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.)
Not only was Kylie's earlier entry her debut single internationally, but this was also her second single in the UK which means this came out over there prior to the remix of her actual debut single (which we'll look at in a bit.) I bring this up because this means this was released over there slightly sooner than it was here in Australia making it her first non-Australian release.
Again I'm surprised it's taken this long to look at what was crowned as the biggest hit of 1980 according to the official UK charts, this is because I'm ranking these songs based on their chart runs rather than sales as I've always found sales figures to be unreliable regardless of which country we're referring to (that and chart runs usually do a better job determining a song's popularity.)
At least David Bowie has better representation on this list as opposed to my Billboard list from a few months back, this is his third entry on here to top the UK charts as well as his second overall following the 1975 reissue of "Space oddity" over there. Suffice to say that he had way more success in his homeland in the 80's than he did in the 70's.
It's strange how this duet wasn't a hit here in Australia given how much the rest of the world was in love with it back in the day, indeed it was the biggest hit for both parties in the UK as neither of them saw much success outside of this collaboration with the Brits.
Does anyone even know what this song is supposed to be about? I guess this somewhat tripped up Peter Gabriel's fellow Brits given how this didn't do as well in his homeland as it did over in America as well as having a slightly lower peak position that it achieved in Australia and NZ. Still, this was a massive hit for the former Genesis frontman regardless of its nonsensical lyrics.
The late 80's was when American dance acts began having success in the UK despite failing to have a hit on the Billboard charts, this is one of the earlier entries in this category as Inner city scored a massive hit with this track with the Brits which eventually translated to its success over in NZ.
It was inevitable this would be a massive hit for Lisa Stansfield in her native UK given how it led to her having a massive hit in America with her debut single, it was one of the last chart toppers of the decade and is second to only New kids on the block's earlier entry as the most recent chart topper on this list.
There's nothing new I can say about this song as its success in the UK parallels its success worldwide, instead I'll bring up this alternative album art I found for it. I'm amazed this made it onto shelves given how it depicts crude drawings of boobs as well as what appears to be a rose whip draped around the nun.
This was one of the first songs to become a hit in the UK during the 80's, naturally it was going to rank high on this list due to how much hype there was for the NOlans entering the decade in their homeland. It's lucky for the Irish lasses that this was a hit in NZ, otherwise they would've missed out on appearing on this list as "Gotta pull myself together" was too minor of a hit to appear on here.
So disco was dead by the start of the 80's huh? Fans of Fern Kinney didn't seem to get the memo in the UK as this was a massive chart topper for the American disco singer of colour over there right when the backlash was meant to set in worldwide. Admittedly she was a one hit wonder over there with this number and its not like she was that big of a deal anywhere else in the world.
While this was a massive hit for Ottawan in the UK, the fact it was a massive chart topper for them in NZ shortly after its success throughout Europe is a bit of a surprise for me. I guess the kiwis were more in tuned with MTV era disco than the Brits even though they would've had an earlier entry with "D.I.S.C.O" had that crossed over to the southern hemisphere.
It appears that Australia was able to better follow the career trajectory that these guys had in their homeland than the kiwis back in the day as this was their second biggest hit following their earlier entry on this list in the UK. I also bring this up because they have two more entries on this list and "Human" isn't one of them.
Even though this was a chart topper for Dead or alive in the UK, it appears to have done slightly worse on the British charts than it did here in Australia likely due to their fellow Brits not digging the multiple remixes of this track like we Aussies did back in the day. You'd think they had other minor hits in their catalogue in their homeland, alas you'd be wrong.
We haven't skipped many entries on the list I created on Rateyourmusic for the biggest hits of the 80's so far, one of them was "Embarrassment" which was Madness's biggest hit in their homeland with this being their second biggest hit. I'm not sure why this was the song that broke them through here in Australia, however it no doubt led to the success of another entry of theirs to come on this list.
There was little doubt this protest song of racial harmony would resonate with the Brits like it did everywhere else in the world, yes, the song is tone deaf and ignores the issues that caused the divide between different races in the first place (an issue that's only gotten worse in the 21st century) however at least this was somewhat of a valiant attempt as opposed to those grifters you see online these days.
