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 third big hit in a row for Aqua in Australia, although in some parts of the world “My oh my” was the third single meaning that we were among the first to have this be a huge success for them. I guess if there was a reason to dislike this song, it would be that it began the trend of comparing sex to candy given how the lyrics are sexually driven if you’re familiar with double entendres.
1998 19 weeks
This was the debut single from the KLF, that’s right, a band that would go on to make some of the most well respected EDM tracks of the 90’s began their career as a novelty duo who made this joke track about the Doctor who franchise. Maybe if you enjoy picking on nerds, you’ll get a chuckle out of this track.
1988 19 weeks
Following the success of their first single on this list, Destiny’s child released this female empowerment anthem about them having fun which is a bit of a contradiction to “Say my name” as that song is about them getting annoyed that their partner isn’t spending enough time with them. Naturally these two songs aren’t meant to be part of the same narrative, which is perhaps why they were both a massive success.
2000 19 weeks
I’m not sure why the album cycle for the Spice girls was delayed here in Australia, whatever the case the third single was able to be a massive success here likely due to it being one of their sweeter ballads despite the lyrics being more suggestive than you might otherwise think. It was a Christmas number one in the UK months prior to it being released here, and as such is widely regarded as a Christmas track.
1997 19 weeks
This was another two for one deal that the Spice girls released for their final album Forever, it’s an album they didn’t want to make given how they knew that they needed all five of them to connect with their audience and there were no signs of Ginger Spice re-joining the group at the time of its release.
2000 19 weeks
Skyhooks were indeed one of the most popular bands of the decade thanks to their promotion on Countdown, so it only makes sense that lead singer Shirley Strachan would see massive success with a solo hit much like the lead singer of their rival band Sherbet did a few years prior. This did prove to be a death nail for the band’s commercial appeal as they didn’t reach the dizzying heights of their earlier material after this became a hit.
1976 19 weeks
This was the debut single for Jason Donovan, the on-screen love interest for Kylie Minogue’s character Charlene on Neighbours. While Kylie wowed audiences with her impressive vocals from around this time, it’s clear that Jason’s popularity was due to the novelty of being from the show as many people (me included) believe that he had no business being in the music industry
1988 19 weeks
This was the second single to be released from the Vengaboys which just like their debut from earlier on this list it was a massive success for the Dutch group due to the song continuing their gimmick of their music being the best the world has ever seen. The album itself was a huge success for them, proving that at least at the time, this was a band to whose music was considered the coolest to exist.
1999 19 weeks
It had been five years since Bon Jovi last troubled the charts with their material, although given how this was a return to form for the band, it may as well have been eight years as they hadn’t released anything this hard hitting since “Keep the faith” from 1992. It was a welcomed comeback from the band who went on to have sound success throughout the 00’s before becoming a nostalgia band by the end of the decade.
2000 19 weeks
This was a song that was more in line with their sell-out cover of “Funkytown” that made them a household name, mainly for the use of the keytar which added more synths to the track than they already had. Fortunately, the lyrics are still sharply written as it’s about how Brian and company are only happy when they have the comfort of their partner due to nightmares they have without them.
1985 19 weeks
This was the third and final hit to come from Backstreet boy’s second album Backstreet’s back, it’s a ballad that showcases what the boys were about which was being a white equivalent of Boyz II men as many of their tracks throughout their career were indeed RNB ballads rather than the teen pop we’ve been affiliating them with. For some reason, this took its sweet time in becoming a hit in their native America.
1998 19 weeks
Well, this is a song that divides fans of Prince to this day, mainly because it’s less of a song and more of a collage of moments from the Batman film with Prince occasionally singing to remind audiences that this is a track from him. This proved to be a huge success for him even if I would’ve gone with “Partyman” as the lead single from the soundtrack, not only is it a more conventional song but it plays in one of the better scenes in the movie.
