Song · Kajagoogoo
“Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo
“Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo appears on 15 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1983 and 2023. Its best result is #54 on the Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #147 alternative song of 1983 and #2,779 alternative song of all time.
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"Too Shy" was Kajagoogoo's opening shot, the first single from their debut album White Feathers, and it hit the target straight away: two weeks at number one in Britain, and the UK's 13th best-selling single of 1983. The English pop band wrote it together, with Limahl, Nick Beggs, Steve Askew, Jez Strode and Stuart Croxford Neale sharing the credit, and it is as glossy and coy as its title.
Europe fell hard: five weeks on top in Germany, number one in Belgium and Ireland, and gold in France. America came around later, helped by heavy MTV rotation, and it climbed to number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It proved to be their only real American hit, which is why the States file them under one-hit wonders, though at home "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Big Apple" went top 10 that same year.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 97 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983 | 107 |
| 1983 | 80 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 268 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 476 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 499 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 445 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1996 | 379 | Q101 | Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 172 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 54 | Channel 104.9 | Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) | 104 |
| 1999 | 738 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 1999 | 227 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 300 |
| 2002 | 1237 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1571 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 782 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 231 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
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