One-hit wonders: 25 bands that left behind just one unforgettable song for Bbc Classical Music

Call them one-hit wonders if you like. These are the artists who struck gold with a single hit and then (more or less) faded into obscurity. OndaRock devoted a podcast to the topic, "Chiedi chi erano i Flock Of Seagulls" (who, curiously, also feature here), narrowing the search to the most "fleeting" decade of all: the Eighties. Bbc Classical Music magazine, meanwhile, has dedicated a wide-ranging feature to the subject, publishing a list of artists it considers (sometimes wrongly, just think of Soft Cell and Nena, but also A Flock Of Seagulls themselves) to have had only one shot in the chamber. "One-hit wonders occupy a strange, dazzling corner of pop culture: they're the product of perfect timing, irresistible hooks and, often, a good deal of luck," Steve Wright notes in the introduction. "Sometimes bands burn brightly but briefly, undone by internal conflict or the shifting logic of the music industry. In other cases, they stumble upon a moment of pure pop perfection they can never quite repeat. The Eighties were especially fertile ground for this: MTV, synthesizers and music videos could turn an unknown act into a pop phenomenon overnight. Whether it's a summer anthem, a synth-pop oddity or an indie curio, these songs have stood the test of time. They're not failures, but lightning caught in a bottle: tracks that keep resonating long after their creators vanished from the charts," Bbc Classical Music concludes.

Here, then, is the list of the 25 bands that — according to the British magazine — left behind a single unforgettable hit (full feature here).

1. Iron Butterfly – "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (1968)
2. Strawberry Alarm Clock – “Incense And Peppermints” (1967)
3. Spizzenergi – "Where’s Captain Kirk?" (1979)
4. Ram Jam – "Black Betty" (1977)
5. Thunderclap Newman – “Something In The Air” (1969)
6. Tommy Tutone – "867-5309/Jenny" (1981)
7. Stories – "Brother Louie" (1973)
8. A Flock Of Seagulls – "I Ran (So Far Away)" (1982)
9. Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music” (1976)
10. Modern English – “I Melt With You” (1982)
11. King Harvest – “Dancing In The Moonlight” (1972)
12. Big Country – “In A Big Country” (1983)
13. Pilot – "(It’s) Magic" (1974)
14. The Knack – “My Sharona” (1979)
15. The Vapors – “Turning Japanese” (1980)
16. Norman Greenbaum – “Spirit In The Sky” (1969)
17. Soft Cell – “Tainted Love” (1981)
18. Blind Melon – "No Rain" (1993)
19. The Buggles – “Video Killed The Radio Star” (1979)
20. Toni Basil – "Mickey" (1982)
21. The La’s – "There She Goes" (1988)
22. Len – "Steal My Sunshine" (1999)
23. Chumbawamba – “Tubthumping” (1997)
24. The Only Ones – “Another Girl, Another Planet” (1978)
25. Nena – “99 Luftballons” (1983)

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