One Hit Wonders

[Brother_Hood]

Okay I thought it might be interesting to hear some ideas of some bands that had big hits and then sort of disappeared. I realize this a controversial subject and open to a lot of personal opinion.

Ground rules

1. The band had to have a fairly well known song

2. The follow up songs never met with the same sort of success or acclaim

3. Everyone is entitlted to their own opinion

Here is a few that I think qualify

1. Biggod 20 -'like a prayer' remake

2. Die Krupss - 'Fatherland'

3. Rammstein - ' Du Hast'

4. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'monkey on juice'

5. Flying Lizards - 'money'

6. The Church ' 'under the milky way'

Ok that is all I have for now.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Die krupps has a pretty large fan base in germany and has been around for like.. 25 years or so.. I have 5 albums myself.

Rammstein is another band with a huge german fan base.

The Church is an Ausi band.. they just released a new album this year...

I think my definition of a one hit wonder is way different than yours.

Right Said Fred fits in mine.

[Brother_Hood]

Die krupps has a pretty large fan base in germany and has been around for like.. 25 years or so.. I have 5 albums myself.

Rammstein is another band with a huge german fan base.

The Church is an Ausi band.. they just released a new album this year...

I think my definition of a one hit wonder is way different than yours.

Right Said Fred fits in mine.

As stated in the intro - everyone has there own opinion.

What I'm talking about is relative Western mainstream success.

I can name any band and list five albums they put out on an indy label.

Althought I do agree with your Right Said Fred, I guess I had thought we might have a more goth/industrial flavour.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Oh, I see.. you wany goth/industrial bands that have hits on the top 40 charts....

um....

Rammstein is the only one I can think of.

[Hellion]

The Red Rocker's"China"

[deadbydesire]

They might not be a one hit wonder or all that old but there was and electro band in early 2000's called ivory frequency with a song called "today(is the day)". I haven't been to many clubs but I remember that this song got played often before I stopped going to clubs. The album that the song is on is called plug:in, i believe, and it's a great album. I didn't expect them to be silent for over five years. Anyone knows what I'm talking about?

[Homicidalheathen]

Artist: The Vapors

Song: Turning Japanese

Year: 1980

Artist: Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Song: Relax

Year: 1984

so good many tried to redo it but did not do it justice.

I love the Firm and still have the cassette hee hee

Artist: The Firm

Song: Radioactive

Year: 1985

I am getting all nastalgic over here.

Lets not forget Simple Minds--"Don't You Forget About Me", "Alive and Kicking"

Tears For Fears--"Everybody Wants To Rule the World", "Head Over Heels"

The Fixx--"Red Skies", "Secret Association"

[Fierce Critter]

The Fixx had a lot more hits than that. More popular on MTV than the radio. But they had a decent number of hits off the "Reach the Beach" album - One Thing Leads To Another, Saved By Zero, Sign of Fire. Also the album Red Skies came from also had "Stand or Fall" which was a decent hit. Two of the members accompanied Tina Turner on one of her songs. (I was a major, major Fixx head in the 80's)

Tears for Fears also had more hits than that. Shout, Pale Shelter, Change, the two you mentioned were the most popular. There are a few more, too.

I'm waaaaaay too into the 80's to be able to answer this in a short manner. That seems to be a period of a MASSIVE amount of one-hit-wonders. I've seen the "one hit wonders" shows on VH1 a dozen times, and can practically rattle off the countdown by heart.

Now, if we're talking mostly goth or related sounds, I'm not the person. Save maybe Ministry who had all of two hits in their older incarnation - Everyday is Halloween and Revenge. Siouxsie & the Banshees didn't have many hits actually hit the radio in the 'States - again, mostly MTV hits. Most especially "Spellbound" and later "Kiss them for Me". A couple others hit MTV, but I rarely heard them on the radio.

The Church are very popular with those who know of them. They had one hit on the radio after the Starfish album, it was Metropolis from Gold Afternoon Fix.

Echo and the Bunnymen - again, MTV hits, rarely heard on the radio. I don't know if I ever heard a single song of theirs on U.S. radio. Maybe Lips Like Sugar or possibly People are Strange.

Delerium - the only song of theirs I can recall hearing was the one with Sarah McLachlan. Forget the name.

[DJDeadbeat]

Okay I thought it might be interesting to hear some ideas of some bands that had big hits and then sort of disappeared. I realize this a controversial subject and open to a lot of personal opinion.

Ground rules

1. The band had to have a fairly well known song

2. The follow up songs never met with the same sort of success or acclaim

3. Everyone is entitlted to their own opinion

Here is a few that I think qualify

1. Biggod 20 -'like a prayer' remake

2. Die Krupss - 'Fatherland'

3. Rammstein - ' Du Hast'

4. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - 'monkey on juice'

5. Flying Lizards - 'money'

6. The Church ' 'under the milky way'

Ok that is all I have for now.

