One-hit wonders: 25 bands who left behind a single hit, according to BBC Classical Music

Call them "one hit wonders" if you like: bands that managed to break through with just one big hit. Although maybe it's not quite that simple... British magazine Bbc Classical Music has taken a crack at this curious list of "25 bands who left their mark with a single unforgettable song that defined them forever", noting in the introduction: "The one-hit wonder phenomenon occupies a strange, glittering corner of pop culture: a perfect convergence of timing, irresistible hooks and, often, a dash of luck. Sometimes bands burn out fast, undone by internal chaos or the whims of the music industry. Other times they stumble upon a single moment of pop perfection and never manage to top it. The Eighties were particularly fertile ground: MTV, synthesizers and music videos created instant, highly visual hits. Suddenly, a quirky hook or a striking video could catapult an unknown band into everyone's living room. Whether summer anthems, eccentric synth-pop or indie oddities, these songs have endured. They're lightning captured in a bottle, songs that still resonate long after the artists who made them have vanished from the charts."

That said, it's worth pointing out straight away that the list lumps together acts that can genuinely be filed under one-hit wonders with far more significant groups who racked up well more than one memorable hit — from the essential Soft Cell to The La's, by way of Big Country. Even Iron Butterfly, though made famous by "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", certainly weren't limited to that one song, embodying a pivotal chapter in psychedelic rock of the Sixties. And it's also worth remembering that the true masterpiece of Flock Of Seagulls is arguably "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)", and that Nena, besides the ever-famous "99 Luftballons", also produced several Neue Deutsche Welle gems (starting with "Irgendwie Irgendwo Irgendwann").

But as we know, lists are always imperfect, so here below is the ranking of what Bbc Classical Music considers "one hit wonders", complete with their respective memorable hits (full feature here).

25. Nena – "99 Luftballons"

24. King Harvest – “Dancing in the Moonlight”

23. Chumbawamba – "Tubthumping"

22. Len – "Steal My Sunshine"

21. The La's – "There She Goes"

20. Toni Basil – "Mickey"

19. Blind Melon – "No Rain"

18. Norman Greenbaum – “Spirit in the Sky”

17. The Buggles – “Video Killed the Radio Star”

16. Soft Cell – "Tainted Love"

15. Tommy Tutone – “867-5309/Jenny”

14. The Knack – “My Sharona”

13. The Only Ones – “Another Girl, Another Planet”

12. Pilot – “Magic”

11. Big Country – “In a Big Country”

10. Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”

9. Ram Jam – “Black Betty”

8. A Flock of Seagulls – “I Ran (So Far Away)”

7. Stories – “Brother Louie”

6. Modern English – “I Melt With You”

5. Strawberry Alarm Clock – “Incense and Peppermints”

4. The Vapors – “Turning Japanese”

3. Thunderclap Newman – “Something in the Air”

2. Spizzenergi – “Where’s Captain Kirk?”

1. Iron Butterfly – “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”

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