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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