprise success in Australia that it unofficially became their signature track here. The rest of the world followed suit eventually as the popular Broadway musical based around their catalogue was named after this track.
This was Rod Stewart's foray into disco music, a foray which paid off big time for him as this is his second biggest hit behind "Maggie may" from earlier in the decade likely due to him expanding past his core audience of those who like him for his sentimental ballads. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I can understand if you're not a fan of this song due to thinking he's a narcissist for presenting himself as a sex god.
#21 for 1970
This was the only hit that Spanish composer Waldo De Los Rios had throughout his career, it was a symphonic rearrangement of Mozart's "Symphony no 40" which proved to be a massive success thanks to the rise in popularity of classical music from around this time.
This may have been their only hit in Australia, however it's obvious that we were touched by the band's inspiring tale that the best was yet to come for them that we granted their wishes in making them a household name with the song and the album it came from. Indeed, these guys have a lot to be proud of as this remains a staple on oldies stations to this day.
It seems odd that David Essex would score massive success with his pop ballads during the midpoint of the decade when his first hit "Rock on" is more in line with the art pop that would be a huge success for the likes of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush in their respective careers. This was his biggest hit down under likely due to how sickly sweet he comes off on this track, again a far cry from his debut single.
This was the second hit that 10CC managed to achieve in Australia, although this was different from their other hits as each of them were in a different genre in music. Here we have something that feels like it belongs in the sophistopop genre a decade prior to when it became a thing in their native UK, I guess the ambience of this track was what got it to become a massive crossover success in America.
This is another popular disco track that's survived the test of time, I'm guessing due to the Kym Mazelle cover from Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet which no doubt reminded audiences of this classic around the time where disco had regained its popularity in the mainstream. Like many women of colour who made disco this decade, Candi Staton remained a one hit wonder with this classic even in her native America.
This was the only hit that Van McCoy was able to achieve in his lifetime in most parts of the world, although the Brits did give him a second hit later in the decade with "The shuffle" which is a less conventional disco record due to it being in a 6/4-time signature as opposed to the more conventional 4/4-time signature like this and many other dance tracks are. Sadly, Van would die of a drug overdose by the end of the decade.
This was a hit twice over the years throughout the world, of course we'll be looking at the original success of this track which proved to be a massive comeback for the Four seasons following the surprise hit that Frankie Valli had the previous year with "My eyes adored you." This was a hit likely due to it being close enough to disco for it to be played on the dance floors with other bangers from this year.
#36 for 1971
While this wasn't the first hit single Bonnie Tyler had in her career (that honour goes to "Lost in France") this was the first hit song of hers to use her iconic raspy vocals as previously she had sounded more like your typical lovestruck pop diva that obviously didn't connect well with her audience. Here she makes such as splash on the international market that it even manages to crossover to Billboard for her.
It had been a good twenty years since Johnny Mathis last troubled the charts with one of his ballads, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him score a number one hit in his native America with this ballad that introduced the world to Deniece Williams who would go on to have massive success in the 80's. As an extra fun fact, Johnny is one of the first musicians of colour to come out as gay in the music industry.
These guys had been active since the mid 50's, which means they scored their final hit in Australia and most parts of the world two decades after their initial breakthrough. They had another hit earlier in the year with "Like sister and brother" meaning this RNB ballad didn't come out of nowhere for the band down under, indeed they were fairly successful worldwide as both of these songs were huge in the UK.
Following the success she had with 5000 volts from earlier on this list, we have the first of three solo hits that Tina Charles managed to score throughout the world which all seem to have the same premise as each other. The premise is that she loves two things, her partner and dancing which naturally captivated audiences enough to make all of her hits as big as they were back in the day.
Well at least we get to look at a new David Bowie track on this side of my site one last time, this time it's the lead single to his album Low which is considered one of his best albums by afficionados. If I were to look over the Listener charts, Bowie would have a ton of other entries on this site as he was quite popular in NZ during the first half of the decade.
This was the only other chart topper that Gilbert O'Sullivan had in his native UK, it was his first chart topper there given how this came out before "Get back" and likely got there due to the success of "Alone again" over in America. This ballad is actually about the mother's love for her daughter Clair rather than a traditional love ballad, likely explaining its success over other contemporary love ballads.
This was the double A-side that cemented Queen as one of the most endearing bands to ever make it big in the mainstream, after all you begin with the stomping beat of "We will rock you" before immediately preceding to the soaring victory lap of "We are the champions" which helped this become a massive hit worldwide for them. They would have a bit of a quiet period for the remainder of the decade before they scored a massive hit with "Crazy little thing called love."
For the longest time, this was the only hit that Tony Christie had in his native UK, although he had a second hit here in Australia that we'll get to in a bit that was a hit for him over there in 2005 of all times. I like to think of this guy as the English equivalent of Tom Jones, that is the pop crooner Tom and not the sexaholic Tom given how this guy obviously lacks the Welshman's sex appeal.
Although this wasn't the first solo single that Cher released (that honour goes to "Bang bang") this was the first solo hit of hers to be a massive worldwide success thanks to it being an autobiographical track about how she rose to fame with her (then) husband Sonny Bono. She still has one more entry to come on this list, however her fortunes changed for the worse as the decade went on due to her marriage with Sonny failing.)
There didn't seem to be any signs of the Brothers Gibb slowing down in the mainstream as this lead single from their album Spirits having flown proved to be a huge success for them mere months after the album cycle for Saturday night fever came to an end. They would have another hit from the album (which we'll get to in a bit) although this would sadly be the last we would hear from them as lead vocalists for a while.
We looked at his final hit "Strokin" from the late 80's on the NZ side of this site, time now to look at the only hit that Clarence Carter had here in Australia which is also his biggest hit worldwide due to how huge it was in the UK of all places. Clarence did find success in his native America throughout the 60's, although none of those songs managed to crossover internationally like this did.
