song of the day – “Our Lips Are Sealed” | THE GO-GO’s | 1981 / 1982.

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

You know, time is a funny thing, not just for hit singles, but for life too.  For the month of June 2017, in honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, I’ve been highlighting songs that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including some (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits have been getting bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40. 

My goal was to feature a “song of the day” on June 30 (today) that went all the way to No. 1.  Well, life happens.  I wanted to do 40 posts in 30 days, but during the last half of the month, it got crazy busy for yours truly, visiting with dear friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, including a kick-ass concert in Boston with Tears For Fears and Daryl Hall & John Oates, guesting on a couple of radio shows, plus work stuff, family stuff, home stuff, and more of each…

Anyhoo, long story longer, I promised a countdown and a proper tribute to Casey Kasem on the bloggy thing here, and I humbly apologize for the delay, but I’m going to proudly honor my tribute to Casey, and keep going through July until we count down all the way to No. 1! 

So, as Casey used to say on AT40, “And on we go!”

In Los Angeles in 1978, four young female Punk Rock upstarts from the area – including vocalist Belinda Carlisle and guitarist and vocalist Jane Wiedlin – got together and formed a band called The Go-Go’s. 

The Go-Go’s played on the same bills as bands like revered L.A. Punk bands Fear and X and others.  Later in 1978, vocalist and lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey joined the band, and in the Summer of 1979, Gina Schock signed on as the drummer. 

By the time they recorded a five-song demo in late 1979, The Go-Go’s went from a Punk Rock sound to a more Power Pop sound.  In 1980, they got a huge break by touring with Madness in Los Angeles and in England, spending half the year on tour over in England.  A demo version of “We Got The Beat” (released on Stiff Records) ended up being a minor hit in the U.K., and gave The Go-Go’s their first bout with fame.

In December 1980, guitarist Kathy Valentine came aboard as the band’s bassist, and thus became the final member of the quintet, or rather, the future history-making lineup of The Go-Go’s. 

Four months later, in April 1981, the band signed on with I.R.S. Records.  Within three months, they recorded and released their debut album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.  It was not an instant smash here in America.  In England and Europe, however, the New Wave / Power Pop appeal of BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was definitely a hit.

The first single from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT (and the album’s opening track), “Our Lips Are Sealed” (co-written by Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall, singer for The Specials and Fun Boy Three), was released in mid-June 1981, a few weeks in advance of the album.

“Our Lips Are Sealed” took a couple of months to reach on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, debuting in late August 1981, and coming in as the lowest-debuting song on the Hot 100 that week (No. 90).  About two months into its chart run, “Our Lips Are Sealed” squeaked onto the Top 40 (at No. 40), having lost its “chart bullet” (representing strength in airplay and sales) for two consecutive weeks.

It inched up “bullet-less” to No. 39 the following week, and regained its bullet in week No. 11 on the Hot 100.  A couple of weeks before Xmas 1981, lips and ears and wallets of fans were no longer sealed, as both the single “Our Lips Are Sealed” and parent album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT, picked up momentum.  “Our Lips Are Sealed” spent a couple of weeks at No. 20 in December 1981, and was still in the Top 40 by mid-January 1982.

In late January 1982, “We Got The Beat,” the second single from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT, was the highest-debuting song of the week, coming in at No. 79.  Within three short weeks, “We Got The Beat” was already at No. 31 on the Hot 100, on its way to a No. 2 peak for three weeks in April 1982.  That also helped bring the BEAUTY AND THE BEAT album to No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart for six weeks in March and April 1982.

As for the debut single, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” it left the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late March 1982 and spent a more-than-impressive 30 weeks on the chart.  Wanna be even more impressed?  “Our Lips Are Sealed” spent four more weeks on the chart than the biggest song of the 80s, Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” (which was the No. 1 song at the time “Our Lips Are Sealed” peaked on the Hot 100).

1982 was certainly the year for The Go-Go’s, who placed three singles among the Top 100 songs in the U.S. that year.  “We Got The Beat” ranked at No. 25 for 1982, and “Vacation,” the title song from their second album, a No. 8 hit, and the first-ever cassette single (then a novelty item), was ranked at No. 87 for the year. 

