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.
If you’re confused on who these guys are meant to be, they’re actually the Silver studs of “Happy days” fame and this is them rebranding themselves in an attempt to escape from the one hit wonder bin. It barely worked for them given how this refused to die on our charts, however they called it quits shortly after they released this given how it failed to recapture the success of their biggest hit.
1976 24 weeks
We have one more entry from JX to feature on my list, this one incidentally being his biggest hit in his native UK which is perhaps why we Aussies gave him a third hit even though we were clearly done with his brand of EDM by this point in time. Unlike his other two hits, I’m unable to determine who the guest vocalist is on this track.
1996 24 weeks
We looked at the Black box cover from 1990, now let’s look at the original version of this RNB classic from Earth wind and fire which managed to be a minor sleeper hit here in Australia back in the day. Technically this means that this was the song that put the band on the map here as none of their earlier singles managed to crack our charts the way this did.
1978 24 weeks
Whereas “Snow” was the big hit from Stadium arcadium throughout the rest of the world, we Aussies passed up on that track likely due to this second single from the album already being a decent success for the band by the time it saw the light of day. These two songs are the last in RHCP’s cataloguer to find any success throughout the world as their 2010’s material would all flop.
2006 24 weeks
This was the only hit that the British glam rock band the Rubettes were able to achieve here in Australia, although like most glam rock bands from the UK, they did considerably better in their homeland and throughout Europe as glam rock continued to thrive during the second half of the decade in the northern hemisphere whilst it was pushed aside here in favour of local artists promoted by Countdown.
1974 24 weeks
This was the only hit that Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot had here in Australia, although I’m a bit surprised this was the case considering how well folk music did throughout the decade down under even after Countdown launched this year. This is a fine upbeat number which perhaps explains its success in a year that’s filled with midtempo ballads with some bounce to their instrumentation.
1974 24 weeks
This was not only the second single from Nelly’s sophomore album Nellyville, but also confusingly the lead single to Kelly Rowland’s solo debut Simply deep which is weird because she doesn’t contribute much to the song as it’s mainly from Nelly’s perspective. The dilemma in question is that Nelly is in love with Kelly, but Kelly is currently in a relationship even though she also has feelings for him.
2002 23 weeks
Here’s a bit of a fun fact for you, this was Bryan Adams biggest hit in Australia that wasn’t a tie in for a film, in this case it was a success due to it being the hit single from his highly successful greatest hits album So far so good which serves as a perfect gateway for getting into his work from the 80’s and early 90’s.
1993 23 weeks
This is another song that should be much higher on this list due to its sales alone but isn’t because it was pulled from shelves to promote the album (or in this case soundtrack) it came from. I honestly think it was for the best as I doubt many people would’ve even checked out the Men in black soundtrack if this theme song from the film’s star Will Smith were able to remain on shelves indefinitely.
1997 23 weeks
Although these guys achieved massive success in NZ and their native America with “It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday,” this track which was originally released as the theme song to the Eddie Murphy flick Boomerang (which isn’t among his better films sadly) was what broke the RNB boy band into a wider market thanks to their vocal harmonies and Nathan’s spoken word verse.
1992 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 23 weeks
This is a song that’s slightly different depending on which version you’re referring to, if we’re looking at the version from the album then it’s a pop country track whereas the single version is more of a straightforward pop track with additional lyrics to help it boost the sales of the album it spawned from. It paid off as said album was by far the most successful of the decade because of this.
1999 23 weeks
So UB40 were still a thing this far into the 90’s, granted this is due to their cover of the Elvis Presley classic being chosen to close out the critically panned film Sliver starring Sharon Stone and William Baldwin, but it goes to show this was the most popular aspect of the film upon its initial release. This would be the last most people would hear from Ali Campbell and company in Australia.
1993 23 weeks
After the slow but overwhelming success of her debut album, Whitney was off to a good start with replicating its success with this iconic track which remains one of her more popular tracks even to this day. Unfortunately, though the album was a success, the same can’t be said for any of the other singles on the album outside of her native America, perhaps due to how they helped her break a record on Billboard.
1987 23 weeks
Well on my last list I covered how few really cared that Samantha Fox wasn’t much of a vocalist in the mainstream, now let’s talk about a fellow member of the LGBT community who used his good looks and infectious songs to overlook his own vocal deficiencies in the form of Paul Lekakis. Admittedly he didn’t receive much love outside of Australia, presumably due to this song being used in a competition organised by Countdown which resulted in its popularity here.
