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 only hit that British band St Cecelia had anywhere in the world, even then it was only a hit in NZ likely due to the fact the kiwis were the only people in the world that could get into the songs bizarre premise. I mean you just got to read the title of the song and know that it’s a novelty track to understand why nobody else was interested in this song.
#66 for 1971
We have a second appearance from Dutch band Mouth and MacNeal on this list, this time it’s their second single which connected with the kiwis following the success they had with their earlier entry on this list. They had one more charting single over there with “I see a star” before they called it quits.
#63 for 1972
This is the other big entry that the 5th dimension had in NZ, it was an exclusive release over there which explains why it didn’t chart here in Australia despite them scoring a massive hit over there with “Last night” a year after this became a hit for them on the Listener charts. It makes you wonder why that song didn’t even chart over there despite its international success.
#67 for 1971
This is the only other entry from the Partridge family on this list as the rest of their catalogue didn’t connect with the kiwis despite it at least charting over there. Indeed, this came after their hype died out in their homeland and was likely only a hit in NZ due to how big it was here in Australia for the fictitious band.
#64 for 1972
Oh, you thought these guys earlier entry on this list would be their only appearance on here, didn’t you? It turns out they managed to connect with the kiwis early on in their career as they were able to tap into the Christian rock trends of the day which was still lingering around on the Listener charts when this became a surprise hit for them over there.
#60 for 1973
I guess we Aussies passed up this debut single from Alice Cooper in favour of making the album a huge success here back in the day, I’m not sure if the opposite is true in NZ as I don’t have album figures for the early 70’s to verify, however I do know that his managed to be a huge hit for him over there according to the Listener charts which makes it eligible for this list.
#65 for 1972
We have out final entry from Gilbert O’suliivan on this list, I’m actually surprised this did worse in NZ than it did here in Australia given how well his other entries have done on this list. I guess you can chalk this up to overexposure given how only in his native UK was he still going strong with this entry this far into his career.
#61 for 1973
Well would you look at this? We finally have easily one of the most recognisable songs not just of the 70’s but of all time on this site of mine. It’s less surprising this was a hit in NZ and more that it bombed here in Australia, although I guess these guys were inescapable with their albums which makes me very curious as to how well those did in NZ.
#62 for 1973
It shouldn’t have been so hard for me to do research on this one and only hit from South African singer Jessica Jones, however thanks to Marvel, you’re likely to find results for the superhero rather than this person even though she did decently well in her homeland as well as on the NZ charts. She had another charting single with “Wake up wake up” to prove that there was interest in her music with the kiwis.
#58 for 1974
This was the other hit that Melanie had in NZ, I told you it wouldn’t be her other big hit she had here in Australia given how the kiwis completely ignored “Lay down” in favour of this track. “Lay down” didn’t even chart on the Listener charts, meaning that this was likely their introduction to her music despite how well it and the album of the same name did here in Australia for her.
#68 for 1971
Here’s the third and final entry from Paul McCartney without Wings on this list, although we have another appearance from his wife Linda on here meaning everything he released following the breakup of the fab four had her presence on each single. It looks like NZ was the only place in the world where the couple scored more than one hit off their album Ram.
#68 for 1971
This is the third and final hit that Bunny Walters had in his homeland, it wasn’t nearly as big as the two earlier entries on this list even though it still comfortably makes it onto this list, proving that his fellow kiwis did have love for his music even if it dwindled as time went on.
#59 for 1974
We looked at one of Suzanne’s hits already on this site as her cover of “You really got a hold on me” managed to become a big hit in her homeland later in the decade. Here she is with one of the earlier entries in her catalogue that proved to be the biggest due to how long it lasted on the Listener charts, although she had several other minor hits including some that out peaked this entry.
#66 for 1972
This is the third and final entry from Shona Laing on this list, she actually had a pretty good run as a child star even if it meant that she would remain a novelty act until her miraculous 1987 comeback. I wonder how many of us Aussies even realised she had a career in her homeland prior to her appearance on Countdown during its final days.
#63 for 1973
It only seems fitting we finally feature an entry from Art Garfunkel on this site that has no affiliation to his partner in crime Paul Simon or the children’s classic Watership down, here we are with the lead single to his solo debut which did pretty well over in NZ as well as his native America even if we Aussies passed it up in favour of the album itself.
