80s "omg I loved that one" one hit wonders mix tape thread

"The Rain" was a top ten pop hit.

114.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT6Lv5iBsLM

115. Animotion v. 2.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87vA2hx0je8

I actually remember that one! From the My Stepmother is an Alien soundtrack.

Animotion did "Obsession" too, right? That was the theme song for the MTV style show.

Is Quarterflash "Harden My Heart" on this list yet?

okay look, if you're going to limit what counts as a one-hit wonder to "what counts in the USA only" you need to change the subject line

That's one of the pitfalls of ILM being largely US/UK-centric, because bands from outside those two markets who may have had numerous hits (like The Church) in Australia or elsewhere seem like odd picks (and even within the US/UK dynamic, a band like Bananarama was minor in one market and major in another).

And songs that may have hit in the US or UK and nowhere else at all leave some people scratching their heads.

I'm fine with say an Aus-heavy band being considered a one-hit wonder if it only charted once pretty much everywhere else (I even nominated Falco despite his huge success in Germany & Austria), but there does seem to be some arbitration based solely on US chart success.

My original intent for this was to list songs by bands who have absolutely zero cache today (and may have only existed long enough to release one album or two). Going back to the original 7 songs in the opening post is a good example.

Oingo Boingo or The Church or Kate Bush etc may technically qualify as one hit wonders on one country's metric vs. another's, but these are all bands or artist's which have an impressive body of work despite little Top 40 success.

I'm perfectly fine letting the thread/list develop organically as people visit and add suggestions, though.

Flesh for Lulu "I Go Crazy"?

imo that would count, even though they had 3 (or more?) albums and even another single from that album that was popular ("Postcards From Paradise"). But tbh Flesh For Lulu is a total relic, trapped in the amber of the 80s.

A lot of the ones I'm thinking of have already been mentioned. Can't believe I didn't see this until tonight. Boo!

My original intent for this was to list songs by bands who have absolutely zero cache today (and may have only existed long enough to release one album or two). Going back to the original 7 songs in the opening post is a good example.

Yeah, that's the spirit of this thread imo and the arbitration worries me a bit (including my own).

Sorry but I have to. "Now isn't that nice, like Miami Vice". lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ppLzUo9O3w

OK what about Wall of Voodoo “Mexican Radio”?

Fuck - n/m someone else suggested that. Gdammit.

The song so nice, it had to be mentioned twice.

On the I.R.S. tip, though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY

(Though wiki is telling me that they released a shitload of records)

Did The Dream Academy have any other real hits besides Life in a Northern Town?

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hmmm. well...

http://www.youtube.com/embed/rdHOyrS72jg%22

Just paste the url from your browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdHOyrS72jg

don't remember this song at all

One of the better Bowie clone vocals.

Aldo Nova - "Fantasy"

The Firm - "Radioactive"

bowie covered one of his songs according to allrovi so i guess that worked out xp

personal fave:

Mary Jane Girls - "In My House"

Yup -- "Criminal World," one of Let's Dance less onerous album tracks.

and "Switchin' to Glide" by the Kings as a monster regional hit 'round here that never made it out east. Man, I miss the days of regional hits ...

YES, "The Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide" could be heard every 10 minutes on WLS-AM in 1980-81. Probably my most enduring memory of that song is that it was the first non-Beatles/non-Lennon song WLS played after Lennon was killed (which is to say, about five days after Lennon was killed).

Modern English - "I Melt With You"

rational youth "i want to see the light"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJh11ngyIHQ

best lost synth pop song ever

The Timelords - "Doctorin' the Tardis"

You guys!!!

Electric Dreams: Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9foZ7KVSng

Both of those guys are responsible for numerous hits.

Rocky Burnette - Tired of Toein The Line

I hope I'm not the only person who liked this. The video is kinda crepey now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPBwbdRuKPc

Anyway...hairbands

Vixen: Edge of a Broken Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOmDUnt8Hs

I like that Rocky Burnette song, but I'd never heard it before just now.

Speaking of Rocky...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTRBueh2j6w

LOL I forgot about that!!!

He looks like the saxophone-on-the-beach guy from the Lost Boys

I dunno if she had more hits in other places, but "Touch Me" is the only thing I remember Samantha Fox for in the US..

However, youtube just reminded me of "Naughty Girls Need Love Too". Oh well.

Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok.

Corey Hart - Sunglasses at Night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4O1A-mmBWw

Total Ceolo - I eat cannibals.

Not sure if this was a hit in the US but it got to No. 5 over here (also big across Europe apparently):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weMrzt6W8V8

Ryan Paris - Dolce Vita

Jimmy the Hoover - Tantalise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr9h5xBQz3k

Aw I was going to open my posts today with "I Eat Cannibals"

Scritti Politti - Perfect Way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs7Jy2y-33A

Madness that in the US, er, Madness was a one hit wonder. But what a wonderful hit!

Has Spandau Ballet made an appearance yet?

I have that Rocky Burnette song on a 45 at home, amazingly enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMAGI7zRqj8