1987 23 weeks
While this was far from the first song to combine hip hop with EDM, nor was it even the most successful as this would become common place throughout the decade, it tends to be the song most people think of when you tell them to name a song that is synonymous with this trend. Curiously this took its sweet time in getting a physical release in Australia, heck even America caught on to this before we Aussies did, and we’re supposed to be the EDM crowd of the decade.
1995 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2006 23 weeks
This was the E.P that spawned Australian crawl’s most popular hit single “Reckless,” a song that earned that title due to it being one of the very few where audiences don’t have a problem understanding what James is saying throughout the track’s runtime. The success of this E.P allowed the band to have moderate crossover success in NZ.
1983 23 weeks
This was the only notable hit single that Bob Geldof had with his band the Boomtown rats in Australia, granted they were close to inescapable in their native UK but here this track about a real-life school shooting was the best they could do. Nowadays Geldof is more well known for A: his performance in the theatrical adaptation of Pink Floyd’s the wall and B: being the instigator of Live aid.
1979 23 weeks
So, have you ever watched Don Blueth’s Anastasia and wanted to know what really happened with the historical figure portrayed by the film’s villain? Well Boney M has you covered with this track that serves as a (admittedly brief) historical lesson as to what the man was really like during the Russian revolution which brought an end to the Russian tsars, all set to a catchy disco beat to boot.
1978 23 weeks
I haven’t seen the film this duet is named after, although if its anything like this collaboration between Lionel Richie and Diana Ross then all I can say is that it certainly lives up to its reputation of being endless boredom. I’m sorry but I’m not a fan of this duet at all, sure the two artists have chemistry with each other and I’m sure it still has its fans to this day, but I don’t get the hype behind this ballad.
1981 23 weeks
It’s strange to think that Barbra Streisand’s biggest hit in her career is neither a duet nor from one of her films, that’s basically describes the rest of her catalogue, most of it being a combination of these two factors. That said I guess you can make the argument this is a collaboration with the Bee gees given how the Brothers Gibb do provide backup vocals on this track and the album it came from.
1980 23 weeks
Technically this is the biggest hit of Bryan Adams career in Australia given how “Everything I do for you” was pulled from shelves here in order to promote his (then) most recent album Waking up the neighbours. Here he provides the theme to a little remembered film Don Juan de Marco which sees Johnny Depp as a romantic lead in a Spanish setting, no wonder no one seems to remember this film.
1995 23 weeks
You’d think that a man who was married to Liza Minelli (only to divorce her when he found out he was gay of course) would’ve had more success as a lead artist in the music scene, alas all of Peter Allen’s accomplishments came as a songwriter save for this chart topper he had at home in Australia. I guess the fact that he had such a huge hit with a lounge track like this was impressive given when it came out.
1977 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 23 weeks
Often considered to be one of the greatest duets of all time, this collaboration between Elton John and Kiki Dee (who despite being described as an unknown singer did have a minor hit two years prior with “Amoureuse”) managed to give the former his first chart topper in his native UK, which is impressive to think about considering how much success he already had over in America by this point.
1976 23 weeks
This was the first of two charity singles which led to the inception of Live aid, this one has more honourable intentions than its American counterpart due to it being written by Bob Geldof after he saw a news bulletin about the Ethiopian famine which obviously tugged at his heartstring. It’s also since become a Christmas staple and that’s spawned several different updates over the years.
1984 23 weeks
This was one of two songs written for the long-forgotten film Vision quest, a film where as far as I can tell is about a Caucasian man using the spiritual journey usually reserved for native Americans in order to help him win a boxing tournament. Madonna performs this track in the film, which I think is safe to say is the best part of it given how it was a box office flop despite this being a huge worldwide hit.
1985 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2005 23 weeks
This is often considered as one of the worst songs of the decade, mainly for how repetitive it is as well as how awful the lyrics are. Basically, it’s a song that serves more as a warmup to Fergie’s solo album as it can be considered the predecessor for that album’s single “Fergalicious” which also has her and Will I am gawking at how attractive she is.
