Well I’ve looked over the Go-set charts on this site, time now to look at the biggest hits from the NZ Listener charts which was the organisation that covered the NZ music scene from the first half of the 70’s. Again I won’t be including commentary on here as the entries are somehow more generic than the ones that were big over here around this time (in addition to the NZ exclusives that I’m obviously unfamiliar with.)
This is the other big hit that the Drifters had in NZ, I told you it was different from the one they had here in Australia as the kiwis wanted to see what they were missing out on with this entry. Unfortunately, this is where their winning streak came to an end worldwide as the rest of the decade wasn’t kind to the RNB group of colour.
#8 for 1975
While it wasn’t quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, there’s no denying that this breakthrough single from Mac Davis was quite the success with the kiwis due to how long it lasted on their charts. Naturally they would make up for this seven years later when his other hit “It’s hard to be humble” became a bigger hit over there than it did over here.
#21 for 1972
#20 for 1973
Given how we’re going to look at several entries on this list that were follow ups to international one hit wonders, you’d think Jud Strunk would be in this elite club given how there’s about this track that screams novelty status like other true one hit wonders throughout history. Alas he’s still in the same bin with the likes of Lynn Anderson and Billy Swan.
#21 for 1973
From what I can gather, Space waltz was a glam rock band from NZ who scored their one and only hit with this track which became an instant chart topper for them in their homeland. They were a short-lived band likely due to forming right when glam rock had taken over and thus not being able to take full advantage of the genres surprisingly short shelf life in the mainstream.
#28 for 1974
Well, this is a surprise indeed, mainly because this was a complete failure on our charts here in Australia and yet it’s by far Cat Steven’s biggest hit over in NZ. Now don’t worry, both of his big hits over here were as such over there, meaning this single from Catch bull at four is far from his only appearance on this list.
#22 for 1973
This is the first of two entries from the NZ band the Creation, from what I can gather they were a garage rock band who were poised for great things in their career only for their popularity to fizzle out less than two years after this became a massive hit for them in their homeland.
#22 for 1972
Well, we had Hogsnort Rupert’s original band from earlier on this list, now we get to look at another novelty band from NZ in the form of Bulldog’s all-star goodtime band (I swear that name might be the worst I’ve featured yet on this site.) This won’t be their only appearance on this list as they managed to score a second hit in their homeland that qualified to be on here.
#23 for 1973
#29 for 1974
Whereas this was only a minor hit at best here in Australia for Queen, it was an instant hit for them over in NZ which set them up for massive success throughout the second half off the decade over there. Even though they had a stronger start with the kiwis to their career, they wound up being more loved by us Aussies in the long run.
#9 for 1975
This is the one hit that Paul Simon had here in Australia during the early 70’s given how we Aussies passed up the singles from his second solo album There goes rhyming Simon in favour of the album itself. I don’t know if his albums were a success over there like they were over here, however there’s a good chance they were given how the kiwis balanced out big albums with their singles.
#23 for 1972
I have no idea how on earth the kiwis came across the Peddlers as they were a British trio who found no success in their native UK, what I do know is that they managed to score a spot on this list due to how big this track was for them on the Listener charts in addition two have not one but two minors hits following this songs success over there.
#19 for 1970
There will only be two appearances from George Harrison on this list, although considering how much lower on this list this appears compared to the Australian equivalent, you’d think I’d forgotten all about the fourth member of the Beatles I’d yet to feature on this list. I guess the kiwis weren’t too interested in his spiritual journey like the rest of the world was.
#18 for 1971
Much like here in Australia, this was Gordon Lightfoot’s only major hit in NZ even though he had a minor hit with “If you could read my mind” over there which would go on to be more well known for the Stars on 54 version from 1998. He’s another artist I’d be curious to see how well he did with his albums over there given his success over here.
#30 for 1974
This was released between “Long cool woman” and “The air that I breathe” in the Hollies catalogue, I bring this up because it was only in NZ that they were able to achieve any success with this track even though they were on a winning streak throughout the rest of the world. They still have two more entries to come, neither of which saw any success outside of the Listener charts.
#24 for 1973
OK so slight correction from the Australian side of my side, it turns out Dave Mills was based here in Australia where he scored this mammoth hit on our charts before he moved over to South Africa to pursue the success he had over there, that explains how this was a huge hit in NZ months after it was as such on our charts.
