Army of Lovers, Fairport Convention, Martha and the Muffins, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Nena, Todd Rungren, Golden Earring…
What do they all have in common?
You got it. They are artists with a considerable discography of rather successful material under their belts who have been consigned to the igmony of our One Hit Wonder thread.
As Sniffity wisely pointed out, being a one-hit wonder is all a question of geography.
At home in Australia, Holland, Canada, Sweden etc, a band may have a long list of hits. But if you haven’t penetrated the UK or US charts more than once, you are dissed as a one trick pony.
Then what about those artists who have been labelled as an OHW and then go off and get another hit? This evening in the pub we were talking about John “Really free” Otway. A classic OHW I thought. But of no! He went and had another hit, Bunsen Burner, And then out on the road with the Two Hit Tour. And my friends tell me he’s written lots of fine songs.
This is a thread to put the record straight. A chance to post other songs by artists who’ve been landed with the OHW label.
So is a big hit, early in your career, a good or a bad thing? Is it the gift that keeps on giving? Or the kiss of death?
The wonderful Ron Sexsmith is philosophical about his big “hit” Secret Heart. “This song has been good to me.”
Then I think of poor Ralph McTell and Streets of London. I suspect he cannot do a gig without performing that song. He must hate it.
It’s like a cumbersome albatross hanging round his neck, as Coleridge so well understood.
It is an ancient pop star
And he stoppeth one of three.
“By thy long grey beard and thy glittering eye
Now wherefore stopps thou me?
The venue’s doorss are opened wide
And soon I’ll be in heaven.
The guitars are turned, the rig is up
They’ll turn it to eleven.
He holds me with his skinny hand
“Remember eighty three!”
Hold off , unhand me, grey-beard loon!
“I had one hit!” quoth he.
“STREETS OF LONDON!!”
Very good, but Ralph also had a top 40 hit with Dreams Of You a year after “Streets” (no, me neither).
Interestingly, Streets Of London was originally recorded solo in 1968, but it was the 1974 re-recording with a band that became the hit.
Thanks DrJ, That made my day. Hilarious!
Streets of London has something of a murky origin as this song by Al Stewart, which predates it by 2 years would indicate
Warren Zevon had a long career but will be commonly remembered for ‘Werewolves of London’. There was an episode of The Larry Sanders Show where he was the musical guest and was obliged to perform that song, to his obvious irritation.
And “Xanadu” did Kubla Kai a true one hit wonder decree
Wherein the sultry Olivia rolled on disco skates with Jeff Lynn’s mates
Produced by the famed Brummie
Pondering on the other thread, I came to the conclusion there’s such a thing as a “Wrong Hit Wonder”; for example, the Liverpool band Amsterdam had one minor hit with a song called “The Journey”, which is an unremarkable Cast/La’s sounding number, arriving ten years too late for Britpop. On the other hand, this song
(Does This Train Stop On Merseyside?)
didn’t trouble the charts. Yes, some of the lyrics are a bit awkward, but it’s the sort of catchy anthem that used to wash up in the Top Of The Pops studio on a regular basis in the old days..
“Does this train stop” – fantastic song and particularly emotive for those of us with connections to Liverpool. One of Peel’s all time favourites. Here’s the better studio version.
Dexy’s ? Ermm Geno and Come on Eileen were big hits were they not?
In the UK, Benny. But in the US, as was pointed out on the OHW thread and I hadn’t realized, they are known only for the latter and are seen, quite unjustly, as a flash in the pop pan.
In The Simpson Homer’s group The B-Sharps won the Grammy for Best New Talent. Homer had this exchange with Lisa…
Lisa: You beat Dexy’s Midnight Runners.
Homer: Well, you haven’t heard the last of them.
By the Dexys yardstick these were a one hit wonder in the U.S.
(Musical Youth – Pass The Dutchie)
Not thought of as some kind of goofy “novelty” hit, though – If you follow hip hop the references to this record are everywhere..