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry have TONS of great songs! Shame on calling them a one hit wonder. Definitely check out a Best Of of them, Chance, Beating my Head, Happy, etc. They are a great goth band. Very Three Johns/March Violets. A lot better than the Sisters of Mercy, thats for sure.

As for Bigod 20, well, they had a lot of good songs. I mean, their cover isn't anything compared to Bog, that song is killer!

[DJDeadbeat]

The Fixx had a lot more hits than that. More popular on MTV than the radio. But they had a decent number of hits off the "Reach the Beach" album - One Thing Leads To Another, Saved By Zero, Sign of Fire. Also the album Red Skies came from also had "Stand or Fall" which was a decent hit. Two of the members accompanied Tina Turner on one of her songs. (I was a major, major Fixx head in the 80's)

Tears for Fears also had more hits than that. Shout, Pale Shelter, Change, the two you mentioned were the most popular. There are a few more, too.

I'm waaaaaay too into the 80's to be able to answer this in a short manner. That seems to be a period of a MASSIVE amount of one-hit-wonders. I've seen the "one hit wonders" shows on VH1 a dozen times, and can practically rattle off the countdown by heart.

Now, if we're talking mostly goth or related sounds, I'm not the person. Save maybe Ministry who had all of two hits in their older incarnation - Everyday is Halloween and Revenge. Siouxsie & the Banshees didn't have many hits actually hit the radio in the 'States - again, mostly MTV hits. Most especially "Spellbound" and later "Kiss them for Me". A couple others hit MTV, but I rarely heard them on the radio.

The Church are very popular with those who know of them. They had one hit on the radio after the Starfish album, it was Metropolis from Gold Afternoon Fix.

Echo and the Bunnymen - again, MTV hits, rarely heard on the radio. I don't know if I ever heard a single song of theirs on U.S. radio. Maybe Lips Like Sugar or possibly People are Strange.

Delerium - the only song of theirs I can recall hearing was the one with Sarah McLachlan. Forget the name.

Oh man, calling Echo and the Bunnymen a one hit wonder is a slap in their face. Even though they seemed to have one or two singles, they are brilliant. Every album they put out was FULL of ace songs. Pictures on the Wall, The Cutter, Puppet, Porcupine, etc. Good shit!

[DJDeadbeat]

Combo Audio - Romanticide

Boneasarus Wrecks - Long Necked Daddy-O

Zero Le Creche - Last Years Wife

[angusfergus]

One hit wonders?

Question Mark and the Mysterians

New Radicals

Primitive Radio Gods

Soft Cell

Nena

[Homicidalheathen]

I agree with Fierce about my choice of one hit wonders but....I found allot of my favorite 80's synth pop bands on an internet *gulp* one hit wonder list!!!!

I go cry now.

[Fierce Critter]

Oh man, calling Echo and the Bunnymen a one hit wonder is a slap in their face. Even though they seemed to have one or two singles, they are brilliant. Every album they put out was FULL of ace songs. Pictures on the Wall, The Cutter, Puppet, Porcupine, etc. Good shit!

Well, you and I know they're great. But by definition, popularly they might actually be "NO HIT" wonders. They were all over MTV, but like I said, I don't think I've ever heard them on the radio.

Matter of fact, I had to rein in my choices, because the majority of my 80's collections rarely, if ever, made it to radio.

I mourn the "good ole' days" of MTV when you could see bands like Echo, Siouxsie, Split Enz, Psychedelic Furs, Oingo Boingo, etc played regularly.

[LuluVox]

I'm also of the opinion that the Bunnymen weren't one-hit wonders. And it's not just because I like them! They had singles that charted and did get some radio play back in the day, and didn't just pop up and disappear like your run of the mill one hit wonder.

[Hellion]

Heres a band no one remembers,they had a one hit,and it was played a lot in 1987,They were called Danny wilson,and the song was called "Mary's Prayer",they reminded my of looking somewhat 30s-40's era,you can find the song on myspace,and youtube.the video was really odd.actually here is the video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5yF6BMZKT78

[Falstaff]

I mourn the "good ole' days" of MTV when you could see bands like Echo, Siouxsie, Split Enz, Psychedelic Furs, Oingo Boingo, etc played regularly.

It doesn't help that Oingo Boingo broke up a decade ago.

But, I still know what you're getting at and totally agree.

[angusfergus]

Well, you and I know they're great. But by definition, popularly they might actually be "NO HIT" wonders. They were all over MTV, but like I said, I don't think I've ever heard them on the radio.

Matter of fact, I had to rein in my choices, because the majority of my 80's collections rarely, if ever, made it to radio.

I mourn the "good ole' days" of MTV when you could see bands like Echo, Siouxsie, Split Enz, Psychedelic Furs, Oingo Boingo, etc played regularly.

You never heard Echo on the radio? They still get played now and then on the stations I listen to...

Also, they had two hits in the US top 40...including one top ten. So they don't really qualify.

