Number One Singles in the 1980s – Australian Music presents every Number One hit single from 1980-1989. This page is a journey through time, revealing a decade of music that was hard to define and even harder to forget.
The highest selling singles in Australian as ranked on the Australian Singles Chart during the 1980s are listed below.
See also
2000 Singles 1990s Singles 1980s Singles 1970s Singles 1960s Singles 1950s Singles 1940s Singles
| 1989 | |
| Eternal Flame | The Bangles |
| If I Could Turn Back Time | Cher |
| If You Don’t Know Me by Now | Simply Red |
| I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) | The Proclaimers |
| Kokomo | The Beach Boys |
| Like a Prayer | Madonna |
| Living Years, The | Mike + The Mechanics |
| Look, The | Roxette |
| Love Shack | The B-52’s |
| Now You’re in Heaven | Julian Lennon |
| Right Here Waiting | Richard Marx |
| She Drives Me Crazy | Fine Young Cannibals |
| Swing the Mood | Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers |
| Teardrops | Womack & Womack |
| Tucker’s Daughter | Ian Moss |
| Wind Beneath My Wings | Bette Midler |
| You Got It (The Right Stuff) | New Kids on the Block |
| 1988 | |
| Age of Reason | John Farnham |
| A Groovy Kind of Love | Phil Collins |
| Desire | U2 |
| Don’t Worry, Be Happy | Bobby McFerrin |
| Faith | George Michael |
| Flame, The | Cheap Trick |
| Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car | Billy Ocean |
| Got My Mind Set on You | George Harrison |
| Got to Be Certain | Kylie Minogue |
| I Should Be So Lucky | Kylie Minogue |
| (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life | Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes |
| Kokomo | The Beach Boys |
| Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley |
| Perfect | Fairground Attraction |
| Simply Irresistible | Robert Palmer |
| What a Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong |
| 1987 | |
| Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room) | Paul Lekakis |
| Electric Blue | Icehouse |
| Funkytown | Pseudo Echo |
| He’s Gonna Step on You Again | The Party Boys |
| I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) | George Michael and Aretha Franklin |
| I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) | Whitney Houston |
| I Want to Wake Up with You | Boris Gardiner |
| La Bamba | Los Lobos |
| Loco-Motion, The | Kylie Minogue |
| Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley |
| Respectable | Mel and Kim |
| Slice of Heaven | Dave Dobbyn with Herbs |
| Too Much Ain’t Enough Love | Jimmy Barnes |
| Walk Like an Egyptian | The Bangles |
| You Keep Me Hangin’ On | Kim Wilde |
| 1986 | |
| Addicted to Love | Robert Palmer |
| A Good Heart | Feargal Sharkey |
| Chain Reaction | Diana Ross |
| Funkytown | Pseudo Echo |
| Greatest Love of All | Whitney Houston |
| Living Doll | Cliff Richard and The Young Ones |
| Papa Don’t Preach | Madonna |
| Species Deceases (EP) | Midnight Oil |
| That’s What Friends Are For | Dionne Warwick with Gladys Knight, Elton John & Stevie Wonder |
| Touch Me (I Want Your Body) | Samantha Fox |
| Venus | Bananarama |
| We Built This City | Starship |
| When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going | Billy Ocean |
| You’re the Voice | John Farnham |
| 1985 | |
| Angel / Into the Groove | Madonna |
| Crazy for You | Madonna |
| Dancing in the Street | Mick Jagger and David Bowie |
| Do They Know It’s Christmas? | Band Aid |
| I Got You Babe | UB40 with Chrissie Hynde |
| I Should Have Known Better | Jim Diamond |
| I Want to Know What Love Is | Foreigner |
| Like a Virgin | Madonna |
| One Night in Bangkok | Murray Head |
| Out of Mind, Out of Sight | Models |
| Power of Love, The | Jennifer Rush |
| Shout | Tears for Fears |
| Take on Me | a-ha |
| We Are the World | USA for Africa |
| We Don’t Need Another Hero | Tina Turner |
| Would I Lie to You? | Eurythmics |
| Species Deceases (EP) | Midnight Oil |
| 1984 | |
| 99 Luftballons | Nena |
| All Night Long (All Night) | Lionel Richie |
| Careless Whisper | George Michael |
| Eat It | Weird Al Yankovic |
| Footloose | Kenny Loggins |
| Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Cyndi Lauper |
| Hello | Lionel Richie |
| I Just Called to Say I Love You | Stevie Wonder |
| It’s Just Not Cricket | The Twelfth Man |
| Like a Virgin | Madonna |
| Love Is a Battlefield | Pat Benatar |
| Original Sin | INXS |
| Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go | Wham! |
| What’s Love Got to Do with It | Tina Turner |
| When Doves Cry | Prince |
| 1983 | |
| All Night Long (All Night) | Lionel Richie |
| Australiana | Austen Tayshus |
| Billie Jean | Michael Jackson |
| Do You Really Want to Hurt Me | Culture Club |
| Flashdance… What a Feeling | Irene Cara |
| Gloria | Laura Branigan |
| Islands in the Stream | Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton |
| I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green) | Redgum |
| Karma Chameleon | Culture Club |
| Reckless (Don’t Be So) | Australian Crawl |
| Total Eclipse of the Heart | Bonnie Tyler |
| Uptown Girl | Billy Joel |
| Up Where We Belong | Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes |
| 1982 | |
| Abracadabra | Steve Miller Band |
| Centerfold | The J. Geils Band |
| Come On Eileen | Dexys Midnight Runners |
| Down Under | Men at Work |
| Do You Really Want to Hurt Me | Culture Club |
| Eye of the Tiger | Survivor |
| Goody Two-Shoes | Adam Ant |
| I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll | Joan Jett and the Blackhearts |
| I Ran (So Far Away) | A Flock of Seagulls |
| I’ve Never Been to Me | Charlene |
| Mickey | Toni Basil |
| Other Woman, The | Ray Parker, Jr. |
| Pass the Dutchie | Musical Youth |
| Tainted Love | Soft Cell |
| Trouble | Lindsey Buckingham |
| What About Me | Moving Pictures |
| 1981 | |
| 9 to 5 (Morning Train) | Sheena Easton |
| Antmusic | Adam and the Ants |
| Bette Davis Eyes | Kim Carnes |
| Counting the Beat | The Swingers |
| DEV-O Live (EP) | Devo |
| Down Under | Men at Work |
| Duncan | Slim Dusty |
| Endless Love | Diana Ross and Lionel Richie |
| Jealous Guy | Roxy Music |
| Jessie’s Girl | Rick Springfield |
| (Just Like) Starting Over | John Lennon |
| Physical | Olivia Newton-John |
| Shaddap You Face | Joe Dolce Music Theatre |
| Stars on 45 Medley | Stars on 45 |
| Start Me Up | The Rolling Stones |
| This Ole House | Shakin’ Stevens |
| You Drive Me Crazy | Shakin’ Stevens |
| You Weren’t in Love with Me | Billy Field |
| 1980 | |
| Can’t Stop the Music | The Village People |
| Crazy Little Thing Called Love | Queen |
| Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough | Michael Jackson |
| Funkytown | Lipps Inc |
| I Got You | Split Enz |
| More Than I Can Say | Leo Sayer |
| Moscow | Genghis Khan |
| Please Don’t Go | KC and the Sunshine Band |
| Shaddap You Face | Joe Dolce Music Theatre |
| Tired of Toein’ the Line | Rocky Burnette |
| Turning Japanese | The Vapors |
| Upside Down | Diana Ross |
| Video Killed the Radio Star | The Buggles |
| Woman in Love | Barbra Streisand |