Just to show that Army of Lovers had more than one hit.
http://youtu.be/o8m5tjflfYI
I’m rather interested in songs that were a big hit in one country but made no impression elsewhere. Like Cold Chisel’s Khe Sanh which was huge in Australia (I believe). The experiences of an Aussie Vietnam vet were unlikely to make it onto TOTP.
incredibly Khe Sahn was never a real hit, never cracked the top 40 here but has a status unmatched by any other Aussie song.
An oldies type radio station called Gold FM in Melbourne recently polled their listeners for their all time favourite songs and the Top 1000 were played in order over a week or two and the results were…
1/ Bohemian Rhapsody
2/ Khe Sahn
3/ Stairway to Heaven
That’s amazing heights for a non-hit, especially one that is unknown outside it’s homeland. it was galling to me as I don’t even like the song and it’s not as though I don’t like the band. Breakfast at Sweethearts is one of my favourite songs from anywhere. It’s a perfect description of Sydney’s seedy Kings Cross early in the morning.
Cold Chisel are in rather august company there, Cookie.
I think it’s breakfast time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1q3BaetcUE
I’m pretty certain Khe Sahn charted here in Adelaide, Chisel’s home town – it got bags of airplay till it was banned when someone realised the line “their legs were often often, but their minds were always closed” could be construed as a bit naughty…lack of airplay probably helped it not to be a hit on its first release. They even played a couple of lunchtime concerts and the odd end-of-year social at my high school a few years before their first record.
Unlike you, this (and “Flame Trees”) are the only Chisel songs I’m partial to.
I was pondering the Cold Chisel phenomenon only today. A band I’d never heard of until I came to Australia, where they are considered to be in the very highest rock echelon. See also Midnight Oil.
It’s definitely a case of “you had to be there” with Cold Chisel. I see them as a sub-Bad Company, blue collar pub rock band with a blues shouter up-front.
But as you say they are rock royalty in Australia.
Jimmy Barnes (the blues shouter in question) did go up several rungs in my estimation however when, several years ago, he appeared on the TV show “Rockwiz” and chose as his specialist subject the band Free, about which he appeared to be full bottle (to use an Aussie expression).
“Barnsey” (as he is universally known here) is a good bloke though. He’s been keeping good company in recent years too, working with Joe Bonamassa, Jon Lord and Steve Morse in various projects.
He’s also never lost his Scottish accent despite moving to Oz aged 5.
In the mid-70s, Barnesy joined Adelaide band Fraternity, after their former singer absconded to Sydney to join some bunch called AC-DC.
Fraternity also featured John Swan*, Barnsey’s older brother – known, inevitably, as Swanee which was also the name of his own band.
*Swan was the original family name. Mrs Swan later married a chap named Barnes and young Jim took the name.
John Swan is South Australia’s Senior Citizen of the Year 2015.
You trumped me with that piece of trivia!
Odd, I often think, that although Nick Cave is rightly revered here in Oz, “The Birthday Party” the only Australian band I liked during my formative years in the UK, are really not.
Classic example here. The Nits. National heroes in the Netherlands, fairly unknown elsewhere. I must have heard this wonderful song on the Peel show.
Here’s more from OZ – Hits here BUT anywhere ELS????????
Aus. Crawl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmW4OYTu7Qo
Mondo Rock
the Brill Hunters & Collectors
There’s any number of British bands that no one outside the UK gives too hoots about. Ask someone in Australia about (let’s say) The Manic Street Preachers and they will not know what you are talking about. The Jam were one hit wonders in Australia The only song you’ll ever hear of theirs in Australia is Town Called Malice. Oddly Style Council were quite big.
Better examples for this thread are The Divinyls, who had a good solid career at home but are not known outside of Australia for anything other than I Touch Myself
The same with Sherbert,they had a bunch of hits in Australia but only Howzat! bothered the charts in England.
This is “Summer Love” which was number one here for months
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7weysTvEKvE
Similarly, while Paul Weller’s solo albums always make the top 5 in the UK, you can’t give him away in Australia where his highest charting album is 22 Dreams which made only #30.