[CatsEyeOfTheWiccan]

Here is list of my all time love from the one Hit Wounders & The songs they wrote from the 1980s

Klaus Nomi - After The Fall

Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus

Gang Of Four - I Love Man In Uniform

Bunker and Garica - Pac Man Fever

Soft Cell - Tainted Love

Lips Inc. - Funky Town

Stanley Clarke and George Duke - Sweet Baby

Rocky Burnette - Tired of Toein' the Line

Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like

Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio

Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love

Peter Schilling - Major Tom

Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know

Elmo & Patsy Grandma - Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Shannon - Let the Music Play

Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie

Limahl - Never Ending Story

Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen

T'Pau - Heart and Soul

M/A/R/R/S - Pump up the Volume

Midnight Oil - Beds are Burning

When in Rome - The Promise

Modern English - I Melt With You

Bonham - Wait For You

Gary Numan - Cars

Taco - Puttin' On The Ritz

I think somes it up...LOL..

-CatsEye

[Fierce Critter]

You never heard Echo on the radio? They still get played now and then on the stations I listen to...

Also, they had two hits in the US top 40...including one top ten. So they don't really qualify.

The only station in the area I ever heard them was WABX back in the 80's, and 89X when they first came on in the early 90's.

I've rarely heard them otherwise, which is what led me to think they just weren't very popular via the radio.

[Brother_Hood]

Hats off to CatsEye, that is a pretty complete list with some true classics there.

SoftCell and 'tainted love' is awesome example.

I imagine a whole generation of people think that it is a Marilyn Manson original.

I remember watching alternative music videos in the late 80's it was all synth-pop and androgny.

There was a bar in Windsor called Changez by night - they used to have a video screen on the dance floor, it was pretty funny dancing while you were watching the latest Siousxie, or FYC video.

[Head Wreck]

3. Rammstein - ' Du Hast'

sonne, muter, amerika, moskau..... thier quite popular here in the UK and since metal is the latest teenybop sensation (allong with 'post hardcore' AKA "the real punk were mean to me so i cried and ran home to momy")

Artist: Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Song: Relax

Year: 1984

Two Tribes, and a christmas Number one (the power of love?)

i hate christmas songs with a vengance since the radio station here plays the same 12 or so ones repeatedly all fucking christmas without a break. and when your doing 8-16 hrs a day on a repetative jobh with that shit blasting out you end up hating it, but i actually quite like the frankie goes to hollywood one now and then. just dont take the piss with it.

Soft Cell - Tainted Love

God i wish it was thier only one. I FUCKING HATE SOFT CELL. i will destroy a music device that pays it. end off. you have been warned.

i do like My Ruin's cover. maralyn mansons cover sucks big floppy donkey dick

Gary Numan - Cars

Are Friends Electric, RIP, and a colaboration with Fear Factory on a Cover of Cars.

i very much like his Pure Album

[sass_in_the_pants]

One hit wonders?

Question Mark and the Mysterians

New Radicals

Primitive Radio Gods

Soft Cell

Nena

OMG...Question Mark and the Mysterians! I told my dad that I could download any songs he wanted from the internet, and he gave me 96 Tears by Question Mark and the Mysterians, and I was like 'You're making this up. I have never even heard of such a band' but there they were. How funny!

[Falstaff]

OMG...Question Mark and the Mysterians! I told my dad that I could download any songs he wanted from the internet, and he gave me 96 Tears by Question Mark and the Mysterians, and I was like 'You're making this up. I have never even heard of such a band' but there they were. How funny!

Never heard of ?

He's from Flint, but says he's a martian and used to live with dinosaurs. Funny stuff.

96 Tears is great.

[DJDeadbeat]

Here is list of my all time love from the one Hit Wounders & The songs they wrote from the 1980s

Klaus Nomi - After The Fall

Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus

Gang Of Four - I Love Man In Uniform

Bunker and Garica - Pac Man Fever

Soft Cell - Tainted Love

Lips Inc. - Funky Town

Stanley Clarke and George Duke - Sweet Baby

Rocky Burnette - Tired of Toein' the Line

Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like

Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio

Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love

Peter Schilling - Major Tom

Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know

Elmo & Patsy Grandma - Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Shannon - Let the Music Play

Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie

Limahl - Never Ending Story

Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen

T'Pau - Heart and Soul

M/A/R/R/S - Pump up the Volume

Midnight Oil - Beds are Burning

When in Rome - The Promise

Modern English - I Melt With You

Bonham - Wait For You

Gary Numan - Cars

Taco - Puttin' On The Ritz

I think somes it up...LOL..

-CatsEye

Gasp! How dare you call Klaus Nomi, Gang of Four, Wall of Voodoo, Gary Numan and the Modern English one hit wonders! haha. Modern English's early stuff could easily pass for goth, and Gary Numan and especially Gang of Four put out albums full of amazing post-punk masterpieces.

Wall of Voodoo, now theres some good artsy stuff.