2005 23 weeks
Many people feel this to be a lazy retread of “Wanted dead or alive” since both songs not only sound similar to each other, but also have the same theme of a loner cowboy who doesn’t abide by the laws of the wild wild west. Naturally this theme fits in perfectly with the film this song was commissioned for, and to be fair there are enough differences between both songs for this to justify its existence.
1990 23 weeks
This was the sixth consecutive chart topper that Delta Goodrem had here in Australia, I’m guessing the backlash she received at the time was what Mariah Carey went through in her native America in the early 90’s given how it seemed like everything she released went straight to number one on Billboard at the time. In this case, it makes sense as it was the lead single to her second album Mistaken identity.
2004 23 weeks
This was the only hit single that the NZ trio the Swingers were able to achieve in Australia, although they did achieve a second hit in their homeland with “It ain’t what you dance, it’s the way you dance it” so it’s not like this is their only legacy over there. This is another novelty track whose popularity came from how incessantly catchy the song is, seriously try getting this out of your head if you can.
1981 23 weeks
This was the biggest hit to come from Marcia Hines throughout the decade, although you may have noticed the absence of Diana Ross on these lists as many feel that the American born Australian singer stole the success the former Supremes vocalist would’ve had down under for herself. Indeed, once Diana started having hits again in the 80’s, Marcia’s time in the spotlight had fallen by the wayside.
1977 23 weeks
Before “Howzat,” this was considered the signature track from Sherbet given that it was easily their biggest hit at this point in their career. I guess this is also a decent entry from the band for anyone outside their demographic as this does serve as a nice summer anthem compared to the rest of their discography which is mainly targeted towards the teenage demographic of the 70’s.
1975 23 weeks
Well, this is a song that’s become divisive in recent years, mainly because like “Justify my love” from exactly a decade prior, the song is too Avant Garde for most mainstream audiences who likely feel alienated with how Madonna experimented with her sound on this track. I guess part of this song’s success at the time comes from the music video which introduced the world to Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Ali G.
2000 23 weeks
This was the first major success INXS had on the singles chart in Australia, admittedly their previous album Shabooh shoobah did spawn the fan favourites “The one thing” and “Don’t change” which both did decently well, however it was this track and its poetic lyrics that finally brought the band into the big leagues here in Australia and even over in NZ.
1983 23 weeks
There are multiple reasons why this cover of the Bruce Channel classic was a hit in Australia this year, firstly it was due to it being selected as the theme for this year’s FIFA world cup which kept up the tradition that Ricky Martin began four years prior with “The cup of life.” The second reason was that it had multiple music videos including a cartoon video with the Austrian DJ performing the song live, the final was that this was a good year for remixes of older songs on our charts.
2002 23 weeks
This was sadly the second to last single that the Carpenters were able to achieve in Australia, their final hit being “Calling occupants” which only became as such due to how bizarre it was upon its initial release. It’s certainly a far cry from this cover of the Marvelettes track which is more in line with what they had to offer throughout their career, although I get the feeling the Captain and Tennille stole their thunder with their earlier entry on this list.
1974 23 weeks
If you can believe it, there was indeed a time where this song didn’t contain the lyrics “who the f**k is Alice,” that goes to show you that there was a time where this song was taken seriously by the masses. In Australia, this was the song that put them on the map as their earlier hits from their native UK failed to crossover here like this mammoth track did.
1977 23 weeks
Like many people over the years, I always found Macy Grey to be a rather odd vocalist as her dry vocals never sat very well with me. Of course, that puts me and her critics in the minority as this debut single of hers managed to be a huge success worldwide because of these vocals connecting with her fanbase. This was her only hit here in Australia, although the album it came from was a huge success.
1999 23 weeks
If you thought that actors trying for a singing career has only been a recent phenomenon, allow me to present to you David Soul who managed to score a massive hit worldwide with this track following the success he had with his TV series Starsky and Hutch. Even though this was his only hit in his native America, he would score two more hits throughout the rest of the world thanks to the show.
1977 23 weeks
For one album, these guys had conquered the Australian charts as the album their biggest hit is named after was a huge success for a band whose lead singer began the decade with “Modern girl” being a moderate success. This of course sparked international interest in the band and even eventually got them to chart on Billboard albeit on the lower half of their charts, I guess these guys were no INXS according to Americans.
1985 23 weeks
Well, this song seems to have come out of nowhere, Slim Dusty is best known for being one of the very first Australian artists to achieve any form of success in the music industry back in the 50’s with his hit single “A pub with no beer.” Fast forward over thirty years and he scored a surprise hit with this track he performed on Countdown which even the kiwis found amusing as it was a moderate success over there as well.