All his other albums didn’t even crack the top 50. Even then I think most of those sales went to ex-pat Poms.
You’re almost certainly right about who buys the Paul Weller albums in Australia. Noel Gallagher played a solo gig in Perth once. It was by all accounts a huge success but he said about it, “Fifteen hundred people and not one Australian”
A few years ago, I went to the David McComb tribute show at the Barbican. My first thought was ‘Who knew there was such a Triffids fanbase over here?’ My second thought was ‘Ah, the Australian diaspora.’
The Triffids are very highly revered by myself and several of my pals. None of us are Aussies or have been to Australia @thecheshirecat. I think that they have a big fanbase because they were a wonderful band.
Well indeed, I was there as one such person. But the accents around me made me awaysick for the time I lived in Australia.
Awaysick? Love it! You are on a roll today with these useful expressions Chesh!
Benny and Björn still know how to write a hit. Du är min man (You are my man) was in the Swedish charts for an amazing five years! It’s in the dansband style. That’s the musical genre that they emerged from to become international pop stars.
Serge Gainsbourg is a real one hit wonder in the UK. He probably only made the charts because the Beeb banned his single. And the rumours about what went on in the recording studio.
Over on the other side of La Manche, he is a gigantic figure. I’m sure our M. Tunes could name 10 mega hits at the drop of a chapeau.
A slightly different take. The OHW thread got cross-referenced in my mind with the Civilians thread of a few months back. How many bands must there be where one stray bullet into the charts gets them on the mainstream radar, without any knowledge of the context or back catalogue? Now, I’m guessing that Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 isn’t the only thing for which Floyd are known, but what I’m thinking of is Hole in my Shoe.
Paper Sun?
Yes, but will the proverbial civilian milkmen be whistling it?
the “stray bullet” reference – how many people heard Neils version in 1984 with no knowledge of the original (unless they decided to look later)?
I admit, that I was one of those people
A friend of mine knew the original, but thought it was Neil Innes (The Young Ones had yet to appear on antipodean TV)
How about chuck Berry’s “My Ding-a-Ling”?
That was a (very) stray bullet that took Berry right back to the top of the charts, years after the classic singles.
Don’t worry – I’m not going to post a video.
I once saw a particularly disturbing karaoke version of My Ding-a-ling performed in a pub in Slaithwaite. We’ll leave it there.
A stray bullet into the charts! What a wonderful expression. Have an Up.
Not many folk bands I can think of that have had such a stray bullet though.
Pentangle (Thanks to it being the theme of a TV show.)
Steeleye Span (sounding a bit like the Quo?)
Ah, but while “Hat” is Steeleye’s biggest hit, they also had a top 20 record two years earlier with Gaudete one of only two songs with Latin titles to crack the UK singles charts (not counting any of that new age Gregorian Monks stuff).
Can you name the other?
What a brilliant question! Do you moonlight as a Pub Quizmaster?
Here’s an Enya track with a Latin title. But it wasn’t a hit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcwvSjCmAZg
Hmm! I’m guessing that other latin song is by a rap act. Exitus Fuori Comptonus?
I suspect that Finnish Dr Ammondt, who sings Elvis in Latin, has never grazed even the lower echelons of the charts.
The kids watching him look bored out of their tiny minds.
Could it be this one?
Les Crane : Desiderata
Was it the Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem?
Enigma – Mea Culpa
Darn, just came on to post this! Got to 55 in the UK charts, apparently.
Ah, just saw Johnny’s “not counting any of that new age Gregorian Monks stuff”. Guess it’s not Enigma, then.
Shall I give the answer now, or let it run?
Venus?
Hold your horses with that answer! This is far too much fun. Although I won’t sleep tonight unless we guess it.
Eres Tu?
Ca Plane Pour Moi?
Van the Man – Gloria?
Patti Smith’s version was called In excels is deo/Gloria. But was it a hit. I suspect not.
