A One-Hit Wonder Whose Debut Record Deserved Better
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A One-Hit Wonder Whose Debut Record Deserved Better
The Vapors are a classic one-hit band. Part of the British New Wave movement, the band rode to prominence on the strength of a novelty dance hit that May or may not be about masturbation, released two albums, and split when their records failed to sell.
Their lone chart success — “Turning Japanese” — was a club staple when I was making the rounds in the early 1980s, a song that always drew a full dance floor. The band, however, seemed a novelty and failed to take off.
There was more to the band, which I only rediscovered recently while researching attitudes on nuclear weapons and power among my age cohort during the late-‘70s and early-80s for a planned book section.
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Author: hankkalet
Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.
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Hank Kalet 