One-Hit Wonders of the 80s: Tracks #1-#10

After my "Captain Of Her Heart" by Double-feature, I'd come across this 2009-article titled "VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s", to which I'd use said-list in my subsequent "one-hit-wonders of the 80s" blog-features!

Yes, I am a slacker, but I am not going to let this splendid list to waste too! And a quick glance thru it reminded me of tracks I'd forgotten, AND not heard before too, so I am keen to delve into dredging up my music memories of my past (*But not my teen hood, #sorrynotsorry).

And instead of counting down from "#100 to #1", I'll do the reverse instead, and counting down from "#1 to #100", with TEN songs in each post. Gonna be fun as we go more "obscure" with the tracks, IMHO. Meanwhile, this is #1-#10 along with their respective music videos, and some personal commentary (*Of course) ... ENJOY!



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #1 - "Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners (1982) from their album "Too Rye Ay". I've seen a couple of MVs before this blog-feature, and have since discovered them no longer existing on YT? Perhaps they'd been pulled? So I'll just embed the AUDIO ONLY vid here, sorry.



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #2 - "I Ran (So Far Away)" by Flock of Seagulls might have been the more successful track, there have been a couple of more memorable ones (at least to me lah) to come afters... CLASSIC 80s song lah!



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #3 - "Take On Me" by A-Ha (1985) might have been their hugest hit (from their debut English album "Hunting High and Low"), but there are TONS more to come after, and is apart of my #SoundTrackToLife, and perhaps one day when I get my sh*t together, will have individual blog-features for their other albums too...!



I so remember recording this MV down on VHS (back in those glorious MTV days), and pausing the MV so I could literally TRACE the on-screen illustration on tracing paper I had! I had been an aspiring comic book artist (then), and was amazed that this illustrative art was used in a "music video"! Years later I would also recognise this to be a form of "story-boarding" LOL

ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #4 - "867-5309 / Jenny" by Tommy Tutone (1981). Oh wow, I had totally forgotten about this track...!



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #5 - "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell is without a doubt their largest hit, but their discography is vast(ish), leading to Marc Almond's own solo career. #CLASSIC80s

There is also another MV for this song, which shows Marc and his partner in music crime frolicking in a faux parK, dressed in togas and mingling amongst other folks in togas LOL



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #6 - "Mickey" by Toni Basil (1981), from her album "Word of Mouth" ~ Hey, Mickey! 'Nuff said.!



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #7 - "I Melt With You" by Modern English (1982), from the album "After the Snow".



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #8 - "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow (1982), from the album "I Want Candy".



ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #9 - "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo (1983), from their album "White Feathers". #CLASSIC80s,. To me, and a permanent #SoundtrackToMyLife as far as I am concerned...!



At this publication of this post, I have conflicting personal memories of this track (which I had rambled on before, but am too lazy to recheck :p) .... ONE is of a possible weekend afternoon, while I was lying prone down on my mattress in my bedroom, writing in an "Autograph Book" (80s kids in SG might relate to WHAT that is/was :p), while a plate of sliced Pandan Cake laid on the floor beside me = A scene so vividly etched in my memories. The smell of the cake, the mood of the lights, and more likely me writing unrequited sweet nothings in the book - which also reminded me of when after I gave said-book to the owner in class, a classmate (whom I cannot remember) immediately snatched it away, and READ OUT LOUD WHAT I WROTE TO THE ENTIRE CLASS...! I think I'll stick to the "smell of Pandan Cake"-memory... :p

THEN, there is that other memory of flipping through an issue of "Captain Carrot & The Amazing Zoo Crew" (I don't know the issue number, but I faintly remember what the issue featured - a "giant crushing wheel"? Nvrmind)... and relishing at discovering such a comicbook, as "Too Shy" played in the background ... And maybe BOTH scenarios and situations DID happen while the song was playing, no? I honestly cannot discern, but frankly IT'S ALL GOOD :)

ONE HIT WONDER OF THE 80S #10 - "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood - with the video below of their stage performance on "Top Of The Pops" (1984). There are a few variations of the "official" MV to be found on YouTube too, which I had on various occasions posted here and in my now defunct Flashback80s-blog (Yes, I Am Serious about the *0s :p).

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