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.)
Of all the queer bangers to make it big here in Australia in 1987, this was the only one that was also a hit in the UK which of course meant that it was a bigger hit over there than it was over here. I'm not sure how we Aussies and Brits came across this track given how it was a flop in the group's native America.
This was the only chart topper MJ had from Bad, in fact he only had three chart toppers in the UK with this and his two top entries on this list. We won't be looking at another one of his hits for a while as there's a huge drop-off with the success he had over there throughout the 80's.
I'm a bit surprised this was the second biggest hit that Spandau Ballet had in their homeland, then again there had to be a reason how this managed to become a sleeper hit here in Australia towards the start of the decade given how this was what put the band on the map worldwide.
The Bee gees return to this list once more as they're presence is felt on this hit for Dionne Warwick, this was by far her biggest hit in the UK as it nearly topped their charts as was the case here in Australia. I guess her fellow American's mostly passed up on this track due to it being considered disco even though it's more of an adult contemporary ballad.
Although this out peaked their earlier entry on this list, this proved to be less popular overall in Queen's native UK which was the case over in NZ from their album the Works. Hey at least they managed to have entries on here past 1980 as opposed to my Billboard list where they didn't, I even skipped "A kind of magic" from my rateyourmusic list due to its failure in the southern hemisphere.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit for the Communards in their homeland given how inescapable their earlier entry on this list was worldwide, I guess audiences weren't as impressed with their cover of the Gloria Gaynor classic as they were with their take on the Thelma Houston track two years prior.
This barely missed out on appearing on my Billboard list due to how minor of a hit it was in America, fortunately it was a much bigger hit in the UK like it was in the southern hemisphere following his tragic passing months prior. That said, I'm a bit surprised this was a hit over there and not his work with the Traveling wilburys.
Considering this was a massive flop in Kon Kan's native Canada, you really have to wonder how the Brits came across this dance track which admittedly is the case for several other dance tracks from Americans and Canadians on this list. Naturally its success over there led to it crossing over to NZ where EDM was all the rage at the time of its release.
Here's the sole chart topper that Queen had in their homeland throughout the decade, although they owe that success to David Bowie as this is his fourth appearance on this list that went to number one in his homeland. There are still three entries to come from Bowie, and there would've been one more from Queen had the theme from Flash Gordon been a hit in the southern hemisphere.
I really don't know how we Aussies and Brits came across this track given how it only became a hit in America once it topped our charts and nearly topped the UK and NZ charts for Toni Basil. Maybe we all recognised her from her roles in the likes of Easy rider and Five easy pieces from over a decade prior to its release.
Again, I have no idea how the Brits came across this debut single from New edition given how it flopped in their native America, however it going to number one on the UK charts ensured its success in the southern hemisphere for the quintet. This was their only hit over there as it appears the Brits discarded them once their fellow Americans discovered their music.
I get the feeling this was only a hit for Kenny and Dolly due to how inescapable it was in the southern hemisphere; it peaked during the Christmas of 1983 which means it struggled to appear on any year end list looking over the British charts of the day.
Billy Idol was another artist that only started seeing success in the midpoint of the decade in the UK, this was the first of two big hits he had in his homeland in 1985 even though he had an off year everywhere else in the world when he finally made it big amongst his fellow Brits.
Again, I don't know how the Brits came across this (at the time) six-year-old track from Charlene, however the fact this went to number one on the UK charts ensured it would be a worldwide smash for her including in her native America. Her luck ran out as none of her other singles managed to catch on at any point in time.
While this was a massive hit for Swing out sister in their homeland, it looked like it would flop internationally as it didn't take off here in Australia until they were announced as a special guest on the final episode of Countdown which of course piqued the kiwi's interest. All that to say that its success in America still makes no sense to me.
While this was a huge chart topper for the Police in their homeland, it dropped off their charts fairly quickly which is why it appears lower on this list than you'd otherwise think. We have one more entry from them which goes to show that all four of their hits from the 80's were as such everywhere in the world.
This was OMD's biggest hit in their homeland and the only one that will be appearing on this list as "If you leave" curiously flopped over there, I guess the Brits weren't big fans of Pretty in pink as that's why it was a hit for them in America. They would've had other entries on this list had any of them being a hit in the southern hemisphere.
Although this had a low peak position compared to entries even this far into the list (#6 is nothing to scoff at people) this nonetheless managed to be a massive hit for Lionel Richie in the UK which goes to show that the Brits were at least open to the idea of him having a career away from the Commodores.
