Favourite One Hit Wonders

by **Adam Blake** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:24 pm

"Venus" by Shocking Blue just came up on my iTunes shuffle.

What a great record! A riff stolen from The Doors, an intro stolen from The Who, the look and vocal style stolen from Jefferson Airplane and a groove straight from rock'n'roll heaven. Result: bliss! I was ten when this was a hit and I remember being shocked by the lyric as I was convinced she was singing "I am your penis..." however, notwithstanding the disappointment of discovering that that was not actually the case, it's been a favourite ever since.

I know there are innumerable great One Hit Wonders, but this is my vote for today.

http://tinyurl.com/5z2s8y

by **Rob Hall** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:00 pm

I was pleased as punch the other day to discover Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" on eMusic. Whatever happened to him?

by **kevin** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:17 pm

Rob Hall wrote:I was pleased as punch the other day to discover Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" on eMusic. Whatever happened to him?

Still going strong - occasionally as The Len Bright Combo.

http://www.wrecklesseric.com/

by **Hugh Weldon** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:39 pm

Heard the Only Ones Another Girl Another Planet quite by chance the other day.

Besides thinking how good it was, it struck me how they must have worked on it, the way it builds etc, quite sophisticated for 'punk'.

by **Adam Blake** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:51 pm

They weren't punks, they were musos pretending to be punks - just like The Police! Great song, though. All about scoring heroin...

("Space travels in my blood, I look ill but I don't care about it,
long journeys wear me out but I know I can't live without it
You get under my skin I don't find it irritating
You always play to win but I won't need rehabilitating")

by **CantSleepClownsWillGetMe** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:07 pm

Four that sprang to mind were -

Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
Run Run Run - Jo Jo Gunne
Resurrection Shuffle - Ashton Gardner & Dyke
Standing in the Road - Blackfoot Sue

but I'll probably think of another 3 before bedtime :-)

June

by **Rod B.** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:51 pm

I love 'Whole Wide World' and 'Another Girl', and would add:

Althea and Donna - Uptown Top Ranking

Deee-lite - Groove is in the Heart

To remind yourselves of the genius of the latter (featuring Q-Tip and Bootsy Collins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKTCW4oxS6I

And I'll probably think of more later on too...

by **Adam Blake** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 6:59 pm

Oh yes! Four good 'uns from Clowns! Plastic! Fantastic! The only decent rock'n'roll record ever to come out of Belgium?
I know it's a separate thread but why is is that the Euro's can't rock? I mean, Johnny Halliday is about the best the French could muster. Shocking Blue were Dutch, so were Focus (the only rock'n'roll yodellers?) and Golden Earring (another good one: "Radar Love"). The Germans invented mutant psychedelia with Can and Faust but could you leap about the living room to it (actually you can leap about the room to Can, and Kraftwerk, so I better shut up before I dig myself in any deeper...)

Does your derg baht?

by **judith** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:15 pm

Pachelbel's Canon in D

by **kevin** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:37 pm

I just looked at the Oldies but Goldies folder on my MP3 player and this is what I found. One hit wonder heaven.

The Crazy World OF Arthur Brown - Fire

Billy Swann - I Can Help

Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - I'm the Urban Spaceman

Brenton Wood - Gimme Little Sign

Dorothy Moore - Misty Blue

Eddie & the Hot Rods - Do Anything You Wanna Do

Freda Payne - Band Of Gold

Frijid Pink - House Of The Rising Sun

Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go

Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted

Joe South - The Games People Play

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes

Millie - My Boy Lollipop

Nena - 99 Luftballons

Passions - German Film Star

Pete Wingfield - 18 With A Bullet

Peter Skellern - You're A Lady

Question Mark & The Mysterians - 96 Tears

Redbone - The Witch Queen Of New Orleans

Roy C - Shotgun Wedding

Sniff 'n' The Tears - Driver's seat

The Floaters - Float On

The Piglets - Johnny Reggae (might not count as it is Jonathon King who had other hits)

Thunderclap Newman - Something In The Air

Unit Four Plus Two - Concrete And Clay

Zager and Evans - In the Year 2525

by **CantSleepClownsWillGetMe** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:46 pm

God, how could I forget 'Witch Queen of New Orleans', one of my all time favourite songs!

If you'd added Martha & The Muffins' 'Echo Beach' to that list Kevin it would have been just about perfect.

J

by **Dayna** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:57 pm

Sugar, Sugar -The Archies

The other cartoon band. :-) I loved that!

by **kas** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:54 am

Anton Karas - The Third Man Theme (Harry Lime Theme)
Solomon Linda - Mbube (Wimoweh/The Lion Sleeps)

by **felonious munk** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:22 am

Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted

How are you defining one hit wonder?

He had another three top ten hits.

by **Dominic** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:38 pm

felonious munk wrote:
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted

How are you defining one hit wonder?

He had another three top ten hits.

Were Whole Wide World & Another Girl Another Planet bona fide hits?

I was going to suggest Brimful of Asha but the follow-up, Sleep On The Left Side, reached number 23, so maybe even this doesn't count!

In which case, how about Jilted John?

Favourite One Hit Wonders

Favourite One Hit Wonders

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