#24 for 1972
Here’s the biggest hit that Craig Scott scored in his homeland that wasn’t an E.P, it continued his winning streak that his earlier entry had which lasted until 1974 where he was considered yesterday’s news by that point in time. I’d be curious to see how well his albums did during the first half of the decade in his homeland.
#19 for 1971
Given how this was a huge hit here in Australia for Hot chocolate, I would’ve been dumbstruck if it wasn’t the case in NZ seeing as though the kiwis love their RNB so much more than we Aussies do. Indeed, this was a much bigger hit over there than it was over here, meaning this set up their winning streak that carried out for the remainder of the decade in both countries.
#31 for 1974
At this point, Blue mink were four years into their career, and they were still able to find success with the kiwis even after their fellow Brits had given up on them by this point in time. It’s pointless to even bring up their Australian stats as we Aussies had completely abandoned them by this stage, although they had one more hit after this before the kiwis did the same.
#25 for 1973
From what I can gather, Les Humphries singers (what is that band name?) were a German band who found little success in the world save for this track that became a hit throughout Europe and NZ of all places. I guess the kiwis still had love for gospel music this far into the decade that we Aussies and the Brits didn’t.
#26 for 1973
Much like the Australian equivalent of this list, Cher only has two entries on here with this being her first despite “Half breed” actually getting to number one on the Listener charts when this failed to do so. Both songs explore her native American heritage which clearly connected with audiences back in the day, although this one’s has more of a life as an oldie classic than her other hit.
#20 for 1971
#25 for 1972
Whereas Wayne Newton was the person to make this song popular worldwide, it was originally a hit for Daniel Boone in NZ where it became such a hit that it set himself up for the success he achieved throughout the first half of the decade over there. This means that the international version went unheard of in NZ.
#26 for 1972
Whereas these girls only had this one entry on the Australian side of my site, this is the first of two entries from them as they had a hit prior to this in NZ that allowed the kiwis to make this a hit which later convinced us Aussies to make it a hit as well. This is all despite the fact that they were completely ignored by their fellow Americans given how they barely charted on Billboard.
#21 for 1971
Much like here in Australia, these guys were called the English Congregation in NZ to avoid confusion with Mike Curb’s earlier entry on this list. It appears the kiwis were interested in what both Congregations had to offer as both of them proved to be chart toppers on the Listener charts when they both failed to crack the top ten here in Australia.
#27 for 1972
It’s been a while since we looked at these two on this list, so here we are with one of their more iconic tracks due to how well it did for them in the UK of all places. This feels like a much better position for it on this list compared to the Australian list where it did considerably worse in the rankings, presumably because we Aussies passed it up in favour of making the album a hit for them.
#27 for 1973
Here’s that third hit that Paper lace achieved in NZ, it was quite the hit for the novelty band to the point where it only did slightly worse over there than their debut single from earlier. They had one more charting single with “Hitching a ride” before they faded into obscurity, which is still two more songs that charted over there than the rest of the world.
#32 for 1974
This is the only entry from America on this list, although at least they had a couple of minor hits in NZ during the first half of the decade which suggests the kiwis were at least interested in what else they had to offer as opposed to us Aussies who clearly weren’t. Admittedly I’d be curious to see how well they did with their albums over there.
#28 for 1972
We’re two entries in and we haven’t gotten to Tony Christie’s other big hit here in Australia (don’t worry it’s still to come) instead we’re looking at a song he wrote for a TV series known as the Protectors, which makes its failure in his native UK all the more puzzling as you’d think this would be a shoe in for success over there.
#28 for 1973
Was there any doubt this song was eligible for this list? Admittedly it’s one of the final hippy tracks to become a hit worldwide given how this is a carryover from the 60’s, however there’s no denying the kiwis were in love with this track just like the rest of the world was. They even gave Shocking blue a second minor hit over there in the form of “Mighty Joe.”
#20 for 1970
You knew there would be a hit single to cash in off Woodstock from back in the day, here we are with that hit single from British band Matthews southern comfort (what a weird name) which became a huge hit for them in NZ and their native UK. As this had novelty written all over it, they had no chance of scoring a second hit in either country.
