Well, I guess you can argue that we Aussies weren’t as into this debut album from Guns n Roses as the kiwis were, not only was the album itself more successful over there but so were the singles as it managed to spawn two more hits over there that were never successful here in Australia.
While this album wasn’t initially as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia due to it lacking that big hit over there, it eventually became more successful over there due to her embarking on a well tour that helped the kiwis appreciate her tender ballads which set her next album up for success there.
This was a massive hit for Toni Childs in NZ, definitely more so than it was in Australia meaning that the kiwis were in love with this woman’s music back in the day unlike her fellow Americans. This led to her having success over there with her second album just like she did here, although that was the last the kiwis had heard from her.
Unlike in Australia where this only became a success due to the surprise hit of “Every little step,” this album from Bobby Brown was more of an instant hit for him given how the second single was a huge hit over there due to it topping the Billboard charts for him. I’m guessing this connected with the kiwis due to them having fond memories of him during his time with New edition.
Given how they were more successful in NZ than they were in Australia, it was inevitable that this soundtrack to their documentary of the same name would be even bigger over there than it was over here both as an album and with its singles.
This proved to be twice as successful for Tiffany Darwish in NZ than it was in Australia, likely because the singles were more immediate hits over there which makes sense as I never understood why that wasn’t the case for them here.
This wasn’t nearly as successful in NZ as it was in Australia, largely due to the singles not being as big over there despite having a better release schedule as his cover of a Nat King Cole classic was pushed as the fourth single rather than the third single. I guess the kiwis didn’t like him much as a vocalist as this type of music was a huge success for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Mel and Kim over there.
This proved to be an even bigger success for Kylie in NZ than it was here in Australia, I’m guessing because it was a bigger success still in the UK given how much the Brits were in love with her due to her playing Charlene in Neighbours back in the day.
This was initially a flop for Poison in NZ, likely because its lead single didn’t even chart over there let alone become a hit for them. It was given a second chance when the third single became a Billboard chart topper which allowed the album to follow suit and thus have a much higher peak there than it did here.
Given how two of the members saw massive success around this time, it only seems fitting that the Travelin wilburys would find success in NZ with their first album around the time Roy Orbison tragically passed away. Unlike in Australia where they remain a one album wonder, the kiwis did check out their second album the following year and even gave them another hit that year with its lead single.
It appears the kiwis were a little late to the party when it came to the Tour of duty phenomenon from the late 80’s, however once they got on board, they proved to be even bigger fans of the series than us Aussies were if the success of the soundtracks is anything to go by.
It appears the Phantom of the opera was so popular in NZ that a second soundtrack from the show was released in NZ which also became a huge success over there. I don’t even think this was released here in Australia as it certainly didn’t chart if it was.
I think the world would’ve ultimately preferred Dire straits’ fifth album this year rather than them temporarily breaking up so that Mark Knopfler could focus on a side project that only led to them making one album together in 1990, at least they found success with their fifth album after he dissolved that project in 1991.
Unlike in Australia where there was a close competition as to which film had the most successful soundtrack of the 80’s, in NZ there wasn’t even a contest as Dirty dancing proved to have the most successful soundtrack presumably due to how much they loved the film upon its initial release.
While she didn’t have any success with the singles in NZ like she did in Australia, this debut album from Melissa Etheridge was still a success for her over there which is impressive considering it was a huge failure in her native America as was many of these albums from American female singer/songwriters at the time. At least the third single was eventually able to become a success on Billboard.
It appears the kiwis were in love with the Cocktail soundtrack back in the day, although not as much as we Aussies were given how A: the soundtrack wasn’t as big over there and B: neither were the singles. At least it spawned a third single from John Mellencamp, although that might be due to the heartland rocker being at the height of his popularity over there.
While this wasn’t the inescapable success in NZ that it was here in Australia and the trio’s native UK, it was big enough to be a success which is further proof that even back in the day, radios and journalists had little impact on what the public wanted to listen to given how they both advised against making this debut album from Bros a success back in the day.
Even though it was a huge box office success and a critical darling back in the day, I think Good morning Vietnam still doesn’t get the recognition it deserves nowadays given how it’s commentary on the Vietnam war holds up even after all of these years. While this wasn’t as big a success in NZ as it was in Australia, the soundtrack was still a huge hit over there due to how well it’s used in the film.
Well, the same deal that this album got here in Australia applies to it with NZ, the only thing I can add is that it really got the short end of the stick over there given how the likes of Def Leppard and Poison were really tearing up the hair metal scene around this time on their charts.
This was the only successful studio album Belinda Carlisle had in NZ, although she did have a successful greatest hits album in the 90’s, meaning that the kiwis likely realised their mistake in ignoring her body of work throughout her career. I’m surprised this underperformed here in Australia especially considering how inescapable her third solo album would be in the 90’s.
Much like in Australia, this album was released in NZ following the departure of Lindsey Buckingham during the end of their Tango in the night tour, this was to remind fans of big hits that the band had during what would be a tumultuous time they were about to have in their career.
This album took its sweet time in finding success in NZ as all of the singles had already peaked in the quartet’s native UK by the time it began charting in NZ due to the second single becoming a surprise hit over there, it managed to stick around for quite a while due to the singles slowly being discovered by the kiwis as time went on, which of course extended the popularity of the album each time.
