This was another decade closer that seemed more interested in looking back on the greatest hits of its decade rather than exposing fresh talent to (then) modern audiences. Then again, that’s likely for the best, considering how many Kylie Minogue rip-offs there were that did make it through to the mainstream, which really cheapened the overall quality of pop music.
It’s strange to think that this was Phil Collin’s biggest solo album in NZ, although considering he had infinitely more success with his band Genesis throughout the 80’s, I think it’s safe to say that the kiwis preferred his prog material compared to his ballads back in the day.
Their debut album wasn’t a big success over in NZ, it did OK but nothing noteworthy as to make it onto this site for a second time. The sophomore album from these guys was a much bigger success over there likely due to its popularity in America and in Australia, although it didn’t prevent them from calling it quits in the new year.
This was the biggest album that Simply red had over in NZ, mainly for the second single which remains their biggest hit worldwide except for their native UK where that honour goes to “Fairground.” Much like Australia, they would continue to have success well into the 90’s over there.
While it didn’t spawn that inescapable hit over in NZ like it did here in Australia, this album from Aerosmith was nonetheless a success over there even before they had that big hit here. I’m guessing this was more due to them fitting in with the hair metal scene of the day as their 90’s material didn’t make any impact on the charts over there like it did worldwide.
Much like in Australia, these guys were very successful in NZ a decade prior with their first two albums, meaning this albums success at the start of the 90’s was a welcomed return for the band as they were able to kick off the new decade on top of the charts for the second decade in a row.
It appears the kiwis were so much in love with these guys that they allowed the American version of the album to become a success in addition to the original version. Admittedly the new hit single they had from this album was their biggest hit over there so it makes sense this would follow suit.
While it wasn’t as inescapable as her debut album, this sophomore album from Tracy Chapman proved to be a huge success for her in NZ which helped her escape the one album wonder bin that the rest of the world had temporarily trapped her in until her comeback album A new beginning in the mid 90’s.
This was the original version of Milli Vanilli’s one and only album, or at least their one and only album as a unit given how the two men on the cover would make their own music in the 90’s while the “Real Milli Vanilli” would release a second album around the same time. It was a massive success in NZ as the kiwis didn’t care if the two men were singing on the record or not as opposed to us Aussies.
This took a real long time to make it big over in NZ, I mean this was already a year old by the time it reached the upper echelons of their charts as opposed to Australia where it was only six to eight months before it became a success here. Admittedly the second single was pushed back over there to when it became a hit in the UK, I’m guessing due to their label wanting to market their more upbeat tracks first.
Much like here in Australia, this solo debut from Gloria Estefan was widely ignored in NZ upon its initial release despite her having massive success with Miami Sound Machine throughout the 80’s over there. It was given a second chance when word got out about her near fatal accident on her tour bus which allowed us Aussies and kiwis to finally respect the pop diva and her music.
While this didn’t linger around the NZ charts as long in the 90’s as it did here in Australia, this sophomore album from Enya was initially more successful over there due to the lead single nearly topping their charts upon its initial release. Much like in Australia, she would go on to have massive success in the 90’s with her subsequent follow ups, just maybe not as much as she had here.
While the soundtrack wasn’t as inescapable over in NZ as it was in Australia, it was a success over there proving that the kiwis either loved the film but didn’t care for Bette’s music or vice versa. Either way it was a good way for Bette to close out the 80’s given how it spawned her sole Billboard chart topper in America.
This was one of the last albums to be released from the 80’s in NZ, it goes to show that even moving towards the 90’s, classical music was still one of the biggest genres in the mainstream over there when it comes to albums. Carl Doy was a NZ pianist who I’m guessing was their answer to Richard Clayderman.
It’s a bit weird that Jenny Morris didn’t see as much success with her albums in her homeland as she did here in Australia, granted her popularity only exploded over there due to how big she was over here with her earlier material, however you’d think she would’ve had more of her success translated to NZ than what she got. Still, this was a huge hit for her over there during the transition from the 80’s to the 90’s.
This was the only successful album for Richard Marx in NZ due to it spawning his only chart topper over there as well as him overall being dismissed as a Bryan Adams knockoff by the kiwis back in his heyday. He did score another hit over there in the 90’s with “Hazard,” but I feel that was only due to it being his biggest hit here in Australia and the kiwis being too curious to ignore that ballad.
This was an even bigger success in NZ than it was here in Australia, mainly because it was marketed as the band airing out their dirty laundry which feels odd that they even had any during its production given how it was released right when their debut album took off for them even in their native America.
It appears the kiwis were equally unphased by Madonna challenging her own religious beliefs on her fourth album as this managed to be as successful over there as it was here, although this did cause a bunch of controversy back in the day in her native America given how Pepsi backed out of their sponsorship with her world tour as well as her being protested against by religious groups.
This will be the only album from Alice Cooper to appear on this side of my site given how the kiwis didn’t seem to have much love for the glam rocker at any point in his career as we Aussies did, although I get the feeling this was more due to him hopping on the hair metal trend with this album that they made it a success due to how inescapably popular the sub-genre was around this time.
