Hey there, I thought I’d make a list ranking the longest charting singles from what I believe to be the most lucrative time in music history here in Australia. This list is fairly straight forward, each entry appears A: by how long they charted for and B: how well they did during their chart run. The only other thing is that the charts became somewhat redundant starting in 2007 where ARIA allowed for digital downloads which effectively removed the shelf life of each single. This means I’ve decided to include the chart runs of songs on the digital and single charts from this period to give an idea of how long a song would’ve lasted on the charts without this change whilst allowing songs that didn’t chart on the physical chart to appear on here as well.
This was the first of three Billboard chart toppers Billy Joel had this decade, it was the second single from his Glass house album which was less a throwback to the music of the 50’s and more him wondering why we should glamourise newer music when the older stuff holds up. It’s a rather poignant track that seems to be more relevant now that it was back then.
1980 17 weeks
While she hadn’t had a hit since the start of the decade, Kate Bush was able to slip her way into the mainstream this year with this track about how she felt she made a deal with God in finding happiness with the person she’s singing to. It became a surprise hit for her this year given how out of place it felt compared to everything else on this list, although it’s par for the course when it comes to her discography.
1985 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Australian crawl’s biggest album Sirocco, it’s a good representation of their music as while the music continues to captivate audiences to this day, people feel that James Reyne needed to learn to enunciate his vocals as they tend to have a hard time trying to figure out what he’s trying to say. For what it’s worth, the song is about how the person he’s singing to is in denial with things going good for them.
1981 17 weeks
This was the debut single for Paul Young (not to be confused with Australia’s John Paul Young) it was a cover of a Marvin Gaye song which technically means the Motown icon had two hits in Australia this year. In any case, Paul would score a second hit here the following year with his Christmas track “Love of the common people” which in turn would allow his album to be a success here.
1983 17 weeks
Well, if you wanted to imagine Cliff Richard as your daddy, I guess this is the song for you as that’s essentially what he’s doing here on this cover of an obscure track from the early 60’s. It was a big hit for the aging pop crooner following the success of his earlier entry, although he wouldn’t trouble our charts gain for another four years before he teamed up with the Young ones to remake his debut single for charity.
1982 17 weeks
I guess RHCP was able to score a hit from their divisive One hot minute here in Australia after all given how this lead single from the album did stick around for quite some time on our charts back in the day, indeed the album has since seen a reappraisal as it being merely different from the band’s catalogue rather than being a complete disaster like it was seen as back in the day.
1995 17 weeks
Well, we haven’t had a song like this feature on this site for a while, this is the only hit from pub rock band the Poor who managed to breakthrough this year with a song that would’ve been one of the biggest hits of its year had it been released in the 80’s. This is the best proof I have for the times shifting against Australian music as there were plenty of songs from the underground this year that sounded just like this.
1994 17 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 17 weeks
This was the third and final hit that the Sugababes had here in Australia, it was a song about how you shouldn’t care about what people look like as its their actions that make a person what they are and not their physical appearance. It’s a song that was absolutely necessary for the time given how people had become so caught up in their appearances that they didn’t realise who they were hurting in the long run.
2006 17 weeks
These guys were on a roll this year as they managed to score a second hit here in Australia as well as their second Billboard chart topper in their native America. As the name of the song implies, this is a song dedicated to a Sara who was the ex-girlfriend of the lead singer of the group. They would have one more hit the following year with the theme from the film Mannequin.
1986 17 weeks
This was the theme to Whitney’s second film Waiting to exhale, a film that was supposedly a huge improvement over the Bodyguard (I haven’t seen it yet) thanks to Whitney being surrounded by much better actors to play off her as well as her giving a better performance in the film. Interestingly people say that this theme song is the worst aspect of the film as the chorus is admittedly quite ridiculous to listen to.
1995 17 weeks
It seems odd that of all the victory singles to make it big from American idol here in Australia, it would come from Fantasia who never had much success even in her homeland following her victory on the reality series. I guess this was a hit here due to the previous winner Rubben Studdard having success over in NZ the previous year along with the runner up Clay Aiken.
