'80's song poll: One Hit Wonders

[Woops]

Kim Wilde had another US hit in 1986 with her cover of The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1986.

[IK]

OK, so she was a "two-hit wonder" in the US.    She's got so much good stuff that never made it to the US charts though.

[sweetsangria]

Kim seems to have a big following of fans on the internet.

http://www.wilde-life.com
www.kimwildegardens.com
www.kimwilde.org
www.geocities.com/kimwilde3
www.kimwilde.com
www.kimwilde.pl

[PaSquall]

And she even has fans here 
Fan of her from the very beginning.
"Select" is still one of my top 10 albums after 25 years (and yes, I listened thousands of albums...)

[Woops]

"View From A Bridge" is a good song, which is on a compilation DVD "Best of New Wave"/"More New Wave" import. Also "Cambodia".

[IK]

"Select"?  Hehehe...I FINALLY got that on a CD after all these years of searching.  I used to have it on cassette, but somebody broke into my car and stole all of my tapes about 15 years ago.  I just got it on Monday. 

I'm sure everyone has seen this one already, but its kinda cool who is in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxze2ywawJ0

[PaSquall]

"View From A Bridge" is a good song, which is on a compilation DVD "Best of New Wave"/"More New Wave" import. Also "Cambodia".

Both songs being from Select  .

[PaSquall]

"Select"?  Hehehe...I FINALLY got that on a CD after all these years of searching.  I used to have it on cassette, but somebody broke into my car and stole all of my tapes about 15 years ago.  I just got it on Monday. 

I'm sure everyone has seen this one already, but its kinda cool who is in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxze2ywawJ0

I had select on cassette too, but the sound got bad after a few years (too much listening  ). Bought the vinyl... Years after, I searched for the CD version. Didn't find it, but the good thing is that there seems to be an almost unlimited number of Kim greatest hits albums... I got for cheap a compilation containing the whole 1st album and Select. Found another with the even more elusive Catch as catch can album, with a few old (and excellent) B-sides.
I'll have to open a topic for Kim  when I have time 

[Woops]

There's a new show in VH1 Classic titled "One Hit Wonders" hosted by Carrie Keegan.

OK, the promo shows a-ha, Quiet Riot, and Twisted Sister... which aren't one hit wonders 

[Woops]

While Carrie Keagan's cute, her hosting appears forced or as if she's reading the teleprompter and just stands in the same pose for most of the show. Though I like how she ends up animated when she introduced a-ha's "Take On Me" (Yeah, they also has "The Sun Always Shine On TV"). It featured music videos, though edited to fill time. Atleast no cheesy commentaries interrupting the clips.

[Woops]

VH1 Top 100 One Hit Wonders of the '80's

From March 31-April 3 we'll be counting down the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s, and you can help us make the final list - cast your vote now. On the show we'll also tell the stories behind the tunes and give updates on the artists who created them.

Here we go again... 

a-ha, XTC, Will To Power, Vixen, Twisted Sister, The Tubes, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Boomtown Rats, Talk Talk, Spandau Ballet, Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, Ratt, Phil Collins  (OK, this is getting ridiculous..."Easy Lover" is listed on poll) , Oingo Boingo, Nu Shooz, Men Without Hats, Madness, Lita Ford, LA Guns, John Waite, Information Society, Haircut 100, General Public,  Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Dead or Alive, and A Flock Of Seagulls, are not one hit wonders...  Several are two hit wonders though...

Atleast they didn't put Quiet Riot on the poll since somebody from VH1 probably realized that they had three hits


Big Country "King Of Emotions", wasn't their huge US hit "In A Big Country"?

[Woops]

VH1 Top 100 '80's One Hit Wonders


Top 25...



