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 second single from Johnny Diesel’s debut album, while it wasn’t as big as their earlier entry (likely due to it not being as catchy) it did continue their winning streak here in Australia as it fuelled the popularity of the album thanks to Diesel’s strong passionate vocals. They would score one more hit this year (which we’ll get to) before contributing to the Delinquents soundtrack in 1990.
1989 16 weeks
Following the success of the title track from Erotica, Madonna decided that she was done trying to shock audiences with her sexual appeal and instead go for a more conventional dance track as the second single from the album. It proved to be a bigger hit for her mainly due to it being a song you can play on the dance floor but also due to the video and its visuals of balloons floating away signifying going deeper into the relationship.
1992 16 weeks
This was the theme to the film With honours, a film where Brendan Fraser takes pity on Joe Pesci who seems to be down on his luck and…. OK I haven’t seen the film and nor do I ever have any intentions of watching it as I’ve heard nothing but terrible things about it. One positive thing I can say about it is that it has a really good theme courtesy of Madonna who gives a truly compelling performance on this track.
1994 16 weeks
This was the second single that these guys scored this year, proving that they were in it for the long haul as both of their entries on this list were released before they dropped their debut album by the end of the year. It looks like the novelty had worn off by the time the album cycle ended as their next album was a huge flop for them which caused them to call it quits by the end of the decade.
1986 16 weeks
Even though this was a huge Billboard chart topper for Stevie B, it wasn’t until it became a surprise hit in the UK that it was able to crossover to Australia this year. From what I can gather, this guy got his start in the Latin freestyle genre of the 80’s, although that genre saw little to no success even in America which perhaps explains why he felt the need to switch over to adult contemporary with this ballad.
1991 16 weeks
This was the lead single to Guy Sebastian’s third album, an album that seemed to have better luck with its singles as the second single will be making an appearance on the next list of mine as well.
2006 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This is often considered to be the signature tune of the show for Jesus Christ superstar, although I don’t think anyone was expecting this rendition from the three leads of the Australian revival this year John Farnham, Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens to be a huge success. Indeed, it was which no doubt led to the success of the soundtrack which was indeed one of the biggest albums of the year.
1992 16 weeks
This was the last hit that Elton John had without his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, I should point out that there were tracks on these albums which did have Bernie as a songwriter, however he obviously wasn’t the main creative force behind him which is why his reunion with Elton John the following year was a welcomed one. That said, this was a hit for Elton due to a compelling performance he gave on Countdown.
1982 16 weeks
This was the other big hit that FYC had throughout the world this year, although it was curiously a flop in their native UK despite it being their second Billboard chart topper. This and several of the tracks on the album was recorded two years prior, which means there was possibly behind the scenes drama which led to them calling it quits the following year despite how well their album did.
1989 16 weeks
This wasn’t Nik Kershaw’s debut single in his native UK, that honour goes to “I won’t let the sun go down on me” which was given a second chance after this became a massive hit for him worldwide (sadly it won’t appear on this list.) People like to compare him to Howard Jones as both men had massive American appeal back in the day, although only Howard managed to score any success on Billboard.
1984 16 weeks
I never quite understood how George felt about being tied to the pop machine on Faith as there’s plenty of artistic merit on his solo debut as evidence by his third single from the album, although it does have a similar issue to “Daddy’s home” in that it can be taken the wrong way by bad faith music critics. It clearly wasn’t back in the day as it was his second solo chart topper on Billboard and sixth overall.
1988 16 weeks
For a while, this was the final hit that Backstreet boys were able to achieve in most parts of the world given how it’s often regarded as the final entry from the boy band wars before they officially came to an end, it’s low placement on this list is mainly due to us Aussies wanting to move on from the phenomenon even though I do remember it being everywhere on the radio back then.
2000 16 weeks
This was the third big hit that Shannon Noll had in a row this year from his debut album, at least he was well liked by the general public outside of the Australian idol sphere which is perhaps how he managed to retain his popularity with his second album he released the following year.
2004 16 weeks
This was the lead single to Icehouse’s second album Primitive man, an album which gave them massive success in the southern hemisphere and even moderate success worldwide making them one of the more popular Australian bands of the 80’s in the process. This is probably their most well-known song despite it being far from their biggest hit, mainly due to the mixing which makes it sound like it was made in a spiritual world.