2004 17 weeks
I guess Neneh Cherry was still able to find success this far into the 90’s, although she certainly adapted with the times as this isn’t the same pop rap that she broke through with in the late 80’s. This would be her final hit worldwide as she quit music shortly after she released her third album to become a mother.
1996 17 weeks
This was one of only five hits that Fleetwood Mac managed to score in Australia, that should give you an idea of how our music scene works as artists who dominate our albums charts rarely do so for our singles charts. In any case, we have the lead single to their album Mirage which was their way of adjusting to the MTV era, they somewhat struggled compared to their previous work, but they pulled it off.
1982 17 weeks
This was the lead single to Noisework’s second album, an album that didn’t live up to the hype set up by their debut album likely due to there being plenty of pub rock coming out from around this time. The band would come back in the early 90’s with their third and final album where they added some bombast to their sound which helped them stand out from their contemporaries and made them a success.
1988 17 weeks
This was technically the biggest hit to come from the Smashing pumpkins in Australia, it’s by far their most iconic song as the instrumentation is a perfect example of their sound and how its endured over the years. I’m guessing if this had of been the lead single from Mellon collie and the infinite sadness then it could’ve been one of the biggest hits of the decade instead of it being a mere modest success.
1996 17 weeks
This is the only other hit that Boom crash opera was able to achieve with their singles, although their popularity was more from the album this served as the lead single for as it went on to achieve massive success the following year. I’m a bit surprised these guys didn’t achieve further success in the 90’s, sure this might be too bombastic for that decade, but they did adapt with the times unlike their contemporaries.
1989 17 weeks
This was the third hit that Johnny Diesel and the Injectors were able to score from their debut album, proving that they were one of the hottest Australian bands of the day right when the 80’s was beginning to come to an end. Their popularity was so huge this year that they scored buzz over in the UK which likely explains why their music occasionally pops up in international media throughout the 90’s.
1989 17 weeks
This is a song whose success caused controversy this year, mainly because Dean Geyer came in third place on the fourth season of Australian idol and yet was able to score a hit here over the runner up which was Jessica Mauboy. Of course, the controversy has long since died out due to her being way more successful than either artist from that season to appear on this list.
2007 17 weeks
Well, this may come as insensitive to some, mainly because this song which you can consider a remix of “Smells like teen spirit” was released mere months after the tragic death of Kurt Cobain which likely explains its success here in Australia and Tinman’s native UK back in the day. It wasn’t a mainstream success here mind you likely due to how much in poor taste it was to release this when they did.
1994 17 weeks
Well, you know a song is bumping when it’s able to crossover to Australia despite it being a hip hop track and having some casual misogyny in the third verse, although when it comes to sexism this is quite tame for Snoop Dogg considering how much worse his later material would be towards women. Indeed, we Aussies wouldn’t give him another hit until “Beautiful” nine years later which is the antithesis of his 90’s tracks.
1994 17 weeks
This was the final hit that John Farnham scored from one of his albums in Australia, although it wasn’t his final hit overall as he did score another huge hit with Human nature later in the decade and his albums were still selling big numbers throughout the 90’s. I like to interpret this song as him explaining his early teen pop success, yes, the song is actually about a relationship gone wrong, but it can also apply to his earlier work.
1993 17 weeks
Now I know that any cover of the Beatles is going to have harsh criticisms to it, this also had the uphill battle of being a reggae cover of a Beatles track which further put it at a disadvantage. With that said, the Jamaican duo did a decent job with this cover as the song feels like a celebration much like the original which no doubt helped them escape the one hit wonder bin here as well as give them a third hit in the UK.
1994 17 weeks
Named after the heritage he was a part of Panjabi MC initially broke through with this track throughout Europe the previous year given how popular Indian style music was becoming throughout the early 00’s worldwide. This year, he recruited Jay-z to provide him a guest verse which allowed this to crossover here in Australia, although I get the feeling the true intent of this remix was to gain him an American audience.
2003 17 weeks
There was simply no stopping U2 from dominating our charts this year given how well they had adapted into the new decade with their album Achtung baby; indeed, this was the first album where the singles managed to truly dominate our charts here in Australia as opposed to their 80’s output where they only had the one big hit.
1992 17 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 17 weeks
This is the final hit single that Robbie Williams had anywhere in the world as this likely became a hit as a last hurrah for his career given that it was released during the final weeks of the decade.
