4 Acts From the 1980s You Thought Were One-Hit Wonders (But They’re Not)

No era ever produced quite as many one-hit wonders as the 1980s. Acts would pop out of nowhere with an iconic single and then disappear without a trace, at least when it came to  pop radio. We’re betting that many of you believe that these acts were one-hit wonders because they enjoyed an indelible 1980s smash that left a huge impact on the culture. But we’re here to tell you that each act in his quartet picked up one other Top 40 hit in the US along the way.

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Falco

If you turned on any radio in 1985, there was a good chance that you would soon hear a voice rapping in German about the exploits of Mozart. Similarly, a quick scan of MTV would likely end up with you watching Falco prancing about in a wig and powder. “Rock Me Amadeus” was as strange as it was indomitable, a combination of clever production and Falco’s undeniable charisma. It hit with such force that the follow-up single, “Vienna Calling”, seemed to hardly make any mark by comparison. That’s why you might be surprised to learn that it peaked at No. 18 in 1985, Falco’s second and final time on the US charts.

A-ha

Here’s another case of a follow-up single that couldn’t help but come up short of its monumental predecessor but was still good enough to scrape the Top 40. A-ha, hailing from Norway, released the single “Take On Me” on a couple of occasions to little avail before a memorable video sent it soaring. After that song hit No. 1 in 1985, the band followed it up with “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, the second single from their debut album Hunting High And Low. Pal Waaktaar, the group’s guitarist, wrote that follow-up single. The synth-filled high-drama track took advantage of singer Morten Harket’s elastic vocals. It topped out at No. 20.

Men Without Hats

If ever there were a band that seemed destined for one-hit wonder status, Men Without Hats certainly fit the bill. Nothing against them, but the idiosyncratic band name, followed up by the seemingly impossible-to-duplicate single “The Safety Dance”, a No. 2 smash in 1983, were warning signs that a follow-up would be tricky. And for a while, they indeed fall out of fashion. But Ivan Doroschuk, leader of the Hats, eventually came up with another earworm. Even though fewer people remember it, “Pop Goes The World” possesses the same kind of devil-may-care attitude as “The Safety Dance”. It landed at No. 20 in 1987, five years after the release of the band’s first big hit.

Golden Earring

This one is a bit trickier than the others because the 80s hit was actually the band’s second. In fact, if you came of age in the 80s and didn’t listen to much classic rock radio, you might have assumed that “Twilight Zone”, a No. 10 hit in 1982, was the product of a brand-new band. The spy thriller of a song featured churning guitar, insinuating synths, and a storyline full of intrigue and mystery. Go back nine years, however, and you’ll find that Golden Earring had already scored a No. 13 single with the pulsating road anthem “Radar Love”. Considering they were almost a decade into their existence when “Radar Love” hit, it’s clear this Dutch band had a knack for rising from the depths when least expected.

Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns