Songoftheday 8/9/16 - Come now with me to the centre of my dreams, listen to the feelings of your soul...

"Downtown" - One 2 Many
from the album Mirror (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 4

Today's song of the day comes from the Norwegian synth-pop band One 2 Many, who formed in the 80s for one sole album, Mirror. With strong-voiced singer Camilla Griehsel, guitarist Jan Ytterdal, and (handsome as hell) keyboardist Dag Kohlsrud, the latter of whom co-wrote their breakthrough hit "Downtown". With a beautiful piano intro which reminds me of the start of Bruce Hornsby's "Every Little Kiss", the song was a beautiful slice of pop that despite the "going out to have fun" lyrics sounded simply diving, like the best of Eurovision. After spending over a month on top of the chart in their home country, the single started to get attention in America in 1989...

"Downtown" became One 2 Many's sole top-40 pop hit in May of 1989. The song also climbed to #18 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, while the 12" single went to #30 on their dance club play list. In the UK, the single made the charts twice, the second time stopping short at #43. A second single, "Writing On The Wall", also made the American AC chart at #49. But by the time all this attention happened, the band had already broken up. However, the Mirror album was a masterpiece of sophisti-pop, and despite the lack of memory of the single, the record is definitely worth seeking out to those in need of some "Swing out Sister meets T'Pau" grooves. Dag went on to work with the more popular of the Norwegian acts a-ha (who were also criminally underrated).

(Click below to see the rest of the post)



An alternate version of the video (featuring a tad more of Camilla) was also released...

...and here's the band miming their way through a TV appearance...

And lastly, the diving 12" remix...

Up tomorrow: A Cougar is through with the mainstream.