The year 1982 had some of the best one-hit wonders from the 80s. Here are a few, from A Flock Of Seagulls to Dexys Midnight Runners, that you definitely know and love.
“I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock Of Seagulls
“I walk along the avenue / I never thought I’d meet a girl like you / Meet a girl like you.”
In “I Ran (So Far Away)”, A Flock of Seagulls describes a romantic interaction using space-like terms. Hence the aurora borealis and beams of light mentions. According to Mike Score, the song was partially inspired by a picture at a record company in Liverpool.
“…And they had a picture of somebody, a girl and a guy running away from a flying saucer,” he told Behind The Vinyl. “So we tried to grab it off them to use as an album cover; this is going to be our cover, and that eventually inspired the spacey lyrics of ‘I Ran’.”
A Flock Of Seagulls definitely had other hits besides “I Ran”. However, this song is their biggest U.S. hit and often considered their signature song.
“I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow
“I know a guy who’s tough, but sweet / He’s so fine, he can’t be beat.”
This song was less successful in the U.S., but it did give Bow Wow Wow a Top 10 hit in the U.K. This song is actually a cover of the original “I Want Candy”, which was popularized by the group The Strangeloves in 1965. Producer Kenny Laguna saw potential in Bow Wow Wow but didn’t think that they had the hits to go big. That’s where “I Want Candy” comes in.
“They had some great songs, but I didn’t hear the hit,” Laguna shared with Songfacts. “That pissed them off. My deal was, I would produce them, but I would bring one song to the table. I had a couple of ideas; I finally talked them into doing ‘I Want Candy’.”
“Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners
“Come on, Eileen / Oh, I swear (well, he means) / At this moment / You mean everything.”
This one is kind of a no-brainer. “Come On Eileen” is one of those songs that everybody knows, but not everyone remembers the voice behind it. This wasn’t Dexys Midnight Runners’ only hit in the U.K., but in the U.S., the song gave them their first and only No. 1.
Photo by: Fin Costello/Redferns
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