I was recently told that today, Friday the 25th of September is National One hit Wonder day. No, it’s the first I’d heard of it too! But the folks at Best Offers Bingo have conducted a survey of over 1200 people across the UK asking ‘what is the best one hit wonder?’
According to the poll the nation’s favourite one hit wonder is Deep Blue Something – ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’ The top five responses also include The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You, Charles and Eddie – Would I Lie To You?, Chumbawamba – Tubthumping and 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?.
The two highest scoring entrants seemingly benefit from exposure on TV, film or advertising, with the formula for a one hit wonder being established by the presence of a memorable hook and chorus and the capturing of a trend or moment. However some of these entrants are questionable in their One-hit Wonder status entirely(Cornershop, Stereo MCs and Chumbawamba had careers besides their memorable hit for example) others were more gimmicky(Crash Test Dummies, OMC), but standout cuts like White Town‘s ‘Your Woman’ and Deee-Lite‘s ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ were surprising delights then and still stand up today! Anyway here are the results of the survey(the votes are alongside each song).
The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You 207
Deep Blue Something – ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ 195
Charles and Eddie – ‘Would I Lie To You?’ 135
Chumbawamba – ‘Tubthumping’ 131
4 Non Blondes – ‘What’s Up?’ 122
Cornershop – ‘Brimful Of Asha’ 95
Deee-Lite – ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ 91
New Radicals – ‘You Get What You Give’ 79
Kris Kross – ‘Jump’ 68
Crash Test Dummies – ‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’ 67
Rozalla – ‘Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)’ 50
White Town – ‘Your Woman’ 47
Divinyls – ‘I Touch Myself’ 43
Eagle-Eye Cherry – ‘Save Tonight’ 41
Sir Mix A Lot – ‘Baby Got Back’ 35
Ini Kamoze – ‘Here Comes The Hotstepper’ 32
OMC – ‘How Bizarre’ 27
Joan Osborne – ‘One Of Us’ 26
Stereo MCs – ‘Connected’ 21
Andreas Johnson – ‘Glorious’ 17
Here are a few of our other favourites:
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown- Fire
The original fire starter Arthur Brown was somewhat of an eccentric, this is his hottest hit by far(excuse the pun)…
The Knack -My Sharona
Insatiable and hooky, this is one of the catchiest guitar cuts of its era.
The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star
Then spotify killed it presumably?
They had two further hits, the biggest of which was ‘The Plastic Age’, but they will forever be remembered for their pop/New Wave classic.
Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie
True story for you, this irresistible reggae cut Pass the Dutchie was one of my first memories of a number one on Top of the Pops…granted, they had about half a dozen hits altogether, but few will remember any except this one.
The Only Ones – Another Girl, Another Planet
“Another Girl, Another Planet” is the quintessential kick ass guitar pop tune with elliptic lyrics, but it wasn’t a hit first time round barely grazing the charts on its first release in the 1980s. More than a decade later, “Another Girl, Another Planet” was re-released in the UK in January 1992 spending two weeks in the top 40.
Vanilla Ice- Ice Ice Baby
It was the early 90s, I was twelve and at the school disco you were either MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice. With its insistant basseline(lifted from Queen) and rhymes catchier than the Fresh Prince Rap, ‘Ice Ice Baby’ was number one and most of us were doing a silly running man dance and checking out the hook while the DJ revolved it….
Babylon Zoo- Spaceman
The Levis ad series has a plethora of One Hit Wonders for us to ‘thank it’ for, including Flat Eric and Stiltskin amongst its number, but 1995’s ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo caught the attention for Jas Mann’s extravagant apperance, and the tracks almost proggy space pop shifts.
Bran Van 3000- Drinking in La
I still haven’t a clue who Bran Van 3000 were, their name sounds rather like a make of mobile phone! Anyway this cut and paste 90s hit was memorable for its Beck-like vox, sing-along hooks and samples that documented a decedent Los Angeles.
Groovejet- Spiller
This number one not only kept Victoria Beckham from the top spot in 2000, it provided the smart, slinky disco soundtrack to that summer. And introduced the mainstream to the delightful tone of one Sophie Ellis Bexter.
What are your favourite One-Hit Wonders of all time?!