2009 17 weeks
It had been several years since Martha Davis had troubled the charts anywhere in the world with her band the Motels, however it appears we Aussies had enough nostalgia for her work following the news that they had called it quits to allow her to embark on a solo career that this solo entry became a hit for her here. Sadly, this was her only hit here despite it fitting in perfectly with the likes of Melissa Etheridge and Tracy Chapman.
1988 17 weeks
Well, I did mention this track when we looked at the second single from Clues from earlier on this list didn’t I? It turns out it was also a decent success here in Australia back in the day, proving how much of a roll Robert Palmer was on down under following the breakthrough he had with his performance on Countdown with “Bad case of loving you” as well as his appeal over in America.
1980 17 weeks
Following his departure from Van Halen, David Lee Roth decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with this cover of the Beach boys classic that became a huge hit for him back in the day. It’s interesting to note that the original was never much of a hit for the boys here in Australia, meaning this is likely the only version most of us Aussies are familiar with these days.
1985 17 weeks
This was a good indication of the type of music making it big in America this year given how disco and other more interesting genres seemed to be excluded on Billboard around this time for some reason, I guess we Aussies found this one and only hit from Steve Forbert interesting enough for it to also be a hit here even though we didn’t extend this love for the likes of Robbie Dupree and Billy Preston.
1980 17 weeks
Although it came close to appearing on this list, “The big l” ultimately didn’t stick around long enough to be considered a sleeper hit here in Australia as opposed to the fourth single from Roxette’s third album Joyride which had the misfortune of peaking during the Christmas period of 1991 to appear on one of my lists proper up until this point. This was their penultimate hit they had here before they released “How do you do.”
1991 17 weeks
Judy Collins had previously scored a massive hit here in Australia with a showtunes rendition of “Amazing grace” four years prior, so it isn’t too far out of the realms of plausibility that she would score a minor hit this year with her rendition of this showtunes classic even amongst all of the other entries on this list.
1975 17 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 17 weeks
This was the first hit that Billy Idol had in the northern hemisphere, in this case it was a big hit for him in America given how he was living in New York when he launched his solo career and that the Americans likely took interest in what he Aussies and kiwis were listening to from him back in the day. This is one of his more sombre songs that wouldn’t feel out of place on his third album from two years later.
1984 17 weeks
This came off of RHCP’s greatest hits package from 2003, meaning that it was bound to have some level of success here in Australia given how inescapable that album was back in the day. Normally a band or artist would struggle to retain their popularity after such a release, not so for these guys as their next album was a massive worldwide success for them.
2003 17 weeks
This is the only hit that British band the Korgis had anywhere in the world including their native UK, I feel this is a bit ahead of its time given how this is in line with what Spandau ballet or ABC would release later in the decade. This is perhaps why it wasn’t that big in their homeland, although it was big enough for us Aussies to notice its presence.
1980 17 weeks
This nearly missed out on appearing on my list, mainly because it was the second single from the duo’s album Private eyes with the title track being the big hit despite it being a sleeper hit and thus not eligible for this list of mine. The duo did have massive success in the 70’s with “Rich girl,” however it was this year where their popularity truly took off down under.
1982 17 weeks
I’m a bit surprised to see this so low on the list given how much oldies stations love to reminisce on these guys, I guess we Aussies did pass up on their singles in favour of their albums which all did fairly well back in the day. Although they would have to wait a whole decade before they reached their peak in popularity, they managed to retain their popularity down under until that happened.
1983 17 weeks
“The love cats” might’ve been the song that put the Cure on the map here in Australia, however this was the first time the goth band managed to achieve some success after several failed attempts to catch out attention by appearing on Countdown as semi regulars. Indeed, none of the songs they performed on the show managed to cross over here in Australia, making their appearances pointless in the long run (at least as far as success was concerned.)
1983 17 weeks
Given how he scored a massive hit here in Australia with his earlier entry through nostalgia bombing, it only makes sense that Nitty would repeat that formula by this time sampling Toni Basil’s “Mickey” which led to him escaping our one hit wonder bin with this entry. Again, I have little memory of this track even though it was a hit for the American rapper, proving how unreliable the charts were back in the day.