The unusually long chart run for “Our Lips Are Sealed” (even though it stopped at No. 20) placed it at No. 63 for the year, higher than many songs that were Top 10 hits, including “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock Of Seagulls, and even the gorgeous No. 3 hit by The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”

“Our Lips Are Sealed” wasn’t just a big hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  It also reached No. 10 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart and No. 15 on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart.  Around the globe, “Our Lips Are Sealed” enjoyed success in Australia (No. 2), Canada (No. 4), Sweden (No. 14) and New Zealand (No. 23).  Oddly enough, in the U.K., where the band had its first success, it stopped at No. 47, though it would reappear a couple of years later.

In 1983, Fun Boy Three released their own version (as it was co-written by FB3 singer Terry Hall), from the album, WAITING, which was produced by Talking Heads’ David Byrne.  This version ended up being a big hit in both the U.K. and Ireland, reaching Nos. 7 and 13, respectively.

The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985, and Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin went on to successful solo careers in the second half of the 80s and early 90s.  The band got back together a couple of times in the 90s, and 2001, Belinda, Jane, Charlotte, Gina and Kathy reunited and released GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’S, their first studio album together since 1984’s TALK SHOW.

Though the band has already had their “farewell” tour, the legacy of The Go-Go’s lives on.  BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was once described as one of “the cornerstone albums of American New Wave” and 35 years later remains as the first and THE ONLY all-female band to reach No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart.

I love “We Got The Beat,” and I am so glad it brought deserved huge success to The Go-Go’s, but I’ve always found myself more partial to “Our Lips Are Sealed,” which is two minutes and 44 seconds of simple and pure New Wave / Pop perfection.

“It doesn’t matter what they say / In the jealous games people play / Our lips are sealed / Pay no mind to what they say / It doesn’t matter anyway / Our lips are sealed…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3kQlzOi27M

song of the day – “Lies” | THOMPSON TWINS | 1983.

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

In honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, for the entire month of June, I will be highlighting a song each day (some days will have two songs!) that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits will get bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  On June 30, I’ll feature a “song of the day” that went all the way to No. 1. 

As Casey used to say on AT40, “And on we go!”

I have to say, as a self-proclaimed singles chart nerd, researching for each blog post in this tribute to Casey Kasem has been pretty awesome.  Casey would often say, “As the numbers get smaller, the hits get bigger!”  That may also true with how many songs peak at each position.  For the songs that reached No. 30 between 1979 and 1989, there were over 40. 

What I found interesting (to me, anyway) is that, out of these 40+ songs that peaked at No. 30 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, there were only two (real) one-hit wonders.  Also, I’ve already highlighted five No. 30 hits – (real) one-hit wonder Frankie Smith and “Double Dutch Bus,” “The One Thing” by INXS, “The Prisoner” by Howard Jones, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and “Space Age Love Song” by A Flock Of Seagulls (one of my favorite blog pieces so far; from September 2016).

Taken at the Seawall Picnic Area (part of Acadia National Park) on 9.12.2016, a photo I took of a lone seagull (no flocks), and included with my blog post that day for “Space Age Love Song,” a No. 30 hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for A Flock Of Seagulls.

Another interesting quirk is that there are a lot of big-name artists who had No. 30 hits, but the hits themselves have been largely forgotten, including songs by The Bangles (“Be With You,” 1989), Tina Turner (“Two People,” 1987), Kool & The Gang (“Let’s Go Dancin’,” 1983), and two each by Daryl Hall & John Oates (“How Does It Feel To Be Back,” 1980, and “Possession Obsession,” 1985) and Toto (“Make Believe,” 1982, and “Stranger In Town,” 1984).

Yet another interesting fact is how there were so many memorable hits from other decades that stopped at No. 30 (like Iron Butterfly’s classic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever,” the brilliant “Walk On By” by Isaac Hayes, “Come Monday” by Jimmy Buffet, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, “Our House” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “She Talks To Angels” by The Black Crowes, “Firestarter” by Prodigy, R.E.M.’s wonderful “Man On The Moon,” the amazing “Love Is The Drug” by Roxy Music, and one of THE BEST pieces of music for all time, “Give It To Me” by The J. Geils Band), and yet, with the songs that peaked at No. 30 in the 80s, for whatever reason, most of those songs have been forgotten.

