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Groups or singers whose biggest hit wasn't their most memorable song

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    Groups or singers whose biggest hit wasn't their most memorable song

    In all likelihood, we've done this thread before, and of course for many groups their biggest hit will differ in some countries, but the 1991 TOTP brought to mind that Enigma's only UK No 1 was not Return to Innocence, but rather Sadness Part 1, and similarly Justified and Ancient stalled at No 2 for the KLF that year, unlike 3AM Eternal. They can hardly be the only examples however, of bands and individuals whose "official" greatest chart hit has been overshadowed by lower-placing tracks that have lived longer in the public memory?

    #2
    Stevie Wonder's biggest UK chart success was I Just Called to Say I Love You, and Ebony and Ivory ranked highest on the Billboard chart.

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      #3
      Stone Roses - their biggest hit was the OK-ish comeback single Love Spreads (#2), while their next biggest was the pretty ropey One Love (#4). The former reflecting their growing fanbase during their hiatus, the latter reflecting that everyone in the first wave of fans had bought the album and were keen for literally anything else.
      Fools Gold and Elephant Stone made #8, everything else was outside the Top 10.

      Motorhead - the Valentines Day Massacre EP with Girlschool got to #5, while Motorhead (Live) got to #6.
      Ace of Spades made #13.

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        #4
        It was very common in the 80s and 90s for a relatively forgettable No. 1 to build on the momentum created by one or more much more memorable predecessors. Blur and Oasis both did this, for example. Midge Ure had a solo #1 that is clearly nowhere near as famous as Vienna, a #2. Arguably Duran Duran's most memorable song is 'Rio', which got to No. 9 but paved the way for an inferior single to get to No. 1 a few months later.
        Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 24-05-2021, 23:44.

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          #5
          Memorable is a bit vague. For example The Isley Brothers biggest hit (in the US) was It's Your Thing. But, almost certainly, their most memorable song is Twist and Shout and not necessarily their version of it. Though all succeeding versions, including The Beatles', copied its arrangement.

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            #6
            Originally posted by irony towers View Post
            Stevie Wonder's biggest UK chart success was I Just Called to Say I Love You, and Ebony and Ivory ranked highest on the Billboard chart.
            And of course both Sir Duke and Superstition would be more renowned.

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              #7
              Depends where you live! Some cases are more obvious than others, and vary across borders as mentioned: however there are a few highest chart peaks from very few people's idea of a most memorable song.

              Depeche Mode, Precious / Barrel Of A Gun / the admittedly better known People Are People - all UK number 4
              Nirvana, Heart-Shaped Box - 7
              R.E.M., The Great Beyond - 3
              Paul Weller, Peacock Suit - 5
              Guns N' Roses, Knockin' On Heaven's Door - 2

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                #8
                Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
                R.E.M., The Great Beyond - 3
                Thread winner in my opinion, Joe Public in the UK would name about fifteen REM songs before they got to that, if they remember it at all. GNR would come close on the same criterion.

                I'd throw into he debate the Killers (biggest UK hit 'When You Were Young'), Bruce Springsteen ('Streets of Philadelphia') and Nine Inch Nails ('the Hand that Feeds').

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
                  Depends where you live! Some cases are more obvious than others, and vary across borders as mentioned: however there are a few highest chart peaks from very few people's idea of a most memorable song.

                  Depeche Mode, Precious / Barrel Of A Gun / the admittedly better known People Are People - all UK number 4
                  Nirvana, Heart-Shaped Box - 7
                  R.E.M., The Great Beyond - 3
                  Paul Weller, Peacock Suit - 5
                  Guns N' Roses, Knockin' On Heaven's Door - 2
                  Heart-Shaped Box peaked at #5 in the UK - but is nonetheless a very good example of a band's biggest hit not being its best-known song (which is obviously Teen Spirit).

                  #15 for Ace of Spades - but another good example. Both tunes have become anthems.

