This edges out 1979 as there wasn’t a racist/homophobic backlash towards a popular genre this year that took place in America like there was that year, that’s about the only difference these two years have from each other as naturally that backlash meant there was slightly fewer disco classics to come out that year compared to this year, that and said backlash did result in more generic music finding success on Billboard that year that likely would’ve flopped if they peaked this year.
Unlike in Australia where Billy Joel had some success with his previous efforts, this was the first that the kiwis had heard from him which is likely why it was a bigger success for him over there than it was over here. Although it’s worth noting that his overall popularity there couldn’t hold a candle to what it was here.
So, this was a massive success for the Cars in NZ but not here in Australia, admittedly this was mainly a success over there due to the popularity of their second album, but it was still inescapable over there once the kiwis did discover how awesome the album was. That’s certainly more than I can say for us Aussies who likely thought that Candy O was the band’s debut album back in the day.
Although this album was a huge success over in NZ, it wasn’t quite as inescapable over there as it was over here likely due to the kiwis only gravitating towards this album when it became a huge success for Meat loaf here in Australia due to his appearance on Countdown back in the day.
The Brothers Gibb had already been embraced by the kiwis when it came to their transition to disco earlier in the decade, as such their soundtrack for the Saturday night fever film was a shoe in for success due to the film also being a huge critical and commercial success upon its release.
Given how their albums seemed to stick to the lower half of the album’s charts in NZ throughout the 80’s like glue, it seems fitting that their debut album would also do the same once its initial popularity began to fade as the decade was coming to an end. Even so it was a massive success over there thanks to how big the lead single was worldwide.
Given how rock operas weren’t as successful in NZ as they were here in Australia, this concept album from Jeff Wayne wasn’t as inescapable over there as it was over here even though it was still a massive success there.
The kiwis also seemed to be in love with the Grease phenomenon as the soundtrack to the film managed to be a massive success over there just like it was over here, although its popularity in the 90’s wasn’t as inescapable over there so perhaps their love for the film faded over time as opposed to it growing here in Australia.
This was the magnum opus for Frank Farian in his career, mainly because of his presence in the band but also because of how infectiously catchy the disco is on this album which led to the lead single being one of the biggest hits of the decade worldwide.
Given how his previous album was a massive success for him in NZ, it only seems fitting that Billy Joel would continue that winning streak with this album which manages to confirm him as the real deal over there given how his work prior to the Stranger wasn’t a success over there like it was here.
Much like in Australia, Rod Stewart wouldn’t have an inescapable album again in NZ until the early 90’s with the success of Vagabond heart. Unlike in Australia, he wouldn’t score any success with his singles between that time meaning that the kiwis completely ignored this guy throughout the 80’s.
From what I can gather, these guys weren’t that big in NZ during the first half of the decade, meaning this greatest hits album was more of a chance for the kiwis to discover their back catalogue rather than it being a celebration of their earlier achievements. I’m not sure why they felt compelled to do so at this stage, but it allowed the band to finally have major success over there albeit past their prime.
This was all set to flop in NZ upon its initial release the previous year, however then the lead single became a huge success in their native America which allowed it to become a massive success over there in response. Following the success of this album, Blondie no longer had any issues with finding success over there as their next two albums would be huge hits for them going into the 80’s.
Well at least we Aussies got in on the Bob Marley bandwagon when the rest of the world did as this too was his breakthrough success over in NZ just like it was here and in the UK. I’m guessing the world outside of his Jamaica were turned off by his more politically charged albums from earlier in the decade and finally came around to him on this album where he was more spiritually inclined than before.
Although Silk degrees was the bigger album for Boz Scaggs in NZ like it was worldwide, it was this album that encouraged its success this year as it managed to spawn him a huge hit over there which allowed his earlier album to become a hit (stay tuned for it in a bit.)
There were no signs of these guys slowing down in NZ just like there wasn’t any signs of them slowing down anywhere else in the world, sure it only spawned a sole charting single, but it was a massive hit for them and all the incentive anyone needed to check out the album.
Well, this had a similar trajectory for its success in NZ as it did here in Australia, Stealers wheel were a band the kiwis certainly heard of (at least according to the Listener charts) but didn’t pay much mind to earlier in the decade for some reason. They likely would’ve changed their tune when lead single Gerry Rafferty scored a massive worldwide hit with this album and its lead single.
The kiwis seemed to be as much in love with this debut album from Kate Bush as we Aussies were back in the day; in fact, its success is more or less identical over there to what it was here which means I unfortunately don’t have any new commentary to add here.
This was also a sleeper hit for Bob Seger in NZ, although unlike in Australia where it just lingered in the lower half of our charts long enough to qualify to be on that side of my site, in NZ this skyrocketed up the charts when he almost scored a hit with “We’ve got tonight” six months into the albums existence. It set the rock and roller up for massive success over there that he only achieved with his next album.
Well, this was significantly less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, granted its lower appearance on this side of my site does stem from the fact that it was much more of a sleeper hit for Neil Young over there, however it was also due to him just not being as popular in general over there throughout the 70’s.
