This was a massive success over in NZ, I’m guessing they really appreciated the band slightly altering their sound from Communique (which was still a success over there for what it’s worth.) This would be the first blockbuster album of the decade over there as it took three years to leave the charts.
These guys did have success in their homeland throughout the 70’s, so it’s less surprising to see that this was a massive hit over there at the start of the decade even though it absolutely owes most of its success there to how it became a massive success here in Australia.
Well, the kiwis not only loved classical music this decade, but also music from a guy who played the pan flute as this album from Romanian musician Gheorghe Zamfir managed to become a massive success over there for reasons I can’t seem to fathom.
While Richard Clayderman had moderate success in Australia throughout the 80’s, the French pianist’s popularity was unavoidable over in NZ proving how much the kiwis loved classical music back in the day.
Unlike in Australia where this was only a modest success due to the goodwill that Bryan Ferry had accumulated throughout the 70’s with his solo career, in NZ this was a massive success as it was the second album the band released following their reunion from 1978 and the success of their previous album Manifesto from the previous year.
Although I would’ve thought this guy did better in NZ throughout the 70’s, at least his final good record (according to his fans that is) was an even bigger success over there due to spawning two hits over there as opposed to just the one here in Australia.
Much like in Australia, this was the biggest album from George Benson’s career in NZ due to him incorporating disco into his sound which helped it stand out in his catalogue during a time where the disco backlash supposedly took effect worldwide.
I should point out this was a duet’s album between John Lennon and Yoko Ono, meaning that this was the biggest album both artists had in their respective careers (post Beatles in the case of John) which likely could’ve carried the albums success had John lived to see it play out worldwide.
This was the debut album from Pat Benatar, an artist that I would’ve thought would do so much better in Australia than she ended up doing. In fact her presence on the NZ charts accurately sums up how well I thought she did back in the day, meaning that we Aussies have since realised our mistake in sleeping on her music from back in the day.
Again, I would’ve thought these guys would’ve been inescapable in NZ due to the kiwis love for reggae over the years, I guess they were too distracted by Sting’s shaky song writing in order to appreciate the tight instrumentation the band offered on each of their albums. Even so they were still a massive success over there even if they weren’t as big as they were in Australia or their native UK.
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was in Australia for Barbra Streisand, again we have the involvement of the Brothers Gibb to thank for that as she didn’t have much success on her own throughout the 70’s over there when it came to her music. Indeed, she wouldn’t have much success over there after this save for a cover of the Cats showstopper “Memory.”
This wasn’t even Steely Dan’s biggest album in NZ like it was here in Australia, oh yeah, these guys had way more success in NZ throughout the 70’s than they did here in Australia likely due to their local scene being too weak to push these guys aside in the mainstream.
Joan already had a huge sleeper hit in NZ with her self-titled album in the 70’s, so this commercial breakthrough for her was less so over there which is perhaps why it was a much bigger success there than it was here in Australia. The title track even became a sleeper hit over there, meaning that she isn’t a one hit wonder on their singles chart with “Drop the pilot” like she is here.
While this wasn’t as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, it was still a success for David Bowie over there which proves that the kiwis were still in love with him moving from the 70’s into the 80’s. Indeed, he would see much more success over there with his next album which spawned a bunch of hits for him that didn’t crossover here to Australia.
From what I can gather, Marianne Faithful was nothing more than tabloid fodder during her supposed heyday in the 60’s given her highly published relationship with Mick Jagger. Fast forward a decade and she finally scored a massive hit in NZ of all places with this album which encouraged us Aussies to follow suit in making her find success as a musician.
I told you this was a success for the Motels this year in NZ, arguably more so than it was here in Australia which suggests that the kiwis (at least by this point) were tuning into Countdown as that’s the only explanation I have as to how this managed to be a success over there and not in the northern hemisphere.
Much like in Australia, this album from Willie Nelson was released two years prior to deafening silence only for it to become a massive success over there this year for reasons I can’t seem to fathom.