1982 16 weeks
This was originally a flop for the Angels upon its initial release over a decade prior, however when they went on tour around this time, they performed this live with the crowd shouting “no way get fked fk off” which made it become a staple in their career. This live version was so popular that they released it as a single where it finally allowed the song to become a huge hit for them.
1988 16 weeks
Madonna was all about shocking the general public during the first stretch of the 90’s, so much so that the same time she released her lead single to Erotica, she released a book called Sex which is nothing more than scandalous pictures of her in sexually compromising positions. As such, this title track from the album was more interested in provoking controversy than being a hit, although it was a huge hit for her regardless.
1992 16 weeks
This was the final hit that Kate Bush managed to score in her career, it’s an Avant Garde cover of the Elton John classic that came from a covers album where many British artists paid tribute to the English piano man. Considering she began her career almost fifteen years prior, it’s impressive that Kate was able to have success as recently as this year even if it was with an unconventional cover of a classic.
1992 16 weeks
The was the other hit that Yazoo managed to score this year, it was their bigger hit in their native UK due to being a far catchier song than their earlier entry. They would have one more hit in their homeland the following year with “Nobody’s diary” before they called it quits so that they could pursue their own ventures. Alison would find success with her debut album the year after that while Vince would rule the EDM scene.
1982 16 weeks
People have criticised this song for its lyrics about how Madonna enjoys a spoilt lifestyle or as she puts it “living in a material world,” I guess they don’t realise that this song is meant to be ironic given how they also claim her delivery is beyond irritating and that the production sounds sarcastic. A lot of people either got the joke back in the day or more likely, didn’t care given how this was a huge hit regardless.
1985 16 weeks
This was the most successful version of this standards track here in Australia, it’s fitting that Rick Astley’s version would be a success given it was his third UK hit in a row as well as the song being well know even at the time. This is the first song where Stock Aiken and Waterman tried their hands at standards track in terms of their production, they would make these types of songs with Kylie Minogue on her second album.
1988 16 weeks
This is the final hit that Brandy has had anywhere in the world, mainly because it’s a completely different type of song that fans were used to throughout the 90’s as it’s what’s known as a glitch pop track due to the production sounding like it’s glitching out during the song. Although it was a hit in certain parts of the world, it was the death nail in her career as her subsequent follow ups flopped.
2002 16 weeks
It took a while for Maroon 5’s debut album to find success worldwide, in fact I remember hearing the lead single “Harder to breathe” on the radio from the previous year quite a bit back in the day, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out it was a flop for them even in their native America years later. Their second single is also much lower on this list than I otherwise would’ve predicted if I’m being honest.
2004 16 weeks
This ballad was nominated for an Oscar this year, I just thought I’d throw that out there as there are many people who don’t like Peter Cetera’s solo material due to him being schmaltzy in both his vocals and song writing. This comes from the second Karate Kid flick which has been described as a sequel that repeated the big hits from the original film, although it’s still considered better than the next two films.
1986 16 weeks
While their popularity wasn’t as inescapable as it was earlier in the decade, Abba was still able to find success with their singles here in Australia as the decade was coming to an end, proving that their dip in popularity was more due to overexposure rather than the quality dropping. This was the second single from their album Voulez vous which allowed it to be a modest improvement commercially over their previous album.
1979 16 weeks
D Generation were a comedy troupe that were very popular in the late 80’s in Australia, similar to the Comedy club but not quite as successful. Like the Comedy club, they found moderate success in the music industry with this mashup of five popular songs from Jimmy Barnes, Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Little river band and James Reyne with them inserting their comedy throughout the runtime.
1989 16 weeks
Wang Chung were a British band who were all set to fail in the music industry given how their debut single was a flop on the British charts the previous year, fortunately it somehow caught on in America which allowed it to find an audience here in Australia several months after its initial release. The band would return three years later with “Everybody have fun tonight” which was their biggest hit.
1984 16 weeks
Well, here we are with the second hit that Leif Garrett achieved from his debut album in Australia, this time it’s a cover of the doo wop singer Dion’s big hit of the same name which became as such fifteen years prior for the American singer. These covers would lead to him finally releasing an original track of his from earlier on the list which also helped him find an audience in his native America.
1978 16 weeks
This was the second and final hit that Ian Moss managed to achieve in his career, although this did come out around the time his album was release meaning it helped him score massive success with the album. This doesn’t have as complicated a narrative as his earlier entry on this list, I’m guessing that’s the only reason why it wasn’t as successful as the sound is the same on both tracks.