Robert Palmer didn’t have much success in NZ compared to Australia, however the kiwis at least allowed him to enter the 90’s with some dignity by having this greatest hits package from him be a massive success over there. His fate was pretty much the same over there throughout the 90’s as it was over here save for the fact that this and his collaboration with UB40 was much bigger over there.
This was also a success for the Proclaimers in NZ, likely because they were the first country in the world to hand success to the brothers with the lead single from this album. We Aussies quickly followed suit which is why the album was inescapable in the southern hemisphere during the final year of the 80’s.
Whereas this was a mini comeback for Prince here in Australia, in NZ it was just another successful album for him as the kiwis enjoyed his soundtrack he made for the first theatrical Batman film just like any over album of his in his catalogue. I guess the closest he came to failing over there before he turned himself into a Symbol was the Graffiti bridge soundtrack from the following year.
While hip hop obviously saw plenty of success throughout the 80’s in NZ, this was the first hip hop album to be a massive success over there which I feel is a victory because it comes from a woman of colour (albeit one from Europe and not America) which is better than what became the first hip hop album to be successful here in Australia (that of course being MC Hammer’s breakthrough album.)
Given how they were arguably more popular in NZ than they were here in Australia, it makes sense that Icehouse would have this greatest hits package overlooking the first ten years of their success be popular over there like it was over here during the transition from the 80’s to the 90’s.
Well, this was an obvious shoe in for the NZ side of my site given how inescapably popular the Phantom of the opera show was over there, this was a reminder from the theatre manager that his previous works were also worth checking out in one convenient album.
This was released the previous year for Grayson Hugh, it was going to be a flop for the singer even with the worldwide success of the lead single, but it became a surprise hit in NZ likely because of said single having a very slow rise to its popularity over there. Admittedly the album feels more at home in the 90’s than it does in the decade it was originally released in.
Whereas this at least managed to have a few massive hits here in Australia, this second album from Kylie Minogue was only a success in NZ due to how popular her debut was given how only the lead single which doesn’t even appear on the standard version of the album managed to be a success over there. Indeed she would flame out entering the 90’s and wouldn’t be a household name over there until “Spinning around” became a hit in 2000.
This was also a massive success over in NZ, although it took its time finding success even when it came out over there at the start of the year. I’m guessing this is because the kiwis didn’t find the second season of the show as exhilarating as the first or as much as we did down under.
Although this didn’t take as long to become a success for Janet Jackson in NZ, I’m willing to bet she ultimately preferred it if it did given how it was only a modest success over there following the success of “Escapade” in her native America of all things. I guess the kiwis didn’t take to her experimenting with rock and roll like we Aussies did.
Clannad were an Irish Celtic band who were on the brink of having that crossover appeal throughout the 80’s in the southern hemisphere when it finally came with this greatest hits package for them which became a massive hit in NZ this year. They never had that crossover success here in Australia, although the potential was there given the success of other bands and artists that incorporated Celtic music into their sound.
While this wasn’t as inescapable in NZ for Elton John in Australia, this was still a happy ending for him over there given how much worse off he was in their mainstream throughout the second half of the 80’s. In fact, were it not for “Nikita” becoming one of his biggest hits over there, he might as well have fallen off the face of the earth prior to when this album became a success for him this year.
Whereas I had to bend the rules to allow this on the Australian side of my site, this was able to make the list proper on this side of my site due to how much the kiwis loved this second album from Joe Satriani back in the day. This was such a success over there that his debut from two years prior recharted and eventually became a success this year.
It seems odd that Living colour would have such a massive hit with this album in NZ only for it to be a huge flop here in Australia, I bring this up because their second album was decently successful here in Australia due to the success of “Love rears its ugly” head and yet was a massive flop for the band in NZ. I guess you can say they’re a one album wonder with a different album in each country.
For whatever reason, this album didn’t catch on in NZ when it found its international breakthrough from the previous year, meaning that it was possible that the duo would be a one hit wonder with their breakthrough single “The look” over there despite their international success. Their fortunes changed when their contribution to the Pretty woman soundtrack boosted this album’s success over there this year.
You’d think that this would’ve been inescapably popular in Margaret’s homeland given how much more successful it was here in Australia when it eventually crossed over here, sadly you’d be wrong as while the lead single was a massive success upon its initial release, the same can’t be said for the album which only lingered around the lower half of their charts for half the time it charted over here.
This had a slow rise to its success in NZ as the lead single sadly bombed over there upon its initial release the previous year, fortunately the second single became a surprise hit for Tom Petty over there which allowed it to rise up the charts at the start of the 90’s. Sadly this would be the final success that he would have outside his native America as the rest of the decade wasn’t kind to him internationally.
Much like here in Australia, this was the only notable success that Motley Crue had in NZ given how this managed to benefit from the rise of hair metal that permeated the last stretch of the 80’s and the first stretch of the 90’s worldwide. It’s a bit of a shame that none of their other albums managed to make it big in the southern hemisphere especially considering how they arguably pioneered the genre in their native America.