1989 19 weeks
I guess these kids were in it for the long haul, this was the second single to come from their debut album and one that proved to be equally as successful here as it was over in NZ. I guess the kiwis had access to Triple J’s frequency as there were a bunch of hits that crossed over there that I could’ve sworn were only successful here thanks to the station. As for Silverchair, they were successful but slightly criticised for being a teenage equivalent of Pearl jam.
1995 19 weeks
This was the big showstopper on Whitney’s debut album, so naturally it was the final single to be released from the album where it coincidentally became her biggest hit from the album worldwide. This is a cover of a George Benson track from the mid 70’s, however I doubt many people realise that this wasn’t originally meant for Whitney given how she owns this version with her killer vocals.
1986 19 weeks
Well, this is a cover that led to interesting developments in Jimmy Barnes career, we have him covering a Percy Sledge track during a live show which proved to be so well received that it was released as a single where it became a huge hit for him.
1988 19 weeks
Before there were the Spice girls, there was this Australian equivalent who made a huge splash with their first album here. Indeed, this was their debut single and yet it went straight to number one which should give you an idea of how well marketed these young women were during the height of their popularity. Unfortunately for them, their second album went nowhere due to the notable absence of Robyn Loau.
1992 19 weeks
While their second album named after their previous entry on this list wasn’t as successful overall as their debut, it made up for that by spawning two of the bigger hits of the decade for Skyhooks as this second single about how Shirley feels left out for being single while everyone in his social circle is settling down with their significant others struck a chord with the single people of the decade.
1975 19 weeks
It was a collaboration that could’ve only been made by the rock gods themselves, we have David Bowie and Queen teaming up for a song about how times were tough in the 80’s and that everyone seemed to be living under pressure. The song was an instant success for both parties involved and helped Queen overcome an otherwise rocky album that was panned by critics for its weird experimentation.
1981 19 weeks
This is one of the stranger songs to become a hit this decade, mainly because it does indeed use alien metaphors in order to talk about a sexual encounter that the singer had with this person. The unique sound of the song helped it find an audience for the British band Babylon Zoo, although it also firmly put them in the one hit wonder camp even in their homeland which is why this was their only hit.
1996 19 weeks
Much like James Blunt after him, Shawn Mullins was a singer/songwriter who began his career serving his country before making music that would appeal to the more pacifist leaning music lovers. Here we have his one and only hit made for people who seem to be down in the dumps, it’s a song that like “Bad day” has been criticised for its faux positivity in the lyrics.
1999 19 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 19 weeks
This was where it all began for Alecea Moore, even during her RNB phase she was all about female empowerment as her debut single was about her calling out her partners bad behaviour and how she wasn’t going to tolerate it. Naturally it was a massive worldwide hit for her as female empowerment anthems were commonly accepted in the mainstream by this point in time.
2000 19 weeks
Contrary to popular belief, this was the lead single to Faith and not the title track. It’s easy to forget given how this was originally written for Beverly Hills cop II for a throwaway scene that got it the Razzie for worst original song, however this was meant to signal George’s first solo hit away from his former partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. I think it’s safe to say that it paid off for him much to the chagrin of the Razzies.
1987 19 weeks
Following the departure of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski beat picked a new vocalist by the name of John Foster and soldiered on with their second album which was off to a good start with this lead single becoming a huge hit both here and in their native UK. Unfortunately, the album itself was a massive flop, which is especially embarrassing considering Jimmy found massive success with his new band the Communards.
1986 19 weeks
Here’s the title track of Madonna’s third album, it’s a song that hasn’t been as fondly remembered as her other hits this decade likely due to its exclusion from the Immaculate collection from 1990. I’m guessing because this is the song on the album that she has the worst memories of given how she dedicated it to her then husband Sean Penn and how that marriage wound up turning out.
1986 19 weeks
Here’s that Christmas track I mentioned from earlier on this list, indeed this was written to be a Christmas chart topper in Jona’s native UK despite it failing to become as such over there. I think this wound up being a bigger hit here due to us Aussies connecting with the lyrics better, that or it being a perfect candidate for what I’ve dubbed nursey pop due to the simplistic melody.