It's certainly taken us a while to feature a song from the Purple one on this list, hasn't it? Suffice to say the Brits didn't really appreciate him much back in the day as this is one of only three hits he had eligible for this list. At least his highest entry is still his signature track from his magnum opus Purple rain.
Well, the Brits have always been suckers for novelty tracks, so it was inevitable that this mashup track from the Royal philharmonic orchestra would almost be a chart topper in their homeland given how it was enough of a success to crossover internationally including in America where this barely missed the cut for my Billboard list.
Much like the rest of the world, this was Stevie Wonder's final hit in the UK where it proved to be as successful as it was here in Australia for the soul legend. There's not really much more I can add to this track as it's a fairly unremarkable song to end your winning streak on all things considered.
You'd think this would be a chart topper for the Bangles in the UK given how A: inescapable it was in the southern hemisphere and B: it being a novelty hit which is a surefire way to top the UK charts. Alas it failed to get to number one over there even though it was nonetheless a massive hit with the Brits.
It appears that the duo's tribute to Elvis Presley interrupting the album cycle of their second album did nothing to hamper the success of the album's third single in their homeland, this is the same fate it achieved in NZ where it was also a chart topper for them.
I'm a bit confused as to how this managed to be a Billboard chart topper for the Eurythmics given how it failed to top the British charts for the duo, then again, I've firmly established that number one doesn't mean much in the UK and it's not like this had no chance of topping their charts back in the day.
I guess the Brits didn't appreciate this song's infamous second verse as this proved to be less popular in Dire straits homeland than it was internationally back in the day, at least it was a huge hit for them even if it was through the radio edit removing the infamous verse.
Once again, I'm sort of cheating with this entry as this is a remix of a song that was popular in the southern hemisphere rather than the original song itself. It was also curiously not a chart topper for Kylie in the UK which is curious because she already had three chart toppers here in Australia by the time this remix was released as a single.
This was the only hit that Mike and the Mechanics had in their homeland, although admittedly they had more success in America from the beginning as their first album underperformed in the UK where it thrived on Billboard. This means we have another British band failing to get to number one despite having a massive chart topper in America.
This is one of the last songs to be released in the decade in the UK, it was a hit the same time over there as it was in America and NZ, meaning that we Aussies were the slowest in making this a hit for Linda and Aaron back in the day. Despite this, it was here in Australia where the song found its biggest success.
To my knowledge, this and "All those years ago" were the only successful tribute tracks to John Lennon following his assassination, this proved to be the bigger hit worldwide even though George Harrison's tribute was the big hit from the incident in America. This is Roxy music's only entry on this list, although "Over you" was a candidate for this list as well.
It may shock you to learn that there will be no Style council tracks on this list, they did have a bunch of hits in their homeland, however only two of them were eligible for this list ("Speak like a child" and "Long hot summer") and both of them flopped in Australia and NZ. Fortunately, their female vocalist Dee c Lee had a massive hit with her solo single both here and in her homeland and thus is eligible for this list.
It took us a while, but we've finally featured a Bros track on this list. This was their biggest hit in their homeland even though it was the third single from their album, this is just further proof that the Brits didn't allow for strong album sales to interfere with a song's popularity like we Aussies did back in the day.
This was Madness's third biggest hit in their homeland as well as the first that found success outside of the UK, admittedly that success was in NZ as we Aussies passed up on this for some reason (likely due to its wacky premise and music video.) We've still got one more entry from the band to come from this list, although it won't be for a while.
If you're wondering if Hot chocolate had any further success in their homeland throughout the decade that they achieved in the southern hemisphere, then you'd be right as one of the few songs from my list on Rateyourmusic I skipped was "No doubt about it" which nearly topped the UK charts at the start of the decade. That sadly was the full extent of their popularity in the 80's.
Kylie was on a roll when she released this advanced single to her second album, it became her third UK chart topper following her two top entries on this list which goes to show how much more loved she was over there than she was over here back in the day.
This is Abba's only entry on this list even though they had three other candidates for me to potentially include on here (those being "Super trouper," "One of us" and "I have a dream.") This goes to show how popular they were in the UK even if the behind-the-scenes drama led to them going their separate ways in 1982.