Given how the kiwis were more into hair metal compared to us Aussies, it makes sense that this album from Whitesnake would be a massive success over there even if it came at the expense of the singles bombing on their charts. Not that the singles did that well here in Australia, however they at least stuck around for quite some time where they would easily be considered sleeper hits here.
This was the first big success that AC/DC had in NZ, oh the kiwis would’ve heard of these guys prior to this year, however for some reason, it was this album where they finally began taking notice of their brand of rock and roll despite being in the industry for well over a decade at this point.
This wasn’t quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia as was John Farnham’s previous album Whispering jack, however it was still a massive success for him over there likely due to the title track becoming a hit for him this year. Still, he wasn’t able to have much success over there going into the 90’s, meaning this comeback was much shorter lived over there.
While it wasn’t as huge in NZ as it was here in Australia, this live album from Jimmy Barnes was a success over there which proves that the kiwis also felt he was a killer live act back in the day. It also managed to spawn a moderate success with his cover of a Percy Sledge classic, this being the incentive he needed to make his first Soul deep project in the new decade.
Although they weren’t among the most popular bands of the decade in NZ, this greatest hits package from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the dark (OMD for short) managed to become a huge success over there this year proving once again how strong the kiwis alternative scene was throughout the twentieth century.
I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t feature “Shattered dreams” on this site in any way, unfortunately it wasn’t a hit for the British trio in the southern hemisphere despite how big it was in their native UK and in America upon its initial release. Fortunately, the kiwis did check out their album this year where it became a huge success, although we Aussies seemed to completely ignore them for whatever reason.
This was the first album from R.E.M to achieve mainstream success worldwide, although they did score a minor hit in NZ the previous year with “The one I love” so perhaps they were already due for a commercial breakthrough before this album came out. Their popularity would explode in the 90’s with their next album which finally gave them a genuine hit in their native America.
Following the massive success he had with his live album from two years prior, George Thorogood was finally able to score some success in NZ with one of his studio albums this year which finally put the “Bad to the bone” singer on the map over there. I guess we Aussies were intrigued by his success over there as the following year his greatest hits package would become a massive success here.
I’m not sure why this greatest hits package failed here in Australia given how this was coming off the success of Graceland, it was a success over in NZ which suggests that the kiwis were more interested in checking out the back catalogue of Paul’s career with this album than we Aussies were.
This was only a moderate success for Crowded house in NZ, in fact it mainly got its second appearance on this site due to it rebounding on the charts in the new year due to some of the singles suddenly charting for the trio over there. Even so, it was an instant success there upon its initial release due to the lead single being their second biggest hit over there and biggest here in Australia.
She already had a massive hit with her debut album in NZ, so it makes sense that Ruby Turner would continue the momentum over there with her second album which while not as successful as her first, was big enough to give her further success over there despite it being a massive flop everywhere else in the world.
Following the surprise success of his solo album from the previous year, Robert Cray reformed his self-titled band who went on to have a massive hit this year in NZ with this new album of theirs. It managed to spawn their only charting single which almost became a hit over there likely due to how popular they were.
This was the second album to be released by Ardijah, it was a massive success this year for the band largely thanks to two factors, the first was that it had several advanced singles to build up its hype from the previous year and the second was the success of “Watching u” which was one of the bigger hits of the late 80’s in their homeland.
This was the debut album from Hothouse flowers, it was decently successful in NZ this year due to the lead single being a massive hit for the band over there. It was a huge flop here in Australia this year likely due to we Aussies not having much love for Celtic music at the time, however we made up for this failure by making their second album a hit in the 90’s.
To my knowledge, Ziggy Marley was the only offspring of Bob Marley to embark on a music career which was off to a good start seven years after the tragic passing of his father with his debut album. This got a bit lost in the shuffle in NZ this year due to how chaotic the album charts were; however, it did connect with the kiwis to make an appearance on this list.
This was released the previous year in T’pau’s native UK where it became an instant success for the band, despite that it didn’t see an international release until six months later which naturally hindered its worldwide success due to their hype dying out by then. Even so, the kiwis were impressed with their debut album given how it was a modest success for them as well as both of its singles.
This was slightly more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess Sade was able to recover over there following the disappointment of their second album Promise from three years prior. This feels like an inverse of their fortunes here in Australia given how popular that album was here upon its initial release.
Well, these guys really did Cut the crap when they released their final album three years prior, as such their career imploded that year worldwide which led to their breakup in 1986 which means that two years had passed before their label issued a greatest hits package that became a moderate success in NZ.
This was an inevitable success for Jerry given how much the kiwis loved his band up until this point, although it was his only success there as none of his other material charted there which was also the case everywhere else in the world. Still, it was impressive that he managed to achieve this much on his own given how much of a failure his work with Talking heads was over there by this point.
It’s a bit of a misconception that Sinead’s debut album was her 1990 magnum opus I do not want what I haven’t got, this is her actual debut which was a decent success for her in NZ and her native UK upon its initial release and even received some buzz here in Australia even if it flopped here.
This was another successful album to come from Prince in NZ, again there were no signs of his popularity slowing down over there even if he had been reduced to a minor legacy act here in Australia around this time. Of course, that would change here once he released the Batman soundtrack the following year.
Well at least this was a hit upon its initial release in NZ as opposed to the decade needing to come to an end to find its success here in Australia, admittedly it’s a bit of a surprise this was a success over there given how Cliff Richard had more success over here throughout the ten-year period this album looks over.
