This wasn’t much of a success for Barbra Streisand upon its initial release in NZ, likely because the kiwis were never that big on her music save for a couple of soundtracks here and there. However, it became a huge success when the title track became a surprise hit for her, likely due to it being her rendition of the showtune from the (then) recent Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Cats.
It may have lacked that huge number one hit in NZ, however that didn’t prevent this album from being the Rolling Stones’ biggest success over there likely due to it being a return to their rock and roll roots after dabbling in disco with their previous two albums.
This album was released before Flowers needed to change their name to their debut album in order to gain success in the northern hemisphere, although it’s worth noting that the album did chart later in the decade as a self-titled album when their subsequent follow ups became even more successful in NZ.
Unlike in Australia where the debut single from Duran Duran helped them find success with their debut album, the kiwis completely ignored “Planet earth” which was set to doom their album as a failure over there. Fortunately, their controversial second single managed to be a huge success for the band when they unveiled its music video.
This album was released on time in NZ and yet it only became a success over there around the time it was released here which was when their big UK chart topper was released as a single worldwide. Much like in Australia, they had further hits after this album that didn’t translate to their subsequent albums having any success.
Well, this proved to be an even bigger success in NZ than it was in Australia, then again classical music in general seemed to be more popular over there during the 80’s which makes this albums success all the more inevitable.
This was a massive success for Grace Jones in NZ, mainly because it was a success twice over there as it not only blew them away upon its initial release but also when she released her follow up album Living my life a year after its initial release. We Aussies were aware of her music as she did appear on Countdown frequently throughout the decade, as did several of these alternative artists now that I think about it.
Given how this managed to spawn a massive hit for George Benson over in NZ, it makes sense that this would be an even bigger success over there than it was over here back in the day for him.
I feel this was as much of a surprise hit for Steve Winwood in NZ as it was here in Australia given how he wasn’t popular anywhere in the world throughout the 70’s, I guess it was due to people’s nostalgia for his work from the 60’s that this was a massive success for him worldwide.
This was a success for a band who I would’ve thought would be more popular back in the day given how much the music community loves these guys, kind of like how the music community loves to go on about Sonic youth and Melanie Martinez despite neither of them having any mainstream success in their time. At least these guys had one big album in NZ back in the day, it’s about ten times the success those two had.
Again, this greatest hits package may have been a massive success in NZ back in the day, however it didn’t achieve the reputation is has for being the most successful album of all time until the third or fourth time that it became a hit worldwide for the band.
Phil did achieve moderate success in NZ with Genesis in the 70’s, so this solo debut from him didn’t come out of nowhere over there in terms of its success and popularity. Even so its success was a bit lacking compared to what it achieved here given how it was only a bit success as opposed to it being one of the biggest albums of the decade over here and his native UK.
This is one of those bands I could’ve sworn Countdown would’ve heavily promoted back in the day, alas they didn’t which is why they weren’t that big here in Australia. They had better luck in NZ and the UK despite being an American band, it turns out the Americans weren’t interested in the rockabilly revival craze as this type of music didn’t have any success on Billboard back in the day.
Well, the success kept on coming for Richard Clayderman in NZ, I told you this guy was inescapable throughout the 80’s over there.
Well credit where it’s due, Vangelis did do a mighty fine job in composing a compelling score for a film many will tell you is little more than an Oscar bait film made in the UK. It was deservedly a hit for the Greek composer and even spawned a massive hit for him in NZ and America of all places.
This was already a moderate success in NZ; however, it rebounded on the charts due to the lead single in Australia “Beautiful world” being switched around to the second single as “Working in a coal mine” was included on the album in the southern hemisphere despite not being on the album in the northern hemisphere.
There was real hype for this concert that Simon and Garfunkel would give the following year in Central Park, naturally the kiwis were excited about it as they made this greatest hits package a success in its anticipation.
This was the album known as Corroboree in Australia, it was named as such in both countries based on the term of their respective indigenous people (now known as aboriginals or first nations.) I guess if there had of been a more consistent name of the album worldwide then it likely would’ve done even better in both countries, but it was a still a hit regardless.
Well at least we can have our Cure quota met on this site given how the kiwis seemed to have a much bigger indie scene at any given time than us Aussies. Here’s their third album which became an instant success over there and even encouraged the success of their second album from the previous year.
As with all of their albums (except for their debut funnily enough) this was also not as big in NZ as it was here in Australia despite the band incorporating reggae music into their sound throughout each of their albums and the kiwis love for reggae especially around this time. It was still a success, just not at the same level it was down under.
While this wasn’t as big a success in NZ as it was here in Australia for Adam and the Ants, it was still a huge success for the band once the kiwis got into the genius that was the second track from the album after we Aussies made it one of the biggest hits of the decade here. Unlike here in Australia and their native UK, they would be a one album wonder over there as their third album flopped.
This was equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Kim Carnes, the only noticeable difference is that it managed to spawn a second minor hit for her over there likely due to how unique her vocals were compared to the competition at the time. That uniqueness didn’t do her subsequent releases any favours anywhere in the world.
These guys managed to have more success in NZ throughout the 80’s than they did here in Australia, I would say because Joe Dolce stole their thunder here, but I think the actual reason was due to the kiwis having a stronger indie scene in the 80’s and 90’s than us Aussies despite Countdown and Triple J fuelling our indie scene in each respective decade.
Well, the title track managed to become a surprise hit over in NZ, so it only makes sense that Billy Field would find success with his debut album over there which eventually sparked international interest in the Australian piano man that unfortunately never came to be.