Thankfully, though, there were a handful of cool ones, too.  There’s the aforementioned ones I’ve already posted on the blog, but then there’s “Dance Little Sister” by Terence Trent D’Arby, “Love Will Find A Way” by Yes, The Human League’s “Mirror Man,” and “Lies,” the first big American hit by a New Wave / Synthpop trio who weren’t at all related – Sheffield, England’s Thompson Twins.

The trio of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway made up the Thompson Twins in 1982, a time when MTV was so popular, it was affecting what was bought in stores and what was played on the radio, and a time when New Wave was becoming more prominent in mainstream music.  1982 was also the start of the Second British Invasion on the U.S. singles chart, which lasted through 1986.  Thompson Twins were a big part of that. 

By 1982, Tom, Alannah and Joe already had one No. 1 song to their credit here in America – “In The Name Of Love,” which spent five weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart in May and June 1982.

In October 1982, they released “Lies,” the first single from their upcoming third album, QUICK STEP AND SIDE KICK.  The band was still looking for their audience in their U.K. homeland, and it stopped at No. 67 on the U.K. singles chart there. 

“Lies” would find an audience here in America a few months later, and it debuted at No. 80 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late January 1983, a couple of weeks after it spent two weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart (with its B-side, “Beach Culture”).

As “Lies” made its climb up the Hot 100, the song’s parent album was released in February 1983, and with the Twins being signed to Arista Records, that meant, well, much like fellow Brits (The) Icicle Works in 1984, a name change for the album in the U.S. and Canada.  So, the name of the album was shortened to just SIDE KICKS.

A month after the album’s release, “Lies” found its way to the Top 40.  By the end of March 1983, it reached No. 30, but got stuck there for three weeks, and was gone from the Top 40 after that.  It stayed on the Hot 100 for a respectable total of about four months.  “Lies” also reached No. 6 in New Zealand and the Top 30 in Australia and Canada.

Though the “Lies” follow-up single, “Love On Your Side” would fail to reach the Top 40 here in the U.S. (it stopped at No. 45 in early June 1983), Thompson Twins would finally find their U.K. audience, and that song was their first of five Top 10 hits, reaching No. 9.  QUICK STEP AND SIDE KICK was also certified Platinum there and reached No. 2 on the U.K. album chart.

I loved Thompson Twins from the start.  I reserved any quick-stepping and side-kicking for at-home dancing, but I was a fan as soon as I heard “Lies.”  Not only was I hooked by the music, but I really enjoyed Tom Bailey’s style of singing.  Don’t know if there’s a particular name for it, I just enjoyed it.  All these years later, I would put his vocal style in the same high class as Howard Jones and Cy Curnin of The Fixx.  They also had one of the coolest band logos.

It was pretty cool seeing them on the TV performing with Madonna at Live Aid.  What I didn’t know was that it was the beginning of the end for the trio I knew and loved as Thompson Twins. 

Madonna and Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, Live Aid, Philadelphia, July 13, 1985.

After Joe Leeway left the Twins in 1986, Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie kept the band and the name going until 1993, when they changed it to Babble, reflecting a change in musical direction from New Wave to “dub-influenced chill-out” (mixing Electronica, World Beat, Alt-Dance and Club styles).

Babble’s second and final album, 1996’s ETHER.

As Babble, Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie (who were married at the time and living in New Zealand) released a couple of albums before calling it quits in 1996.  Alannah Currie retired from music, and they were divorced in 2003 (though they remain friends). 

Tom Bailey now lives in London with his second wife, he took part in the 2014 version of the Retro Futura Tour as “Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey” and earlier this year on “The ‘80s Cruise,” an annual event of which I hope to attend at some point.  Under the moniker of “Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey,” he released a single last year called “Come So Far,” and has another one scheduled for release this year.

Tom Bailey today.

When I think of Thompson Twins, the first songs that come to mind are “Lay Your Hands On Me,” “Hold Me Now,” “If You Were Here” (from SIXTEEN CANDLES), “Sugar Daddy,” “In The Name Of Love” (both the 1982 and 1988 versions), their kick-ass cover of The Beatles’ “Revolution,” “Doctor! Doctor!” and “Love On Your Side,” but it was all “Lies” that made me fall in love with those three non-related kids back in 1982, who were, at one time, Twins…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHwD58Ne3Y

song of the day – “Space Age Love Song” | A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS | 1983.