None of the above
In dulce jubilo by Mike Oldfield?
La Bamba?
Agadoo? 🙂
Mike is correct. It’s the Mike Oldfield single In Dulci Jubilo / On Horseback which reached number 4 in 1975
The Scorpions
Debut album released in 1972, never massive on singles – released a fair few, but some have only prodded the lower reaches of the UK chart. Until 1991 – “Wind Of Change” has become their legacy to the world, and their pension.
(I also believe it to be the worst song in their canon)
Stray Bullets (and the gateway to a rejuvenated career)
Aerosmith -chartwise anonymous in the UK until hooking up with Run DMC in 1986.
Chumbawumba – 11 years and 8 albums, and then this:
Not a true one hit wonder as the follow-up single hit number 10 a couple of months later.
This is the only one that ever seems to get public airplay though
At moments like this, I really miss Peel. There so many unusual European bands that he’d play on his show. Not of course the sort of acts, I suppose, that went on to achieve great success at home. But The Nits, posted above, certainly became a household name in Holland.
Could have been “Cara Mia” or maybe Dean Martin “amoure” ain’t certain if they are “Latin” but close.
Jon Hiseman’s Colisseum had an album and title track called Morituri te salutant.
After that rather enjoyable Latin lesson (thanks JC), let’s back to Not OHWs.
As a big fan of Echo Beach, I was fascinated to learn that The Muffins have made several albums and had quite a few hits in Canda and the US.
Nena – more than just a balloon girl!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oas5nAlfrwg
They had a second hit in the UK, achieving the lofty heights of number 70
Just A Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJLqfiH4ABk
Wikipedia tells me that the parent album did not chart in the UK – obviously my purchase was in vain.
oops, read the wrong section – the album was called 99 Luftballons, and was bookended by the English & German versions. It reached 31 in the UK, which means there are others in the country who own it (but probably won’t admit it)
Streets of London. Werewolves (also) of London. And now here’s another “albatross song”: Dead Skunk.
Loudon is clearly aware on the pressure he’s under to sing it.
Any other albatross songs?
Blowing in the wind- Dylan
Stairway – Led Zep
Luka – Suzanne Vega
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKfMlQ7KWFE
I saw Camper van Beethoven at Dingwalls many moons ago, and they played Take the Skinheads Bowling early in the set. Then a bunch of skinheads showed up, and demanded that they play it again, which the band refused. There were a few minutes of tension, then Sugar Minott got on stage … he was there in the audience … and totally defused the situation. Somehow everyone was happy again.
Poor Ryan Adams! His albatross song isn’t even in his repertoire. It’s a Bryan Adams hit: Summer of 69.
How very witty of him to finally succumb and play it.
I didn’t want to shuffle too far over to the right up there – but I think it was established in a previous thread that Steeleye Span’s Gaudete was the oldest song to have charted. First published in 1582 but probably much older than that. Just beats Cliff by a few weeks.
One could be forgiven for thinking that in the UK Joy Division were a one-hit wonder, certainly while they were actually in action. LWTUA has been in the chart a few times and only a slight seepage into the membrane of the top 40 happened with Atmosphere when it was used in a TV ad in the 90s.
Compare this to New Zealand where LWTUA and Atmosphere both got to number 1 in the late 70s and Transmission got to number 2.
Rodriguez is a good example. Didn’t mean a thing in US or UK, absolutely huge in South Africa and pretty popular in Australia too, it turns out. When the documentary came out I was surprised to find that Mrs thep knew all the words to all the songs, having been introduced to them by some SA surfer dude who turned up in Byron Bay clutching the LP in the late 70s.
https://youtu.be/qyE9vFGKogs
Interesting to hear that Rodriguez was also popular or at least known in Australia. So much has been said of his popularity in SA.
It’s a remarkable story anyway.
And Joy Division riding high in the Kiwi charts! Thanks for that Black. Surprising. I wonder if the proverbial NZ milkmen were whistling those tunes.