2005 17 weeks
We have one more entry to come from the Rockmelons on this list as they indeed had an excellent year thanks to the presence of Deni Hines as their (temporary) lead singer. Here they score a moderate hit with the third single from their second album, proving that they were a force to be reckoned with during this line-up. Sadly, Deni would leave the band for her own solo career, a move which they never recovered from.
1992 17 weeks
We have one more entry to come from Australian crawl on this list, this was technically their first mainstream crossover as it very nearly cracked our top ten upon its initial release (it actually did according to the Countdown charts.) Alas it didn’t rack up the points to appear on my 1980 list, however it did last long enough to appear on this bonus list of mine.
1980 17 weeks
I’m as surprised as you are that this wasn’t a huge success here in Australia like it was over in the UK, it was the Brits first impressions of Blondie after all even if we Aussies were already familiar with them from “In the flesh” from earlier on this list. It was due to this song nearly topping the UK charts that finally caught them the attention of their fellow Americans in time for the release of their third album.
1978 17 weeks
It looks like Rick Price was able to score one final hit in his career with the lead single to his long awaited second album in 1995, although our music scene was unnecessarily hostile towards local artists by the mid 90’s, this didn’t prevent Rick from making his mark with this ballad which no doubt would’ve been as big as his first two hits from earlier in the decade had it been released at that point in time.
1995 17 weeks
This is the final hit that Split Enz had in their career before they went their separate ways, it was the lead single to their penultimate album which continues to see airplay on oldies stations to this day despite the lukewarm reception it received back in the day. Indeed, this feels a little out of place with many of the entries on this list due to their success stemming from the pre-MTV era.
1984 17 weeks
I did mention this barely missed the cut from appearing on this side of my site when I featured it on the NZ side, here we are with her only Billboard chart topper which likely would’ve been a big hit here in Australia had it not been pushed aside in favour of local artists getting promoted by Countdown at the time. Linda would of course go on to massive success later in the decade with her subsequent follow ups.
1975 17 weeks
Well, the absence of this single has certainly been felt on this site, here we are with the breakthrough single from Sade which remains a household name on oldies stations to this day thanks to how smooth it feels compared to most of the bombastic tracks of its time. I get the feeling this would’ve been a massive chart topper in NZ had this been their debut single as opposed to “Your love is king.”
1984 17 weeks
Given how she found massive success with “The glamorous life” from the previous year here in Australia, it only makes sense that we Aussies would continue Sheila E’s winning streak with her second single this year even if it was less popular here than her earlier hit. This courtesy wasn’t extended by her fellow Americans as she remains a one hit wonder in her homeland with her other hit.
1985 17 weeks
Of all the hits that Hazell Dean scored in her native UK, this is the only one that crossed over here in Australia which even then struggled to find its footing during the midpoint of the 80’s. This is one of many camp classics which showcases a woman looking for a man from back in the day, something that of course appeals heavily to gay men hence the target audience for this type of music.
1984 17 weeks
My American readers will perhaps be a bit shocked to see this song on this list given how it became a hit on Billboard during a period not covered on this list, indeed this was a hit for Melissa Etheridge here in Australia upon its initial release given how it was the follow up to her earlier entry on this list as well as coming off a highly successful album that did eat up a bunch of its success here.
1989 17 weeks
Remember that scene in the Blues brothers where Jake and Elwood are singing that country song in the cowboy bar? It turns out that this Scottish band decided to make it their own this year which led to it becoming a surprise hit for them here in Australia. I can’t say for certain, however I get the feeling this is what led to the success of the Blues brothers soundtrack this year.
1983 17 weeks
We’ve had quite a lot of representation from George Michael on this site, time now to give some attention to his former partner in crime Andrew Ridley who scored a moderate success at the start of the 90’s with this gem. Admittedly this was only a success due to the novelty of that other guy from Wham finding success on his own, however it’s still enough proof to discredit the A.V club declaring his album as inessential.
1990 17 weeks
It turns out we Aussies were also somewhat interested in this track from David Bowie back in the day, not too interested mind you as this only makes it on this side of my site due to it being a sleeper hit as opposed to a chart topper like it was in NZ, but the interest was there regardless. It’s hard to say how big the film was in the southern hemisphere as box office numbers for Australia and NZ are sadly limited.