1980 19 weeks
This was a ballad that originally went by the name “Brandy” and was a hit for Scott English earlier in the decade, I’m guessing Barry Manilow changed the name of the song to avoid confusion with that ballad even though that’s the only lyrical change he made to the song. It was the first of several hit singles he scored this decade that was a cover despite him being a well-known songwriter.
1975 19 weeks
This was the biggest hit to come from the Hoodoo gurus, likely due to the video which perfectly mirrors the lyrics about who these guys are supposed to be with their respective relationships. If you can believe it, these guys remade this song many years later titled “That’s my horse” which was made for a marketing campaign to promote gambling, how the mighty have fallen if they resorted to doing that.
1987 19 weeks
This was the only hit that either of these artists managed to achieve in Australia, I’m guessing it was due to the nostalgia people had for the Lesley Gore original as well as audiences being intrigued by the Kate Bushified nature of this cover. I guess if you’re a mega fan of hers then you’ll get something out of this cover.
1981 19 weeks
So, we’re all familiar with the story of Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, right? Well Men at work decided to make a song about the story only to switch it around so that it’s Dr Heckyll and Mr. jive which as you can guess, is about a mad scientist and a rock star split personality similar to the Jerry Lewis flick the Nutty professor. This proved to be a winning formula for the band as it became a success from their second album.
1982 19 weeks
Smokie were certainly on a roll throughout the 70’s as they managed to score yet another hit in Australia during the second half of the decade, I get the feeling these guys replaced Bay city rollers as the British pop rock band of choice once the Scottish lads began to saw a dip in their popularity.
1977 19 weeks
These guys were on a roll when they released their second single to their biggest album II, so much so that this replaced their previous single “I’ll make love to you” at number one on Billboard making them one of the few artists to replace themselves at number one in America. I’m sure this opened up some doors in allowing RNB artists to crossover in Australia which would happen more frequently as the decade went on.
1994 19 weeks
(This is from the physical charts)
2009 19 weeks
This is one of the strangest songs to become a hit in Australia, mainly because it’s literally about how the singer daydreams about being a cowboy and how he wants his girlfriend to be his cowgirl. I don’t know how we Aussies and kiwis discovered this track; however, we did, and it became a huge hit in both countries for the British band.
1986 19 weeks
It looked like there would only be one hit from Linkin Park’s debut album as the second single “Crawling” failed to become a hit here like their debut from the previous year, however this third single from the album picked up the slack as it became their first hit in their native America likely due to it being an emo rock track rather than the nu metal that the rest of the album was.
2001 19 weeks
Another woman to score massive success this year for the female singer/songwriters of the world, this time it’s Tracy Chapman who scored a massive worldwide success with this ballad about how her partner was weighing her down and how she eventually told them to as she puts it “take your fast car and keep on driving” when she realised they were no good for her. It became an inspiring tale about self-preservation that still resonates with audiences to this day.
1988 19 weeks
This was the second Billboard chart topper in a row for MJ, even though it was technically released the previous year over in America, it didn’t peak until this year which once again makes me question whether the disco backlash was as severe as modern historians make it out to be. Indeed, he would see more success this year with his album which is by all accounts a disco record than the previous year.
1980 19 weeks
Here’s a song that causes minor controversy in rock circles, mainly due to how this relationship never had any legs to stand on due to the only thing that the narrator has in common with their partner is that they kind of liked the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s the ultimate song about a mediocre romance which is no doubt what led to it being a massive success during what was meant to be the height of irony in pop culture.
1996 19 weeks
This was the second single to be released from the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack, although the real appeal of this track is that it was the first solo single to be released from Glenn Frey and it was released around the same time Don Henley released his second solo album which meant both frontmen of the Eagles were competing with each other on the charts. Suffice to say Glenn won the battle as Don’s big hit will be a bit later down this list.
1985 19 weeks
This was the lead single to the latest album that Bay city rollers released this year, given how they released two new albums every year since their initial breakthrough (that’s not even counting their album they released exclusively in America) I think it’s safe to say that the band was a tad overexposed by this point. It doesn’t help that their latest single was a cover of a Dusty Springfield classic.