Not checked but wasn’t Jeff Beck only hit Hi Ho Silver Lining?
Ha ha!
@johnny-concheroo
Nice try!
http://i.imgur.com/wUZ3y9o.jpg
Your man has clearly dominated the Hit Parade for decades!
She may have had a few other minor hits, but surely Souer Sourire deserves a mention here? The only Belgian nun singing in French (as far as I know) to large it up in the UK and US charts.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=10mMDtpfcQM
Good question Robbie. The Jeff Beck group did release a few singles but I don’t think they charted significantly.. They also backed Donovan on a few tracks.
Perusal of the above clipping shows you that Beck isn’t even a one hit wonder – highest chart placing is 12, on a Donovan single. And look at the titles – a litany of embarrassment!
Waddya mean? Jeff took Graham Gouldman’s poptastic Tallyman to the giddy heights of #30. And then there was Love Is Blue which almost cracked the top 20.
If only Jeff hadn’t been in strong competition with the Paul Mauriat Orchestra on that one!
I think it’s only reasonable to call a song a hit if it enters the Top Ten, yes? That’s being charitable – a Numero Uno is a real Hit. On this basis, your man is nowhere. Tallyman?! Have you actually heard that?! It’s horrible! As is Love Is Blue. I’ve Been Drinkin’ is great, but that’s because it’s a Rod Stewart single in all but name. Beck’s reduced to the status of session player, dialling in a solo from 1:28 to 1:45, and coming back for a couple of notes at the fade.
This is lovely:
In the top twenty clarifies as a hit in my book. Regardless of the country.
I think we can rule out a No 37 in the Azerbaijan hit parade, for example. Bubbling under in Bulgaria doesn’t really cut it.
Others here may be more charitable.
Number One in the Peruvian Indie Chart? I might give it some consideration,
You thought I was joking about Peruvian indie?
Opportunity knocks on the Afterword for Las Amigas de Nadie.
Falco’s Der Kommisar (the German version of course) was one of my favorite disco songs of the 80s, back in the day.
http://youtu.be/WKfq-5dbvP8
When he died in a traffic accident in the Dominican Republic, it was a day of national grief in Austria. With 20 million albums and 15 million singles sold, he was the country’s most successful singer.
Another artist whose death was a cause for national grief was Brazils’s Tom Jobim. I suspect the only one of his songs to make an impact on the UK chart was Astrud Gilberto’s version of Girl from Ipanema.
There’s now a statue of him on the beach that he made world famous.
https://mylittleriojournal.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/tom-jobim-statue-at-arpoador/
That’s rather a rather a good little blogspot if you are interested in Rio by the way.
You can’t move the goalposts now! Seriously that’s a great clip. Plynth from the Beck-Ola album. Great haircuts all round! Every member of that band became later became huge. Beck, Rod, Woody and Aynsley Dunbar on drums.
Did Aynsley Dunbar became huge? He had a great career, excellent drummer and played with some amazing talent but do you think he became well known in the way that Beck, Rod and Woody did?
I’m interested in the history of bands which didn’t quite make it but whose members later had great success. I wrote about Bandit on a different thread: talented chaps whose album was released just as punk hit the headlines and got lost. You can imagine them having a band meeting in the pub when they sadly decide to knock it on the head, little knowing what was to come:
Vocals: Jim Diamond – had several big hits in different guises including the theme tune to a top TV show.
Guitars: Danny McIntosh – guitarist with Kate Bush and later married her. I’ll say that again: he married Kate Bush.
Guitars: James Litherland – became a member of Colosseum. After that he had his own band called Brotherhood which included Roger Ball and Molly Duncan (both later to join AWB) and John Wetton (who you may know as a member of Family and King Crimson). Oh, he is also the father of James Blake / Harmonimix.
Bass: Cliff Williams – was in a great little band called Home with Laurie Wisefield (who later joined Wishbone Ash and played in Roger Chapman’s band). He toured with Al Stewart and then became bass player for AC/DC!