1980 23 weeks
This was the only noticeable success that this brother duo had in Australia, although for what it’s worth they were more popular in NZ given how the kiwis loved their RNB ballads this decade. I’m guessing this was a huge success here due to the rise in popularity of the genre itself rather than us making an exception to these two former members of Jodeci.
1998 23 weeks
So, there was this trucker’s craze during the 70’s which apparently was so popular that this novelty track from country singer C.W McCall became a huge worldwide hit to cash in on it. Oh, I’m sorry did I call this guy a country singer? Technically he is but it’s more accurate to say he’s a marketing director who became C.W McCall after a bread commercial he originally created the character for failed to sell its product.
1976 23 weeks
While the original version of this track from KC and the Sunshine Band still remains a classic to this day, it should be worth noting that this Danish duo managed to achieve more success in Australia with their cover likely due to a combination of nostalgia and them swapping out the disco elements for more (then) modern EDM. It even comes complete with a rap verse to give it that extra 90’s flavour.
1993 23 weeks
My international readers will know this as the theme song to Crocodile Dundee, however the year prior to that film’s release this was the second single from Mental as anything’s biggest album Fundamental as anything where it became a huge hit for them in Australia and NZ. I’m guessing it was due to a combination of how happy Greedy Smith sounds on this track and the video which shows him having the time of his life.
1985 23 weeks
Given how two of the members had released highly successful albums between the trio’s third and fourth album, the fact this was able to pick up where the singles from Survivor left off three years prior is impressive as you’d think fans would’ve gravitated away from the group by this point. Indeed, Destiny fulfilled was their final album as a unit as they would go their separate ways after its album cycle was done.
2004 23 weeks
This was always meant to be the lead single to Destiny’s child’s third album Survivor, however it came out as such an empowering feminist anthem that it was selected as the theme to the theatrical adaptation of Charlie’s angels which has received a mix reception over the years due to some praising it for its female empowerment while others feel that it’s a campy remake of a property made at the height of misogyny in pop culture.
2000 23 weeks
This was one of the last songs Dragon released before they broke up in order to allow lead singer Marc Hunter to embark on a solo career that sadly failed to produce any success for him, I guess this served as a lesson to him and most lead vocalists from successful bands that not everyone can have a successful solo career. The band reunited in the early 80’s and picked up where they left off from here.
1977 23 weeks
This is a song that by all accounts should be seen as one of the laziest ever recorded and yet works so well despite its brutal minimalism, it’s sort of like a trance track from the 90’s with how well it works with how little it has and it appears the general public of this year agrees with that assessment as this became a huge success for Donna Summer worldwide.
1977 23 weeks
It may surprise you to learn that Beyonce had quite a few love ballads in her career prior to becoming the feminist icon that she’s been since her third solo album I am Sasha fierce, this was one of them and arguably her biggest hit where she’s not putting down a member of the male population as she teams up with Sean Paul of all people on this ballad about how much they’re in love with each other.
2003 23 weeks
There weren’t any signs of these guys slowing down in round two of the boy band wars, heck they even had some support in America as they were able to achieve success on Billboard during a time that was becoming increasingly hostile towards British artists. Here they double down on their hip hop influences with the lead single of their second album which also remains their most successful in their career.
1999 23 weeks
This was the lead single from Rod Stewart’s album Foot loose and fancy free, and like his other songs and albums this decade, it was a massive success for him worldwide.
1976 23 weeks
One of the catchiest songs to ever be recorded, we have this late disco hit from Lipps inc which managed to become a chart topper even in their native America. I feel this important to bring up as this is the best proof I have that disco wasn’t as dead as what people make it out to be, sure it had seen a sharp decline in popularity, but it soldiered on throughout the decade regardless of what people say.
1980 23 weeks
This was the only hit single for the former wife of Mondo rock lead vocalist Ross Wilson, although he does contribute backing vocals to this track which even at the time received backlash for its admittedly weird production gimmick. This gimmick was to highlight the cool editing of the video where it jump cuts in syncopation to each beat on each chorus which I think is really cool.