1989 16 weeks
These guys were on a roll this year as this became their third hit in a row thanks to it being a story about how Colin Hay takes an interest in a young boy and his ambitions (mind’s out of the gutter please.) It connected with audiences this year (again in an innocent way) thus making it a huge hit for the band, although they wouldn’t trouble the charts again until the lead single of their second album.
1982 16 weeks
This was the only hit to come from Billy Joel’s greatest hits package from this year, it’s a song about gaining your second wind after you’ve been shot down by someone in a relationship. There weren’t any signs of him slowing down in the industry as his next album would be a huge success for him, that is only in Australia it was as it underperformed throughout the rest of the world for some reason.
1985 16 weeks
This was originally the theme to the Sean Penn film At close range, a film that was critically acclaimed by flopped at the box office this year. It was then the lead single for her third album due to it topping the Billboard charts, making it her third chart topper in America despite it not being among her bigger hits here in Australia. It’s a departure from her earlier work due to it being a haunting ballad rather than innocent dance pop.
1986 16 weeks
Even though “Always and ever” was a modest success for the band, it was this third single which confirmed them to be the real deal as it became a huge success for them and allowed their debut album to be a huge success this year. They were pipped for greatness for the 90’s as were a lot of Australian acts on this list, unfortunately the 90’s became hostile towards local artists in 1993 for some reason.
1991 16 weeks
Well, I can certainly see where P Diddy earned his reputation of being a derivative producer when many of his own songs have him using such obvious samples, although he did do a great job for his clientele in the east coast hip hop wars such as Biggie Smalls and Ma$e. Here he samples the Led zeppelin classic “Kashmir” and even has the blessing of Jimmy page as he provides new vocals to go with this theme to the Godzilla remake.
1998 16 weeks
This is a song that I feel has too much brass in it (or rather synthesisers pretending that they’re brass) as a result I feel that the song is a bit too annoying for my liking which puts me in the minority as this remains one of the band’s most iconic songs to this day. This would be their last hit in Australia as their second Billboard chart topper “Human” would flop here, possibly due to the band being reduced to a trio by that point.
1983 16 weeks
This was the only notable hit that the Venetians managed to have here in Australia, although they did spark international interest in their catalogue despite them being far from the most successful Australian band of the decade. They would try to find a second hit here throughout the rest of the decade before they called it quits and broke up in 1989, much like many bands from the 80’s now that I think about it.
1986 16 weeks
This was the first big hit that the Cure were able to achieve here in Australia, it’s curious because they had appeared on Countdown multiple times prior to getting their big breakthrough with a song that’s unlike most of the rest of their catalogue. The song’s success likely comes from the video where lead singer Robert Smith does indeed share his love of cats in a way that I’m sure audiences found endearing.
1984 16 weeks
The legends are true people, Paris Hilton did in fact have a singing career back in the day which consisted of this one and only hit from her one and only album. As I said, I promised myself that I was going to be nice to each and every entry I feature on this site, as such I will say that this is far from the worst song I’ve ever heard as it at least has a catchy melody and Paris doesn’t actively drive me insane on the track.
2006 16 weeks
This was the final hit that Simple minds were able to achieve in Australia, it also stands as their biggest hit in their native UK as it was their only chart topper over there. I guess these guys were a bit ahead of the curve when it came to the Celtic revival of the 90’s as this ballad has plenty of Celtic influences on here that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Corrs album or the Riverdance soundtrack.
1989 16 weeks
Just a heads up that I’ll be having a bunch of two for one deal entries on this site as there were quite a few singles that were bundled together here in Australia to help boost their popularity. In any case we have our first entry which was the second and third singles from Back in black which managed to become the band’s second top ten hit in the decade due to how well fondly remembered both tracks are to this day.
1981 16 weeks
This was the second hit that Pseudo echo was able to score here in Australia, it’s more in line with what their earlier entry originally sounded like proving they weren’t always about being bombastic for the sake of it. This was actually their big hit over in NZ from their debut album, likely suggesting the kiwis were also in agreement that these guys were at their best when they would dial things back.
1984 16 weeks
This was the final hit that Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons had here in Australia (although they were now simply going by Jo Jo Zep) it seems odd they would achieve their highest charting single before they went their separate ways but that was a surprisingly common trend in the music industry over the years. Lead singer Joe Camilleri would form a new band after this known as the Black sorrows.