Today (9.12.2016) was my final full day here at Seawall, nestled between the town of Southwest Harbor, Maine (where I spent the first several years of my childhood) and the Bass Harbor Head Light (one of the most photographed lighthouses in Maine), on the southwestern part of popular Mount Desert Island.

I’m still on vacation for another couple of days, but I’ll miss the view of the sea from my motel room and the natural quiet and solace and peace that Seawall gives me every time I’m here.  Today, I spent the entire afternoon at the Seawall picnic area reading (nearly half) of HANG THE DJ, a great new book by one of my first radio heroes (and from Central Maine too!), Duane Bruce.

Taken 9.12.2016 at the Seawall picnic area (part of Acadia National Park, in Maine), enjoying a Mexican glass bottle of Coca-Cola (the real thing!) and HANG THE DJ, the new book by one of my first radio heroes, Duane Bruce! (Photo by Ron Raymond, Jr.)

I started the afternoon by sitting in the late (and still quite warm) summer sun, then the shade, and found my way back to the sun again, sitting in my lawn chair facing the sea, camera at the ready, and a large boulder (a natural part of the seawall) in front of me to stretch my legs out on.

In my last hour there, before trekking to the rest room one more time, I put my camera in the car, and started reading again when I got back to my spot.  With my nose in my new book, I saw in the corner of my eye the shadow of a seagull (my favorite bird) flying over my head.  It joined another seagull (perhaps a Herring Gull) who was already situated directly in front of me.  Both of them took turns drinking water from a small pool in the boulder, then the darker-colored (maybe younger?) seagull started kissing the other by taking the upper and lower parts of her bill and wrapping it around the closed bill of the the other gull.  And yes, all of this was happening while I was without my camera for the first time today, dammit!  But, then I thought, “well, maybe I just wasn’t supposed to capture this with a camera…”

The younger gull kissing the Herring gull happened a few times, before the Herring flew off to a neighboring rock.  I don’t know if she heard me or not, but I said to her, “Go on, get over there!  Go get him!”  And, after about a minute, she did follow him there.  She tried to kiss him again, but he resisted and flew off, and she stayed on that rock even as I was driving away several minutes later.  Sure, I could have taken that shot, but if the powers that be didn’t want me to take a picture of one seagull kissing another, then I’m sure the same powers that be didn’t want me to take a picture of her waiting for him to come back.

One seagull I did manage to take a photo of today (9.12.2016) at the Seawall picnic area (part of Acadia National Park, in Maine). (Photo by Ron Raymond, Jr.)

I know what you’re thinking.  This would have been a great opportunity for me to have XTC’s wonderful “Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her” (from 1984’s THE BIG EXPRESS) as my “song of the day,” and you’re right, but it’s not the song I immediately thought of as I was leaving the picnic area tonight.  That song was A Flock Of Seagulls’ “Space Age Love Song.”

“Space Age Love Song” – forever my favorite song by the Liverpool, England quartet who brilliantly merged synthesizers with guitars – was the second single released from A Flock Of Seagulls’ self-titled 1982 debut album, and the follow-up to the worldwide Top 10 hit, “I Ran (So Far Away).” 

It debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-November 1982, and took two months to reach the Top 40.  “Space Age Love Song” spent seven weeks in the Top 40 itself, including two weeks at its peak position of No. 30 surrounding Valentine’s Day 1983.  Despite its chart peak, it would go on to spend 18 total weeks on the chart, one week shy of the amount of time “I Ran (So Far Away)” spent on the entire Hot 100.

Around the globe, “Space Age Love Song” was a moderate hit, also reaching the Top 40 in at least the U.K. and New Zealand.  It’s been covered by The Flaming Lips, Alt-Rock band Lazlo Bane (most famous for the SCRUBS theme song), and an awesome cover in 2009 by the Chicago Punk Rock band, The Bomb (formed by Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun).

