The 80s were full of acts that could be considered one or two hit wonders. One such band was Men Without Hats, a Canadian new wave band from Montreal. Back in 1983, they had a big hit called "The Safety Dance".
Love this jaunty medieval inspired video...
This was a band that loved its synthesizers. Listen to "The Safety Dance" and you quickly pick up on this band's intricate keyboarding. I was a fan of "The Safety Dance", but they kind of dropped off the radar for a few years. Then in 1987, they came out with "Pop Goes The World".
I didn't like this one as much as I liked "The Safety Dance"...
"Pop Goes The World" has the distinction of being a song I did an aerobic dance routine to when I was in the 10th grade. I did not choose this song. It was chosen by a couple of the geekier girls in my P.E. class who were in my group... Oh wait... actually, I wasn't in the group who did an aerobic routine to this. I was in the one that used Janet Jackson's "Control". Needless to say, that was a real hoot. My group was a bit more racially diverse than the one that did aerobics to "Men Without Hats". Aw shit... I don't remember. It seems to me we did a routine to this... maybe it was 9th grade. Guess my memory is starting to fail.
All I remember of our aerobics routine was the beginning, which began with some unfortunate Solid Gold-esque dance moves... I never claimed to be light on my feet.
I don't remember Men Without Hats having any other major hits, though I do remember "Pop Goes The World" being used in ads. "The Safety Dance" was made into a parody by Weird Al Yankovic.
I actually own this album... My ex best friend and I used to listen to the cassette all the time. It remains a treasured memory...
Much to my surprise, according to Wikipedia, Men Without Hats is still around... Damn, I miss the 80s.