1983 23 weeks
By far the biggest hit to come from Mondo rock, in fact this is only second to “Eagle rock” as the most successful thing Ross Wilson has done throughout his career. It’s easy to see why this song was so big as it tells a coming-of-age story about two young lovers looking to explore their sexual relationship narrated expertly by Ross. Sadly, this was the last hit single he would have in his career.
1983 23 weeks
OK before people lose their minds at the thought of the English playwright managing to score a hit single centuries after his death, I should point out that this was simply the stage name of John Cave who scored two huge hits during the height of glam rock with this being the second of the two. Had glam rock persisted during the second half of the decade, I’m sure he would’ve had more success after this.
1974 23 weeks
If you didn’t know, Jim Diamond was the lead vocalist for PH. D who in turn were a band who scored a huge hit with “I won’t let you down” from earlier in the decade. Here he is following that group’s demise with his big solo hit that managed to take the world by storm thanks to how sincere and overwrought he sounds throughout its runtime.
1985 23 weeks
One of the less successful bands to make it big by appearing on Countdown was the Ferrets, mainly because despite them having a huge hit with this track that even sparked interest in them in the UK, they remain a one hit wonder due to their inability to capitalise off this song’s success here. I guess they got lost in the shuffle from all the other emerging bands to appear on the show.
1977 23 weeks
This was the first of three singles that Culture beat would score in Australia before fading into obscurity here, a trend that would be passed over to Corona and La bouche after them as those two European EDM bands went through a similar fate to these guys. It was the same formula, find an attractive woman of colour with an amazing voice, have her sing these songs that will forever be played on dance floors and reap in the rewards.
1993 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 23 weeks
This was originally a hit for the Righteous brothers in 1965, so of course there was bound to be some nostalgic love for the ballad around the time Long John Baldry and an obscure vocalist Kathi McDonald decided to take their stab at the ballad by turning it into a breakup ballad where both parties are accusing the other of losing the love in the relationship rather than just the original narrator.
1980 23 weeks
Following the success of their novelty track from earlier on this list, Ted Murly gang released this follow up which is a rock version of a Shelton Brooks track from the 20’s with additional lyrics from Ted Murly himself to help it stand out from all the other covers that has since been lost to the sands of time.
1976 23 weeks
This was one of only two hits that Darren Hayes had as a solo artist here in Australia, the other was “Popular” two years later which wasn’t nearly as successful as this was for him. While it was unclear at the time why he chose to embark on a solo career during the height of Savage garden’s popularity, it was later revealed that it was because he realised he was gay and that he needed to establish his own identity.
2002 23 weeks
Although Stevie Wonder did have moderate success with “You are the sunshine of my life” in Australia back in 1973, this was the first hit single of his to see massive success here likely due to how lush the track remains to this day. Indeed, this led to his final decent album (according to his diehard fans that is) to be a huge success for him here given how inescapable this was.
1980 23 weeks
This was the debut single for the supergroup the Traveling wilburys, a group that consisted of George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan who likely formed in order to make music that harkens back to the days when they were each in their prime. They succeeded cultivating an audience who would be interested in their older work; however, it was bittersweet as Roy would tragically pass away not long after this became a hit for them.
1988 23 weeks
Following the staggering success he had with Matchbox 20, Rob Thomas decided to embark on a solo career which began with the lead single to his solo album that was a massive worldwide success for him. Unlike most lead singers of popular bands in this vein, there’s a distinct difference between his solo material and his work with Matchbox 20 which means that there was a vision he had that differed from his band.
2005 23 weeks
This is probably the most distinct song from AC/DC’s catalogue as it doesn’t have the same melody structure as the rest of their catalogue, naturally this helped it become one of their signature tracks due to casual fans being able to easily identify it from the rest of their discography. It allowed the album it came from to be a huge success for the band, thus setting them up for further success throughout the 90’s.
1990 23 weeks
It may surprise you to learn that the song this remixes “Valerie” wasn’t a hit anywhere in the world back in the day (not even the popular remix five years after its initial release that you still hear on oldies stations) which means this was likely many people’s introduction to that classic given how popular this version was for the Swedish DJ.
2004 23 weeks
This was the first of three hits that La bouche achieved in Australia, this was keeping in tradition of EDM artists scoring three hits from a highly successful album before the artist in question forever fades into obscurity. They were the most successful act to pull off this formula as they managed to find massive success on Billboard with their album which made their songs even bigger here in Australia.