You may be surprised to learn this wasn't a chart topper for Diana Ross in the UK like it was everywhere else in the world; she did have a chart topper over there with "I'm still waiting" in 1971 as well as her earlier entry on this list which means she didn't miss out from the top spot like many other artists on this list.
He may have missed out from getting to number one in his homeland with Ultravox, however Midge Ure can take comfort that his solo single managed to get there four years later following the massive success he had with Band aid as the songwriter of "Do they know it's Christmas."
Even though it was panned by critics back in the day, White nights proved to be a commercial success and was clearly well loved by audiences given how well its soundtrack did. This was the bigger hit from the album in the UK which is the inverse of its success internationally where Lionel Richie's Oscar winning ballad took that prize (it's still to come on this list.)
I'm a bit surprised this isn't higher on the list given how this is an acid house track during the early stages of EDM taking over the mainstream in the UK, however this did hit number one and was popular enough for it to crossover to the southern hemisphere. They had another candidate for this list with "Superfly guy" that I discarded due to its failure in Australia and NZ.
This is the only noticeable hit that the Stranglers had in their homeland, I guess their fellow Brits weren't that impresses with their brand of punk rock but almost let them have a chart topper over there with this outlier in their catalogue. It makes sense this would be their biggest hit in their homeland given how this was released during the genesis of the MTV era.
I'm not exactly sure how these guys managed to crossover here in Australia with "I want your love" (stay tuned for that later down this list) however I have no issues with how this was a hit here given how popular it was in their native UK. They found no success with their third album even in their homeland which led to their demise in 1992.
It feels a bit odd that the popularity of Shaking Stevens four biggest hits was identical here in Australia as it was in his native UK, although at least they were all top two hits on their charts as opposed to top ten singles down under otherwise the comparisons would be shockingly accurate.
Although he briefly charted with "Rock n me," this was Steve Miller's only hit in the UK for almost a decade until "The joker" became a surprise hit for him in 1991 due to its usage in a Levi jean's commercial. The fact the Brits almost made this guy a one hit wonder with this MTV track is mystifying.
I told you this was a bigger hit for Nu shooz in the UK than it was in their native America, although the fact that this pseudo-Ace of base track proved to be more popular with the Brits isn't that surprising to me in retrospect especially when you consider how unpopular American dance acts have always been on Billboard.
Ever wonder how this UK chart topper from Madonna failed to appear on the Immaculate collection? Well join the club as you'd think this would be a shoe in for such an iconic album given its initial success as well as it sharing the title of one of her albums.
This was a number one hit in the UK...... and now a moment of silence for all Trekkies out there who have likely realised that pop culture has been mocking their favourite media since 1987. I consider this to be the worst song of the decade due to how disrespectful it is to the franchise and I'm not even a Trekkie myself.
Until very recently, this was the closest a Bond theme came to topping the British charts which you'd think would be due to how well received the film it's named after was back in the day (it was panned by critics.) The more likely reason for this song's success was due to Duran Duran's popularity, although that quickly dwindled in their homeland after this.
Another near miss for the number one spot on the UK charts that became a Billboard chart topper, this time it's the breakthrough hit from Simply red as their debut single "Money's too tight" was only a hit in NZ of all places. I guess this went to number one in America due to it being the lead single from their album over there as opposed to their actual debut single.
It turns out this was a hit in the UK the same time it was a hit in NZ, this would explain why it needed two attempts to make it big here in Australia as well as puzzling as to how the kiwis managed to discover this track the same time the Brits did. Either way, this was the French singer's only hit regardless of where you're from.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit for Go west considering how big it was in NZ back in the day, although at least it did well in their homeland despite having a fairly low peak position (not that #5 is anything to scoff at even back then.) This was the duo's only hit in their homeland, making the success of "Call me" internationally all the more puzzling.
Here's the final entry from Shaking Stevens on this list, although he would've had an additional four entries had they been hits outside of his homeland back in the day. Rather curiously, "A rocking good way" wasn't one of them despite having Bonnie Tyler as a duet partner as well as its success it received in NZ.
This is the only candidate I have for Haircut one hundred on this list, they did have other hits in their homeland, however they were all too minor to make the cut. I can see how this managed to crossover here in Australia given how fun and bouncy it is, heck I'm actually somewhat surprised it didn't do even better on our charts given how perfect a fight it was in our music scene.
