Ahh yes, the year where countdown began its influence on the Australian charts, naturally I would rank this year fairly high as it was what gave a platform to so many iconic Australian artists and their different takes on popular genres of the decade such as pub rock and glam metal. The rest of the world didn’t do too badly with their respective music scenes either as this was where disco began its meteoric rise in popularity as well as pushing aside all those old crooners who were making it big for a second time in the mainstream.
This was the biggest hit of the 70’s in NZ, it’s curious because it wasn’t even his big international hit (which we’ll look at in a moment) proving that even from its inception, the RIANZ charts were able to display the kiwis as contrarians when it came to the music industry.
Here’s that big international hit that Freddy Fender had in NZ, both of these songs charted as if they were from the album charts which perhaps gives you an idea of how unreliable the RIANZ charts were during the first few years of its existence in determining what was popular in NZ.
From what I gathered going through the Listener charts, Glen Campbell wasn’t as successful in NZ as he was in Australia which means that much like in his native America, he was more popular with his post sellout material over there than with his more authentic country work.
This proved to be an even bigger hit in NZ than it was in Australia, I’m guessing because the charts were still in their infancy at the time and also the kiwis didn’t have as much variety to make a hit as we Aussies did given how they lacked a Countdown equivalent that we had to help them discover new music.
This was another RNB ballad that managed to become a huge success in NZ that was a massive flop here in Australia, this time it’s from Johnny Nash who scored a massive worldwide hit with the final hit from his career following the success he had earlier in the decade with “I can see clearly now.”
Well, this was certainly a surprise, we have this comedy track from Bob Hudson becoming more of a success in NZ than it was in Australia which likely means the kiwis have a Bogan population as well (I’m not entirely sure if that’s the case.) This allowed the album to be a moderate success over there proving how entertaining they found Bob as a comedian.
This was the second single to come from Abba’s self-titled album, given how “Mamma Mia” wasn’t released until the following year, it allowed this song to be a massive success over there without having to compete with their other single which proved to be much more popular here in Australia.
This was an even bigger hit for the George Baker selection in NZ than it was in Australia, although this was more inevitable as Dutch groups tend to have a free pass when it comes to finding success in NZ for reasons I never quite understood.
Well at least this songs popularity was a worldwide anomaly given how this was a hit in Roger’s native UK as well as in Australia and NZ this year. At least this was had a hit earlier in the decade on the Listener charts over there, not like here in Australia where he remains a one hit wonder with a song that was three years old at the time of its success.
This was another successful ballad to come out of Rod Stewart this decade, one that I’m pretty sure led to a rather nasty rumour about him concerning sailors that I won’t bother repeating on this entry.
This was the only hit that Bill and Boyd were able to achieve in their native NZ throughout their lengthy career, it only became as such a year after they nearly topped the Australian charts with their touching tribute to the victims of Cyclone Tracy from the Christmas of 1974 in Darwin.
Well, here’s that other chart topper that Mark Williams had in NZ this decade, again it’s the original version of a track that became popular in the mid 00’s over there thanks to NZ idol reviving its popularity.
From what I can gather, this was the first big hit that the Eagles had in NZ as none of their earlier material made it big over there on the Listener charts. Honestly, it’s less of a surprise that this was a hit over there and more so that it was a flop here in Australia, yes, the album was big here, but you’d think a song that was a Billboard chart topper for one of the biggest bands in the world would’ve done better here.
Well at least this guy had more success in NZ with his two Billboard chart toppers, yes, his Oscar winning ballad from the start of the decade was the big hit on the Listener charts and not the inferior John Farnham cover that topped our charts in 1970. BJ Thomas didn’t have any other hits after his second Billboard chart topper anywhere in the world, suggesting his brand of country was no longer in vogue.
This was also a two for one deal in NZ like it was in Australia, although given how both songs were heavily marketed over there back in the day, they became much bigger hits and could even be considered two separate entries as they bounced in and out of the top twenty over there for several months.
Sweet were another band who had massive success in NZ during the first half of the decade according to the Listener charts, arguably more so than what they had here in Australia which is the best proof I have that glam rock was quite popular over there even if the likes of Suzi Quatro and Gary Glitter weren’t.
I guess I should talk about the Listener charts with this entry, they were charts compiled by a magazine of the same name that tracked what was popular in NZ from 1966 to early this year. This was the last chart topper on those magazines as well as one of the first on RIANZ which means this song serves as a transition from the old charts to the “hip” and “modern” charts that launched this year in NZ.
This was the only hit from Sammy Johns, an American folk singer who scored a hit in NZ and his native America with this ballad that remains a staple on oldies stations to this day. I wish I could say more about this guy but he’s honestly not that interesting outside of his one and only hit.
We already looked at the Pauline Henry cover of this from the Australian side of this site, so now let’s look at the original version of that song from Bad company which became a massive success for the British band Bad company in NZ back in the day. These guys were more of an albums band given how big their albums were despite them not having any success with their singles save for this rock and roll track.