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                    #10
                    Is biggest hit highest chart position or biggest seller?

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Sporting View Post
                      Is biggest hit highest chart position or biggest seller?
                      This is particularly pertinent for the aforementioned Killers.

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                        #12
                        Looking a AC/DC's UK singles was quite an eye-opener. Their best chart placing was #12 in 1988 with Heatseeker (which is not a song I know).

                        When you look at the really well-known hits (such as Highway to Hell, You Shook Me All Night Long, Hells Bells and Back in Black), they either did not chart or only made the lower reaches of the Top 40.

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                          #13
                          Thunderstruck reached #13 though, and that's one of their better-known ones.

                          The Jacksons/Jackson 5's only number one single is Show You the Way to Go, which is a great song but not one that has really stuck in the collective memory.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Fussbudget View Post
                            The Jacksons/Jackson 5's only number one single is Show You the Way to Go, which is a great song but not one that has really stuck in the collective memory.
                            Blimey. I just had a look at my Best of the Jackson 5 CD (21 tracks) and that track's not even on it.

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                              #15
                              Iron Maiden timed Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter to get to #1 and I'm pretty sure that they don't even bother doing that one live. (Certainly didn't last time I saw them.)

                              Edit: Setlist.fm says they played it from 1990-92 (given it was off the album they were touring), brought it back in 2003 and that's it.

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                                #16
                                Xanadu's hardly obscure but I bet there's at least half a dozen ELO songs that come to mind before that. I bet because of Olivia Newton-John, some people don't even think of it as an ELO track.

                                Metallica have had two #5 UK hits - one is easy to guess (Enter Sandman), the other I would not have got in a million years (Until It Sleeps).

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by Stumpy Pepys View Post
                                  Looking a AC/DC's UK singles was quite an eye-opener. Their best chart placing was #12 in 1988 with Heatseeker (which is not a song I know).

                                  When you look at the really well-known hits (such as Highway to Hell, You Shook Me All Night Long, Hells Bells and Back in Black), they either did not chart or only made the lower reaches of the Top 40.
                                  For years AC/DC had a small amount of notoriety for never having had a UK top ten hit, whilst coming close on a few occasions.

                                  In 2013, one of those pesky viral campaigns attempted to get Highway To Hell to the Christmas number one spot via iTunes purchases. It fell short, but not by far, reaching number 4.

                                  (That 2013 Christmas chart linked above features Mr Brightside at number 29, ten years after its initial release.)
                                  Last edited by Auntie Beryl; 25-05-2021, 12:12.

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                                    #18
                                    Not forgetting Chuck Berry's only UK Number One My Ding-a-Ling, though I daresay we rather would.

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by Stumpy Pepys View Post
                                      Blimey. I just had a look at my Best of the Jackson 5 CD (21 tracks) and that track's not even on it.
                                      That's because it isn't the Jackson 5, but The Jacksons.

                                      Motown owned the original group name and they'd moved to Epic by the time of Show You the Way to Go (1976, UK #1 in 1977).

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                                        #20
                                        I'm sure that Jeff Beck is still deeply proud of Hi Ho, Silver Lining...

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                                          #21
                                          Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi reached number 4 in the UK, overtake by Always (no.2) and It's My Life (no.3), neither of which are as famous imo.

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                                            #22
                                            Deacon Blue’s Dignity only reached number 20. They had 6 other songs which charted higher than this. The highest self penned song was Real Gone Kid which reached number 8. Their EP cover of Bacharch & David songs reached number 2.

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                                              #23
                                              The Proclaimers’ Letter From America reached number 3, whilst I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) only reached number 11

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                                                #24
                                                But the Comic Relief re-release of I'm Gonna Be got to #1 so that muddies the waters somewhat.

                                                I'd still say Letter From America was their second most well known song, however - above the likes of Let's Get Married, Sunshine On Leith and I'm On My Way.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Is Paul McCartney's biggest hit Mull of Kintyre? If so, then a contender.

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