'80's song poll: One Hit Wonders

[Woops]

The VH1 special "The Greatest One Hit Wonders" that still air time to time, is a bit inaccurate. I know it's based on the US charts, but several bands had a few more hits like Men Without Hats ("The Safety Dance", "Pop Goes The World"), a-ha ("Take On Me", "The Sun Always Shine On TV"), Quiet Riot ("Cum On Feel The Noize", "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)", "Mama Weer All Crayzee Now"), and Ratt ("Lay It Down", "Round & Round"). Not sure about Madness, but they were huge in the UK. Same for Spandau Ballet, though I think they had another hit in the US (besides "True") with "Gold".


Devo is debatable since they have a cult following and had other well known songs like their cover of "Satisfaction" and "Girl U Want".



...ironically, I've gotten most of my info from VH1 specials, though also done a few research


Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Woops]

Though there's been artists that had several hits, but the general public are only familiar with one or two songs in retrospect like MC Hammer with "U Can't Touch This" and   Dire Straits with "Money For Nothing".

...this is getting a bit complicated  

[originaldonald]

Who could you forget Eddy Grant?

The Original GG/TXRDonald
we gonna rock down to ELECTRIC AVENUE(do do do do) and then we'll take it highah!

[Out of the Blue]

I remember Times 2.  Or was it Times Two or X Two?  I don't remember now.  "Strange But True" had a good sound to it.  They opened for Deborah on her "Out of the Blue Tour."

[Woops]

It's Times Two. The song is available on a compilation CD "Best of the Boy Bands" and "Another Lost Decade: Hard To Find Hits" featuring some more obscure one hit wonders and some mixes.

Don't know if Bros were ever popular in the US, but they also opened for Deb ("Electric Youth" tour) and I think she dated one of the members.

[PaSquall]

Difficult to answer, there are some songs I never heard before (well, I'm not in the US).
Johnny Hates Jazz had a couple more hits in the UK (I don't wanna be a hero, Turn back the clock)
Same for Dexy's midnight runners (Celtic soul brothers ??) and Soft Cell (Say hello wave goodbye) IIRC.
Dire straits never were a singles band, but sold bazillions of albums (at least in France). Their only album that gave them hit singles was Brothers in arms (So far away - Money for nothing - Walk of life).
Thinking of it, there were litterally TONS of one hit wonders in the eighties. If I ever think about it one hour or so I could find an hundred of them. I don't know if they ever had any success in the US however.
Right now :
- Nu Shooz "I can't wait"
- Black "wonderful life"
- Secret service "a flash in the night"
- Trio "Da da da"     - WORST song ever done -
- Opus "live is life"
- Captain sensible "wot"
- Visage "fade to grey"
- Cutting crew "I just died in your arms tonight"
- Mister mister "broken wings"
- Kajagoogoo "too shy"
- Paul Hardcastle "nineteen"
- Baltimora "Tarzan boy"
- Sam Brown "stop"
- Dead or alive "you spin me round"
- Gazebo "I like Chopin"

To be continued...

[Woops]

Dead Or Alive (also "Brand New Lover"), Nu Shooz ("Point Of No Return"), and Mr. Mister("Kyrie") had two hits in the US.

Some I'm familiar with like Kajagoogoo, Baltimora, Cutting Crew, Visage, Paul Hardcastle, Trio, and Captain Sensible, but not familiar with the rest.

[PaSquall]

Who could you forget Eddy Grant?

The Original GG/TXRDonald
we gonna rock down to ELECTRIC AVENUE(do do do do) and then we'll take it highah!

Hmmm... Gimme hope Joanna ?

[artsiistra]

There's a bunch from that time...just listen to an '80's flashback radio show.

That list you threw up there (Woops), I haven't heard hardly half of those back in the day. 

A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran So Far Away

Saraya - Love Has Taken It's Toll  (although St. Christopher's Medal is an awesome song of it's own)

Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun (they've had others, but this is known)

Divinyls - I Touch Myself

Bow Wow Wow - I want Candy

Toni Basil - Hey Mickey

Psychedelic Furs - Pretty in Pink (see Violent Femmes)

Nena - 99 Luft(Red) balloons

Some of the hard rock acts get shoe-horned into one hit wonder status, but that's just wrong.  Ratt had at least seven singles (Dance, Body Talk, Back For More, Way Cool Jr., Wanted Man, Round + Round, Lay It Down)

There's a few like Bulletboys - Smooth Up in Ya or Kix's - Don't Close Your Eyes.  That's all off the top of my head.

[Woops]

A Flock of Seagulls also had "Spaceage Love Song"

Bow Wow Wow had a few hits in the UK like  "C30, C60, C90 Go" and "Do You Wanna Hold Me".

[IK]

How about "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Taco?

"The Man in the Dark Sedan"-Snakefinger
"Boom Boom"-Trio
"Soviet Snow"-Shona Laing
"Pass the Dutchie"-Musical Youth

[Woops]

Familiar with Taco and Musical Youth. Not the rest, though another song from Trio titled "Da Da Da" that was used in a Volkswagon commercial about 10 years ago.

[IK]

How about an Irish (I think) band called "The Blitz Girls", and I can't remember the name of the song.

Heh...can't even Google them, they are THAT much of a one-hit wonder

Here are a few lines from the song (heh, I can remember lyrics, but not song titles)

Killin' again
Ain't that funny
Most people kill
For love or money
Do it for your country
Do it for your God....

[Woops]

Not familiar

[IK]

Heh...I guess I'll mention one of my all-time favorite "one-hit wonder"s

Kim Wilde-Kids In America

She's not really a one-hit wonder to me though, since I've got albums of her's that span a 27-year career.  She's still pretty popular in Europe, even to this day.  I ended up becoming pretty good friends with her guitarist about a year ago.  The guy has been a part of her creative team since 1983...pretty cool to be friends with a guy who was part of the music I grew up with.  Heh...he's not BSing either, because he's in lots of her live videos.