This is the closest Kool and the gang got to topping the UK charts, meaning this is another example of a highly successful group failing to top the British charts on this list. That said, these guys found way more success over there than they did on Billboard even though they had a Billboard chart topper with "Celebration" (which sadly won't be appearing on here.)
I can't stress how much of an outlier this song is compared to every entry we've looked at so far on this list, how this managed to become a chart topper in the UK as well as a massive hit in NZ (even with the obligatory six-month gap between its successes in both countries) is beyond me, however it no doubt led to the rise in a cappella in the mainstream throughout the 90's.
While it wasn't a chart topper in his homeland like it was in America, this second single from Buster nonetheless would have you believe that the film was well loved by his fellow Brits. From what I can gather, most people don't even realise that these two songs were from a film and instead believe they both failed to appear on one of his albums.
We won't be looking at the Oscar winning score from Vangelis on this list, we will however be revisiting his collaboration with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson as this was a massive hit in the UK for the duo despite having a low peak position (again not that #6 is anything to scoff at.)
So, I wasn't expecting the success the Fat boys had in NZ be attributed to them nearly topping the UK charts with both songs they scored a hit with. I guess you can thank nostalgia for why the Brits and by extension the kiwis made these two songs a hit (stay tuned for "Wipeout" later on this list) said nostalgia doing them no favours here in Australia and their native America.
Well, we got to this track eventually from Joe Dolce, again this blocked "Vienna" from getting to number one in the UK which has angered a lot of music lovers over the years. I'm actually not surprised this was a hit throughout Europe, it was a massive hit in Australia and NZ after all and it's a novelty hit through and through which of course the Brits love.
These guys had to start somewhere, right? Well, they began with this single which was a massive hit for them in their homeland upon its initial release despite it failing to get to number one (like many debut singles on this list the more I think about it.) This wasn't nearly as delayed an international release as "Don't you want me" was, although it was a bit of a sleeper hit here in Australia.
You'd think this would be a chart topper in the UK given how this was the song that broke Duran Duran through to an American audience, you'd be wrong as this was one of their lowest charting singles in their homeland even though this still has a respectable placing on my list. Indeed, I'm surprised this wasn't a massive multi week chart topper anywhere in the world back in the day.
Kim Wilde joins the surprisingly long list of British artists to never have a chart topper in their homeland but a chart topper either on Billboard or the southern hemisphere from this list. Even though this failed to get to number one on the UK charts, it still outperformed the original from the Supremes to the point Kim didn't even realise she was covering a song of theirs.
Given how Alison Moyet has already appeared on this list, it only makes sense that her work with Yazoo would also be a massive success in her homeland back in the day. This is another near miss from the number one spot on this list, further proving that the coveted #1 wasn't a huge priority to being a commercial success in Britain.
This was a victim of the Christmas period as far as chart positions go, however the fact this was a top ten hit for Tina Turner in the Christmas of 1983 in the UK should tell you that the Brits were willing to allow her comeback the following year to happen. She had assistance from us Aussies and kiwis when we made this a hit in the southern hemisphere, however her comeback would be complete with her earlier entry on this list.
This will be the only entry from the Pointer sisters on this list, although it was a definite shoe in for this list given how it nearly topped the British charts. It was due to its success in the UK that their album Break out was saved from being a flop for the trio worldwide, I'm guessing they really titillated viewers of TOTP as their performance on the show comes up before the official video in YouTube results.
Even though she didn't have a number one hit in the UK like she did in her native America and the southern hemisphere, Cyndi Lauper was nonetheless able to find massive success with the Brits with the second single from her debut album being her biggest over there. She has two more entries on this list, a far cry from her representation on my 80's retrospectives.
Even though I've skipped a fair few songs on my list on Rateyourmusic, only three of them have been showtunes (an instrumental cover of the Can can, "Love changes everything" from Michael Ball and "A boy from nowhere" from Tom Jones.) I bring this up to explain how out of place this duet between Sarah Brightman and Cliff Richard is on this list even with its connection to the Phantom of the opera.
We have our final chart topper from Madonna on this list, again it's absence on the Immaculate collection is noticeable given how much of a huge international hit it was for the queen of pop. This also would have you think that the film of the same name was a huge success even though it was an infamous bomb back in the day.