#21 for 1970
#22 for 1971
There will be three entries from this RNB group of colour on this list, this was their biggest hit in NZ given how it was their biggest hit internationally in their catalogue. I should point out that “You are my everything” won’t be appearing on this list as that wasn’t released as a single over in NZ (at least from what I can gather.)
#33 for 1974
One of the biggest British sitcoms of the 70’s was Dad’s army, a show that details the struggles the British army went through during the second world war which has some detractors (mainly those who found the premise in poor taste) but is otherwise well regarded even to this day. One of its stars Clive Dunn released this novelty track to cash in on his newfound success which was a big hit in NZ and his native UK.
#23 for 1971
You may remember seeing Shona Laing on my 1987 lists on both sides of this site given how she was one of the last success stories Countdown had before the demise of that show, it turns out that she had success in her homeland fourteen years prior as a child star with her debut single which was a huge hit for her among her fellow kiwis. She still has two entries to come on this list for what it’s worth.
#29 for 1973
For the most part, Christian music wasn’t as inescapable in NZ as it was here in Australia during the first stretch of the decade. One of the rare exceptions to this rule was this one and only hit from Ocean which managed to do far better on the Listener charts than it did on our charts. Sadly, it was their only hit over there just like it was internationally.
#24 for 1971
Whereas there were only four appearances from these guys on the Australian equivalent of this list, there’ll be five appearances from them with one of their entries on the Australian side of my site not accounted for on this list. This should give you an idea of how big this sequel band to the Seekers were in NZ following the temporary demise of the genuine article.
#22 for 1970
#25 for 1971
Whereas this was the only appearance that Albert Hammond had on the Australian side of my site, this will be the first of three entries from the prolific singer/songwriter on this list. Again, I’m not sure why the kiwis loved this guy so much when the rest of the world gave up on him after his one and only hit, but they kept him around for quite some time.
#30 for 1973
This was a carryover from the 60’s in most parts of the world, heck it only makes the cut for this list due to it sticking around for quite some time during the early months of the decade even though it had fallen off the charts everywhere in the world by the time the decade had begun. This was a huge hit for Oliver here in Australia in 1969, meaning it wasn’t a hit exclusively in NZ.
#23 for 1970
Whereas Simon and Garfunkel managed to achieve at least one other hit after this title track to their final album throughout most parts of the world, such wasn’t the case in NZ as the best they could do on the Listener charts after this was “El condor Pasa” briefly charting following its success. Much like the rest of the world, they were inescapable over there throughout the 60’s.
#24 for 1970
So apparently there was a show from 1969 called HR Pufnstuf that got its own theatrical film in 1970. From what I can gather, the theme song of the film managed to chart on the Listener charts for quite some time despite it never being released as a single, as such I have to assume the E.P from the film is what became a hit and not the theme song.
#25 for 1970
This is another carryover from the 60’s on this list, this time it’s the final chart topper Elvis had in most parts of the world given how the 70’s weren’t too kind to him for the most part. That said, he does have a couple of entries to come on this list given how the kiwis were kinder to him than his fellow Americans this decade.
#26 for 1970
This is another song that charted twice on the Listener charts as it inexplicably came back several months after its initial run over there just like “Raindrops keep falling on my head” and “I think I love you” did. Again, it was close enough for me to consider it its initial run and thus I decided to include both runs as one on this ranking.
#29 for 1972
If we’re going by chart runs, this was the best Olivia Newton John could do over in NZ even though this wasn’t her highest charting single on the Listener charts. Not that it really mattered given how inescapable she was here in Australia, but this is the song that put her on the map in America coincidentally enough.
#34 for 1974
This was a near miss for the Australian side of my site even though we Aussies were clearly on board with making disco the next big thing as we saw on the Australian equivalent of this list. Fortunately, this was a big hit for the Hues corporation in NZ given its placement on here, although they would continue to have success over there well into RIANZ run even after their fellow Americans gave up on them.
#35 for 1974
Given how much kinder the kiwis have been to British artists compared to us Aussies, it makes sense that Wizzard would find more success in NZ than they did here in Australia even if several of the members would go on to see much more success here in Australia as ELO than they did in NZ. For what it’s worth, they have another entry to come later down this list.
