My Favorite One-Hit Wonders of the 80s: Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) (#3)

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For the past week Scott (@teamfreak16 ) and I have been looking at the great one-hit wonder songs of the 1980s. We haven't repeated a single song, which shows you how many good one-hit wonders we had then. As I have to run to Ohio later today I'm going first today. #3: Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) - Icicle Works The early 80s was a time of transition for music, and for me that's why there were so many one-hit wonders in that era. (If you look at my list you can see how many of these songs were from 1982-84.) We were coming out of punk and into techno and new wave, and we were just about to be bombarded with hair bands. But in that time MTV still played videos (I know you kids have heard that rumor, but they really did used to play music on Music Television! ), so any band with a video could get what FM rock radio in the US was increasingly denying them: exposure. So here came England's Icicle Works, who already had a hit in their home country ("Love Is a Wonderful Colour"). Their song "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" had everything from that era: a touch of techno, a driving post-punk beat, and some great guitar (and bass!) opening riffs. You could dance to it, or you could listen to the chorus of "we are, we are, we are but your children fighting our way around indecision." Their British hit, "Love is a Wonderful Colour," was so markedly different that it probably didn't sound like the same band. Whatever the reason, Icicle Works never had another charted song in the US. Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) Written by Ian McNabb Recorded by Icicle Works From The Icicle Works, 1983 Here's Icicle Works' one hit: