I rather like C’est La Vie by Robbie Neville.
I nominate It’s My Life by Talk Talk. As a young metalhead, a lot of 80’s pop songs didn’t appeal to me, but I allowed for a few exceptions such as this one. Also add Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider to the list. I’d also include hits by the Fixx, but they had more than one significant hit.
Vote in for I Melt With You (oh, memories!) and She Blinded Me with Science and adding to the playlist:
Obsession - Animotion
Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
Love Plus One - Haircut 100
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
Puttin’ On the Ritz - Taco
As for Talk Talk, I was a big fan of Talk Talk as well (All you do to me is talk, talk…)
“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin.
Now some folks argue that Berlin isn’t a one-hit wonder band, but looking at their best of album, I don’t recognize any of the other songs. So I stand by my statement.
But Thomas Dolby has several other, better songs - Hyperactive, I Scare Myself, and Close But No Cigar were hits, and Pulp Culture’s really good though lesser known.
Gary Newman’s Cars was my first thought.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax probably also qualifies (can’t quite believe we were all singing THOSE lyrics once upon a time).
Pachelbel’s Canon – written in the 80s (1680s), tremendously popular today and in the last century, and about the only thing by Pachelbel that is still played in popular culture (weddings, movies).
“The Metro” is the first song I think of when I think of Berlin, not “Take My Breath Away”.
You may also have heard their song “Sex” depending on how old you are and what kind of music you listened to back in those days.
Things will only get better by Howard Jones ca. 1985.
It was on the radio constantly, had one best of the best hooks of the 80s and really nailed that “Dire Straits”-type sound. I could never remember who sang it. Howard Jones could have done with a stage name.
I graduated from high school in '84. I’ve never heard “Metro” before.
And what about The Terminator theme music by Brad Fiedel. Kids loved playing that on their Casio keyboards back in the day. I don’t think Brad F has done any other music that got noticed.
These probably won’t be considered the “best” by anyone, but might fit in on the playlist:
Scandal - Goodbye To You
Icicle Works - Whisper To A Scream
Yaz - Don’t Go
I used to love Leslie Pearl’s, If The Love Fits which hit #28 (Hot 100) #7 on the A/C.
Mathew Wilder’s, Break My Stride #5 (Hot 100)
Charlie Dore’s Pilot Of The Airways (this might have been 1979
Taco’s #3 song, Puttin’ On The Ritz
There were quite a lot in the early 80s.
Of course it depends on your defintion of a one hit wonder.
To me a one hit wonder has only 1 hit in the top 40. This would make Charlene qualify for “I’ve Never Been To Me,” though she had a few more hits, like “Used To Be,” which reached 43 and the original “I’ve Never Been To Me,” hit the low 90s in 1977
Interestingly enough some groups fade out but go on in other countries. For instance, someone mentioned Katrina and The Waves who had “Walking On Sunshine,” but they went on in the 90s to win the Eurovision contest with “Love Shine a Light” in 1997. Sheena Easton faded out in the early 90s but still remained huge in Japan, making a couple more albums there.
That’s the difference between U.S. and U.K. perceptions of Dolby. Stateside, “She Blinded Me with Science” was a huge hit, while it was only a modest hit in the U.K. “Hyperactive” (a lousy song, IMO) got a lot of MTV play but charted poorly (#62) here, while in the U.K. it was his biggest hit. None of the other songs you mention bothered the U.S. charts at all.
At the risk of killing this thread, as is my nature, I submit:
Starry Eyes is perhaps the quintessential power pop tune. I had that album. All Messed Up and Ready to Go is another huge number. Teen-O-Rama too.
I can’t think of that song without thinking of this one too. Loved loved loved this when it came out.
Bram Tchaikovsky- Girl of my Dreams
Quinna power pop from LA. Pretty sure this qualifies for one hit wonder status.
The Plimsolls- A Million Miles Away
Last one. Matthew Sweet- Girlfriend. Never heard of him before or since but this is a great number.
If you can find a copy of the Valley Girl soundtrack album, it’s got lots of great tunes from this era (Plimsouls, Gary Numan, Josie Cotten, etc.)…TRM
“Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Taco?
I’m assuming these are British references, or you are listening to non-mainstream music, because most of these songs – or even groups – were obscure in the U.S. For example, Starry Eyes by the Records only got to #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and I wasn’t sure if Teen-O-Rama was the name of a group or a song. The Plimsouls peaked at #82, Matthew Sweet’s only U.S. hit (Sick of Myself) stalled at #58, and so on. Bram Tchaikovsky’s Girl of my Dreams did get all the way to #37 however.
I would think that The Warrior is Scandal’s better known hit. Good call on Whisper to a Scream, though. I didn’t even know who that was and I really like that song!
Do you remember Situation by Yaz? I always thought it was called Move Out.
Those songs were all big on college radio. (Which is to say they were “alternative” back when that word really meant something.)
And Plimsouls and Matthew Sweet are American acts.
I think Jones’ No One is to Blame is a terrific song. That one makes it onto my main iPod playlist frequently.