It turns out Pat Benatar was another example of an international artist not having much success in Australia back in the day due to Countdown promoting local artists at their expense, she scored massive success over in NZ throughout the 80’s with several of her albums including this third album which was arguably her biggest in her catalogue over there.
This was originally released at the end of the 70’s to deafening silence in NZ, I guess the kiwis weren’t that keen on revisiting the biggest hits of David Bowie as the decade was coming to an end. They changed their minds following the success of his (then) latest album Scary monsters due to it spawning one of his bigger hits in his career.
One of the few NZ bands to have any kind of success in the 70’s in their homeland was Hello sailor, I’m guessing that was the incentive for their lead singer Dave McArtney to form a new band in the 80’s which were off to a good start as this album became a huge success for them. They would sadly be a one album wonder as they wouldn’t find any further success after this.
This is the only appearance that the Moody blues will be making on this side of my site, mainly because the kiwis didn’t have much nostalgic love for their post 1975 hiatus catalogue that we Aussies did back in the day. Heck this only makes the cut due to how long it lasted on their charts given how it was much more of a sleeper hit there than it was over here.
While we won’t be having any repeat entries from Stevie Nicks on the NZ side of this side, I can at least proudly say that Tom Petty will be having plenty more representation over here as he managed to score a ton of success over there outside of his collaboration with the Fleetwood Mac singer. This was his second successful album over there that he released around the time “Stop dragging my heart around” was a hit down under.
This was less of a success in NZ for Elton John back in the day, perhaps due to the kiwis also wanting a reunion with him and Bernie Taupin which wouldn’t happen for at least another two years after its initial release.
These guys were on a roll in NZ as they found success over there with the second album they released in the decade, this one follows the same theme as their biggest album which allows Midge Ure to croon over the band’s new wave melodies that connected better with the kiwis than it did us Aussies back in the day.
This was the first big album that AC/DC had over in NZ, this is likely due to the international success of their previous album which was a huge flop over there for some reason the previous year.
This was also a moderate success in NZ back in the day for Ricki Lee Jones, I guess she’s a two-hit wonder in the southern hemisphere given how both of them were able to reappear on this side of my site.
Just like Australia, NZ gave these guys a humble beginning to their career with their debut album this year even though it failed to produce a hit single for the band, however they would go on to have far more success as the decade went on over there than they did over here, making this a bit of an outlier in their career as a result.
Given how the kiwis already knew who the Nolans were, this album of theirs managed to be an instant success over there unlike here in Australia where they needed to appear on Countdown (likely after touring in NZ) to make this a success for them. It was their only successful album in the southern hemisphere as the girls were unable to adapt to the MTV era.
Well, this seemed like as good as time as any to recap the success that Blondie had up until that point, although like most bands who released a greatest hits album, they didn’t have any further success after this which led to them breaking up later in the year.
Well, this was only barely a hit for Dr Hook in NZ this year, I’m guessing because they did score a string of hits over there which makes sense for it to be a success this year for the band. It did much better over here likely due to us Aussies feeling nostalgia for their 70’s work even though we had clearly grown tired of them by this point (save for their two hits this year on the Australian side of this site.)
I hope you’re not expecting much representation from Stevie Nicks on this side of my site as it appears the kiwis weren’t as impressed with her solo material as we Aussies were, she did chart throughout the decade over there, however her solo debut was the best she could do which achieved only a fraction of its success it had over here.
These guys were so inescapable this year in NZ that their album from the previous year was given a second chance by the kiwis which allowed it to become a massive hit over there a year after its initial release, this is bizarre considering how the band performed one of the tracks from this album on Countdown and that track even becoming a minor hit here in Australia despite the album flopping here.
In what was the inverse of her career trajectory here in Australia, Marianne Faithful began the decade with her biggest album and then found progressively less success with each new release as the decade went on. This means that this will be her final entry on this side of my site as her 1983 effort was a complete dud with the kiwis.
So, you’ve heard of the concept of a jazzercize video, right? Well, it turns out there were jazzercize albums back in the day that saw minor success around the world, the biggest example over in NZ came from this album by fitness instructor Carol O’Halloran who likely got the kiwis into shape with this album back in the day.
This was even more of a success for Pink Floyd in NZ than it was here in Australia, likely because they didn’t have as much competition over there that they had over here which allowed it to chart much higher on their charts.
This wasn’t anywhere near as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, likely because the single version of this album was one of the biggest hits over there not just of the year but of the entire decade, meaning that the kiwis likely felt that making this a success was borderline redundant.
Well, this was an inevitable success for the Beatles in NZ given the tragic passing of John Lennon from the end of the previous year, I’m sorry but I’ve come to have complicated feelings about releasing these sorts of albums so soon after an artist’s death.
Even though this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia, it appears the kiwis weren’t interested in Meat loaf without his partner in crime Jim Steinman given how much quicker this was dropping out of the charts compared to over here and in the UK.
Well, this is a surprise, I wasn’t expecting to feature a Jam album on this site given how the British punk band never saw any success with their singles in the southern hemisphere. That said, it does make sense this was a success in NZ given how Joy Division managed to score a surprise hit with their earlier entry on this list.
This is the first taste of success that Julio Iglesias had in the English-speaking market, although the Brits passed this up in favour of his next album Begin the beguine where he started having massive success in the UK. Naturally these two albums led to him recording his first album in English later in the decade 1100 bel air place.
