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.)
Given how this won Eurovision for 1987, it only makes sense that it would be a massive hit for Johnny Logan just like it was here in Australia. Had it been a hit down under, his other Eurovision winning track "What's another year" would appear a little later down this list as that too was a massive hit in his homeland.
It appears the Brits weren't interested in Alice Cooper's sellout period from the second half of the 70's as this is the first time he troubled their charts since 1974. It makes sense this would be a massive hit over there given how it's a return to his glam roots after a string of albums that catered more towards adult contemporary.
This feels very different from all the other entries we've looked at on this list, mainly because it's way darker which shatters the impression that the Brits were all about positivity in their music scene. I'm guessing it was the darkness surrounding this song that prevented it from being a massive worldwide hit for the duo despite how well it did in their homeland.
Bill Withers only ever had one hit in the UK (that being "Lovely day" which was a hit twice) so it's safe to say the average Brit will not be aware that this reggae track from Club nouveau is a cover of the RNB classic given how much of a success it was over there back in the day.
I would've thought this would be a huge chart topper for Neneh Cherry given how it managed to become the first hip hop track from a female rapper to become a hit on Billboard, alas it was merely a top five hit for her which seemed to be all the incentive Americans needed to make her a pioneer in hip hop.
I'm not quite sure why this was a hit in the UK a year after its initial release here in Australia, mainly because it's not like it was a huge chart topper down under for PHD in addition to them being a British band. The success of this ballad does make the success of Jim Diamond's earlier entry on this list make sense and even helps parallel the success he had both with PHD and his solo career in both countries.
I'm not sure how the Brits got a hold of this track from Fat Larry and company given how it was a massive flop for them in America, however the success they achieved in the UK enabled them to find massive success throughout Europe as well as the southern hemisphere, which further proves that the Brits looked out for musicians of colour back in the day.
Oh look, another song from American musicians of colour that flopped on Billboard but did extremely well internationally. This time it's this collaboration between Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson which nearly topped the British charts likely due to the nostalgia the Brits had for Roberta's back catalogue from a decade prior.
Had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere, "I won't let the sun go down on me" would be sandwiched between Nik Kershaw's two entries on this list as that was his highest charting single in his homeland. It was originally his debut single but only became a hit when this second single of his took off internationally.
I debated about putting this song on the list as it's lengthy chart run was due to it being ignored by the Brits during the Christmas of 1983 given how it fails to appear on any year end list looking over the British charts. Then I thought that this was all the more reason to include this classic as it managed to stick around far longer than they novelty tracks that prevented it from reaching a high peak position.
I'm kind of cheating with this entry as this was actually bundled with "Little red corvette" as a rerelease in 1985 following the success of Prince's magnum opus Purple rain, I've included it as this was obviously the Brits way of atoning for failing to make this iconic party anthem a hit upon its initial release like we Aussies and kiwis did.
This was the last song Wham released before they parted ways with each other, it was an instant chart topper for them in their homeland even though it had a shorter chart run like it did in the southern hemisphere. I get the feeling the two wanted to be done with their contract both behind the scenes and with their popularity because of this.
Bros's success in their homeland was the inverse of what it was here in Australia, that being each subsequent single being bigger than the last as opposed to the opposite being true here. This was the second single from their debut album, and it was equally as popular in both countries despite having a much higher peak position over there.
Given how this has novelty written all over it as well as Musical youth being a British band (of colour at that) it was inevitable this would be a chart topper for them in their homeland which no doubt led to its moderate success in America. Bob Marley fans can rest easy as we have a couple of entries from the iconic stoner legend to come on this list.
I'm a bit surprised that MJ didn't have that much success from his third solo album Bad in the UK, granted he did better over there than he did over here, however this third single was the biggest from the album and it's taken me this long to feature a single from said album on this list.
Whereas most international chart toppers that failed to top the British charts have the excuse of being a Christmas single or getting stuck behind a juggernaut of the #1 position, neither is the case for this signature track from Simply red as it was merely due to bad luck that this failed to top the British charts.
I guess the Brits gravitated towards this second single from ABC more so than their first (don't worry we'll revisit it eventually) I did notice combing through the Billboard charts that this was their first song to crack the top twenty which no doubt led to their eventual success in America later in the decade.
It's hard to say if this being more of a hit in the UK than in America was due to the Brits love for Tina Turner or the Mad max series, obviously it was both that allowed this to top the Australian charts and to be fair that could also be the case here due to what it had to fight against upon its initial release.
There's a few reasons why this was a big hit for the Commodores in the UK, the first is obvious as it's a touching tribute to two of the biggest soul legends of colour in music. The second is that their new vocalist was the front man of Heatwave who nearly topped the UK charts with "Boogie nights" in 1977 as well as topping the NZ charts that year.
I'd like to think this was a hit due to the Brits love of the Karate kid franchise, although it could also be due to their occasional love of Chicago as Peter did have a few hits with his band over there, one of which we'll be revisiting later down this list. Also insert joke about how Peter Cetera ruined 80's adult contemporary here even though I don't quite agree with that sentiment.
This also needed two attempts to become a hit in the UK like it did here in Australia, again this is due to how much of an outlier it is in both music scenes as we have a stripped back soul ballad up against all the bombast the 80's had to offer. None of her other songs managed to become a hit in her homeland, meaning she had more success in the southern hemisphere in the long run.
This was the debut single from Richard Marx as far as the Brits were concerned, mainly because his debut album failed to spawn a charting single on the UK charts, and this was released as the lead single to his second album over there. He had a second hit with "Hazard" in 1992 due to how well that song did here in Australia of all places.
She may not have had as many chart toppers in the UK as she did internationally, however that didn't mean Diana Ross had little success over there as this managed to become a massive hit for her following her collaboration with Lionel Richie (which we'll get to later down this list.)
This is the other international hit that Yazoo had, although had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere, we'd be looking at "Nobody's diary" later down this list as that too was a massive hit for the duo in their homeland. This is also Vince Clark's final entry on this list as none of his hits with Erasure in the UK crossed over internationally throughout the decade.
If you were surprised to learn that "Right here waiting" was the first song to chart in the UK for Richard Marx, wait till you learn that this was Heart's debut single over there as far as the Brits were concerned as they never charted there prior to this becoming their biggest hit over in America. They did escape the one hit wonder bin in 1990 with "All I wanna do is make love to you" over there.
Given how this was a hit upon its initial release in the UK, I have to assume it was the video that initially put us Aussies off in making this a hit for Cliff Richard as it took six months for this to finally become a hit on our charts. Whereas this was his final hit here in Australia, he had plenty more in his homeland including "Mistletoe and wine" which I skipped over from my Rateyourmusic list.
This is a true outlier for this list as this feels like it was made on another planet compared to the other entries we've looked at. This was a chart topper for Enya in her homeland which was all the incentive the rest of the world needed to make it a huge international success, although it was also her only hit in her homeland.
Given how his earlier entry became his first major hit in the UK, it only makes sense that Billy Joel would score an easy hit with this Billboard chart topper over there as well even if it was pushed back as the second single over there. We still have one more entry to look at from him, two if "An innocent man" had of been a hit in the southern hemisphere.
I did mention this was the big hit from the Footloose soundtrack in the UK, didn't I? What I failed to mention was that this was still only the second biggest hit from the soundtrack over there as "Holding out for a hero" takes the prize of being its biggest hit. Admittedly its success had little to do with the film as that only became a hit a year after its initial release for some reason.
It took me long enough to finally feature a track from U2 on this list, it appears their fellow Brits weren't that impressed with their catalogue back in the day as they only have one other entry on here and no other candidates I'll need to skip over. It's also interesting that their biggest hit of the decade in their homeland bombed over in America.
Even though this was the third biggest hit for the Bangles in the UK, it actually charted higher than "Walk like an Egyptian" as this nearly made it to number one over there like it did in America. I'd say it was due to the news that Prince wrote this rally against Mondays that made this take off over there except Prince didn't have that much success with the Brits back in the day.
It may shock you to learn that this was Aretha Franklin's only hit in the UK throughout the 80's, although at least she had a hit over there with "I say a little prayer" meaning that the Brits were aware of who she was when she collaborated with George Michael two decades later.
It appears that the Brits were equally to thank for why this was a massive hit in the southern hemisphere as her fellow Americans, although it managed to be an even bigger hit in Australia and NZ given how it was a chart topper here where it wasn't in the northern hemisphere.
Given how the disco backlash didn't affect the Brits the same way if affected Americans, this meant that the Whispers were able to score a massive hit in the UK and even nearly top the British charts with this gem. They had another candidate for this list with "It's a love thing" that I had to skip over due to it flopping in Australia and NZ.
While this was a huge hit for the Vapors in their homeland, its success over there pales in comparison to what it achieved here in Australia which no doubt led to its success throughout the rest of the world. As goofy as this is, at least it isn't as culturally insensitive as "Japanese boy" from Aneka that wound up being a bigger hit in the UK.
This came close to becoming Phil's first UK chart topper, alas he had to wait until his top entry on this list to score a number one hit amongst his fellow Brits. This of course didn't factor in his international appeal as this was a massive hit in the southern hemisphere and even caught the attention of the Americans for his future prospects.
Whereas this barely made the cut for my Billboard list, this was an easy shoe in for this list given how the Brits didn't allow the disco backlash to affect their love of the genre by the time MTV rolled around. We still have one more entry to come from Kool and the Gang, one that I'm sure you'll be surprised to see.
There have been many songs to become a hit more than once throughout the 80's in the UK, however this is the only song that will be making two appearances on this list as both of its runs on the charts were eligible for this list. This covers its second run as it curiously recharted less than a year after its initial run over there.