1976 19 weeks
This was the final hit that Stevie Wonder was able to score in most parts of the world, it’s a pity because while it wasn’t a return to his disco era, it could’ve led to another revival period for him given the state of RNB at the time. While he would score a surprise comeback in NZ a decade later with “For your love,” he wouldn’t be heard from again in Australia until his collaboration with Babyface.
1985 19 weeks
Well, this was a bit of a surprise, the last time Kate Ceberano was heard from in the music scene was during her time as Mary Magdalene in the 1992 Australia revival show for Jesus Christ superstar. Fast forward six years and she’s scoring a huge hit with this track likely due to how catchy the melody is as well as the sound in general being in vogue with the more mature artists from around this time.
1997 19 weeks
This was the first of three collaborations that Ja Rule made with Ashanti throughout the decade, each of them were for a “thugs need love too” ballad where she would provide him a catchy chorus while he spits bars about how much of a player and gangster he is. It appeared to connect with audiences back in the day as the formula did spawn three big hits for the duo not just in Australia but throughout the world.
2002 19 weeks
This may seem a bit low to my readers, however rest assured that Alicia Keys wasn’t as inescapable here in Australia as she was internationally given that her debut single was only a moderate success here compared to how well it did internationally. Admittedly it was still a huge hit here considering that it was an RNB piano ballad which still didn’t have much appeal in our music scene even going into the new millennium.
2001 19 weeks
This is my favourite song to ever become a hit in Australia, sure there’s songs that made it big that are technically better, but the way Marie tries to reassure her audience that everyone deserves a second chance in a relationship (and by extension in life) just resonates with me that few other songs can do. A lot of people agreed that this was a great song as it became their second Billboard chart topper even though “Dressed for success” flopped in America.
1989 19 weeks
This was the first hit that Dannii Minogue scored in her career, although initially she credited herself as simply Dannii in a pointless attempt to differentiate herself from her older sister despite the two having similar sounding voices throughout their respective careers. Even though this wasn’t the biggest hit of the year down under, it was nonetheless released in the UK the following year to moderate success.
1990 19 weeks
Apparently, this was the theme to the film Nothing to lose, a buddy comedy about Tim Roth and Martin Lawrence robbing a bank that Tim works at due to shenanigans happening at his workplace. Honestly this feels out of place on that soundtrack as the lyrics are clearly meant to be about a fallen friend of Coolio much like “One sweet day” was for Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey two years prior.
1997 19 weeks
There were a lot of hits this decade about young couples falling in love weren’t there? Here we have John Cougar score arguably the biggest hit with this troupe (at least in his native America) likely due to this being a heart-warming tale about how the couple made it in the end with little hassle. “Young Turks” from earlier was likely the song which started this trend which lasted all throughout the 80’s.
1982 19 weeks
The original version of this track from Bobby Brown was a massive flop here in Australia back in the late 80’s, so that means this cover from Britney Spears is likely the only version we Aussies are familiar with given that it was a huge hit for her from her first greatest hits album. Aside from gender flipping some of the lyrics to refer to her younger sister, it’s essentially the same song as the original.
2004 19 weeks
This was originally a hit here in Australia a good six months before it finally crossed over to the band’s native UK, I guess Countdown came to the rescue again as I’m confident this ballad from PH. D would’ve never been a success anywhere in the world had it not been promoted on the show. If the vocalist on this track sounds familiar to you, you probably recognise him for his big solo hit “I should’ve known better” from later in the decade.
1981 19 weeks
There didn’t seem to be any signs of Craig David slowing down in the mainstream as he released the lead single to his second album which became an instant success for him, I’m guessing because he was making the waves over in America this year with the material from his debut album which made him in the same leagues as Usher who was also enjoying a successful year around the world with his material.
2002 19 weeks
This was the lead single from Abba’s album Voulez vous, an album that proved to be more successful than their previous effort likely due to it being released when the decade was coming to an end and audiences were overlooking the biggest music trends of the 70’s. Indeed, this is one of their most well-known songs to this day, so there’s little surprise that it was a huge success for them back in the day.