Well, every band and artist seem to have at least one problematic song in their catalogue, for Elton John it was this Billboard chart topper about him wanting to save this “island girl” from what appears to be life as a sex worker while cosplaying as an “island boy.” I guess if you were to ignore the lyrical content, the song has a nice rock reggae groove that still holds up to this day.
This was yet another big hit that the Eagles had in NZ this decade, it was the second single from their breakthrough album One of these nights (at least in the southern hemisphere it was) where it became a massive hit over there despite it flopping here in Australia. As I said, all of these songs I’ve featured on this site from the band remain staples on oldies stations to this day.
If we were going by the Listener charts, this would’ve been a number one hit for Elton John, instead it only made it to number two in NZ which should give you an idea of the different demographics that the Listener charts and RIANZ had back in the day. Either way, this was still a massive hit for the British piano man this year, definitely much more so than it was here in Australia.
This was a much bigger hit in NZ this year than it was here in Australia, I’m guessing because the kiwis were all on board with the disco trend that was exploding around this time worldwide and that we Aussies needed a big more convincing before we were completely on board with it. Even though this was a much bigger hit over there, it wasn’t enough to get Van out of the one hit wonder bin with his big UK hit “The shuffle.”
While I’m not sure if this was the first hit single that had synthesisers on the track (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong for thinking it is) it was the song which popularised the usage of synths which would eventually explode in the 80’s as more bands and artists got on board with the technology as the decade went on. Indeed, this one and only hit from Kraftwerk (at least in NZ) was a pioneer for everything great about 80’s music.
This was a massive hit for Jim Gilstrap in NZ, Jim is perhaps best known for singing TV themes such as the Good times theme which was one of the highest rated sitcoms at the time (as well as the first to feature a predominantly black cast.) This was a huge flop in his native America, which is perhaps why he stuck to singing TV themes rather than pursuing any further hits on the Billboard charts.
It looks like the kiwis were more on board with the Brothers Gibb switching over to disco this year than we Aussies were, then again it wasn’t until the Saturday night fever soundtrack when we Aussies were finally OK with them hopping on the disco bandwagon considering how their first two disco albums underperformed here back in the day.
This was another early disco hit that became a hit in NZ but not in Australia this year, although it did chart for a while down under so there was potential for this to become a hit here. Sadly, this was the only hit from Shirley and company as their subsequent follow ups failed to make an impact during a time where disco had exploded into the mainstream.
OK I try to avoid using album art that has any indication of a song being popular in a certain country, however this is the only album art I could find for this one and only hit from the British reggae duo Typically tropical that didn’t have the cover model topless or in an otherwise sexually provocative stance (even this will probably be titillating to my audience if I’m being honest.) Suffice to say, this was a song meant to put audiences in the mindset of being in a tropical paradise which connected with the kiwis and their fellow Brits.
Well, it appears the kiwis weren’t as impressed with the husband-and-wife duo of the Captain and Tennille as we Aussies were as this is the only other appearance they have in this side of my site after we looked at “Do that to me one more time” in my 1980 list. It was a huge hit over there this year, although mainly as a sleeper hit as it achieved most of its success in the lower regions of the charts.
This was another hit that Mark Williams managed to achieve in his homeland back in the day, I guess he was the most successful NZ artist of the decade over there even taking into accounts those that found success here in Australia first before taking it back home.
This failed to appear on the Australian side of my site mostly because it was only a minor success here in Australia, I guess if Countdown hadn’t of taken off when it did it would’ve at least been as successful here as it was in NZ for Wings.
This was the only success that country singer Billie Jo Spears had anywhere in the world, although like most country legends, she had a ton of success on the Billboard country charts further proving how detached from the mainstream that the country scene has always been.
One of the bigger groups from the first half of the 70’s was the Stylistics, they for whatever reason had their popularity die out by the midpoint of the decade save for this ballad which became a surprise hit for them in NZ this year. This would be the last anyone would hear from the band in the mainstream as their subsequent follow ups all flopped throughout the world.
From what I can gather, this was the earliest success that Leo Sayer had in NZ given how none of his songs prior to the release of the first RIANZ charts were successful on the Listener charts, I guess it makes sense that one of his more upbeat tracks would be the kiwis introduction to him as opposed to his single “The show must go on” which was the case here in Australia and his native UK.
This was a song that would’ve been higher on this list had the RIANZ charts launched sooner in the year given how well it did on the Listener charts and that it retained its popularity on the newer charts once it launched. It was Helen Reddy’s final hit anywhere in the world given how it was a surprise hit for her over there following the success of “Angie baby” in Australia and America.
This was originally meant to be John Lennon’s final hit single as he would announce his retirement after he released it from his album Rock n roll, it’s a cover of the Ben E King classic which I’m guessing was meant to be reassurance to his audience that he was simply stepping out of the spotlight rather than becoming blacklisted from fame.