#60 for 1974
We have one final entry from Eurovision on this list; this time it’s the song that beat Mary Hopkins earlier entry on this list to as the winner of Eurovision 1970 from Irish singer Dana. Naturally this was a massive hit in the UK for her and even crossed over to NZ where the kiwis seemed to be more receptive to Eurovision entries than we Aussies were.
#56 for 1970
This is the final appearance from Tony Christie on this list; this is his second most recent entry after “Happy birthday baby” from earlier to give you an idea of how overexposed the kiwis must have felt he was back in the day. Again, I don’t know how on earth he did so well over there considering his lack of success in his native UK.
#64 for 1973
This is another song from the 60’s that was late to the party in NZ, although this time it only came a few weeks after it took off here in Australia given how this track managed to peak in the first few weeks of the decade on our charts and thus be eligible to appear on that side of my site. This was R.B Greaves only success regardless of where in the world you’re from.
#57 for 1970
This is the only other entry from Elvis Presley on this list, although he did have a minor hit on the Listener charts with “Don’t cry daddy” at the start of the decade following the success of his earlier entry. He may have lucked out with the kiwis on the Listener charts, however at least they came back for him for his final album just before he died.
#67 for 1972
You’d think Stevie Wonder would’ve done even better in NZ than he did here in Australia given how the kiwis were far kinder to RNB than we Aussies were back in the day, alas this is his only appearance on this list which is one appearance fewer than what he had on the Australia side of my site. For what it’s worth, he did have other charting singles on the Listener charts.
#65 for 1973
This guy managed to make an appearance on the Australian side of my site with “My girl bill,” so I guess it’s fitting he would have his big hit over in NZ be something else which was this track that from what I can father was only a hit over there. I’m not sure how the kiwis came across this when it bombed in his native America, but they did.
#66 for 1973
Oh wow did this track from the Carpenters heavily suffer in the ranking on this side of my site compared to how well it did here in Australia, indeed this was only a decent hit at best for the duo on the Listener charts likely because the kiwis did a slightly better job at spreading out the success these guys had throughout their discography than us Aussies.
#69 for 1972
Oh look, another Eurovision song to feature on this list, this time it’s from English singer Clodagh Rodgers (who I thought would be a man judging by her name) who didn’t win the 1971 Eurovision with this track but nonetheless saw massive worldwide success with it following her appearance on the show. She had a couple of hits in her native UK during the final months of the 60’s.
#69 for 1971
Here’s the other entry from Led Zeppelin on this list, what you thought it was going to be “Whole lotta love” didn’t you? Yes, that song was a minor hit for them at the start of the decade, however this was the other big hit they had during the peak of their popularity even though it’s still not with their iconic track “Stairway to heaven.”
(this is Led zeppelin “Black dog)
#68 for 1972
This proved to be so much less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia and the Strawbs native UK, I guess the kiwis weren’t as on board with this union anthem as we Aussies and Brits were even if they made it enough of a hit for it to appear on this side of my site.
#67 for 1973
This is the final entry from the Hollies on this list; this is another miss they had everywhere in the world except for NZ likely due to that ridiculous song title the band gave this track. Their next chronological hit was their top entry on this list, meaning you can argue the kiwis kept their popularity alive so that they can have a worldwide comeback.
#68 for 1973
This is the only hit that Andy Kim had anywhere in the world, although given how it was a massive Billboard chart topper for the former frontman of the Archies, I’m actually somewhat surprised it wasn’t a hit here in Australia for the pop crooner. Indeed, it needed two attempts to become a hit over in NZ, likely because the kiwis were torn in making it a success.
#61 for 1974
Here’s the final entry from Middle of the road on this list, it’s been a while since we looked at them given how this had to compete with Lally Stott’s original version in NZ just like it did here in Australia back in the day. The difference of course is that the kiwis weren’t that impressed with either version and thus neither saw the same level of success they did on our charts.
#70 for 1971
This is the final entry from Badfinger on this list, they actually did quite well for themselves in NZ given how they not only have a fourth entry on here but the fact that their earlier three entries did better over there than they did here in Australia. It appears they had four out of four hits on the Listener charts since no other song of theirs charts on it.
#70 for 1972
This is our final entry from the Carpenters on this list; I guess overall they had more success ni NZ than they did here in Australia given how they had two more hits on the Listener charts than they did on ours in addition to a minor hit with “Sing.” The trade-off of course is that except for “Yesterday once more” and possibly “Please Mr postman,” none of their returning songs did as well over there as they did over here.
