One-hit wonders of 1985

Do you remember any of the one-hit wonders of 1985? 'Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry." Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round." Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio." Those are three, and there are a bunch more.

To hear the tunes again and find out where those bands are today, tune into our latest Stuck in the 80s podcast on the one-hit wonders of '85. Click here to download the show. Or click here to subscribe to the entire series of shows for free on iTunes.

Highlights of this week's show:

• Sean Daly ponders the misdeeds of the night before while pounding Tums and Pepto-Bismol.
• Co-host Cathy throws a tantrum when Scritti Politti is listed among the show's one-hit wonders.
• Steve mangles his way through a new "Name that 80s Tune" challenge. (And yes, I know we have people out there waiting for their prizes. Hang on, Sloopy. They're coming.)

Enjoy the show. Leave us some comments with feedback if you get the chance!

Comments

[bassnote]

Great podcast. I have to agree that a-ha is not a one hit wonder. I wish you would have gotten to a little more music though. How about Roxanne, Roxanne by UTFO, and Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer?

A few more are:

All I Need - Jack Wagner
Oh Sheila - Ready For The World
One Night In Bangkok - Murry Head

[Damian P.]

A-Ha isn't a one-hit wonder, and neither are Dead or Alive ("Brand New Lover") or General Public ("I'll Take You There"). Shenanigans!

[razor9edge]

Another great podcast...

I would agree with everyone's opinion that Dead or Alive and General Public are not one hit wonders.

My favorite one hit wonder from 1985 is a song called "Captain of Her Heart" from a band named Double. I could be wrong about the year the song was released. I always wondered if the rest of the album was any good...

[Damian P.]

According to my "Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders" (great bathroom reading), the one-hit wonders of 1985 include Giuffria, Midnight Star, Harold Faltermeyer, Mary Jane Girls, Godley & Creme, David Foster, Charlie Sexton, Kate Bush, and Jellybean.

[bassnote]

Kate Bush a one hit wonder??????? Are you kidding me?

[lyndal]

Hey Guys
I agree that it was a great show but whoever choose the list must be smoking the crack. Either that or it really highlights the difference between the US and the UK charts as heaps of those artists had multiple hits in the UK/Australia (our charts used to follow the UK pretty closely back in the day).

[razor9edge]

Oops... Just found my Billboard book. Double's "Captain of Her Heart" didn't debut until June of 86.

"Harold Faltermeyer and Godley & Creme
are great choices for one hit wonders. How about "One Night in Bangkok" by Murray Head?

[Cathy]

"One Night in Bangkok" would have been an excellent choice! Sorry we missed it. I was just doing some reasearch on Murray Head and learned something new: he's the younger brother of Anthony Head, best known for his role as Giles on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

[Max]

"One Night in Bangkok" is from the original concept album of the musical "Chess", which was released in '84. Another single from the album ("I Know Him So Well") hit #1 in the UK in early '85.

A couple of other trivia bits, if anyone's interested:

- When "Chess" first opened in 1986, Murray Head played Freddie (a.k.a. the American). His brother Anthony Stewart Head eventually took over the role, and was in the final London performance in '89.

- Murray Head also originated the role of Judas on the concept album of "Jesus Christ Superstar" (opposite Ian Gilliam of Deep Purple as Jesus). I don't know if the song "Superstar" ever charted or not, but I'll bet more people know it than "One Night in Bangkok".

- A drastically re-written version of "Chess" was brought to Broadway in '88, with an entirely new cast. One of the people in that cast, playing a KGB agent/chess second, was Harry Goz (better known as Captain Murphy in "Sealab 2021").