It's been a while since we last looked at Alison Moyet's solo career, hasn't it? Here she is with her highest charting single as a solo artist in her homeland which managed to be an even bigger hit in NZ where it successfully went to number one for her. We've still got two more entries to feature from her on this list, three had "Love letters" been a hit for her outside of her homeland.
I guess the Brits weren't as on board with a change of vocalist from Bronski beat as we Aussies were given how this was more popular over here than it was in their homeland, although it could also be that it was released during the Christmas period of 1985 and only peaked in popularity in the new year over there.
Another song from 1986 that proved to be more popular here in Australia than it was in the UK from a British artist, this time it's from Samantha Fox who didn't titillate her fellow Brits as much as she did us Aussies upon its initial release. It was due to it being the third biggest hit of the year down under that it managed to find an audience in America the following year.
I wonder how many Brits have seen the music video to this track, I bring this up because it was banned in the UK due to the numerous nip slips that occur throughout its runtime as opposed to here in Australia where (at least to my knowledge) no such censorship occurred. The lack of a music video certainly didn't do much to prevent this song's success over there.
While this was a decent hit for Taylor Dayne in her homeland, it became a massive success in the UK due to it being a dance track from an American artist which the Brits seemed to enjoy quite a bit back in the day. She did score a minor follow up with "Prove your love," however that wasn't a candidate for this list and wouldn't have appeared on here even if it was.
Although he had a string of moderate his in his homeland throughout the decade, this was the only one that was a candidate for this list due to the Brits being fairly amused by its music video. Its success was pitiful compared to what it achieved internationally, however it did well enough to be on this list as opposed to his next biggest hit "She makes my day."
This proved to be slightly more successful on Billboard than it was in the UK for both the Pet shop boys and Dusty Springfield, I'm guessing because there was more nostalgia for the latter in America than there was in their homeland as she hadn't had a hit in nearly two decades when this came out.
This really feels out of place not just with Rick Astley's catalogue (you can imagine how tacked on it feels on the album) but also with everything else on this list given how this is our first (and only) entry that sounds like it was made in the 50's on this list. It continued Rick's winning streak in his homeland that wouldn't break until his third single from his second album.
This is Jason Donovan's final appearance on this list, although he would've had one more had "Sealed with a kiss" been slightly bigger here in Australia. I also skipped "When you come back to me" as that was a massive flop for him down under due to his fanbase already owning his album when it was released.
Whereas this was his final hit in America, Leo Sayer's fellow Brits allowed him to have one more minor hit in his homeland with "Have you ever been in love" which was sadly too minor to make it on this list of mine. This goes to show how we Aussies and Brits didn't have a bias against 70's artists during the MTV era like the Americans did.
I was expecting this to be a bigger hit for Spandau ballet in their homeland given how it's their biggest hit here in Australia, alas it appears their fellow Brits didn't have as much love for this third single from True (despite nearly topping their charts) as we Aussies did. At least it was a genuine hit there as opposed to NZ where it was a fan single.
His previous entry with Queen is the final chart topper to appear on this list for David Bowie, however his next three entries all nearly topped the UK charts which goes to show how popular he was amongst his fellow Brits this far into his career. Much like here in Australia, this third single from Let's dance was a bigger hit over there than the second single was (which we'll revisit in a bit.)
It's a been a while since we featured a Duran Duran track, hasn't it? Here we are with their sole single from their live album Arena which nearly topped the British charts similar to how it just missed out on topping the Billboard charts for the band. I skipped over "Save a prayer" which would've appeared earlier on this list which also barely missed out on being a UK chart topper.
It's hard to say if this was a success due to the Brits love of the film Electric dreams or if it was due to their love of the Human league given this has Phil Oakey on vocals, I bring this up because the film wasn't a box office success and was panned by critics for its bizarre premise (a man fights with a computer for the affections of the love interest) and that Human league's second album was a massive failure over there.
Although she didn't have as much success in the UK as she did in her native America, Gloria Estefan did achieve sound success given how she would've had two other hits on this list had "Don't wanna lose you" and "Can't stay away from you" been hits in the southern hemisphere. This was her only hit that wasn't as such in her homeland as well as one of the few she had here in Australia.
Even in his homeland, Limahl is a double one hit wonder as he failed to score a second hit both as a solo artist and with Kajagoogoo back in the day. I get the feeling this was a hit for him due to the success of the film it's named after as that was a massive box office success back in the day as well as it being the perfect song to promote its whimsy.
This and "Private investigations" were the best that Dire straits could do to scoring a chart topper in their homeland, the latter would've appeared a bit later on this list had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere for the record. This might've gone to number one in their homeland had it been the third single as opposed to the fourth, which admittedly was the case everywhere in the world except for NZ.