1979 19 weeks
There weren’t any signs of the Offspring slowing down in the mainstream here in Australia as this second single from Smash managed to be a huge success here due to being ranked very high on the second annual Triple J list. Indeed, this helped the album become one of the most successful of the decade down under and solidified them as rock stars despite them not having any success in their native America.
1995 19 weeks
This was originally a hit for the Dave Clark five over a decade prior, however Hush managed to make it their own this year with their glam version which proved to be their second and final hit in their discography. They did have moderate success with their album this year due to both of their entries on this list, however they would struggle to find further success as the decade went on.
1975 19 weeks
I don’t think anyone was expecting this to be a success for Stacey Q due to the very poor quality of the music video, alas it was and got her out of the one hit wonder bin that her earlier entry threatened to trap her in. Sadly, this was her final hit anywhere in the world as she was unable to compete with Madonna and later on Kylie Minogue for the title of the pop princess of the music industry.
1987 19 weeks
It looks like Peter Allen wasn’t the only person who wanted to escape to Rio this year as Michael Nesmith also had a hit about the Brazilian capital in the southern hemisphere. It’s worth noting that the Monkees vocalist didn’t have much success in his native America once the band broke up earlier in the decade, although he managed to score three hits here and in NZ throughout the decade.
1977 19 weeks
This was the only hit for Rupert Holmes, a British musician who was based in America who wrote a cheating anthem about how a couple was looking to mutually cheat on each other only to end up getting together when the narrator answers an add placed in the paper by his spouse. The story proved to be amusing enough for it to be a huge success for him but also trapped him in the one hit wonder bin.
1979 19 weeks
This was the second and final hit that Missy Elliott had here in Australia as well as being the other track on this list where she had a hit with Ciara given how the RNB singer is on here to not only provide a chorus for the rapper but also provide her own rap verse to try her hand at a hip hop track. It was a massive hit for the pair and suggested the possibility of them making an album together that never came to be.
2005 19 weeks
This was the only hit that Harry Chapin managed to achieve in his lifetime, indeed like some artists who made it big this decade, he didn’t live for very long after he scored his big hit as he died in a car crash in 1981 meaning there was every chance he could’ve scored a second hit in his career if he lived through the 80’s. This song was covered by Ugly kid joe in the early 90’s where it became an even bigger success for them.
1974 19 weeks
It looked like that Bush’s debut album was going to fail given that it had been released two years prior to little fanfare throughout the world, however it was finally a success this year when this became a surprise hit for the band over in America who likely appreciated their brand of post grunge on this track. It may have been their only hit worldwide, although at least it put them on the map of the alternative scene.
1996 19 weeks
I guess Snoop Dogg had return to what made him a household name a decade prior on this track given how he presented himself as a pimp that was in charge of the club scene on this track, although he brought back Pharrell from “Beautiful” to ease his new fanbase into the type of music his core fanbase loved him for. It was a much bigger hit worldwide for the rapper likely due to us Aussies not being into club music at the time.
2005 19 weeks
This was the first of two big hits that Queen scored from their album The works, the other we’ll get to in a bit but for now we have a song that Lady Gaga named herself after due to how bombastic the song remains to this day. The video is notable for having audience interaction, specifically when they raise their arms during each chorus which follows in the footsteps of “We will rock you” as some of the greatest audience interaction of all time.
1984 19 weeks
This was one of only two hits that Mr. Mister managed to score in their career (side note, boy that’s a stupid name for a band.) It was the lead single to their second album which was a huge success in their native America due to the cool ambience it has with its instrumentation, although their other hit “Kyrie” would be a different beast as it’s an upbeat track about living life to its fullest.
1985 19 weeks
This was one of only three hits that Bob Dylan had as a solo artist in Australia, it was also his final hit here which should tell you how uninterested we were with his singles despite how huge his albums were. This was a protest song about the mistreatment of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter which came out less than a year after the success of a tribute track towards Muhammad Ali, making this a good time to write songs about boxers of colour.