Drums: Graham Broad – has played, recorded and toured with an amazing variety of artists including Roger Waters, Bucks Fizz, Van Morrison, Five Star, Jeff Beck, Wham! and Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. I believe he also wrote and played the infamous drum fill for the Eastenders TV theme!
That’s quite something – five members of a “failed” band who then went on to achieve significant success.
Perhaps not as huge as the other three granted, but Dunbar played with Zappa, Journey, Bowie, Lou Reed, Starship, UFO, Whitesnake etc.
I didn’t see your Bandit thread, but that quite a CV the individual members have there.
Beck-Ola was an amazing album. Ridiculous that Beck is better known for Hi Ho than Plynth. An albatross song in a way but I guess he hasn’t played Silver Lining in 40 years.
Jeff describes Silver Lining as “a pink toilet seat around my neck” and refused to play it live for decades. Despite having a vocalist of Rod’s calibre in the band Mickie Most insisted Jeff sing the first two singles (and the third was an instrumental). Still, Silver Lining had a cracking guitar solo for.a 1967 pop single
Here’s a surprise. @johnny-concheroo will be taken aback.
The “pink toilet seat” live. In 2009. feat David Gilmour at the RAH.
http://www.guitarworld.com/david-gilmour-and-jeff-beck-play-jerusalem-and-hi-ho-silver-lining-2009-video/25707
Fantastic! Jeff is a little more relaxed about performing the song in recent years.
Sartorially it’s an interesting clip. There’s Jeff looking cool, trim, great haircut, pants tucked into white PVC boots, sleeveless shirt etc. Every inch the rock star
And there’s poor old Dave looking like an even-more-unkempt Big Issue Seller in rumpled t-shirt and baggy pants.
‘Great haircut’. It might be real hair, but it’s not Jeff’s.
*puts fingers in ears*
La,la,la, not listening!
It’s Nigel Tufnell’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Tufnel
Canadian Randy Bachman is still going strong and even has a radio show called Vinyl Tap. But he was in two bands, both of whom are mostly known for one song.
The Guess Who – American Woman
Bachman Turner Overdrive . You ain’t seen nothing yet
Only one song for the Guess Who? Surely not…
Thanks Sniffity.I’d never heard of it. Not surprising: it did not chart at all in the UK. # 65 in Australia.
A good example of a band who’ve done far more than we know about.
Blimey, I didn’t even include Albert Flasher, Raindance or Clap For The Wolfman!
My rule of thumb is, if I can remember hearing it on the radio (strictly Top 40) as a youngster, or one of my siblings having the record (and none of them went for anything obscure) then it must have been a hit.
Guess Who also featured Burton Cummings who had 2 huge hits – in Australia at least – ‘I’m Scared’ and this one, ‘Stand Tall’
Burton Cummings? Why, thats @black-celebration!
Good shout. This should be a thread.
In my opinion, having a hit or being a OHW is often the 3 minutes between pantheon and oblivion. Good thing then.
And how about Zappa? Minor chart action in the USA with Valley Girl (#32) and Dancing Fool (#45). Bobby Brown(Goes Down) was, bizarrely, massive in Europe however.
Norway #1
Sweden #1
Austria #2
Germany #4
Switzerland #5
Bobby Brown was indeed enormous here. It often is used for gym sessions! Just the right tempo for press ups. Many is the time I’ve heard it at the Frisky and Sweaty Gym Club and laughed at the lyrics while pushing myself to the limits.
Just took at a look at the stats. Bizarre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa_discography#Singles
Zappa’s singles totally failed to chart. No surprise really except perhaps for Any Way the Wind Blows from Ruben and the Jets. A fine tune.
And then along comes Bobby Brown and is a ginormous hit in the Scandinavian countries and does well in other parts of Europe. A cynic might argue it was because they did not fully understand all the lyrics. Locust will doubtless deny that.
Totally unsuitable for radio play in the States of course.