1982 16 weeks
Evidently there was this teen comedy series from the 90’s known as Party of five, it was apparently popular enough for its theme song to be a huge success this year for the band the Bodeans. The show premiered in 1994, which means this song was already two years old by the time it became a success this year, although the Friends theme from before also had this circuitous route to success down under.
1996 16 weeks
This is the final hit single to come from a Popstars contestant from anywhere in the world, in this case it was the first winner of the series to be a solo artist given how the franchise wanted to follow the American idol format this year (despite this coming out before that show even premiered) which led to the success of Scott Cain who quickly faded into obscurity once this dropped off our charts.
2002 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
This was the only hit that British band Voice of the beehive were able to achieve in Australia, likely due to it being a cover of the biggest hit that the Partridge family had two decades prior albeit as a pop rock tune in an attempt to modernise the wholesome original. I will say that I do prefer this track even if it’s admittedly more dated than the original, I think it’s due to how “radical” they were trying to be on here.
1992 16 weeks
You’d think that the big hit from the Rock steady crew would be their signature track “Hey you,” it was their big hit over in the UK for the American breakdance band after all. Instead, it was their second single that was the big hit here, likely due to them performing both tracks on Countdown and their performance of their big UK hit being little more than a breakdance whereas this was sung by the members.
1984 16 weeks
As with every fad in the music industry, it was only a matter of time before there would be a parody song about the rockabilly revival that would be a success. That came in the form of this track from the Belgian group the Veterans who made a joke song about how the rockabilly revival was flooding the mainstream over newer and more exciting music.
1980 16 weeks
Technically this was a C+C Music factory track as C+C does stand for Clivilles and Cole, although this was a dance cover of the first hit that U2 had so I guess they wanted to establish themselves as a slightly different act from the one who dominated the mainstream the previous year with Martha Walsh. They would return as C+C Music factory two years later once they settle their legal disputes with her.
1992 16 weeks
Well, this was a good year for mashup singles, wasn’t it? Here we have British group Rococo scoring their one and only hit in Australia and nowhere else in the world by mashing up some of the biggest hit singles in the Italo house genre meaning that several entries on this list became a hit again because of this track.
1990 16 weeks
This was a tie in song to the short-lived Aussie comedy series Summer heights high, it’s a show that resonated with audiences back in the day due to it being a parody of School life in Australia (specifically that of Sydney) which no doubt boosted the popularity of this song from one of the characters of the show. The show is certainly a product of its time, however it’s worth a watch if you’re into politically incorrect humour.
2008 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 16 weeks
This was the other big hit that Lindsay Lohan had here in Australia, with this being a song she wrote about her estranged relationship with her father who had been exploiting her fame since she joined Disney almost a decade prior to this coming out. Even though she was panned by critics for not being a good vocalist in their eyes (I personally disagree with that assessment) it still resonates with fans to this day thanks to its honest lyrics.
2006 16 weeks
This was the second UK chart topper in a row for the Police, although I get the feeling this was a hit here more due to them performing it on Countdown rather than us wanting to hear about how Sting desires to be an astronaut. Regardless it was a huge success for the band and confirmed them as a household name here, heck their debut album even managed to become a success because of this.
1980 16 weeks
Kulcha was a NZ band based in Australia who of course managed to score a hit with their debut single both here and in their homeland this year, I guess its success was inevitable even though it’s from the new jack swing genre which didn’t do well in Australia throughout the 90’s. I guess the quartet did resist the urge to “boom shaka laka” even though the song was clearly inspired by the phrase.
1994 16 weeks
Does anyone remember the “Wazza” meme from the early 00’s? Nowadays it’s best known for that scene in Scary movie which admittedly grinds the movie to a halt but is still hilarious to watch (I have a weird sense of humour) but it was originally concocted for the beer company Budwiesers which was so influential that it was turned into a dance remix by Shaft (credited as Da muttz) using the beat from Rick James’ “Superfreak.”
2001 16 weeks
This was another female empowerment anthem to become a hit worldwide, this time it comes from Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim who collaborated with each other for the second time this decade after “Lady marmalade” from two years prior for a song that might not have been as successful, but still resonated with audiences worldwide due to them making an anthem for women for the ages.