1982 17 weeks
If the name Randy Newman sounds familiar to you, that’s because he’s the guy who’s responsible for the iconic “You’ve got a friend in me” from the first Toy story flick as well as writing a bunch of songs for Disney following how well received that song was (despite it never being released as a single.) This might ruin those fond memories you have of the film if you’re a little person as let’s just say the lyrics aren’t very sympathetic towards your wellbeing.
1978 17 weeks
We have one final entry from Madison Avenue to feature on this list, this of course being their third single which was more of a “fan single” hence why it appears so low on this list. That said, it did coincide with the release of their only album, so you can make the argument the sales were slightly eaten up by the hype surrounding their release.
2000 17 weeks
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to have massive respect in the indie crowd but not when they initially broke through, mainly because two of the three brothers hadn’t gone through puberty yet and as such people felt they were a bunch of teenage girls singing about their love rather than teenage boys. It’s a stupid criticism I know because either way, they were a family act who played their own instrument singing about their love for their significant other.
1997 16 weeks
This by all accounts should be much higher on the list given how inescapable it was on the radio in Australia back in the day, however it was unfortunately pulled from shelves as were the other singles from Avril’s debut album to encourage album sales which I guess worked out as the album was a massive success for her. Still, it drives me insane that this song is much lower than it should be on this list, but rules are rules.
2002 16 weeks
This was meant to be the middle ground between P!nk’s earlier material and her second album given how it’s a hybrid of a pop rock jam and an RNB joint to bridge her early fans with the music she wanted to make. It paid off for her as the rest of her career saw her moving in a rock direction to the point where her first album feels like a complete black sheep from the rest of her catalogue.
2001 16 weeks
If you think stoner culture is anything new, then you should probably know that this comedy track from Afroman was a huge worldwide chart topper despite being little more than a song about how him being a stoner had ruined his life (I personally don’t find it funny but evidently a lot of people did.) This was his one and only hit despite being a legitimate rapper who’s released several albums in his career.
2001 16 weeks
Well, if you wanted to hear what a Sam and Dave track would sound like if you replaced their vocals with Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham then knock yourself out with this duet between the two pub rockers. It was a huge hit for them off of Jimmy’s Soul deep album so I’m guessing there are people out there who like this.
1991 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was released as a song to cash in off of John Farnham’s greatest hits trilogy that he released this year, although given how it has Human Nature on the track fresh off the success of their debut album, I feel there was little chance that this collaboration was going to fail upon its initial release here.
1997 16 weeks
This was the lead single to U2’s first album of the decade Achtung baby, although I get the feeling they went with the most normal track on the album as the lead single in order to hook fans in with their change in sound which happened throughout the album. Indeed, their next single “Mysterious ways” was the obvious choice for the lead single given how well remembered it remains in their catalogue.
1991 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was the second hit in a row for Salt n Pepa as well as the first for En vogue in Australia, likely due to their catchy chorus they provide to connect the verses of how awesome the men each rapper is with is for her. The real victory here comes from the person these women of colour sampled from, that being Linda Lindell who was originally blacklisted from the music industry for sounding like a woman of colour despite being Caucasian began performing again after spending 25 years in hiding.
1994 16 weeks
This is technically the biggest hit from Duran Duran, mainly because it was released as the bonus track from their live album which from what I can gather, helps boost a songs popularity if a band or artist released a sole studio track from a live album. This is also one of the most contentious songs from the bands catalogue due to how strange Simon Le Bon sounds on the track compared to their other songs.
1984 16 weeks
Well, here’s that second hit that Sonia dada were able to achieve in Australia this year, it’s about the same as their earlier entry on this list which explains why it was a huge success for them here and nowhere else in the world. Once the album cycle ended from the group, they were never heard from again.
1993 16 weeks
This was one of two new tracks to be found on Madonna’s Immaculate collection, and it’s a song that came with a highly provocative video meant specifically to shock audiences back in the day. Because of this, the song has been criticised for being little more than a cheap porno track meant to shock bible bashers, although it also has its defenders (including me) who claim there’s more to the track than its video.
