The 1980s were a huge decade for music. Rock and roll was evolving, the Second British Invasion was underway, and MTV was making music videos into something that had never been seen before. It was also a time when one-hit wonders abounded; bands that may have had a massive hit that helped revolutionize modern music would often just as quickly fade into obscurity. These one-hit wonders of the 1980s significantly affected music, though, and are still considered an essential part of the era’s ethos.
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1. “Electric Avenue” — Eddy Grant
Chances are, “Electric Avenue” is the only Eddy Grant song you know—unless you’re from Grant’s native UK. The 1982 song was Grant’s first to hit the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, though he had had success in Britain through the late 1970s.
“Electric Avenue” climbed to No. 2 on charts in the UK and in the U.S., becoming one of Grant’s signature songs. But the upbeat reggae track had a dark origin; it was inspired by the Brixton race riots of 1981, in which Black Londoners protested against racial discrimination by police. Electric Avenue refers to a street in South London near where the riots took place.
2. “Take on Me” — a-ha
Many artists of the 1980s gained attention not just for their music but also for their innovative music videos, which received heavy airplay on the then-new MTV. The decade saw musicians reshaping the idea of a music video as an art form.
That’s just what happened with the Norwegian synth-pop duo a-ha, whose 1984 song “Take on Me” became a staple on MTV. This was primarily because of their avant-garde music video, which combined animation and live action in a revolutionary way for the time. “Take on Me” became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, and No. 2 in Canada and the UK.
3. “99 Luftballons” — Nena
For most of the 1980s, Germany was still divided by the Iron Curtain. Culture and ideology differed significantly in West and East Germany, and many Germans had been unable to communicate with their loved ones on the other side of the Berlin Wall for decades. The release of red balloons at a Rolling Stones concert in West Germany in 1982 inspired this song about the balloons flying to the Soviet sector and sparking a nuclear war.
The song, a prime example of the burgeoning Neue Deutsche Welle genre, became extremely popular and even inspired an English-language cover. But in an interesting turn of events, English-speaking audiences preferred the original German version, marking it as one of the few significant non-English hits of the decade.
4. “Tainted Love” — Soft Cell
“Tainted Love” originated in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the pop-synth duo Soft Cell covered it in 1981 that it became a major hit. New Wave was a popular musical genre at the time, and Soft Cell fit right in. The song also made the duo a key player in the Second British Invasion of the 1980s, even though they never had another worldwide hit (although they remained popular in their native UK throughout the decade). In the U.S., “Tainted Love” remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 43 weeks, a record for the time.
5. “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” — Dead or Alive
Another pair of members of the Second British Invasion was the British duo Dead or Alive, whose 1984 song “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” became a sleeper hit. It wasn’t until spring 1985 that it hit No. 1 on the UK charts; it peaked at No. 11 in the U.S. that summer.
Although Dead or Alive never had another international hit, they achieved several Top 30 hits in their native UK and had one other song, “Brand New Lover,” hit No. 15 in the U.S. in 1986. However, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” remains the band’s best-remembered song with its distinctive synth-pop and highly danceable rhythm.
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6. “Pass the Dutchie” — Musical Youth
Rock and pop weren’t the only genres growing in popularity in the 1980s. Reggae was another burgeoning musical style, as evidenced by the success of the 1982 song “Pass the Dutchie.” Of course, it being the ’80s, the song had to be sanitized for the public—the original version of the song was the Mighty Diamonds’ “Pass the Kouchie,” a reference to a shared cannabis pipe. Musical Youth’s remake changed the lyrics to be about food rather than marijuana. The song was a smash and made the group the first all-Black band to have a music video aired on MTV.
7. “867-5309/Jenny” — Tommy Tutone
In 1981, American rock band Tommy Tutone’s song “867-5309/Jenny” led to a fad of people calling that number and asking for the Jenny in the song. But believe it or not, there was a real Jenny, and she wasn’t exactly pleased about being the subject of a worldwide hit.
The band wrote the song after a prank that involved writing a friend’s number on a bathroom stall. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and apparently forced several households to change their numbers after getting constant prank calls.
8. “It’s Raining Men” — The Weather Girls
Few haven’t heard The Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men.” But the 1983 song was almost never recorded. It was rejected by multiple singers, including Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand, before making its way to The Weather Girls. The duo didn’t like the song either, but agreed to record it in one quick session. It’s a good thing they did—it became one of the biggest dance hits of the 1980s, and is the signature song of The Weather Girls, who broke up in 1988.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