This was the first big hit that 10CC achieved in NZ given how “Rubber bullets” flopped on the Listener charts two years prior, this means that the band only achieved three hits over there with only two of them also being hits here in Australia. Even so, I can see how this managed to be a success over there for the band given how well it fitted in with the trends of the day.
As this was on the very first RIANZ chart ever released, you can imagine that it would’ve been higher on this list had the charts begun slightly sooner than they actually did. In fact, it’s worth noting that on the Listener charts, this actually made it to number one just before they went defunct, proving this was even bigger in NZ than its placement on this list would suggest.
Although Livie didn’t ultimately see more success in NZ than she did here in Australia, she did seem to be more popular with the kiwis than us Aussies during the midpoint of the decade given how she now has two entries on this side of my site that will never appear on the Australian side given how much of a failure they both were down under.
I think this is the only native American band that ever saw success throughout the world over the years, sure we’ve had native American artists such as Cher find success, however I can’t think of another band apart from these guys to reach international fame. With that said, we have the one and only appearance from Redbone on this site who is best known for their single “Witch queen of New Orleans.”
From what I can gather, Ray Stevens didn’t have as much success in NZ as he did in Australia as this saw considerably less success over there than it did over here this year. That said, his two big comedy tracks “Gitarzan” and “The streak” were very big on the Listener charts, so perhaps the kiwis were simply more interested in his brand of comedy rather than his more serious ballads.
Oh boy was this a pain to do research on, here we have a country cover of a ballad from the 50’s that was only a hit in NZ this year likely due to country still reigning supreme over there as opposed to everywhere else in the world which had moved on to the likes of glam and early disco.
I’m actually surprised that we haven’t seen many anti-drug songs throughout this site, mainly because we Aussies and kiwis are certainly no strangers to protest music as you’ve likely noticed if you’ve been following it so far. Here we are with this anti-drug song from Ringo Starr which coincidentally was the final hit he had anywhere in the world as his popularity faded after this.
Unlike here in Australia where the hits dried up for the Carpenters once Countdown launched this year, they kept on coming for them over in NZ likely due to the lack of competition the duo had over there with up-and-coming artists from the southern hemisphere. For what it’s worth, they dominated both our charts during the first half of the decade with their ballads.
This is another RNB group of colour to find massive success two decades after their initial breakthrough worldwide, just like the Drifters, this was due to their sudden popularity in the UK as this ballad managed to become a huge chart topper for them over there which of course sparked its success in NZ. I guess we Aussies passed this up in favour of the Three degrees who sadly flopped in NZ.
Well, this is a surprise, namely because I wasn’t expecting to find out that Jon English had a hit in NZ before he had a hit here in Australia back in the day. I’m not even sure how the kiwis came across his cover of the Bob Seger track given how Bob wouldn’t find any success until later in the decade even in his native America.
I told you the hits kept on coming from the Carpenters as this was their third from the same album over there even if it failed to connect with their fellow Americans. This is a cover of an obscure Neil Sedaka track from earlier in the decade, suggesting that these guys took away his comeback success over there that he was achieving throughout the rest of the world.
As this was another song that appeared on the very first week of the RIANZ charts, you can assume that it had some of its potential success cut off back in the day which explains why it appears lower on this list than it likely should. Indeed, this cracked the top ten on the Listener charts right as they were winding to an end.
This certainly was an excellent time for country music in the mainstream, wasn’t it? Here we have the one and only hit from the Ozark Mountain daredevils (yet another silly band name I have to write up on this site) which likely connected with the kiwis this year thanks to it having some elements of prog sprinkled throughout its runtime.
This is the only hit that everyone involved with this song had in their homeland, it appears to be a country ballad which was able to find an audience with their fellow kiwis and even sparked international interest given how I was able to find actual album art for its entry.
It appears the kiwis had so much love for Jim Gilstrap that they gave him a second hit this year in the form of this underrated gem, this would sadly be the full extent of his popularity worldwide in terms of his music as he wouldn’t release another album due to the failure of his first album in his native America.
Although you wouldn’t know it based on the RIANZ charts alone, however these guys were on a massive roll in NZ this year as their lead single to their fourth album managed to become a decent success for them despite it being a massive flop everywhere else in the world. In my bonus section we’ll get to in a bit, you’ll see just how inescapable these guys were with their earlier material.
If I were to go further back in the decade, there’d be an increase in “story” songs such as this one and only hit from David Geddes that tell a story rather than just be poetry set to music like so many other songs we’ve looked at on this site. This is one of the sillier songs to tell a story as the song is about the narrator knocking up his girlfriend and her father wanting to kill him for it.
This only barely makes the cut for this list due to how it managed to hang around long enough during the early existence of the RIANZ charts to qualify for this spot, if I were to go over the Listener charts, this would’ve been much higher on this list due to it dominating the final stretch of that chart’s existence.
Given how there wasn’t a Countdown equivalent to stifle songs like this from becoming a success in NZ like what happened here in Australia, this meant that Michael Murphey was able to score a decent hit over there with a song that you can still hear on oldies stations to this day due to how popular it was in his native America.