Cliff Richard was off to a good start for the 90’s in NZ when this became a hit for him over there, this looked like it would make him a household name for the fourth decade in a row which to be fair he absolutely was in his native UK. That wasn’t quite the case internationally as he had diminishing returns moving forward from here.
I’m a bit surprised that this was a bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for Billy Ocean, mainly because he saw way more success over here throughout his career than he did over there (even though this only covers his 80’s material and not his 70’s output.) I guess the kiwis making this a hit immediately upon its release is them atoning for not giving him the success he had internationally.
It seems weird that this album would bomb here in Australia given how The the managed to achieve massive success here with their previous album even if they never saw any success with any of their singles on our charts, this album’s success was inevitable in NZ given how the lead single managed to be their one and only hit over there due to its politically charged lyrics.
This could’ve very well been a permanent flop for Sam Brown in NZ given how the title track never became that big a hit over there, fortunately the second single reached the top ten which finally allowed the album to become a success for her much later than it was in Australia and her native UK over there.
Much like Tracy Chapman from earlier on this list, Melissa Etheridge was also able to score moderate success in NZ with her second album as the 80’s transitioned to the 90’s thanks to how popular her and the female singer/songwriter phenomenon was around this time. Unfortunately, this would be the last us Aussies and kiwis would hear from her as her subsequent follow ups flopped in the southern hemisphere.
Well, this album certainly took its sweet time in finding success in NZ, I’m guessing this was due to the album only being a hit here in Australia upon its initial release the previous year and the kiwis only checking this out once it spawned a second hit for her over here early in the new decade. To make up for this tardy release, her next album would be far more popular over there than it was over here.
This was a bit more of a success over in NZ than it was here in Australia for the Cure (as were multiple alternative albums on this very list) this is likely due to the surprise success of its second single in America which was their breakthrough on the Billboard charts for the British band.
It’s strange that the lead single to this debut album from Edie Brickel would underperform worldwide back in the day considering how well it’s endured on oldies stations to this day, although at least the album itself was a massive deal in NZ likely due to her being another entry into the female singer/songwriter camp that was experiencing quite a surge in popularity at the time over there.
They may have been a bit late to the party, however it appears the kiwis wound up being much bigger fans of the Tour of duty franchise than we Aussies were given how the third volume managed to be a massive success over there when it was a hit over here.
Although this struggled to match the success of their previous work in NZ, the fact that it finally gave Simple minds a chart topper in their homeland ensured that it would achieve at least some level of success with the kiwis back in the day. Alas their prospects in the 90’s over there were the same as they were internationally, namely that they were left behind in the 80’s.
Queen certainly had a much more successful decade in NZ than they did here in Australia, as such it only seems inevitable that their penultimate album with Freddie on lead vocals would prove to be more popular over there than it was over here even if it wasn’t that much more successful there like most of their work this decade was.
I guess the kiwis felt a bit icky in making this final album from Roy Orbison a hit this year, I can understand why given how it was only released after his passing despite it being completed before he died and only delayed due to it not having to compete with the Traveling wilburys album from earlier on this list. That said, this was still a huge hit for the 60’s crooner even if it wasn’t as big as it was here in Australia.
I would’ve been shocked if this live album from Pink Floyd was a flop over in NZ, in fact I’m kind of shocked it wasn’t more of a success over there than it was over here given how much the kiwis loved these guys even during their lowest points in their career compared to us Aussies.
Well, he may not have had that inescapable hit in NZ like he did here in Australia (at least on his own as his collaboration with Kylie Minogue was very big over there like it was over here) however that didn’t prevent the debut album from Jason Donovan from being a massive success over there which seemed to be a theme with albums produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman the more I think about it.
This was a success twice over in NZ, the first time was upon its initial release due to spawning two of the biggest hits of 1989 worldwide whilst the second was when the band released their second album as it rebounded on the charts over there due to the momentum they had. This curiously bombed here in Australia, likely because we Aussies felt it was a bit too ahead of its time unlike the rest of the world.
This was a sleeper hit for Texas in NZ like it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were also ready for the 90’s to begin as this feels like something that would’ve come out in the midpoint of that decade despite coming out at the end of the 80’s from the Scottish band. Admittedly the big hit it spawned here in Australia and their native UK wasn’t as such over there, making it slightly less successful overall.
Although Bananarama never had a single successful album in NZ, at least this greatest hits package managed to be a hit for them likely thanks to the drama that came from their (then) most recent album Wow which led to that album being a huge success here in Australia.
Well this is certainly a surprise, mainly because I really wasn’t expecting to feature one of the albums from this critically acclaimed band on this site. I guess having a number one hit over there was able to compel the kiwis to check out what else these guys had to offer during the final year of the 80’s.
This was another album that was a sleeper hit in NZ this year, although it’s worth noting that the Bangles had far less success over there than they did anywhere else in the world with this album due to its standout track failing to top their charts. Even so, their greatest hits package the following year was a decent success for them, so it’s not like the kiwis were opposed to hearing more material from them.