#31 for 1973
Well, this is interesting, we have not one but two covers from the Who smashed together as one single from the New seekers on this list. Naturally their fellow Brits weren’t too interested in making this a hit as this bombed in their native UK, however the kiwis were open to making this a success likely due to how much Tommy had become a phenomenon by this point in time.
#32 for 1973
Well, this is awkward, mainly because we have an Australian band who failed to scorer any success here appearing on this list with the first of two entries. That’s right, they had two hits in NZ even though they saw no success among their fellow Aussies. The reason is simple; they were based in the UK when their career took off.
#30 for 1972
Eric Clapton may have only one solo entry on this list; however, he now has two appearances given how this iconic track managed to be a hit for his band Derek and the Dominos in NZ where it was a huge failure for him here in Australia. I actually have no idea why this bombed here given A: how big it was internationally and B: how it remains a staple on oldies stations to this day.
#31 for 1972
I told you there would be a second entry from these three, here we are with their debut single which became a massive success for them in NZ despite the complete failure it was in their native America. It was the kiwis that gave them any form of success which of course led to their earlier entry finding success here in Australia when that also took off in NZ.
#26 for 1971
And the hits keep on coming from Craig Scott on this list as we have another entry from him that was a massive success in his homeland, this one actually coming out between his two earlier entries along with another later entry on his list, proving just how consistent he was during the height of his popularity.
#27 for 1971
We have the first of two reappearances from Cat Stevens on this list given how both of the big hits he had in Australia were as such in NZ, this was the bigger of the two mainly due to it charting outside of the Christmas period as opposed to his other big hit which began charting during the Christmas season and thus didn’t rack up the points to outrank this entry.
#32 for 1972
Admittedly I shouldn’t be placing these two together as they did chart separately on the Listener charts, however I decided to do just that because for one week, they charted together before being counted separately the following week. In any case, this entry is for “Candle in the wind’s” chart run given how that was the A-side everywhere except for America.
#36 for 1974
This will be Mary Hopkin’s only appearance on this list, although she did have two other hits this decade in NZ including her other appearance on the Australian side of my site which was “Temma harbour.” You’d think this would’ve done even better over there given how there was no (in my opinion) inferior cover over there like there was over here to eat up its success.
#27 for 1970
And the surprises keep on coming as we now have a song from Paul Simon that’s an actual product advertisement for the Kodachrome brand that Kodak used to make (it’s basically a type of polaroid for the uninitiated.) It was a huge hit for him in NZ due to the kiwis having no issues with its status as an ad jingle like we Aussies clearly did.
#33 for 1973
Well this list would be incomplete if we didn’t have the other big hit that Michael Nesmith had here in Australia be as such in NZ, again this proved to be much bigger over there than it was over here (according to Listener that is) meaning that each of his entries were more popular with the kiwis than they were with us Aussies back in the day.
#28 for 1971
Much like on the Australian side of this site, there will be two entries from Melanie Safka on this list even if her second appearance will be different from the one she had on the Australian equivalent of this list. At least us Aussies and kiwis could agree upon her biggest hit given how this was a chart topper for her in both countries even if it was less popular over there than it was over here.
#33 for 1972
Given how Stamford bridge was a massive failure in their native UK, I have to wonder how the kiwis came across this track of theirs at the start of the decade to then make it a huge hit on the Listener charts. They had a second minor hit with “World of fantasy” before they gave up on these guys which eventually led to their breakup.
#28 for 1970
#29 for 1971
It appears Australia and NZ are the only two places in the world where George Harrison was able to score a second single from his breakthrough album All things must pass, again I’d be curious to see how well the album did in NZ given how inescapable it was internationally. This is his final entry on this list, although he would have a minor hit with “Give me love” two years after its release.
#30 for 1971
There’s a misconception that Olivia Newton John is a born and bred Australian artist due to her claiming to be as such, while it’s true she toured here as a teenager before her career took off, she was always from the UK as evidence by the fact her big breakthrough single was released the same time regardless of where in the world you’re from. It’s only because this was most successful here in Australia that she decided to move here and claim to be an Aussie.