Whereas Culture club saw moderate success with their fourth album here in Australia, it was a complete flop for them in NZ and their native UK. This makes the success of Boy George's solo debut all the more puzzling to me as I would've thought they Brits and kiwis were done with his music by the time this saw the light of day.
This is Kylie Minogue's final appearance on this list, although "Wouldn't change a thing" would've been still to come had it been more than a fan hit for her here in Australia. It's worth noting that all of these entries made the top two over in the UK, her first song to peak lower being "Never too late."
While this was a huge hit for UB40 in their homeland, it was pitiful compared to its success in NZ where it was one of the biggest hits of the decade for the reggae band. The kiwis always did love their reggae, so I'm not that surprised this was more successful over there than it was in their homeland.
We've finally reached the sole chart topper that Madness had in their homeland, although it was more out of momentum given how much lower it appears compared to their earlier two entries on this list. They're up there with Erasure and the Jam as bands who has the most entries I had to skip due to the failure of their singles in the southern hemisphere.
This is one of only two charting singles for Laura Branigan in the UK, the other being "Gloria" which wasn't that big of a hit and thus ineligible for this list. I'm not exactly sure why the Brits gravitated towards this track when they passed up the rest of her catalogue, however it ensured that it would be her biggest overall hit worldwide.
And now for more proof that the music buying public were queerer friendly than what most modern historians would have you believe, this debut single from Bronski beat didn't even try to hide its pro LGBT roots thanks to its striking video which made it a household name in their homeland and eventually the rest of the world (except America of course.)
This was a hit in the UK the same time it was in Cameo's native America, I'm not sure if I'm more surprised this was a hit with the Brits, or their fellow Americans given what we've looked at on these lists of mine. It took us Aussies and kiwis a while to come around on this song (likely due to the music video) but we eventually did.
Even though this was a massive hit for Mental as anything upon its initial release here in Australia and NZ, it was only when it was chosen as the theme song to Crocodile Dundee nearly two years later that it finally found an international audience. I guess this goes to show how much the Brits loved the movie given how big it was over there.
We still have plenty of chart toppers to look through on this list, one of the more prominent being this theme song from the Ritchie Valens biopic which the Brits seemed to love just like the rest of the world did. I'm somewhat surprised this didn't do even better over there, mainly because they seemed to have a Latin craze at the time.
As Blondie was more successful in the UK than they were in their native America at the start of the decade, it only makes sense that the first song they released in the 80's would be a chart topper for them with the Brits. I'm not sure why this bombed in their homeland as their fellow Americans had made them household names by this point in time.
While this wasn't as huge in the UK as it was over in NZ, its success over there is just further proof that the disco backlash had little affect with the Brits even in the months leading up to the launch of MTV. Sadly, the band behind this track had no further success over there, meaning they're an international one hit wonder.
You can consider this the place where "Miss me blind" would go had that been the third single from Colour by numbers internationally like it was in America, indeed the band wanted to show their more subdue side with this single which their label felt Americans would pass up on.
This is Paul McCartney's final entry on this list, although he would've had two more on here with "We all stand together" (albeit earlier on this list) and "Pipes of peace" had they been hits internationally like they were in his homeland. In any case, it appears his starring role in Give my regards to Broadstreet killed not only his acting career but also his mainstream popularity in music.
Given how his label hadn't realised that "Together forever" would be the perfect follow up to his earlier entry on this list, this meant that Rick Astley would have the same release schedule in his homeland that he did here in Australia which resulted in this title track from his debut album to be the second single.
This almost became a chart topper for Stevie Wonder in the UK, its success over there more than explains why he was able to score a massive hit in the southern hemisphere at the start of the decade given how this wasn't among his bigger hits in his catalogue in his native America. We skipped over "Happy birthday" and "Lately" on this list, further showing how much the Brits loved him at the time.
This proved to be ever so slightly more popular in the UK than it was in America for Matthew Wilder, I guess it was due to the novelty factor as the Brits always did have a soft spot for the wackier tracks of any given moment. This was his only hit as a lead artist, although he would be far more lucrative as a songwriter and producer over the years.
How has it taken me this long to feature THE charity single of the 80's? It appears that the Brits weren't too impressed with this ballad even though it went straight to number one over there like it did internationally.
Here's the other big hit that the Fat boys had in the UK and NZ, this also nearly made it to number one in both countries, meaning that the Brits and kiwis had no issues with the trio rapping over the Beach boys instrumental back in the day.
This was far less popular in the UK than it was internationally for Billy Ocean, I guess his fellow Brits were becoming tired of his brand of pop RNB in a way that didn't affect anyone else's enjoyment of his catalogue. I've skipped over "Suddenly" on my rateyourmusic list; however, we still have one more entry to come from the British crooner.
I don't know how the Brits came across this track given how it was only a modest success in Sly fox's native America, its success in the UK ensured it would be a sleeper hit here in Australia as we Aussies admittedly founds it hard to take this politically driven track seriously with its admittedly bizarre production.