1975 19 weeks
This was the second and final hit that Flash and the Pan were able to score in Australia, although they would score a surprise hit with “Waiting for the train” in the UK in 1983 which compelled this and their other hit “Hey St Peter” to be released throughout Europe in the 80’s to capitalise off that song’s success. I’m not sure why these guys didn’t have success here in the 80’s, their music seemed tailor made for the MTV era.
1978 19 weeks
It looked like that Elton’s popularity would be more permanent in the 80’s now that he had reunited with his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, indeed he scored a string of hits over the next few years including this lead single to his album Breaking hearts which is him justifying how sad songs are necessary in the world of the 80’s. He would hit a low point later in the decade when he had his polyps removed.
1984 19 weeks
This was the third and final single to be released from Spandau Ballet’s third album True, although one would think that the title track would be the big hit from the album when in fact it was this song at least in Australia (stay tuned for the title track in a bit.) I’m guessing we Aussies were more interested in this upbeat track about comparing the love Tony Hadley has to his partner with that of literal gold.
1983 19 weeks
This was a flop in 2 in a room’s native America, likely because dance tracks in general don’t do well on Billboard especially if they’re from local artists over there. This didn’t prevent the track from being a huge success throughout Europe which had its success translate here in Australia where dance music was often welcomed with open arms. Like many American dance acts this decade, they were a one hit wonder.
1991 19 weeks
The last time Maxi Priest had troubled the charts anywhere in the world was at the start of the decade when “Close to you” became a massive success in America and in the southern hemisphere. Fast forward six years and he’s back with a collaboration with Shaggy during the height of the rapper’s career which no doubt elevated the success of this reggae track much higher than it otherwise would’ve achieved.
1996 19 weeks
This was the second single to come from Madonna’s ill-fated Who’s that girl soundtrack, a soundtrack that would’ve been a success has it been an album tie in that Madonna made herself rather than it only having three songs from her, and the rest filled with filler tracks sprinkled throughout the film. This was played in the animated intro of the film, which many consider to be the only good part of its runtime.
1987 19 weeks
The last time anyone had heard from Eric Carmen was back in the mid 70’s where he scored a hit with “All by myself,” this means that for twelve years he was a one hit wonder before this song appeared in one of the more iconic scenes in Dirty dancing where Patrick Swayze teaches Jennifer Grey how to dance. This allowed the song to become a huge success and even give Eric a second hit later in the year.
1988 19 weeks
It had been a good twenty years since Johnny Mathis last troubled the charts with one of his ballads, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him score a number one hit in his native America with this ballad that introduced the world to Deniece Williams who would go on to have massive success in the 80’s. As an extra fun fact, Johnny is one of the first musicians of colour to come out as gay in the music industry.
1978 19 weeks
This was the breakthrough single from Dan Hartman, a closeted LGBT man who only scored two hits in his career before tragically passing away in 1994 due to complications with HIV. While he’s more well known these days for his hit single “I can dream about you,” this was the bigger hit in certain parts of the world due to it being a disco track released during the height of the genre’s popularity.
1979 19 weeks
Even though this is credited to the Art of noise as the lead artist, I think we can all agree that this cover really belongs to Tom Jones for the simple phrase “think I better dance now.” There’s debate on whether this is better than the original, however there’s no denying that both songs sees both men of colour at their sexiest as the lyrics encourage them to be as provocative as they can allow themselves to be.
1989 19 weeks
You know if you can ignore the fact that both of Melissa’s biggest hits this year were from a sixteen-year-old, you’ll find that both of them are really fun dance pop tracks that showcases the confidence of a young woman who isn’t afraid to explore her sexual nature to an audience. I guess audiences back in the day were able to walk this line as both of these songs were a massive hit for her and criticisms only came years later.
1991 19 weeks
From what I can gather, St Elmo’s fire is arguably one of the best Joel Schumacher films due to it being the story of a bunch of young adults which happens to comprise of some of the most popular actors of the 80’s in the 20 something year old bracket. By far the best part of the film according to modern audiences is the theme song which was a huge success for John Parr due to the inspirational lyrics.