This proved to be even more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for Kenny Rogers, likely due to it spawning a huge hit over there where it was only a minor hit at best over here for the country legend that also became his biggest hit in his native America.
Although this was a massive success in NZ upon its initial release, its placement on this list is more due to how well it did throughout the decade particularly when it was rereleased during the height of the Born in the U.S.A tour.
This was a solid introduction to the decade for the Pretenders, although unlike in Australia where they would have a healthy balance between the success of their albums and singles, in NZ they wouldn’t trouble the charts again until their fourth album much later in the decade.
This was a bit of a stumble for Billy Joel in NZ, I guess the kiwis weren’t too interested in having him venture towards rock and roll like we Aussies were but were curious enough to make it a success regardless. I’m guessing it was this ambivalence towards him trying out rock that led to the failure of the Bridge over there later in the decade.
This was the final album that Bob Marley released in his lifetime, much like the lead single, it was the second successful album he had in NZ meaning that the kiwis were likely going to make him a household name for many years to come had he lived to see the remainder of the 80’s.
There were plenty of signals that Supertramp would be one of the biggest bands of the decade when it began, I think the biggest by far was the success of this live album recorded on their Paris tour which became a worldwide success. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much success after their next album Famous last words.
Unlike here in Australia where this required the assistance of a live E.P which contained the two most popular tracks on this album to become a success here, the kiwis were able to make this a hit over there upon its initial release (albeit as a sleeper hit at first) which the album then saw a boost in popularity once “Whip it” became a sleeper hit on their singles charts half a year after its initial release.
While she never saw that much success back in the day, this greatest hits package from Anne Murray managed to become a huge success in NZ likely due to her new track from the album becoming a massive hit for her over there this year.
This was also a success for Blondie in NZ this year like it was here in Australia, although its success wasn’t consistent in both countries given how the lead single was bigger over there whilst the second single was bigger over here. Still, it was a solid enough album to carry them into the 80’s, although tensions behind the scenes prevented them from delivering a cohesive follow up which led to their breakup the following year.
I’m a bit surprised this live album didn’t do even better in NZ than it did here in Australia, although considering this was still a success over there, I think it’s safe to say that the kiwis were also disappointed in the demise of the band shortly before its release.
It appears the kiwis were far more impressed with the Cure throughout the decade than we Aussies were given how their second album was a huge success over there, although it’s worth mentioning that success was stretched out for two years given how this had a very slow start to its popularity upon its initial release.
This was a bit more of a success for Rod Stewart in NZ, likely because the kiwis did give him a hit with the lead single over there but also due to his artist momentum not dying out as quicky there as it did over here even though it would recover over here as the decade went on where it didn’t over there.
This was another huge success for the Rolling Stones in NZ like it was throughout the rest of the world, although it’s worth noting that it didn’t have that big hit over there with the title track like it did here in Australia and America despite it being a disco track.
This was also the final success album that Abba had in NZ as was the case here in Australia, I guess the world wasn’t willing to have these guys permeate in the 80’s like they did in this 70’s which was likely the reason for them calling it quits with their final album a year after this was released.
Evidently the kiwis were bigger fans of James Galway than we Aussies were given how this managed to be an even bigger success over there than it was over here for the flutist, at least he never scored a hit in either country in the southern hemisphere which is more than I can say for his presence in his native UK.
Well, if this was able to be a huge success for Boney M here in Australia, naturally it would repeat that success in NZ as the German disco band were also fairly inescapable over there throughout the 70’s.
This is another entry to appear low on this list despite being a massive hit for the artist in question, this time it’s from Elton John who did score a huge hit in NZ with this album just like he did in Australia, although the album’s success came from the lower half of the charts likely due to it only having the one hit from it.
This was the soundtrack to Xanadu, the other critical disaster this year which led to the creation of the Golden Razzie awards where both this and Can’t stop the music were deemed the worst films of 1980. I guess the kiwis were also not big fans of the film as the soundtrack and its singles were far less successful over there than they were here.