2003 16 weeks
This was the first of three hits that I’m talking was able to achieve in Australia, a band that’s best known for introducing Kate Ceberano into the music industry as she served as the lead vocalist for this band of otherwise middle age white men. OK that’s not fair as she was one of two female vocalists of colour and there was also a third woman of colour on bass, but Kate was the star of the show thanks to her amazing voice.
1985 16 weeks
This was the lead single to David Soul’s second album, an album that wouldn’t see much success despite it spawning two of his biggest hits worldwide likely due to those songs failing to become as such in his native America. Yeah, it turns out he’s a one hit wonder with his first entry on this list on the Billboard charts, proving how much more popular he was internationally back in the day.
1977 16 weeks
You’d think that Duran Duran would’ve performed a bunch of their hits on Countdown back in the day, as far as I can tell, they only performed this and “Is there something I should know” from the following year. Their performance of this lead single to their second album was the reason why it was a hit here as it was a massive flop everywhere else in the world likely due to the video being rather mundane.
1982 16 weeks
This was one of two sentimental songs that can be found on Encore, here it’s about Eminem rapping to his daughters Hailee and Lainnie about how he was doing his best to support them even though he was considered one of the most controversial people of the decade (despite his previous album successfully addressing these controversies.) It was his biggest hit from Encore on Billboard likely due to audiences finding the sentiment to be sweet.
2005 16 weeks
I did mention that this was a commercial disappointment earlier on this list, however that didn’t mean this lead single to Meteora was a flop here in Australia given how it managed to rack up enough points to appear on this list of mine. Still, I don’t remember hearing this much on the radio back in the day, certainly not compared to the other songs on the album especially their earlier entry.
2003 16 weeks
Even though the Backstreet boys scored many more hits worldwide than these guys did, the fact that this was able to go to number one on Billboard did allow them to win the boy band wars in their native America as far as TRL was concerned. This song is also a breakup track much like their earlier entry on this list, further giving them an identity that separated them from their contemporaries of sentimental lover boys.
2000 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 16 weeks
I guess this was meant to be confirmation that “If you leave me now” wasn’t a fluke from Chicago and that this was the direction that the band was heading in moving into the 80’s, it was a decent success here in Australia as it only barely failed to appear on one of my lists due to high Christmas sales that pushed it aside from many of the other entries on this list.
1977 16 weeks
There didn’t seem to be any signs of Peter Andre slowing down here in Australia despite his debut album being a massive flop for him here, he was always more of a singles artist anyway as were most teen idols and reggae artists now that I think about it. He would eventually conquer the international market with his second album due to how much of a runaway hit its lead single would be.
1993 16 weeks
This was the only hit that Sister Sledge had here in Australia, I feel that it’s a bad representation of their music given how the family group are best known for their disco classics from the late 70’s such as “We are family” and “He’s the greatest dancer.” I think this was a hit here due to this being an excellent time for Motown in our music scene despite most people feeling that artistically the label was at a low point.
1985 16 weeks
This was originally a song from Neil Diamond that appeared on his (then) most recent album Comes a time, however he appeared to have donated it to his (then) girlfriend Nicolette Larson who scored a moderate hit here in Australia with her version thanks to it serving as the lead single to her debut album which was a massive hit down under.
1979 16 weeks
Well just look at that cover art, this was what was sold to us Aussies back in the day as the “censored” cover art was just the same girl in the same outfit but with her whole body on it and her face looking at the viewer. Thankfully the song isn’t as egregious as it’s a nu metal track about a girl the narrator has the hots for, I’m not even sure why the woman on the cover is dressed as a cop seeing as though she isn’t literally one in the lyrics.
2003 16 weeks
For my American readers, this was the big hit that Wings had this year in lieu of their earlier entry not being released as a single over there, this is more in line with their usual material as opposed to “Mull of Kintyre” being a song showcasing how proud Paul McCartney was of his Scottish heritage.
1978 16 weeks
While their earlier entry on this list was far from the biggest hit of the year here in Australia (or anywhere else in the world for that matter) that didn’t prevent Bronski beat from scoring a second hit down under with this track which was a bit more melodramatic than their earlier entry as it didn’t have a poignant message attached to it. This would be the band’s final hit with Jimmy on vocals here before his departure.
1984 16 weeks
This was the other big hit that R Kelly had here in Australia, although it was more of a sleeper hit than anything hence its low placement on this list. This is a song that’s clearly meant for him to showcase his love of oriental culture from the Asian inspired production to the video taking place in what appears to be a dojo; however, it feels very insensitive towards Asian culture which resulted in its backlash.