1985 19 weeks
This was the only hit that K.C and the Sunshine band were able to score in Australia throughout the 70’s, although they would score another two hits going into the 80’s meaning that they weren’t one hit wonders with this classic for long here. I guess a common complaint with their 70’s material is that they all sounded the same to each other, after all try telling this apart from “Shake your booty,” Keep it coming love” and “Get down tonight.” Unless you’re a fan of disco, you won’t be able to do it.
1975 19 weeks
Their earlier entry might have been what got them their well-deserved buzz in America, however it was this song about how much they wanted to holiday in Barbados that gave them a huge hit here in Australia before their earlier entry became twice as big here. The video is very clever as it depicts them as going AWOL from the Vietnam war in order to holiday in the Caribbean, although it does have a shocking ending to it.
1985 19 weeks
This is an English cover of In grid’s debut single from two years prior, it was a huge hit here in Australia likely due to the opulence of the production which allows it to still be used in ads for fancy jewellery and holiday destinations to this day. In grid was an Italian pop diva who saw much more success throughout Europe than she did in English speaking parts of the world due to the language barrier of her music.
2003 19 weeks
This was originally a hit for Maxine Nightingale back in the mid 70’s, indeed it was a bigger hit for her back in the day even though Sinitta scored a massive hit with her cover thirteen years later. Sinitta is best known for two things, being the long-time girlfriend of Simon Cowell and the niece of Amii Stewart. The former is why she had a career in the first place and the latter explains her overall popularity.
1989 19 weeks
This was the only hit that the Australian dance group Radio freedom scored in their career, although while this was a dance hit it also feels like it would’ve been a massive hit with the Latin craze had that begun earlier in the decade. While the band did release an album during their time together, the album was a massive failure which led to them breaking up as a result of its fallout.
1992 19 weeks
This was another two for one deal to come out of this decade, in this case we have both “Mr. Wendal” and “Revolution” being a massive success as the third and fourth singles from Arrested development’s debut album. The former is about the wisdom of the titular Mr. Wendal while the latter is about starting a revolution to demand American politicians make do on their (to this day) empty promises to the American black community.
1993 19 weeks
This was one of two hits that Midge Ure scored throughout the world this year, the other being with his other band Ultravox which wasn’t as big a hit as this was (though stay tuned for it later on this list.) This was his more Avant Garde hit of the two likely due to him wanting to cash in off the success that Kate Bush and Lene Lovich had with their material from around this time.
1981 19 weeks
This was the final hit that Raydio scored during their short time together, I’m guessing they only served as a platform for their lead single Ray Parker Jr to launch his solo career which would go in all sorts of directions throughout the 80’s. Here we have a yacht rock track about how much in love Ray is with this person and how there’s nothing they can do about it; it’s a nice sounding song provided you don’t think too hard about the lyrics.
1979 19 weeks
Following the success of her live album the previous year, Pat Benatar was able to score a second hit in Australia with this lead single to her album Tropico likely due to the inclusion of a children’s choir in the final chorus. This would be her final hit in most parts of the world, although she would score one more hit later in the decade with “All fired up” here in Australia which was a return to her rock roots.
1984 19 weeks
This was the second hit that Rocky Burnette was able to score in Australia this year, likely because he appeared on Countdown to perform his two big hits on this list as this didn’t chart anywhere else in the world from what I can gather. The rockabilly revival was huge throughout the 70’s and early 80’s, so much so that I’m sure it would’ve continued had MTV not launched the following year.
1980 19 weeks
While this wasn’t the debut single from Annie and Dave (heck they saw success earlier in the decade as members of the Tourists) this was the song that made them a household name worldwide due to how hypnotic the song remains to this day. Many songs have tried to replicate its success of blending trance with new wave to little success, mainly because they come off as lazy whereas this comes off as endearing.