1    Dexys Midnight Runners: “Come on Eileen”

Though catchy, wouldn't consider as the greatest song Had a few hits in the UK like "Geno"


2    Flock of Seagulls: “I Ran (So Far Away)”

They also had "Wishing" and "Space Age Love Song"


3    A-Ha: “Take On Me”

They also had "The Sun Always Shine On TV". Huge in the UK.. H


4    Tommy Tutone: “867-5309 / Jenny”

Good song, though overplayed on '80's request shows

5    Soft Cell: “Tainted Love”

Another classic


6    Toni Basil: “Mickey”

classic


7    Modern English: “I Melt With You”

Never charted on the Top 40, though would be on the Top 5 '80's one hit wonders


8    Bow Wow Wow: “I Want Candy”

see above comment ^ Though had a few hits in the UK.


9    Kajagoogoo: “Too Shy”

It's OK


10    Frankie Goes to Hollywood: “Relax”

They also had "Two Tribes"


11    Gary Numan: “Cars”

OK


12    Animotion: “Obsesssion”

Overplayed, though I actually like it.


13    Thomas Dolby: “She Blinded Me With Science”

Good song and the video is classic. They also had "Hyperactive"


14    Big Country: “In A Big Country”

indifferent

15    Devo: “Whip It”

Huge cult following. I actually like some of their songs like "Girl U Want", "Satisfaction", and "Beautiful World"


16    Nena: “99 Luft Balloons”

Overplayed, though still a good song with a great synth beat

17    Men Without Hats: “The Safety Dance”

Also had "Pop Goes The World"


18    Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock: “It Takes Two”

Hip hop classic. Though had "Joy & Pain"

19    Dead or Alive: “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”

Also had "Brand New Lover"

20    Rockwell: “Somebody’s Watching Me”

OK. Fact: Michael Jackson did back vocals

21    Twisted Sister: “We’re Not Gonna Take It”

Also had "I Wanna Rock"

22    Michael Sembello: “Maniac”

eh..... don't like the song. But I think he's a one hit wonder

23    Eddy Grant: “Electric Avenue”

OK song



24    Edie Brickell & New Bohemians: “What I Am”

Also don't like...

25    Musical Youth: “Pass the Dutchie”

catchy, though indifferent

[Woops]

There was other charts besides Top  40 like R&B and college radio...

Then again, what do I know



Some obscure one hit wonders that weren't mentioned:

 Planet P "Why Me" (1983)
 Total Coelo "I Eat Cannibals" (1983)
 Tracey Ullman "They Don't Know" (1984)
 Danger Danger "Naughty Naughty" (1989)
 Johnny Hates Jazz "Shattered Dreams" (1988)
Michael Damian "Rock On" (1989)
 Kingdom Come "Get It On" (1988)
The Blow Monkeys "Digging Your Scene" (1985)
The Monroes "What Do All The People Know" (1982)
Times Two "Strange But True" (1988)

edited: forgot "Times" before "Two"

[Woops]

Watched the season premiere of "VH1 Classic's One Hit Wonders"... (wasn't aware it was an ongoing series rather than a bunch of specials, though watched it anyways)

Noticed on the promo it featured Bananarama, Simple Minds, Fine Young Cannibals, Men At Work, and Men Without Hats ... which had more than one hit.

Bananarama had "Cruel Summer", "Venus", "I Heard A Rumour" (and many in the UK)

Men Without Hats had "The Safety Dance" and the lesser known moderate hit "Pop Goes The World"

Fine Young Cannibals had "Good Thing" & "She Drives Me Crazy"

Simple Minds had "Don't You (Forget About Me)", "Alive & Kicking", and "Sanctify Yourself"

Men At Work had "Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", "It's A Mistake", & "Overkill"


Tiffany was included on the season opener (she also had a few hits like "Could've Been" & "I Saw Him Standing There")...  Bonnie Tyler... didn't she also have "Holding Out For A Hero".


Some videos I haven't seen before on the channel:

Michael Damien "Rock On" (1989), OK song (average video) and also sad irony considering it's from the movie "Dream A Little Dream", which featured Corey Haim who recently have passed.

The Cardigans "Love Fool" (1996), in retrospect it's decent (was indifferent when it first came out)

The Heights "How Do You Talk To An Angel" (1992)... bland and the video's also boring

[Out of the Blue]

A-Ha's "Take on Me" might be the best one hit wonder song of all time.