2003 16 weeks
Following the success of their earlier entry on this list, the J Geils band managed to score a second hit worldwide with this gem that I’m surprised wasn’t more of a hit here in Australia given how much love it still receives on oldies stations to this day. I guess we can chalk this up to all of the strong competition it had on this list alone given how many songs managed to make it big this year down under.
1982 16 weeks
This is the only hit to come from singer/songwriter Marc Cohn, it’s a song about the rich legacy of Memphis Tennessee and how music has evolved over the years in the city. It was a modest success here in Australia for him due to how well singer/songwriters were doing at the time (even if they were mainly women in this category) although his success would only be for this one and only song.
1991 16 weeks
This was the second single to come from These days, an album that still divides Bon Jovi fans to this day due to it being a far cry from their arena rock days and instead goes for more mainstream rock with the occasional exception such as this track which is more in line with hard rock.
1995 16 weeks
This E.P was the only success that Erasure had here in Australia following their debut single from six years prior, this is strange considering A: they were a dance act who would otherwise thrive on our charts and B: were inescapable in their native UK up until this point. I guess they needed to rely on our nostalgia for Abba in order to escape our one hit wonder bin with these four covers on this E.P.
1992 16 weeks
I’m a bit surprised this was a minor hit here in Australia and not in NZ given how this feels like something Prince would record on one of his off days, it’s more surprising given how this was a Billboard chart topper for the funk band Ready for the world (what is with that name by the way?) Even in their homeland, they remain a one hit wonder with this track despite how inescapable it was in America.
1984 16 weeks
This is the final new entry on this list as everything released from here on out was pulled from shelves for whatever reason, it’s the second single from Amii Stewart which is a cover of the Doors classic making this the most successful rendition of that song here in Australia. Even so, I get the feeling that we Aussies were a bit iffy with hearing a disco cover of a psychedelic track by the end of the decade.
1979 16 weeks
This was the only other hit from Sneaky sound system that managed to appear on this site given how both “Pictures” and “I love it” both were too much of sleeper hits to qualify for these lists. Here we have the lead single to the band’s second album which I’m sure would’ve been bigger just the year prior given how the digital landscape had finally become mainstream and thus pushed these sorts of songs aside.
2008 16 weeks
This was released as the first single from Celine’s album of the same name here in Australia as opposed to her top entry on this list which was the lead single over in America this year, I’m guessing we Aussies weren’t as excited for the album at first given how this was only a modest success for her and that she needed her appearance from the summer Olympics for her top entry to be a success down under.
1996 16 weeks
I remember this being bigger than it would up being here back in the day, then again it was one of the biggest hits of the decade in Daniel’s native UK so perhaps this was one of those songs that was overhyped here at the time of its release. Daniel would only have two hits outside of his homeland with the other one being “If you’re not the one” from the following year.
2002 16 weeks
And we’re still seeing new entries from Hilary Duff on this list of mine, this is the second single from her second album which got lost in the shuffle back in the day due to her acting career taking off when it saw the light of day. Admittedly it was becoming uncool to like Hilary Duff here in Australia due to her Disney connections as well as her take on a Belinda Carlisle classic rubbing people the wrong way.
2004 16 weeks
This was also a sleeper hit here in Australia for Peaches and herb, meaning that this was also what put the duo on the map here just like it was over in NZ before they scored their big hit with their earlier entry on this list. It’s likely the first song you think of when thinking of the duo, which makes the success of their softer ballads that were genuine hits all the more puzzling in retrospect.
1979 16 weeks
This is the only hit from the American rapper Del tha funkee homosapien (man what a weird stage name) this was mainly because of it being a conscious hip hop track with what has to be one of the strangest production gimmicks I’ve ever heard in any single. The title of the track is chanted throughout its runtime, which I guess was what helped this stand out from the other hip-hop tracks of the day for us Aussies.
1992 16 weeks
You know this year was stacked when this barely made the cut, mainly because it was the song Nik Kershaw performed on Countdown in order to promote his second album here in Australia which only barely worked for him. Still, this did better here than it did in his homeland where it only barely scraped onto the UK top ten which wasn’t as prestigious an achievement as it was on our charts.