1995 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2008 23 weeks
So disco wasn’t dead quite yet as KC and the Sunshine band were able to achieve massive worldwide success with this track that has since gone down as one of their most memorable in their catalogue. This was a surprise success over in the UK which allowed it to become an international success before it finally became a moderate success in their native America, proving that even they weren’t above disco at this stage.
1983 23 weeks
It looked like that “Desire” would be the only hit single from Rattle and hum in Australia in exchange for the album being a huge success here, however the success of this fourth single thanks to its emotional music video proved otherwise as it became the final hit that U2 had this decade. Their next album would have them go in a more ironic direction to help them adapt with the changing times.
1989 23 weeks
This was the lead single to Martika’s second and to date final album Martika’s kitchen, an album that was largely a collaboration with Prince around the time he was reinventing himself following the disaster that was his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a huge hit for Martika here in Australia despite it not being as big anywhere else in the world, I’m guessing more for her vocals than anything.
1991 23 weeks
Want to hear a Boyz II Men cover of a popular Japanese track from the 60’s? Well, you’ll sort of get that here as 4PM (short for four positive music) covered the Kyu Sakamoto track “Ue o Muite Arukō” which roughly translates to “I walk with my head high.” This became a huge success for the RNB group likely due to people confusing them for Boyz II Men during the height of their popularity, although audiences weren’t fooled for long.
1995 23 weeks
This was the only notable success that Anne Murray had in Australia, I’m guessing because she was considered to be the Canadian equivalent of Olivia Newton John when the two women first broke through at the start of the decade. Given how Livie has since moved on from her country roots, I guess Anne was able to have little issues with filling in her role as the country singer of choice.
1978 23 weeks
This was the second hit that Steps managed to achieve this year in Australia, given how inescapable their debut single was due to every primary school teacher enforcing the choreography of that video onto their pupils, the band had little issues with finding success with their album here. At least none of their other videos had bizarre choreography to shove down the kids throats during P.E.
1998 23 weeks
One of the catchiest pop rock tracks to make it big in Australia, there was no way this wasn’t going to be a success here even if the rest of the world unfairly ignored Smash mouth due to finding them too silly to listen to. It could also be due to this song never being released as a single over in America, which means much like many entries on these last few lists, it had to contend with charting well on their airplay charts.
1997 23 weeks
This was the other big hit that Az yet managed to achieve worldwide, although this time we have them covering a Chicago track with the blessing of the band’s lead singer Peter Cetera as he shows up on here to rerecord his chorus from the original while the RNB group cover the verses. It was a huge hit for them, although it likely spelled the end of their career due to them relying on nostalgia baiting.
1997 23 weeks
This was the only hit to come from B2K even in their native America, I’m guessing P Diddy’s desires of managing boy and girl bands would only last him for one song each as the female counterpart to these guys Dream (well white girl counterpart) only scored one hit two years prior with “He loves u not” before they too faded into obscurity (not here in Australia obviously.) These two acts were his only notable success in this regard.
2003 23 weeks
This song was written by Michael Jackson, I just thought I’d put that out there as this not only explains his guest appearance in the first episode of season three but also how this managed to become a huge success given how cartoon shows (even adult oriented ones like the Simpsons) don’t tend to produce chart topping singles like this. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that MJ was a huge fan of the show given that it’s a spinoff of the Tracey Ullman show.
1991 23 weeks
This was the first single to feature Deni Hines as the lead vocalist for the Rockmelons, and they wanted you to know she was the vocalist during this phase of their career as all of the singles give her a featuring credit despite her officially being part of the band during this point in time. This is a cover of a Bill Withers track, and like the rest of his catalogue, it wasn’t a hit for him originally.
1991 23 weeks
This was originally released at the start of the decade to deafening silence, mainly because it was considered to be too emo for a time that was meant to be a celebration of entering not only a new century but also new millennium. Of course, things quickly got sombre in society following the 9/11 attacks from the previous year, which allowed this sombre ballad to become a worldwide hit through that affiliation.
2002 23 weeks
Although they had success with their first album in NZ and their native UK, this was the big breakthrough that Sting and company had in Australia likely due to how they repeat the phrase “sending out and SOS” ad nauseum during the outro. Fortunately, the rest of the track is fairly complex thanks to the tight reggae inspired instrumentation as well as the lyrics about finding help for this doomed relationship.