#46 for 1970
We'll be looking at a bunch of other entries from the Partridge family later down this list but suffice to say that this track becoming a huge success here off their greatest hits package goes to show just how popular the fictional family band was with us Aussies during their heyday even compared to their fellow Americans given how this wasn't a bit hit on Billboard.
This is by far the biggest hit that Charlie Rich had throughout the world, although this wasn't the case in NZ given how this bombed on the Listener charts and that "On my knees" from later in the decade was his big hit over there. I guess the kiwis weren't that into country music like the rest of the world was given how few of these country entries were a success on those charts.
This was released the day of the moon landing, meaning that it took four years for it to finally become a success here as well as several parts of the world for David Bowie. This was due to it being rereleased as a live track where it became a success in America which translated its success throughout the rest of the world for Ziggy Stardust.
Oh, wow you couldn't release this song nowadays, heck I think even back then this was a controversial song as it implies that Joe Tex has had such bad luck with heavier women on the dance floor that this feels more like a protest anthem against him dancing with them than anything else. I don't think he cares about what people think of this track considering he's been dead since the early 80's.
By far one of their most easily recognisable hits in their catalogue, we have this ballad from the Carpenters which became their biggest hit in the UK likely due to how tender it sounds despite it clearly being about nostalgia for the years that had gone by. It was also a huge hit in their native America, although not quite at the dizzying heights of their earlier entries.
This is often considered to be Leo's signature tune given how it incorporates disco into his sound despite him not really being a disco artist throughout his career. His next single would be even bigger and a major draw into his fourth album after the mediocre reception of his last album, however this is the song that many will tell you is the highlight of his career.
Many credit this one and only hit from Gary Numan as the beginning of the new wave craze, technically that honour should go to "Are friends electric" as that also had him on vocals and was a new wave classic, although I guess that was a flop over in America whereas this was a top ten hit on Billboard. Between these two songs, this was the full extent of Gary Numan's popularity worldwide.
This was the only hit from British glam rocker Barry blue, naturally this was meant to fuse glam rock with the pop sounds of the day which (to me at least) makes this feel like an early rendition of a disco track more than anything. He would have one more hit in his homeland before forever fading into obscurity despite this type of music thriving throughout the rest of the decade.
This was the lead single from Rod Stewart's album Foot loose and fancy free, and like his other songs and albums this decade, it was a massive success for him worldwide.
This was the debut single for Dr Hook and the medicine show, it was a decent hit in their native America and a massive international hit for the band likely due to the comedic lyrics in the song. That said, this isn't too far off from their material from the second half of the decade musically, I bring that up because a lot of their earlier work is straight up comedy tracks written by children's novelist Shel Silverstein.
This was sadly the second to last single that the Carpenters were able to achieve in Australia, their final hit being "Calling occupants" which only became as such due to how bizarre it was upon its initial release. It's certainly a far cry from this cover of the Marvelettes track which is more in line with what they had to offer throughout their career, although I get the feeling the Captain and Tennille stole their thunder with their earlier entry on this list.
This was the only hit that the British glam rock band the Rubettes were able to achieve here in Australia, although like most glam rock bands from the UK, they did considerably better in their homeland and throughout Europe as glam rock continued to thrive during the second half of the decade in the northern hemisphere whilst it was pushed aside here in favour of local artists promoted by Countdown.
For whatever reason, this song always reminds me of "Band on the run" whenever I hear it on the radio (likely due to Paul's similar vocal melody in different parts of both songs) which is perhaps why it was a bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia as we Aussies would've passed this up back in the day in favour of the many fresh offerings from our local music scene which the kiwis didn't have access to.
This was a hit for Lobo two years prior to his other two entries on this list, likely because it's a love song that revolves around a couple and their puppy which I'm sure melted the hearts of listeners back in the day despite how lame it seems for modern audiences.
This was another successful song to come from the Bay city rollers this year, in fact it's worth noting that these guys managed to spawn a hit single from each of their albums during the midpoint of the decade to give you an idea of how inescapable they were here in Australia.
This was a bit of a minor success here in Australia, mainly because it was the lead single to a highly successful album which ate up its potential success early on but not enough for us Aussies to completely overlook this ballad from Rod Stewart.
#15 for 1974
This was one of the last hit singles that the king of rock and roll had in his lifetime worldwide, it was made during his Vegas years which wasn't having a positive aspect towards his mental and physical health due to all of the controversies he was finding himself in. At least the public hadn't forgotten about him given how he kept finding hits all the way up to his untimely death.
Again, I have no idea why this was only a sleeper success here in Australia back in the day given how this remains a staple on our oldie’s stations to this day, at least it was a success here likely due to it being released at the height of disco. The duo remains a one hit wonder here as their cover of "Sukiyaki" failed to become a hit with us Aussies in the 80's like it was throughout the rest of the world.
We have another UK chart topper for Slade to come on this list, it's incidentally their third UK chart topper which goes to show how the process was for making their songs a success here in Australia. This will be the band's final appearance on my list despite having a few other minor hits back in the day.
We have another song that has survived the test of time on this list, this time it's the biggest hit from Carly Simon who scored massive worldwide success with this lead single to her biggest album No secrets. There's been many rumours about who the song is about from James Taylor (which she's denied from day one) to Mick Jagger, however she's since confirmed it to be about Warren Beatty.
For eight years, this was the final hit that the Brothers Gibb had in most parts of the world, it's a pity because it remains a disco classic to this day thanks to the frenetic energy of the track as well as the Bee Gees themselves. They would eventually return with "You win again" in 1987, and indeed they would score another comeback ten years after that when their album Still waters became a surprise success.
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