#71 for 1972
Now this is embarrassing, not because it was a bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for Tin Tin because it wasn’t, but rather because it was released on time for the Australian duo in NZ as opposed to being heavily delayed back home as we saw on the Australian side of this site. Regardless of when this became a hit, it was their only hit anywhere in the world.
#58 for 1970
Dolly may not have had as much success in NZ as she did here in Australia, although at the least the kiwis can take comfort in the fact that her breakthrough single was a hit over there where it was a massive flop over here for her. This song of course remains her signature track even to this day despite the success she would have throughout the 80’s with her later material.
#62 for 1974
This is the one and only hit from Frankie Stevens, this is the older brother of Jon Stevens who would embark on his own career at the other end of the decade and eventually become the front man of Noiseworks here in Australia. Frankie also fancied himself a teen idol just like his younger brother eventually would, although he didn’t join a rock band when he failed to score a second hit after this.
#59 for 1970
This is the final entry from Three dog night on this list; it was another easy hit they had over in NZ even though it also failed to become a hit for them here in Australia just like every other entry on this list. Like I said earlier, they didn’t have much success after their biggest entry over there due to over exposure.
#69 for 1973
This is the other appearance from Tom Jones on this list; it’s a bit of a comeback for him on the Listener charts given how he had a bit of a quiet period during the final stretch of the 60’s in NZ that wasn’t the case here in Australia. This makes the tracks failure here in Australia all the more puzzling given how it only charted on the lower half of our charts.
#60 for 1970
This is the final entry from Bread on this list as they struggled for success with the other songs from their catalogue, although at least they had some close calls to appear on this list including “Sweet surrender” which has no relation to the Wet wet wet song that became a hit here in Australia in 1990.
#72 for 1972
Whereas this was an easy shoe in for the Australian side of this site, it appears the kiwis were only interested in what Donna Fargo had to offer due to this becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade over here. Indeed, it was released much later over there, didn’t do nearly as well as it did here, and she’s a one hit wonder to boot.
#70 for 1973
And the hits just keep on coming for the Doobie brothers on this list, although at least we only have the one Christian rock track from them to feature on here given how they quickly moved away from that genre once they realised the tides shifted against it throughout the rest of the world. I really want to know how well they did with their albums in NZ given their representation on this list.
#71 for 1973
This is the only hit that R Dean Taylor was able to have anywhere in the world, even then it was likely only a hit in NZ due to it being a hit in both America and the UK for the Canadian singer/songwriter given how it was a huge failure here in Australia for him. Can we just admire this album art? Seriously how did this hit the store shelves back in the day?
#61 for 1970
This is the only entry from T Rex on this list, although both “Ride a white swan” and “Metal guru” did come close to appearing on here as they were both minor hits of the Listener charts for the English band. I have a feeling these guys only became well known over there after the death of frontman Marc Bolan later in the decade.
#71 for 1971
Much like everywhere else in the world, this was Bobby Bloom’s only hit in NZ and even then, only barely as such given how low it appears on this list. It’s still unknown if his death was a suicide or accidental given how either scenario works out, either way his career and life was tragically cut short.
#62 for 1970
This is our third and final entry from the Stylistics on this list, again it’s with another new entry from the band on this site given how their other Australian hit didn’t even chart on the Listener charts and possibly wasn’t even released as a single over there. As we saw on this site, they would score further hits later in the decade on the RIANZ charts.
#72 for 1973
Much like here in Australia, this was a bit of a sleeper hit for John Denver on the NZ charts, although at least I can feature it on the site proper now given how it racked up enough points to appear on one of these lists. If you can believe it, this was his only hit on the Listener charts and it was right when they were beginning to wind down.
#20 for 1975
OK so I sort of lied that this wasn’t a hit in NZ as it was a sleeper hit on the NZ charts which I didn’t think there would be anything of the sort during this format. I guess it makes sense when you consider the fact that nobody knows how well these guys did in their initial breakthrough over there given the Listener charts launched in 1966 which was after the fact.
#73 for 1973
This is our final entry on this list; it comes to us from Stealers wheel who are best known for their hit “Stuck in the middle with you” thanks to its usage in the 1992 film Reservoir dogs. It appears the kiwis passed up on that classic in favour of this second single from their debut album as this was the big hit over there.
#63 for 1974
Hits of Australia and NZ 