#31 for 1971
#34 for 1972
This was the only international hit that Petters and Lee managed to achieve, it consists of a platonic duo Lennie Peters and Diane Lee (who have an age gap wide enough to be father and daughter even though they’re not related.) This was easily one of the biggest hits of the decade in their native UK, meaning that it’s less surprising it was a hit in NZ and more surprising it wasn’t here in Australia.
#34 for 1973
It took forever for me to find out who on earth Billy Sans is, it turns out he’s a NZ artist who scored his one and only hit with this gem before fading into obscurity on the charts. There was international spark from how well this did in his homeland, however that didn’t lead to anything due to how it failed to become a hit here in Australia.
#37 for 1974
There will only be four appearances from Livie on this list with this being her third appearance so far, it’s worth noting that she didn’t have a chart topper in NZ until her appearance on Grease which leaves me to assume the kiwis felt her being a country star wasn’t showcasing her full potential even while her country catalogue was unfolding.
#38 for 1974
This is the only hit that Freda Payne had in NZ as was the case here in Australia, I feel this is a bit ahead of its time given how this sounds like a disco track even though the genre wouldn’t become mainstream until much later in the decade. This appears to be the case for her everywhere else in the world as she’s the rare international one hit wonder.
#32 for 1971
Here we are with the other big hit that Tony Christie had here in Australia back in the day, although curiously it wouldn’t become as such in his native UK until 2005 when he rerecorded it as a charity single for Comic relief that year. I’m guessing the BBC noticed how well this did in the southern hemisphere and decided to give it another chance to succeed which it did that year.
#35 for 1972
This is the most recent entry on this list from Wings given how their next hit was “Listen to what the man said” which of course was a massive hit on the RIANZ charts for them. It’s worth pointing out that although they saw more success in NZ overall compared to Australia, it wasn’t the case initially given how we’re still yet to feature their earliest entries on this list.
#10 for 1975
If we didn’t already look at entries from these guys on my yearly lists from this side of my site, you’d probably be surprised that we’re looking at a song of theirs from 1975 on this list, wouldn’t you? The rest of the world were well and truly done with these guys by the time this came out, yet the kiwis managed to make it one of the bigger hits from the first half of the decade.
#11 for 1975
If you can believe it, Sweet began their career not as a glam rock band, but rather a post hippy act who released songs like this which sound more in line with kids’ music than the glam rock they’d be known for later in the decade. I heard a rumour this was a diss track towards Prince Phillip, however that was unsubstantiated, although this was later used to humiliate Bill Clinton when he was president.
#36 for 1972
Not to be confused with her Bond theme “The man with the golden gun,” this instead was a glam rock track from Lulu she released shortly after her Bond theme that became a massive hit for her in NZ and her native UK. She had a string of hits in both countries throughout the 60’s, meaning this was a bit of a mini comeback for her among the kiwis and her fellow Brits.
#39 for 1974
Here we are with the final entry from Dawn with a song title so cheesy that it makes me forever grateful that I present each entry with the album art and thus don’t have to type them out. Naturally this was a big hit over there due to its overwhelming success worldwide thanks to their earlier entries on this list.
#35 for 1973
It really is surprising to me what was a massive hit in both countries in the southern hemisphere given how this needed two attempts to appear on this list despite it being easily on of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia for the Partridge family. Given the absence of the rest of their singles as well as lead singer David Cassidy, I think it’s safe to say the kiwis weren’t big fans of the fictitious family band.
#33 for 1971
This was the debut single from the Sweet, if you can believe it, it was more in line with the hippy movement than their previous entry was. This is their final entry on this list which tallies it out to four, although they had plenty of other minor hits that I could’ve considered had I decided to expand on this list.
#34 for 1971
This is the first of four entries to come from Badfinger, I feel like this should be even higher as the charts during its run were rather chaotic which obviously hindered its presence on this list. Even so, it still manages to outperform the other songs from their catalogue which is more than I can say for its placement on the Australian side of my site.
#29 for 1970
We have another entry on this list that’s way too low given how it was still on the charts when the Listener charts went defunct in favour of the RIANZ charts. Indeed, this went on to find great success on the latter format as we already saw in my 1975 list, proving that these two charts were accurate in determining what were the most popular songs in NZ at any given moment.