1979 23 weeks
While there’s no denying that this is a silly hair metal track that was clearly meant for the ladies, it’s still a ton of fun to listen to thanks to the killer instrumentation and how much fun the band is having while recording this track. Strangely this was their only hit in Australia despite it not being their biggest hit in their native America, although their other songs are nowhere near as fun as this track.
1990 23 weeks
This is the first of three Billboard chart toppers to compare sex to candy this decade, the other two being “Laffy taffy” from a group called D4L and “Lollipop” from Lil Wayne, neither of these other songs were hits in Australia which makes this the biggest hit down under with this premise by default. It’s also the only one out of the three to get a female perspective as we have Olivia handling the chorus on this track.
2003 23 weeks
This was the signature tune for Nat King Cole during his lifetime, so it only makes sense that his daughter would cover the track forty years after its initial release and would find massive success with her version. What rubbed people the wrong way about this cover is that she made it into a virtual duet with her father, that is she took the original recording and inserted her vocals onto the original to make it seem like she was duetting with him in real time.
1991 23 weeks
These guys were known as British Jigsaw in Australia due to there being a more popular band by that name during the first half of the decade, this was a common trend when it came to international artists finding success after a local act with the same name made it big here. In any case, we have another song that was made more popular in the 90’s thanks to there being a dance track that covered it.
1975 23 weeks
Before he became one of the biggest RNB stars of the 80’s, Billy Ocean was a decently successful disco star of the 70’s with this being his first major hit throughout the world. Even though he saw massive success in his native UK throughout the rest of the decade, this was his only hit here in Australia until he reinvented himself as an RNB singer for his 1984 album Suddenly.
1976 23 weeks
Patty Smyth had previous success with her band Scandal eight years prior with their hit single “The warrior,” so to see her back in the spotlight with this duet between Don Henley was a bit of a welcomed surprise given how neither of them had touched the charts since 1985. This unfortunately didn’t lead to a revival of either of their careers, although Don did reunite with the Eagles not long after this.
1992 23 weeks
It looked like that Vanessa Williams would never touch a chart outside of her native America with one of her songs given how her second album was initially a flop for her just like her debut, however her fortunes changed for the better when she released this song from her second album which became a surprise hit for her worldwide. It turns out that in addition to being a talented actress, she’s an amazing singer as evidence by her performance on this track.
1992 23 weeks
From what I can gather, Triple X was a pseudonym for one Massimo Persona who was an Italian DJ who scored a massive hit with this remix of the X files theme that was made popular this year by the Mark Snow theme becoming a hit throughout Europe. I’m not sure why this remix outdid the original here in Australia, but it did which is why this is here and that isn’t.
1996 23 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 23 weeks
Following the mixed reception of her third album My December, Kelly Clarkson found herself needing to conform to what her management wanted rather than making the music she believed in which resulted in her becoming a solo version of the Veronicas on her fourth album. Now I’m a huge fan of the Australian duo, so this isn’t a bad thing to me even though many people felt that this was.
2009 23 weeks
This is a song that may seem extraordinarily low to anyone reading this list, indeed it was a massive success for U2 back in the day even if its placement on here suggests it was a mere moderate success at best. It had record breaking sales upon its debut here in Australia, however that led to it dropping in the lower half of the charts where it stuck around due to airplay refusing to let it die.
2000 23 weeks
We’ve finally arrived at what many people consider to be the quintessential track from Green day as it doubles as both a breakup anthem as well as a song attacking the American political climate of the mid 00’s. For me, I always felt this song was a rip off of Avril Lavigne’s “My happy ending” mostly for the “oh oh’s” feeling ripped from that song on this track, although many have argued it working better on here.
2004 23 weeks
His Neighbours co-stars saw massive success with their transition from acting to singing, so why not have Craig McLachlan follow in the footsteps of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan with a singing career of his own? While this did work initially for this song as well as the album it was pulled from, he quickly found that singing wasn’t his strong suit and stopped making music later in the decade.
1990 23 weeks
Well at least MC Hammer wasn’t a one hit wonder here in Australia, after all he found a way to sample Prince’s “When doves cry” into the third single from his breakthrough album Please Hammer don’t hurt em. Naturally this proved to be equally as catchy as the lead single from the album which propelled it up the charts, and indeed it even allowed the album to become a major success here.
1990 23 weeks