This was also a sleeper hit over in NZ this year, in fact aside from the fourth single performing much better over there than it did over here, it had the exact level of success as well as the same path to its success in both countries in the southern hemisphere which nonetheless led the band to having a widely successful decade worldwide.
This is one of two albums that found massive success over in NZ for the Clash, although this was more of a sleeper success for the band like it was here in Australia likely due to punk rock not being as popular in the southern hemisphere as it was in their native UK back in the day. Still, it did prove that there was an audience for the scene amongst us Aussies and kiwis as opposed to those in America.
Although this appears much higher on this list than their debut album (which we’ll look at in a bit) it still remains less successful overall in Mi-Sex’s homeland than its predecessor once again due to it being more of an immediate success as opposed to the intrigue of their debut lasting longer which in turn made its sleeper success all the stronger in the long run.
I’m not sure what the general consensus is in NZ with regards to Kiss during their supposed sell-out period, mainly because they weren’t that popular before or after this period over there which leads me to believe that they weren’t into these guys outside of this specific point in their careers. It’s certainly funny to me that this album is called Unmasked and yet they wouldn’t unmask themselves until much later in their career.
Given how Bob Seger saw massive success in NZ with his previous album, it only makes sense he would keep up the momentum with this album going into the 80’s like he did here in Australia. It’s a shame he didn’t survive the transition into the MTV era as he would’ve thrived during the height of Bruce Springsteen’s dominance in the mainstream.
This was also a moderate success in NZ like it was here in Australia at the start of the decade for CCR, perhaps this was proof that the kiwis wanted to hear more from the band like we Aussies did even though (at least as far as I can tell) they didn’t reach the same dizzying heights of success over there as they did over there during their heyday.
Well, it appears that the kiwis weren’t as impressed with the film which was a fictional account of how the Village people came to be, either that or they weren’t as impressed with the soundtrack as we Aussies were which I doubt was the case as disco seemed to be even stronger over there than it was over here this year.
Well as if one album from this pan flute player wasn’t enough for the kiwis, they gave him a second bestselling album at the start of the decade which proves just how much they loved classical music back then.
Well, this is a bit of a surprise, apparently the kiwis were so impressed with the Motels debut album from earlier on this list that their second album was also a huge hit over there this year. No doubt this led to them acquiring a budget for their third album later in the decade which allowed them to finally score success in their native America.
This was only barely a success here in Australia despite “Private Idaho” being a modest success from the album and a song you can still hear on oldies stations to this day. It was a much bigger hit in NZ likely due to the band performing the lead single on Countdown (along with “Rock lobster”) which I’m guessing the kiwis found amusing enough to make the album a success as the song didn’t even chart there.
I’m a bit surprised that XTC didn’t appear on the Australian side of my site as they were heavily promoted by Countdown around this time, heck they even appeared on the show to promote the lead single of this album where it became a minor success here. The kiwis passed up the single in favour of the album itself which remains one of the greatest new wave albums to come out around this time.
This was a live album from Eric Clapton that went over really well in NZ this year, I’m actually surprised there haven’t been more successful live album from him or any of his bands over the years apart from this and his MTV concert from the early 90’s.
This was the only successful album that KC and the Sunshine band had over in NZ, sure some of their singles back in the day were hits which explains the success of their greatest hits package this year, however none of their studio albums even touched the charts over there let alone were massive hits like they were in their native America.
Although the best was yet to come for these guys, this was nonetheless a fantastic start to a highly lucrative career for UB40 particularly in NZ where this was more popular than it was in their native UK. That goes double for both of its singles as they both outperformed on the NZ charts compared to the UK charts.
Given how she would go on to have a massive hit here in Australia later in the decade with her album Foreign affair, it only makes sense that Sharon O’Neill’s debut album would be a decent success in her homeland even if it failed to spawn a hit for her in over there.
