h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can a group be a one hit wonder if they have a follow-up hit, even if it's not as successful by a long shot?

I ask because Charles and Eddie were featured on the Channel 4 show "Top Ten One Hit Wonders", despite their No.1 "Would I lie to you" being followed up with a hit that made the Top 40 (Something about New York, can't quite remember the name). The TV programme acknowledged this, but still listed them as a one hit wonder. If this is true, what still constitutes a "hit"?

In a Similar But Different vien, what of the Timelords? They got to number one with Doctorin' the TARDIS, a brilliant calculated exercise in having a number one hit. It was based on Gary Glitter's Rock'n'Roll, was suposedly performed by a car (Ford Timelord), and had Daleks sampled as saying 'Dosh, dosh, dosh, loadsofmoney'. It went to number one and the Timelords were never heard of again.

BUT!! The Timelords were nothing more than an incarnation of the KLF, who had performed under a number of other names, including the Justified Ancients of Moo Moo. Here, they scored a number of hits, including What Time is Love? So -- were the Timelords one hit wonders, even though they had genuine hits with other names? Even though they were, in fact, the KLF?

I'm sure I remember hearing that two guys from the KLF wrote a book about their experience with 'Doctorin' the TARDIS' - something along the lines of 'How to Have a Hit Record'...

Hmm there's a similar case to this. Probably the least said the better really, but Jonathan King had a long-running campaign to produce hits under different aliases. Sometimes it worked - as with the ground-breaking 'Johnny Reggae' by the Piglets.

He also 'discovered' Hedgehoppers Anonymous, who have been discussed in another thread on this Talking Point.