It may surprise you to learn that the Commodores only starting seeing success in NZ this year when this album became a surprise hit for them worldwide, I guess this means that they can join the likes of Earth wind and fire and the Emotions as soul acts that the world largely ignored until the Brits made them household names during the last stretch of the decade.
This feels like a more appropriate position for this live album from David Bowie on this list compared to the Australian side of my site, it’s curious it was more successful over there considering this wasn’t the case for Bowie’s career overall save for the occasional hit here and there.
This was much more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia for the Band, again this was likely due to the lack of competition it had over there compared to over here due to the kiwis not having a strong local music scene like we Aussies did throughout the decade.
This was also a success for Linda Ronstadt in NZ like it was here in Australia, although like her earlier entry on this list, it wasn’t as huge over there as it was down under likely due to “Blue bayou” being such a juggernaut for her on their singles charts throughout the year.
It only seems fitting that this album from the Alan Parsons Project would be more popular over in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because the band was already a household name by the time they released this concept album based on the I robot books that were written over twenty years prior.
Much like in Australia, these guys were a tad overexposed by the time they released their fifth album which is why it wasn’t as inescapable as their earlier work over there. It was still a massive success and proof that the band could withstand the overexposure unlike several other bands from the 70’s here in Australia.
Well unlike in Australia, Barbra Streisand was far from the most popular artists in NZ which does make the success this greatest hits package a bit more confusing over there. Still, it was a success, likely due to the bonus track also coming from Neil Diamond’s successful album of the same name which was also a success over there (stay tuned for it.)
Whereas this was only a minor success here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were either massive fans of the film FM or simply viewed this as an excellent compilation album as it collects all the songs used throughout the film which feels like one of those seasonal compilation albums I’ve featured on the Australian side of my site.
Much like here in Australia, the kiwis were initially sceptical with the thought of Elton John finding success without his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, although this album did win them over when they discovered that the second single was donated to Elton from Bernie, suggesting that they merely distanced themselves from each other rather than completely cutting ties.
Well, this was another album to have an inevitable reappearance on this site, although Bob Dylan’s popularity in NZ was certainly a far cry from what it was here in Australia throughout the 70’s.
Well, this had their reggae hit as the lead single, so naturally this was going to be a success for 10CC in NZ regardless of how the kiwis felt about the band by this point. Fortunately, their feelings seemed to be positive as they were able to close out the decade with a greatest hits package that did fairly well over there (it won’t be appearing on this site I’m afraid.)
This was eventually a hit here in Australia for Steely Dan; however, it was one of those cases where it continuously charted in the lower half of our charts during the height of their popularity which prevented it from being appearing on the Australian side of my site. It was much more of an immediate success in NZ due to them being very popular over there as we’ll see the further back in the decade we go.
I forgot to mention on the Australian side of this site that this was a live album for George Benson, meaning that it was a live album that allowed his earlier entry on this list to become a massive success in NZ this decade.
The kiwis really seemed to like their classical music, didn’t they? Here we have British composer Ron Goodwin conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (who already had a massive album over there two years prior) for this album which was a massive success this year for both parties.
From what I can gather, Kamahl was an Australian singer who found no success in here with this album released from the start of the decade. I’m guessing it was a hit in NZ due to him suddenly finding success internationally with some of his later material, but that doesn’t explain why the kiwis gravitated towards this and not his newer catalogue.
This live album was a massive hit for Barry Manilow at the expense of his album this year Even now, I guess we Aussies and kiwis could only allow one album at a time to be a massive hit form the crooner and decided to split the difference between both countries for him as compensation for that.
It makes sense that this was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia given how the singles from the album were actual hits over there as opposed to massive bombs over here back in the day, although it’s hard to say how much the kiwis loved this movie overall given how both reception to the film and its box office numbers have fallen into obscurity over the years as far as they’re concerned.
This year was a huge breakthrough for the Commodores outside of their native America, as such it makes sense they would cap it off with a greatest hits album to help their new international audience discover their back catalogue off the success of their earlier entries.
It appears that Wings were seeing diminishing returns in NZ as the 70’s began to wind down, so much so that this was their final successful album over there as Back to the egg failed to make a second appearance on this site due to it being a flop for them the following year.
We have another disco compilation to make it big in NZ back in the day, the kiwis must have really loved the genre if we have this many albums that focused solely on disco hits of the 70’s making it big over there.
It appears these guys had a similar trajectory for their success in NZ that they had here in Australia given how this was also their breakthrough over there like it was over here, the big difference is that it managed to be a bigger success likely due to the lack of competition the RNB and disco band had in the kiwi’s music scene.
This was also a bit of a disappointment for Kate Bush in NZ like it was here in Australia, although unlike here where she managed to rebound throughout the 80s, this was the last of her albums to be a massive success over there save for her greatest hits package which was only big due to her collaboration with Peter Gabriel.
Given how the lead single to this album was a massive success for John Rowles in his native homeland, it makes sense that this album would be at least a mild success over there which it ended up being.
For whatever reason, the kiwis passed up on the official soundtrack for the original Star Wars film (before it was known as A new hope) yet gravitated towards this highlights reel that was released as an album (for some reason) which technically makes this the most successful Star Wars project on the RIANZ charts.