#12 for 1975
Even though this went to number one in NZ as opposed to being a mere top five hit here in Australia, it appears this plea for peace from radio DJ Les Crane proved to be equally successful in both countries upon its release. This is more than I can say for how well it did in his native America where this did considerably worse on the Billboard charts.
#37 for 1972
Here we are with the third entry from the New seekers as well as their second returning entry from the Australian side of my site, it appears the kiwis weren’t as annoyed as we Aussies were that this was originally written as a commercial jingle for coca cola given how it went to number one over there as opposed to being a mere top ten hit here.
#38 for 1972
Whereas this was a massive chart topper for Helen Reddy here in Australia, it was only a huge hit for her in NZ suggesting that patriotism played a role in making for out of five of her entries on the Australian side of my site so big in her home. That doesn’t mean this was unpopular as it does come in comfortably on this list.
#40 for 1974
Here’s the other big hit that this military unit had over in NZ, it did chart here in Australia so it’s not like we Aussies didn’t know about this track from Royal Scots dragoon guards. I bring this up because this went completely ignored in their native UK, likely due to their fellow Brits only being able to stomach one instrumental hit from them.
#39 for 1972
We haven’t had a lot of novelty songs on this list (or rather, nowhere near as much as you’d think for the 70’d) here’s an entry from the Pipkins who managed to score a huge hit not just in NZ but throughout the world at the start of the decade despite (or perhaps because) sounding like it belongs in some sort of commercial jingle.
#30 for 1970
Here we are with the third big hit that Cat Stevens had over in NZ, it turns out that he was an example of an artist who found more success with each song he releases on these charts which I don’t think I can think of another off the top of my head. He even had two minor hits off Buddha and the chocolate box over there which we sadly won’t be looking at.
#40 for 1972
Five out of six of CCR’s entries on the Australin side of my site will be accounted for on this list, although as you’ve noticed, only their earlier entry managed to find the same level of success over there that these next four entries found over here back in the day. I don’t know what happened at the start of the decade for these guys to be so inescapable down under, but that’s how it unfolded.
#31 for 1970
We have two entries from Led zeppelin on this list, this being a new entry from them on this site given how it failed to become a hit here in Australia for whatever reason. They had three hits all up on the Listener charts, however one of them was too weak to appear on this list.
#35 for 1971
This is the other big hit that the Creation had in their homeland, although it wasn’t as big a hit as their earlier entry on this list, it nonetheless managed to become a sleeper hit here in Australia given how it appeared on our year end list for 1974. Unfortunately, this is the final taste of success these guys had in either country as they would break up not long after this.
#36 for 1973
It took us a while, but we’ve finally made it to the other big hit that David Bowie had during the first half of the decade in NZ. In a bit of a bizarre twist, his other hit is with a song that was also originally released in the 60’s just like “Space oddity,” meaning this was the song that got the kiwis to look back at and not the moon landing anthem we Aussies and Americans looked at.
#37 for 1973
Here’s the other big hit that New world had in NZ, although had it stuck around a little while longer, I would’ve also included “Kara kara” on this list as that did peak pretty high on the Listener charts for the Australian band. Unless you count Olivia Newton John as an Aussie, this would make them the biggest Australian act of the decade in NZ.
#36 for 1971
Oh, wow how has it taken me this long to feature Rod Stewart on this list? Indeed, both of his appearances on the Australian equivalent of this list will be accounted for here even if this wasn’t nearly as successful in NZ as it was internationally. Seriously this went from being one of the biggest hits of the decade to barely cracking the top 200 of this list.
#37 for 1971
This was another artist that was surprisingly hard to do research on, however from what I can gather, David Curtis was a child star who scored the first of two hits in his homeland with this song about the TV show of the same name. He was thirteen years old when this came out, making him the youngest person on this list by a mile.
#32 for 1970
Here’s the other big hit that Edison Lighthouse had in NZ, it has some of the ickier lyrics on this list which perhaps explains its complete failure in their native UK. Indeed, this may have gotten them out of the one hit wonder bin on the Listener charts, but it failed to do so anywhere else in the world.
#33 for 1970
Well, this is a downgrade if I’ve ever seen one, we have the one and only hit from Miguel Rios which went from being easily one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia to a mere decent hit over in NZ. I guess the kiwis found this a tad too cheesy to make it any bigger than it ultimately was.