The lead guitarist for A Flock Of Seagulls, Paul Reynolds, thought up the name of the song, once saying he suggested “Space Age Love Song” as the title because he thought it sounded like one.  So, the song title stuck.  And I’m glad it did.  Just as I’m glad to have witnessed (even if I didn’t get to photograph) one seagull kissing another out of love, with the moon in view. 

You know, that last sentence just made me think of a future “song of the day” by A Flock Of Seagulls – “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You).”  Maybe the next time I’m here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHg-KPrGcuU

song of the day – “There She Goes” | THE LA’S | 1988 / 1991.

A number of great bands have hailed from Liverpool, England, like Echo & The Bunnymen, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, A Flock Of Seagulls, Icicle Works, It’s Immaterial, The Boo Radleys, The Lightning Seeds, Ladytron, Gerry And The Pacemakers, and a 4-man band that you might have heard of before, The Beatles.

Another great band to come out of Liverpool was the Alt-Rock band, The La’s, led by a couple of singer / songwriter / guitarists, Lee Mavers and band founder Mike Badger.  The La’s had been around since 1983 but it wasn’t until 1987 when the band released their first single, “Way Out.”  It caught Morrissey’s ear, but didn’t catch many other ears overall, stopping at No. 86 on the U.K. singles chart.

The 1988 release of “There She Goes.”

The follow-up single to “Way Out” was a song called “There She Goes,” released on Halloween 1988, and whose title came out of a 1967 Velvet Underground song, “There She Goes Again.”  It charted better than their first single, but stalled at No. 59 on the U.K. singles chart.  A little more than a year later, the band recorded their debut album with famed producer Steve Lillywhite, who had worked with U2, Simple Minds, Talking Heads, Big Country, The Psychedelic Furs, Peter Gabriel, XTC, The Pogues, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Joan Armatrading, among others.

This was an album that had been recorded and re-recorded over a 2-year period, and their self-titled album was finally released in the U.K. in October 1990, the rest of Europe a month later, and here in the U.S. in 1991. 

The album did well in the U.K., reaching No. 30 on the album chart there and was certified Silver.  However, away from the U.K., the album didn’t do well, and has sold less than 50,000 copies in the U.S., stopping at No. 196 on the BILLBOARD Top 200 album chart.  It would be the only studio album The La’s ever released.

The release of THE LA’s album did spark renewed interest in “There She Goes,” and the re-release of the single sent the song to a No. 13 peak in the U.K., while over here in the U.S., it spent 2 weeks at No. 49 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in August / September 1991 and reached No. 2 on BILLBOARD’s Modern Rock chart.

The U.S. cover art for “There She Goes.”

“There She Goes” has been covered a number of times, most notably by The Boo Radleys (both their version and The La’s original were featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 Mike Meyers film, SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER, and a poopy crap version that fared a little better than the original, by Sixpence None The Richer, in 1999.

The La’s had quite the rotating lineup between 1983 and 1992, when they pretty much split up, though occasionally reuniting for concerts throughout the 90s and post-Y2K.  Over the years, “There She Goes” has been featured in several films and TV shows, and respect for the band and their lone American hit has increased.

In 2007, the U.K. magazine NME (New Musical Express) ranked the song at No. 45 on its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.  Personally, I rank this simple, short gem among my all-time favorites, from the 80s, 90s, and then some…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX9TDQcCyVE

song of the day – “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)” | A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS | 1983.

In 1982, A Flock Of Seagulls helped propel New Wave into the Top 10 worldwide by merging synthesizers and guitars on their debut single, “I Ran (So Far Away).”  That mesh of synthesizers and guitars proved to be successful for the Liverpool quartet on several more singles, including 1983’s “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You),” from their second album, LISTEN.

“Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)” entered the BILLBOARD Hot 100’s Top 40 in June 1983, and, after moving from No. 40 to No. 30 the following week, “Wishing” seemed headed to repeat the Top 10 success of “I Ran.”  But, after a few weeks of inching up the chart, it stopped at No. 26 for a couple weeks in July 1983 and spent 14 total weeks on the Hot 100.  It was the band’s second-biggest hit in America, but unlike “I Ran,” which was primarily a big hit just in the U.S. and Australia, “Wishing” had a more global reach, hitting No. 10 in their U.K. homeland, No. 6 in Ireland, No. 8 in South Africa and No. 19 in Canada.  It was also a No. 3 hit on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart and No. 26 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.