1990 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was the third and final hit to come from Craig David’s debut album in most parts of the world, it’s a more standard RNB ballad from Craig as it’s him walking out of a toxic relationship and indeed everything making his life worse than what it needs to be. No doubt the success of all of these tracks from his album led to the success of his American counterpart Usher later in the year worldwide.
2001 16 weeks
This was the only hit single to come from the Tony Rich project, an RNB group named after its lead singer who scored their one and only hit with this ballad that became a surprise hit here in Australia considering how uncommon it was for RNB hits to be successful this decade. No doubt this was one of the first signs of us Aussies becoming more tolerant of black music during the second half of the 90’s.
1996 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was the third single to come from John Farnham’s album Chain reaction, it’s a song that’s a lot more subdue than most of his other catalogue which is perhaps why it was able to find an audience from around this time. Although he would see massive success as the decade went on with his albums, he would only have one more solo hit and two more hits with as duets with Jimmy Barnes and Human nature.
1990 16 weeks
This was the lead single to Duran Duran’s third album, an album that was all set to flop likely due to the band feeling overexposed by this point with their flashy music videos but was rescued the following year when “The reflex” became their biggest hit in America and their native UK. Indeed, that song has long since overshadowed this lead single despite this being their bigger hit here in Australia.
1983 16 weeks
Well, here’s what I and many others consider to be the true first single that U2 released this decade as it signifies a change in their sound that was radically different to what they had released up until this point. While their previous single was the big hit off of Achtung baby on a technical level, it was this song which helped the album thrive while many albums from their contemporaries crashed and burned.
1991 16 weeks
From what I’ve researched, this has gone down as one of the greatest TV themes of all time which makes its success here in Australia has gone down as one our biggest victories as far as the online music community is concerned. It’s definitely a song that’s more suited to the indie sphere of the music industry, and indeed it wasn’t always intended for the show as it first appeared on Julee Cruise’s 1989 album.
1991 16 weeks
Given how Enya managed to score a massive hit with “Orinoco flow” as the 80’s was coming to an end, it seemed inevitable that the new age trend would explode this decade which it did beginning with this track from the German duo Enigma. Something this adds over what Enya released prior was Gregorian chanting, making this feel like it belongs in a monk temple despite it being a huge success worldwide.
1991 16 weeks
This feels more like an introduction to the Badloves than the lead single for Jimmy’s second album of the year Flesh and wood, indeed the success of this collaboration helped the band find massive success with their album Get on board which allowed them to find success with audiences outside of listeners of Triple J.
1993 16 weeks
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.
1979 16 weeks
This was the other big hit that John Lennon was able to score from Double fantasy this year, although I reckon it has a similar melody to another track from a few years prior called “We do it” from R and J Stone that was a massive hit here in Australia. Naturally no one seemed to care about the similarities given how this was the first song released posthumously from the former Beatle.
1981 16 weeks
At least Shannon Noll was able to have genuine success this year following his loss of the first season of Australian idol, this is because his second single was a hit that stuck around long enough to appear much higher than any of the other entries from Guy Sebastian which were hits but only because of his name recognition.
2004 16 weeks
Well, here’s the debut single for one of my least favourite groups to find success this decade, I know the Corrs get flack for having Celtic influences in their music but at least it enhances their songs rather than it being a gimmick like it is on B*witched’s music. Remove the Celtic sound and you’re left with an ordinary teen pop group who were competing with the likes of the Spice girls and Cleopatra for success.
1998 16 weeks
This was a stellar year for Shaking Stevens who managed to score a third hit throughout the world, although this time it’s with a cover of a very well-known staple of the 50’s given how the original was one of the biggest hits of the decade for Jim Lowe in 1956. Shaky would have one more hit the following year with “Oh Julie” before his time in the spotlight came to an end here in Australia.
1981 16 weeks
This was the second hit that Michael Bolton scored off his breakthrough album, it’s a more upbeat track about him telling his partner that they can’t hook up unless they’re friends, making this a pseudo-Spice girls track as that was effectively the message of their biggest hit “Wannabe” later in the decade. I think because of these two factors, this ranks as one of his better hits in his catalogue.
1990 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was the second single from MJ’s dangerous album, and while the song itself remains a classic thanks to its laid-back production and performance from him, the real star of the show is the video which has him performing for the amusement of pharaoh Eddie Murphy. Apparently, this was done as a favour as MJ would appear on one of Eddie’s songs the following year with an infinitely lamer video.
1992 16 weeks
This was the second single to be released from Diesel’s solo album Hepfidelity, it proved to be a bigger hit for him than his first single (which we’ll get to in a bit) likely due to it being a more stripped back number than anything he released up until this point. For some reason, he had more success in NZ this year with this album, although that did result in him gaining international interest in his music.
1992 16 weeks
This was the only hit that Supertramp were able to score here in Australia, it makes sense because it’s by far their catchiest song and it’s about how the narrator is losing a friend and how it makes him feel like there’s rainy weather to come from the fall out. This helped them survive into the MTV era longer than many of their contemporaries who struggled for success once the program launched in 1981.
1982 16 weeks
This was the first song that Icehouse released once they changed their name to match that of their debut album, indeed this feels like a bonus track from their now self-titled album as they released this purely to tie fans over to their second album which is where their international appeal was finally met.
1981 16 weeks
Here’s that song from the Human league that I and many others reckon Culture club built their lead single off Colour by numbers off from earlier on this list, I swear the melody to both of these tracks seem identical to me the more I listen to both songs. This was one of two hits the band had this year from their E.P Fascination, an E.P that flopped here despite it producing two of the band’s bigger hits.
1982 16 weeks
Well, this song had a very lengthy delay to its release outside of the band’s native UK, it had been six months since it topped the UK charts before it touched the Australian or NZ charts. I’m guessing the band wanted their album to be a huge success in both countries which to be fair it was, however, this tale about how Phil Oakey made a star out of Joanne Catherall wasn’t as big a hit here as it likely should’ve been.
1982 16 weeks
This was the final hit that Shaking Stevens managed to achieve in Australia, likely due to him performing all of his biggest hits he had here barring “This ole house” on Countdown around the time of its release. Much like “You drive me crazy,” this is an original track from the throwback artist which could be another reason why it was a success here, although it would be his last despite his popularity growing in the UK.
1982 16 weeks
This was one of three hits that Daryl Braithwaite managed to score on his own this decade, this should give you an idea as to how inescapable this man was between his solo efforts and his time as the front man of Sherbet.
1977 16 weeks
This was the only other hit that Glenn Medeiros was able to achieve in his career, mainly because it has a guest verse from Bobby Brown during the height of the former New edition rapper’s popularity. This is a song about how an ex-partner of Glenn Medeiros is now going out with the listener and how as he puts it “she ain’t worth it” because of all of the heartbreak she brought him during his relationship.
1990 16 weeks
This was the first duet from Grease to be played in the film, although technically it’s more of an ensemble piece as both characters recall how they came across each other over the summer which would set up the basis for their relationship throughout the rest of the film. It’s one of the less conventional songs to become a hit over the years, but it’s catchy and well performed.
1978 16 weeks
This was released following the tragic death of Freddie Mercury where it became a number one hit in his native UK all over again, in Australia it wasn’t quite as huge, however had it been delayed by a few months it likely would’ve been given that it almost topped the Billboard charts this year due to its inclusion in the Wayne’s world soundtrack.
1992 16 weeks
I guess if there was a song that could tan gently be about the rights of first nation people, this would be it as while the lyrics are directly about coming out of a bad relationship, they can easily refer to how history has been unkind to these minority groups and how they don’t have to worry about it repeating itself. It was a huge hit for the band regardless of what the meaning of the lyrics are.
1981 16 weeks
This was the final hit that David Bowie managed to achieve anywhere in the world, likely due to it being the theme to the critically panned film of the same name which he also happened to star in. He did have another starring vehicle this year with the cult classic Labyrinth, where he also provided the soundtrack to in addition to giving a memorably performance as its antagonist Jareth.
1986 16 weeks
This was the second single to come out of the Swing, although it wasn’t quite as big as their two earlier entries on this list likely due to it not being as catchy as those tracks. Still, it was a huge hit for the band and likely strengthened their international interest which became a success the following year when they released their next album Listen like thieves.
1984 16 weeks