It's been a minute since we looked at Madonna on this list, here we are with a sing that barely missed the cut on my Billboard list as it was her first in her native America. Curiously, this was only a hit in the UK two years after its initial release as it only saw the light of day over there once the album cycle for Like a virgin ended.
It's been a real hot minute since we looked at a Eurythmics track, so here we are with the biggest hit from the duo's magnum opus revenge both here in Australia and their homeland. This was the case in the UK as it was the second single from the album over there as opposed to "Missionary man" over here.
Had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere, "Toy boy" would've appeared much sooner on this list which goes to show how Sinitta's fellow Brits were most interested in her music whilst she was a client of Stock Aiken and Waterman. That said, they didn't completely abandon her once she ended her relationship with the trio given how this was a decent hit in her homeland like it was internationally.
We have our final entry from the Police on this list, it was a victim of the Christmas season in their homeland which explains why it didn't do as well as their earlier entries on this list. It could also be that it was panned by certain audiences for the hypocrisy of its message given how laughable Sting's songwriting can get.
I guess the Brits weren't as on board with the idea of MJ dipping his toes into rock and roll as the rest of the world was, either that or they really didn't want to give Eddie Van Halen a hit given how his band failed to score a single worthwhile hit in the UK throughout their career.
I bet you were surprised that this failed to appear on my Billboard list, although it didn't do as well as you'd think in the UK considering it almost topped the Australian charts for the former Simon and Garfunkel folk singer. I guess we Aussies were the only ones in the world that didn't let the bizarre music video affect our enjoyment of the track.
This is Yazz's other big hit in her homeland as well as the only other time she troubled the charts anywhere in the world, this might be due to how long it took for her to make a second album as it wouldn't be released until 1994 which was six years after her initial breakthrough.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit in Climie Fisher's homeland as I would've thought this would be a massive chart topper over there, then again, I'm dumbstruck how this was only a sleeper hit here in Australia and NZ given how strong its airplay is on oldies stations.
Even though this had the same peak position in the UK as it did here in Australia, it appears the Brits weren't as impressed with this iconic track from Tina Turner as we Aussies were given how much lower it appears on this list compared to the Australian counterpart. She would have one more hit in the 90's over there from her biopic before fading into obscurity like everywhere else.
I guess the kiwis weren't that big into pub anthems given how low this appears on this list, granted it nearly topped their charts, however I'm guessing this found an audience with us Aussies due to how well it did in NZ back in the day. Naturally this was their only hit even in their homeland.
How has it taken me this long to feature a song from Bananarama on this list? Granted I did skip over "Help" which was their collaboration with French and Saunders of all people for Comic relief, however that would've only appeared slightly higher on this list had it been a hit internationally. Admittedly this was more of a hit here in Australia as it only did as well in their homeland as it did in NZ.
Much like here in Australia and their native America, this was initially a flop for Toto in the UK and only became a hit for them when the album it came from was crowned album of the year at the Grammys in early 1983. Unlike the rest of the world, this made them a one hit wonder over there due to the rest of their catalogue failing to connect with the Brits.
I guess the Brits were also slightly unimpressed with this being the lead single to Culture club's second album even though this nearly topped the charts in their homeland, they still have one more entry to come on this list which is the lead single from their third album.
Following the success of his earlier entry on this list, Bruce Springsteen's label decided to bundle this with "Born in the USA" in the UK which is why these two songs managed to get him out of the one hit wonder bin over there. I decided to have this represent both entries as it's what's listed as the main single on the official website for the UK charts.
We've had a few surprises on this list so far, however I'm really stunned how long it's taken me to feature a song from Kate Bush on this list. This is a bit of an outlier from the other hits of 1985 in her homeland, however it's not too farfetched compared to some of the other entries on this list from the second half of the decade.
This became a hit in the UK the same time it was topping the Billboard charts for Gregory Abbot, how the Brits came across this ballad round the time it was taking off in his homeland is anybody's guess, however that explains why this managed to be a hit in the southern hemisphere as opposed to a string of other adult contemporary chart toppers on Billboard.
This is the final entry from Bros on this list, although I did skip over their Christmas track "Cat among the pigeons" due to it not being a hit in the southern hemisphere back in the day. I guess this being less popular in the UK than their two earlier tracks is why this bombed in NZ, although I'm not sure how this was so inescapable here in Australia if that's the case.
And the surprises keep on coming on this list as I'm dumbstruck as to why it's taken me this long to feature Terence Trent D'arby on this list, admittedly he is an American artist that was stationed in Germany due to him being abandoned there by the US army, however his success in the UK was what compelled his fellow Americans to give him a number one hit with "Wishing well."
