Top Five – bands defined by one huge hit

Back in the 1980’s the term ‘one hit wonder‘ was all the rage. Novelty singles like Baltimora‘s ‘Tarzan Boy‘, Joe Dolce‘s ‘Shaddap You Face‘, The Firm‘s ‘Star Trekkin‘, Taco‘s ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz‘, and Musical Youth‘s ‘Pass The Dutchie‘, were all flash in the pan servings of annoying, brainwormish pop, but what about some of the decent acts over the years that’ve made plenty of music but been forever defined by one huge hit? Well, that’s something different.

Solo artists like Norman Greenbaum, Thomas Dolby, Paul Hardcastle, Mr.Oizo and Gotye have all known what it’s like to forever chase that one huge hit that overshadows everything else. But Slacker Shack‘s latest Top Five blog is slimming the pickings down even further and focussing solely on bands.

When I threw the theme out to followers on X / Twitter a few suggestions came close to making the list. The Big Pink‘s ‘Dominos‘ almost made our five, as did Veruca Salt‘s ‘Seether‘, Ultravox‘s ‘Vienna‘ and At the Drive-In‘s ‘One Armed Scissor‘, but alas (for one reason or another) they couldn’t quite compete with the chosen five below…

In at Number Five it’s Primitive Radio Gods with their catchily titled ‘Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand.’ This song, with its hypnotic loop of B.B. King‘s bluesy “How Blue Can You Get,” stands as the band’s single fleeting taste of fame. The song’s distinctive blend of samples and shuffling indie rock set it apart as a slight oddity in an era marked by grunge and Britpop, but despite releasing four more albums, nothing else in their catalogue achieved the same commercial success or cultural impact.

Our Number Four pick is The Knack’s ‘My Sharona‘. Written by lead vocalist Doug Fieger about his then-girlfriend Sharona Alperin, the song’s catchy power-pop chorus and memorable guitar riff propelled it to the top of the US charts in 1979, making it an instant classic. Yet despite their initial success, the band struggled to replicate the massive impact of their debut single and received plenty of flack from fellow bands who perceived them as cheesy and overhyped, and swathes of the American music press who labelled them inauthentic Beatles rip-offs. Still a top tune though…

Thanks in part to being the theme tune to one of the 21st century’s best sit-coms (Peep Show) our Number Three selection is Harvey Danger‘s ‘Flagpole Sitta‘. Released in 1997, the song quickly became an anthem for disaffected youth, encapsulating the angst and irony of a post-grunge America, and the driving guitar riffs, pounding drums and poppy chorus made it an instant favourite on MTV too. The band never reached such heady heights again, but ‘Flagpole Sitta‘ remains a quintessential 90s anthem and a definitive example of a one-hit wonder that captured musical lightning in a bottle.

Close but no cigar, our Number Two is The Only One‘s ‘Another Girl, Another Planet‘. With Peter Perrett‘s distinctive vocals and a killer guitar riff, the song exudes an effortless cool that’s hard to resist forty four years after it’s first release. Bizarrely the song didn’t chart upon its initial release in 1978. In fact, its first chart appearance came on June 7, 1981, reaching No. 44 for one week on the New Zealand chart. The song was re-released in the UK in January 1992 however (alongside ‘Pretty in Pink‘ by the Psychedelic Furs) to promote the punk and new wave compilation album ‘Sound of the Suburbs,’ peaking at No. 57 on the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for two weeks. But the song’s story doesn’t end there, to date it features on at least six movie soundtracks – That Summer! (1979), Different for Girls (1996), Me Without You (2001), D.E.B.S. (2004), Paul (2011), and Her Smell (2018) – and has been covered by numerous other artists including Blink 182 (on their Greatest Hits album and as the theme tune to the reality TV show Meet The Barkers), The Replacements and Johnny Thunders. Not bad for a chart flop.

Our Number One? Martha & The Muffins‘ ‘Echo Beach‘. A mighty song I still regularly play and never grow bored of. And whilst it might not be the biggest seller of the five, it’s the best. Written by band member Mark Gane, ‘Echo Beach‘ was inspired by a real beach in Ontario, Canada, and its infectious melody and catchy chorus quickly became synonymous with the burgeoning early 80’s new wave movement. Tapping into every bored worker’s longing for an escape from the daily grind, the song’s enduring popularity even earned it the 35th spot on the CBC Radio One series The 50 Greatest Canadian Songs of All Time list. And in 2003, Q magazine named ‘Echo Beach’ among the 1001 best songs ever released. Sadly, the song was so good the band were never able to match it’s runaway success again despite fifteen more singles and seven albums. Although rumour has it they’re working on a new album following the release of their the compilation LP, Marthology: In and Outtakes in 2021.

So, that’s our ‘Top five bands defined by one huge hit‘ – who’d make your five?