1985 16 weeks
This was the only hit that either artist involved had without the bands they were a part of worldwide, Patti Labelle scoring a hit over a decade prior as a member of her group Labelle with “Lady marmalade” whilst Michael McDonald was a member of the Doobie Brothers who also saw massive success throughout the 70’s worldwide. This is also a bad representation of their respective discographies as it’s an adult contemporary ballad rather than a soul number for the former and soft rock for the latter.
1986 16 weeks
Even though their albums from the midpoint of the decade did decently well here in Australia (as well as over in NZ) this is a period of time where fans of Icehouse would like to skip over given how neither album has held up as well as the likes of Primitive man or Man of colours from their fanbase. That said, they did score a hit with this entry from Measure to measure this year back in the day.
1986 16 weeks
Even with expanding this list of mine the way I have, this is the only other entry from Def Leppard to achieve any notable success here in Australia as it was a surprise hit when Hysteria randomly saw a spike in popularity in 1989. This brings the number of hits they had down under up to four which goes to show how unpopular the hair metal band was here compared to the rest of the world.
1989 16 weeks
Following the success of her collaboration with Riva (which sadly didn’t rack up the points necessary to appear on this list) Dannii Minogue was able to see massive success with this lead single to her fifth album Neon lights thanks to her embracing her seductive side much like her older sister was doing at the time. It was a short-lived comeback for her, but one that she took full advantage of.
2002 16 weeks
It looks like these guys were able to score two entries on this list given how their second single from their debut album was a bit deal here in Australia, admittedly this really had a lot of stiff competition this year hence why it has such a low placement on this list. I’m sure if the competition weren’t so stiff, this bombastic track that shares its name with a Blondie hit would be much higher on this list.
1985 16 weeks
We have a third entry from Phil Collins on this list as he was able to score a third top ten hit here in Australia from his magnum opus No jacket required, this is a bit more in line with his experimental tracks from his time with Genesis which means it’s much better received by music snobs than his other two entries on this list. His next hit would be with Genesis as they would reunite for their biggest album yet.
1985 16 weeks
This is the most recent entry from ELO I’ll be featuring on this site, admittedly most people likely don’t realise they released anything in the MTV era given how many of their retrospectives online stop with their album Time from two years prior. That said, we Aussies had just enough love for their work to give them one final hit this far into the MTV era.
1983 16 weeks
This is the second hit that Gym class heroes had here in Australia (we’ll get to the first in a bit) this one samples a song called “We don’t have to take our clothes off” from Jermaine Jackson which was a huge hit in America back in the 80’s. I’m not sure how we Aussies came across this track, however it was enough of a novelty for us to make it a success for the band.
2007 16 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2007 16 weeks
We haven’t looked at a song from Annie Lennox in a while, have we? Here we are with what many will tell you is her signature track (despite it being a cover of an obscure track from 1986) thanks to how lush and opulent it sounds even compared to her work with the Eurythmics. It’s the last time anyone cared about her music as even her reunion with David Stewart yielded no success for her.
1995 16 weeks
I bet you weren’t expecting a 90’s rendition of a Simon and Garfunkel track to appear on this list, here we are with the Lemonheads (boy howdy that band name) which became a surprise hit here in Australia due to heavy promotion from Triple J who seemed to be amused with this cover upon its initial release.
1993 16 weeks
This is the only hit that Haircut one hundred (what’s with that name?) had here in Australia, it’s one of many singles that got lost in the shuffle this year as this was a hectic year for music on our charts. Even so, it managed to crack our top ten thanks to how bouncy it is as well as this being a particularly good year for UK bands and artists.
1982 16 weeks
We finally have an entry from Busta rhymes on this side of my site that isn’t an RNB ballad, although I don’t know how we Aussies came across this number from the rapper given how it was a massive flop for him in NZ and his native America at the time of its release. Still at least we can truthfully say that we’re aware of the true talents he has to display with this entry.
2002 16 weeks
This was the last solo hit that Neil Diamond had in Australia, although he continued to find massive success with his albums and even scored a hit with a duet with Barbra Streisand later in the decade. I guess Countdown prevented him from scoring any more hits here but allowed his popularity to flourish with his albums.
1974 16 weeks
There have been plenty of ballads like this over the years to make it big, however I feel this was the first to make it big solely for why it exists which is that it’s a victory single for the winner of the first season of Australian idol Guy Sebastian. This is someone I personally don’t have much respect for reasons I won’t get into on this site but suffice to say I’m not a fan of his music.
2003 15 weeks