#34 for 1970
Here we have the second appearance from Badfinger on this list, I get the feeling their earlier entry was more successful but wasn’t able to show that due to how chaotic the Listener charts were during the start of the decade. Unlike the rest of the world where this was their final hit, they had one more after this which we’ll get to later down this list.
#41 for 1972
For the most part, Wings had more success in NZ than they did here in Australia. That wasn’t the case initially as their first hit was way less popular over there than it was over here despite it being the lead single to their first album with Paul as their lead singer. Again, I would be fascinated to see how well their album did over there.
#38 for 1973
Here we are with our third appearance from CCR on this list, this one being the first song they released this decade even though it’s not their oldest entry on this list. I have to assume the Australian charts counted the success of B-sides back in the day as that’s the only explanation I have for why these guys were so inescapable here compared to everywhere else in the world.
#35 for 1970
This is the second of four appearances that Gilbert O’Sullivan has on this list, this of course being his biggest hit in Australia and America despite it not being as such in his native UK. I guess the kiwis were following the Brits lead as this was a huge hit in his homeland, just not to the crazy levels it was internationally.
#42 for 1972
We have our third entry from Blue mink on this list as well as their sole hit they had here in Australia, they were certainly off to a good start when this became a worldwide hit at the start of the decade even if their top entry on this list was the only other hit they had in most parts of the world including their native UK.
#36 for 1970
This proved to be an even bigger hit for Daddy Dewdrop in NZ than it was here in Australia, likely due to the kiwis being more open to novelty tracks than we Aussies were given how I still find it hard to believe this was a real song and not some commercial jingle used in a meme worthy ad.
#38 for 1971
This is one of the more recent entries on this list given how this became a success in NZ just as the Listener charts were winding down, although you’d think Barry Manilow’s success would carry over to the RIANZ charts given how he had such as strong start to his career over there. Alas he would only have one other hit in the form of “Can’t smile without you.”
#13 for 1975
Here’s the other collaboration Donny and Marie made with each other; this brings the total number of collaborations they had on this site up to three which is about three more entries they have on this side of my site compared to the Australian side. Let’s just say we Aussies weren’t feeling the family vibes on these tracks.
#14 for 1975
Whereas this barely made the cut for the Australian equivalent of this list, in NZ this was a much bigger hit for the Fortunes likely due to how popular it was in their native UK. They did have a minor hit with “Storm in a teacup” on the Listener charts, however it was too minor to appear on this list.
#39 for 1971
Whereas these guys only had one hit here in Australia, they managed to score three with their appearance on the Australian side of this site being their weakest entry on this list. This is their most recent hit in NZ and their native UK as both countries got tired of their brand of bubble gum pop rather quick despite having such a huge initial splash in the mainstream.
#43 for 1972
Much like in America, this was the best the brothers Gibb could do in NZ during the first half of the decade even though they saw tons of success in the 60’s on the Listener charts. Unlike in America, this wasn’t a chart topper for them, meaning that they were going by the motions from their time as part of a bigger band to when they became the kings of disco.
#40 for 1971
It’s been a hot minute since we last looked at these guys, here they are with their second and final hit from their homeland which may not have done as well as their earlier entry but regardless was a massive hit for them at a time where local artists weren’t doing so well in NZ.
#44 for 1972
For the most part, the Carpenters saw way less success in NZ than they did here in Australia during the Listener charts run. The only two exceptions being how much bigger “Yesterday once more” was over there and them scoring a hit with this track over there even though it was a massive failure for them here in Australia.
#39 for 1973
There haven’t been a lot of male country stars from this far back on my site, let’s fix that by featuring this one and only hit from country singer Tommy Overstreet who somehow managed to score a huge hit in NZ despite it being a complete failure on the Billboard charts. This was a trend we looked at on the Australian side of my site were Americans ignored country singers that we Aussies made a household name.
#41 for 1971
Much like here in Australia, this was the only hit that Waldo De Los Rios had in NZ likely due to the novelty of him bringing classical music to a (then) modern audience. It wasn’t as big over there as it was over here for the Argentinian pop crooner; however, its success was notable regardless.
#42 for 1971
Hits of Australia and NZ 