# One hit wonder groups that had some other decent songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 19, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633 "2021-06-19T15:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/61 "2021-06-20T23:21:19Z")
**Adam Ant**. Probably really only known in the US for _Goody Two Shoes_. [Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o41A91X5pns) He’s done a lot more -and of course he used to be in Adam and the Ants, and I like his _Manners & Physique_ album. Here’s _Room at the Top_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g4tSoH5R_Vs/maxresdefault.jpg "Adam Ant - Room At The Top") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4tSoH5R_Vs) ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/62 "2021-06-21T01:12:47Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > They gave their Georgia Satellites shout-out to “Battleship Chains”. Yep, after listening to the album, that was the one I predicted would be the huge follow-up hit. It peaked at #86. “Red Light” was great as well - never heard that one even on the rock stations, except on the weekday noon show where they would play an entire album side (“Side Orders For Lunch” was the show’s name). ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/63 "2021-06-21T01:16:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@TCMF-2L](#): > > > > In the US usually only **Our House** is known about. > > And I would have thought _It Must Be Love_ is their actual biggest hit. The US punk/new-wave stations played _One Step Beyond_ quite a bit, but still, I think that and _Our House_ was the only Madness I ever heard on commercial radio. The college stations, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/64 "2021-06-21T02:02:59Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > **XTC** - Do they really count as a one-hit wonder? I wouldn’t have thought so. They’re a great band, at any rate. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > **Midnight Oil** - Yet another band whose one-hit wonder status is US-centric. _Earth and Sun and Moon_ is my favorite album of theirs. > [@oldoaktree](#): > > I think Oingo Boingo only ever really got national airplay for the “Weird Science” theme song. But I love everything by them. Danny Elfman was the lead singer and went on to be a major force in movie soundtracks. Like a lot of other posters, I’m not sure these would be ‘one hit wonders’, but definitely get less airplay than they deserve on various rock/classic rock/alternative rock stations. For XTC, I love Skylarking (yes, it’s the most pop/commercial of their work) but more people that I’ve spoken too remember ‘The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead’ more than ‘Dear God’ or ‘Mayor of Simpleton’ - so popular songs over at least 3 albums. Yeah, their albums didn’t normally crack the top 40 in the us, but they have 3 that hit the top 50. And of course, much more recognition in the UK. For Midnight Oil, I think ‘Beds are Burning’ is considered their one hit from Diesel and Dust, I preferred Blue Sky Mining and Earth Sun and Moon more. Diesel and Dust as well as Blue Sky Mining were both top 40 in US, and Earth Sun and Moon was 49. Oingo Boingo is probably the best fit of the three for one hit wonder, but when I think of them it’s “Dead Man’s Party” that comes to mind before “Weird Science.” Then again, it was really popular with my late 80s/early 90s group of friends who were into ‘darker’ music. If I recall, it was even quoted in my First Edition Vampire the Masquerade game. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/65 "2021-06-21T03:36:42Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > For XTC, I love Skylarking (yes, it’s the most pop/commercial of their work) but more people that I’ve spoken too remember ‘The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead’ more than ‘Dear God’ or ‘Mayor of Simpleton’ - so popular songs over at least 3 albums. Yeah, their albums didn’t normally crack the top 40 in the us, but they have 3 that hit the top 50. **And of course, much more recognition in the UK.** A fanatstic band, they had moderate early UK success with “We’re Only Makng Plans For Nigel” going to no.17. Too bad “Life Begins at the Hop” came in at only 54, and with _neither_, yeah, registering across the pond, hence the bolding. Came to mention Dave Edmunds but four or five posters have beaten me to it and hopefuly so by this point in the thread. _Repeat When Necesary_ is quite a loaded album. heh…and speaking of loaded…for a somewhat ironic, or inverted, take on the OP… The Velvet Underground’s _Loaded_ album was called that with the intention of making it an album “loaded” with potentioal radio hits that roughly clock in in three minutes or less - a major departure from their extendo song structure. (Well, they also tied in the other “loaded” definition too, of course) If “Head Held High” isn’t the most toe-tappingest kick-bum number ever, my name’s Margaret Meehan (Parkdale). Nothing registered in the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/66 "2021-06-21T04:05:37Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > For Midnight Oil, I think ‘Beds are Burning’ is considered their one hit from Diesel and Dust, I preferred Blue Sky Mining and Earth Sun and Moon more. Diesel and Dust as well as Blue Sky Mining were both top 40 in US, and Earth Sun and Moon was 49. Their later albums were more accessible. Their album “10, 9, 8 [etc] 1” would be considered their best by many Midnight Oil aficionados (known as “Oilers” here). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/67 "2021-06-21T04:19:58Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Thomas Dolby’s only hit was “She Blinded Me with Science.” But his first two albums had plenty of other strong songs and his fourth album, _Astronauts & Heretics_ , is a wonder all to its own. Yet another example of an artist who had a more successful career outside the United States. I like his song [“Hyperactive”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmGxh1FhtxE) better and it managed to break the top 20 in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/68 "2021-06-21T04:35:12Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > From the early 70s were **Slade** with 17 consecutive top 20 hits including **Merry Xmas Everybody** which has been a hit multiple times to this day. In the US, if they are known, it’s because **Quiet Riot** successfully covered a couple of their songs. “Run Runaway” is what I remember them for and according to Wikipedia is peaked at #20 in the US in 1984. It wasn’t until the last 10-15 years that I learned they originally sang “Cum on Feel the Noize” but since it was originally released a few years before I was born I hope I can be forgiven for that. I just remember the song because it’s one of those oddities from the 80s that occasionally gets stuck in my head. (And I see someone else already mentioned “Run Runaway.”) > [@TCMF-2L](#): > > **Madness** took over from **The Jam** and ruled the 80s with 15 top 10 hits. In the US usually only **Our House** is known about. I didn’t know any of their other songs until Youtube became a thing and I quite like them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/69 "2021-06-21T05:30:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > which is technically from the one and only album from Rockpile Just to confuse the issue, Dave Edmunds released an album titled _Rockpile_ before teaming up with Lowe and forming a band named Rockpile. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/70 "2021-06-21T06:04:27Z")
Iirc, the Zombies had a big hit with “She’s Not There”, and then a smaller hit with “Tell Her No”, then a few years later had “Time of the Season”. They were always good, just not chart toppers. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/71 "2021-06-21T06:08:47Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > the Zombies Oh My God! Why this band wasn’t ‘The Second Beatles’ … Great music. So much more than _Time of the Season_ and so forth. Epic case of under-promotion. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/72 "2021-06-21T08:06:03Z")
Didn’t break the top 20, but I love Europa and the Pirate Twins: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rG7SMKXtrPM/hqdefault.jpg "Thomas Dolby - Europa and the Pirate Twins") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG7SMKXtrPM) ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/73 "2021-06-21T12:23:29Z")
I’d replace with “other decent” with “much better” as a question, and provide Chumbawamba. Famous for THAT song, it’s the worst song on their worst album. At a low in their careers, they were kicked off their label with 50K of debt from recording their new album, and signed to EMI (Germany), who they hated, but were desperate. EMI, did their stuff and it’s one of the most played songs in the world. They’ve released 16 studio albums, and the ones which quietly unsold after Tubthumper were wonderful and so much better. Most of the ones before were great too (though not so fond of Anarchy). They’ve not played the game, at least two of the main songs from their later albums got offers to be used in adverts for cars and other things, and they always refused, so they could have been more famous than they were. Half the band left around 2005, and they continued acoustically in small venues around the UK. We saw them in a tiny place in Stourbridge around 2010. I can’t recall if they even played Tubthumper. They finished off in 2012. I believe the royalties from that single alone keeps the ten odd members very well off and feel no need to make more music. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/74 "2021-06-21T14:47:07Z")
My son played “Gold” by Spandau Ballet for me. It’s better than “True”, their one big hit that has been on every 80’s New Wave compilation since 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/75 "2021-06-21T14:53:59Z")
Here’s a good one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7qAYEh4Qd0A/hqdefault.jpg "How We Were Before - The Zombies") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qAYEh4Qd0A) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/76 "2021-06-21T15:09:24Z")
Trivia fun fact: People were a one-hit wonder for “I Love You,” a Zombie’s b-side written by bassist Chris White. An oddity, but a terrific one. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xO5rKF2w_ro/hqdefault.jpg "People - I LOVE YOU") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO5rKF2w_ro) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/77 "2021-06-21T15:28:55Z")
I’m glad this thread is here, I was thinking about starting one but couldn’t figure out the right premise. At any rate, I can think of a couple of bands, oddly from the late 90s because my memory was jogged by another one-hit-wonder thread, for whom I preferred their follow-up single. **Fastball** : you couldn’t escape “The Way” in 1998 but “Fire Escape” was just as great. **Semisonic** : “Closing Time” was huuuuuuge but “Singing in my Sleep” is a much more solid track, IMHO. I’m at work so I’m only doing this with half a brain…I’ll chime in again later if I can think of other big examples. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/78 "2021-06-21T15:30:34Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > If you weren’t into alt rock you might think Faith No More were a one hit wonder with their cover of _Easy_ . Faith No More does not qualify for this thread. They had 2 songs that made the top 100, Epic reached #21 and was a much bigger hit than the song Easy that only made it to #58. Epic still get plenty of plays on classic radio stations, I haven’t heard Easy in years. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/79 "2021-06-21T15:34:47Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Faith No More does not qualify for this thread. I feel chastened 😟 ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633/80 "2021-06-21T15:36:35Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > In the US here–this first I have heard of Faith No More recording a song called “Easy”. I mostly remember them for “Epic” and " > Falling to Pieces". Most Americans probably think they are one hit wonder for “Epic” because it was their highest charting single in the US. I knew of both “Epic” and “Easy” for a long time before I realized that they were both by the same group. The vibe of the two songs are so different that I just figured “Epic” was by more of a hard-rocking group and “Easy” was recorded by an easy-listening artist. The OP specifies a “group” – does a singer count? Many years ago, there was a similar thread on the Straight Dope, and that thread introduced me to Joan Osborne. One-hit wonder with “What If God Was One Of Us?”, but lots of other catchy songs that really show off her vocal talent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-wonder-groups-that-had-some-other-decent-songs/944633.md?page=5)