Chart stats aside, “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)” has got some real layering and substance to it, and is not your traditional Top 40 song.  You can’t really dance to it, it’s not the happiest song in the world, and it’s not surprising it wasn’t a big hit in America.  It didn’t sound like anything out at the time.  For example, the week it peaked at No. 26 on the Hot 100, “Maniac” by Michael Sembello,” Loverboy’s “Hot Girls In Love” and Bryan Adams’ “Cuts Like A Knife” all leapfrogged over “Wishing.”

But, not sounding like anything else out at the time only increased my love for “Wishing.”  It’s not my favorite song by them (that would be “Space Age Love Song”), but I think it’s their best.  I’ve always thought that…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opkzgLMH5MA

wouldn’t it be good.

To borrow from Nik Kershaw’s 1984 gem of a song, wouldn’t it be good to be on your side (or my side) of the subject of one-hit wonders?  What do you think of when you think of a one-hit wonder?  You think of a band or a singer who had one big hit, and that’s it, right?  What 80s one-hit wonders come to mind right away for you?  a-ha?  Falco?  Men Without Hats?  Eddy Grant?  Information Society?  The Outfield?  ’til Tuesday?  Madness?  For the record (no pun intended), NONE of these acts were one-hit wonders here in America.  In fact, every one of the acts listed above had multiple Top 40 hits, and in some cases, multiple Top 20 hits on the BILLBOARD Hot 100. 

Well, if you’re surprised that the artists listed above had more than one hit, don’t blame yourself; most people feel that way.  It’s not at the fault of the people, it’s radio stations and media outlets like VH1 who, over the years, “determine” what songs are the ones worth remembering, and what songs get left behind, despite what imprint they may have left on the singles chart.  And I love radio.  

In 2009, VH1 did a show on the “Greatest One-Hit Wonders Of The 80s,” and I responded with a show on STUCK IN THE 80s, titled “Why I Wasn’t A One-Hit Wonder,” featuring hits by artists listed above and other artists who appeared on VH1’s list like Thomas Dolby, John Waite, Devo, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, A Flock Of Seagulls and Dead Or Alive.  I don’t know who put this bullshit list together for VH1, but if I recall, nearly 75% of the list was inaccurate.

Later that year, in advance of their first Portland, Maine show, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Dave Wakeling, the voice and force behind The English Beat and General Public.  Knowing General Public had more than one hit (“Tenderness” in 1984 and their brilliant cover of The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” in 1993), I had played “I’ll Take You There” on my “Why I Wasn’t A One-Hit Wonder” show, and asked Dave if it bothered him that General Public, according to VH1, was referred to as a one-hit wonder (“Tenderness” was No. 77 on the list):

“[VH1] asked me to be involved in that, and I sent them a list of [our] hits, and I was like, ‘Sadly, we can’t be involved in a one-hit wonder [show], can we?’  So, I told him that I thought they were barking up the wrong tree, and beating a dead horse, and it seems to be something, I think it stems more from VH1 than anything else, to try and marginalize or even ridicule the 80s somehow, and most of the people working on those damn programs weren’t even there; with their young sarcastic tones.  I put the guy in his place, frankly.  And, I said, ‘Even if I was a one-hit wonder, it’d be one more than you, mate, wouldn’t it?!’  Or, as my dad used to say, ‘Better to have been a has been than a never-bleeding wozzer!’”

Between late 1979 and the end of 1989, there were nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s.  Once a week, prolly on Mondays, I’ll feature a (real) one-hit wonder of the week.  For me, being the chart nerd I am (I have warned you of this), a (real) one-hit wonder was a artist that reached the BILLBOARD Hot 100 just one time, whether it was a No. 1 hit, like M’s “Pop Muzik,” a Top 10 hit like Soft Cell’s cover of “Tainted Love,” a Top 40 hit like Laid Back’s “White Horse,” or a song that just squeaked into the Hot 100 at No. 96, like “The Only Way Is Up,” by Yazz & The Plastic Population, a song that actually spent 5 weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.  And with nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s (including the aforementioned Nik Kershaw), I could do this as a weekly feature for many years to come.  Stay tuned…