U2 on Unforgettable Fire Tour 09-09-1984

The following lists the number-one singles on the New Zealand Singles Chart during the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

. The source for this decade is the

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

chart, the chart history of which can be found on the Recorded Music NZ website or Charts.nz. A total of 150 singles topped the chart in the 1980s, including 20 by New Zealand artists. Three artists had three or more number-one singles; the most successful was U2, who spent 19 weeks at number one with five different singles.

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

reached number one three times, and two New Zealand acts topped the chart more than once this decade:

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is o ...

and Tex Pistol. Two songs spent nine weeks at number one during the 1980s. The first was "

Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart) "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)" is a 1981 song by Ottawan. It was the band's second-biggest international hit single, after their 1979 hit "D.I.S.C.O.". The song reached the Top 5 across Europe and became a number one in New Zealand. It was not ...

" by French pop duo

Ottawan Ottawan is a French pop music duo, who had the hit singles " D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)" in the early 1980s. Fronted by Patrick Jean-Baptiste and Annette Eltice, they were masterminded through a cooperation between French pro ...

in 1981, and the second was " Sailing Away" by New Zealand

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

All of Us in 1986. Not counting

' "

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

", which reached number one in 1979, four singles topped the chart for eight weeks this decade: "

Shaddap You Face "Shaddap You Face" is a novelty song written and performed by Joe Dolce (released under the name Joe Dolce Music Theatre) about a rebellious Italian boy. Released in late 1980, it set a number of sales and longevity records. It was released by ...

" by Joe Dolce Music Theatre, "

How Great Thou Art "How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn entitled "" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). The English version of the hymn and its title are a loose translation by the English missionary Stuart K. Hine ...

" by

Howard Morrison Sir Howard Leslie Morrison (18 August 1935 – 24 September 2009) was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009, he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers. Early life Of Māori (Te Arawa), Irish ...

, "

I Just Called to Say I Love You "I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a ballad written, produced, and performed by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder. It was a major international hit, and remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, having topped a record 19 char ...

" by

, and "

Slice of Heaven "Slice of Heaven" is a single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn with the band Herbs, released in 1986 on the soundtrack of the animated motion picture, '' Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tail Tale''. The single reached 1 on the New Zealand ...

" by

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then he ...

and

Herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

. Key : – Number-one single of the yearAnnual charts are sourced from the RIANZ website:
"Annual Top 50 Singles Chart 2010"
: – Song of New Zealand originWhether or not a song is of New Zealand origin is determined by the RMNZ : – Number-one single of the year, of New Zealand origin * ← 1979 *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

* 1989 * 1990s →

1980

1981

Kool & the Gang - Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-1963 (cropped)

1982

1983

Note: The highest-selling single of New Zealand in 1983 was New Order's " Blue Monday", which peaked at number two for two weeks behind

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

1984

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Frankie Goes to Hollywood in London cropped

1985

1986

1987

Whitney Houston Welcome Home Heroes 1 cropped

Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2017 - Midnight Oil - 030

1988

1989

Artists with the most number-one songs

Excluded statistics :* Artists who appeared in the charity songs of the 1980s, including Band Aid's " Do They Know It’s Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album ''We Are the World''. Wit ...

", which were both number-one singles, are not included in the individual tallies.