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

Laurie Anderson has appeared on two major UK hit singles. She was one of the Various Artists who performed on the charity single 'Perfect Day' that topped the UK chart in 1997, delivering one line of the song written and first performed by her long-term partner Lou Reed.

However, as a solo act she has had but one UK hit single, which reached number two in 1981. 'O Superman' was surely one of the strangest records ever to reach the UK chart; and it also happens to be one of my all-time favourite singles.

Like many a one-hit wonder, Anderson is not primarily a musical performer. But where other unlikely hits have come from comedians, actors or sportsmen, Anderson is a performance artist, specialising in multi-media shows that make use of film, spoken word, dance and innovative technology.

She originally recorded 'O Superman' for a New York indie label, 110 Records. It was as much a poem as a song, half-sung and half-spoken, with minimal conventional musical accompaniment - just some electronic tones and pulses, and splashes of sax and flute. Anderson's voice was distorted through a vocoder, making it androgynous and eerie. The single lasted for over eight minutes.

By all conventional criteria, 'O Superman' was totally uncommercial and radio-unfriendly - but it was weirdly gripping and moving. Its use of electronics seemed to evoke the difficulty of communicating emotionally through technology, and there was some startling wordplay: 'So hold me Mom/ In your long arms/ Your petrochemical arms/ Your military arms...'

There was humour in 'O Superman'. Anderson's distorted voice calmly observed: 'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice/ And when justice is gone, there's always force/ And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!' - but the overall effect of the single was distinctly unsettling.

John Peel began playing it on his BBC Radio One show, and got a huge response. Record shops all over the country received requests for it. Finally, WEA Records signed Anderson and released the single in Britain. It shot straight into the Top 20, climbed to number two, but then began descending the chart.

Although she never had another solo hit single, Anderson has occasionally returned to the music world over the years and enjoyed some success in the album charts. She reached the US Hot 100 albums in 1984 with 'Mister Heartbreak', on which she worked with Peter Gabriel.

More importantly, perhaps, the success of 'O Superman' won Anderson a much wider audience for her performance art, which continues to be appreciated to this day. She recently wrote and performed a successful touring show based on the story of 'Moby Dick', and in 2001 she released a new album, 'Life On A String'. Further details, and a charming picture of Laurie and her pet , can be found on http://www.laurieanderson.com .