1983 19 weeks
This was the only hit that Quarterflash were able to achieve throughout the world, I get the feeling this was a hit here in Australia due to us confusing this for a Motels track given how big Martha Davis and that were with their debut single “Total control” two years prior. Indeed, when that band finally saw international success this year, it didn’t translate back here likely because of this song.
1982 19 weeks
Well, this was a comeback that came out of nowhere this year, the last anyone had heard from the Pretenders was their 1986 album where Chrissie Hynde scored two hits with “Don’t get me wrong” and “Hymn to her” which made the album her most successful in her career. Here she is seven years later with a ballad that sounds like it would fit on that album that gave her one final hit for her career.
1994 19 weeks
This was the only solo success that Don Henley managed to achieve in Australia, although it’s worth noting that his second album was a huge hit here as opposed to Glenn Frey’s which was a massive flop despite the success of his earlier entry on this list. Even though this is a distinctly summer jam, it was a hit here during our autumn which is perhaps why it wasn’t as big a success as it should’ve been.
1985 19 weeks
This was the lead single to Jimmy Barnes Soul deep project, an album filled with covers of Motown classics that was a massive success here and in NZ for the otherwise pub rocker. It has its fans given how many sequels it’s received as well as it being his bestselling album in his catalogue.
1991 19 weeks
Although they’re best known for their disco classic “Groove thing” (which sadly won’t be appearing on this blog) this was the big hit from Peaches and Herb due to it being their Billboard chart topper in their native America. It turns out that the Peaches on here wasn’t the original Peaches when the duo formed a decade prior, in fact Herb Fame has gone through five different Peaches over the years.
1979 19 weeks
This is often considered to be one of the worst songs of the 70’s, this is mainly due to it sounding like an innocent love song but is really in fact about rough sex which obviously alienates everyone who could potentially like it as those into soft rock will be turned off by the subject matter and those into the subject matter will find it to be cheesy and boring.
1976 19 weeks
I’ve seen this title track to Donna Summer’s breakthrough album be described as porn music, I can certainly attest for its album version which takes up the full side A of the album as it goes for sixteen minutes. Thankfully the single version isn’t nearly as long and thus doesn’t wear out its welcome as quickly, thus allowing it to become a huge success for Donna and a gateway to her making disco tracks.
1976 19 weeks
This was the biggest hit that AC/DC had with Bon Scott on lead vocals, although they would go on to have bigger success in the 80’s once Brian Johnston took over following Bon’s death in 1980. This was the lead single to the band’s third album Dirty deeds done dirt cheap, an album that didn’t see the level of success their second album T.N.T saw back in the day.
1976 19 weeks
This was the first of three songs with this title to become a hit this year, although considering we’ve looked at the other two songs earlier on this list, you probably already knew that. This was a different song from the band’s previous two hits as this feels more in line with sophistopop rather than the LGBT banger of their debut or their politically charged second single, making them one of the more eclectic bands to find success this decade.
1984 19 weeks
There was a film released this year by the name of Starstruck which became an instant cult classic due to it telling the story of how a young woman became an overnight sensation through her personal antics. The film spawned this hit that was performed in universe by its star Jo Kennedy which became a surprise hit due to it being a duet between her onscreen partner as well as it being a partial gender flipped cover of a Split Enz track.
1982 19 weeks
This was the second volume of the Unforgiven trilogy that Metallica released, as I said this was the biggest hit of the trilogy likely due to it being more pop friendly than the first entry from seven years prior.
1998 19 weeks
This was the third single to be released from Man of colours for Icehouse, normally the band wouldn’t score a third hit from one of their albums but in this case, they did due to how passionate Iva Davis is in his performance on this track. No doubt this helped the album becoming their most successful in their career, although their popularity would die out once the decade came to an end.
1987 19 weeks
This was the third and final hit that La Bouche was able to score from their one and only album, thus completing the cycle for EDM acts scoring massive success with one album before forever fading into obscurity throughout the 90’s. I guess you can technically say that Aqua continued this trend the following year, except they not only scored four hits from Aquarium but managed to release a second album.
1996 19 weeks
