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Cover of Waiata by Split Enz — Cover: Waiata

Song · Split Enz

“One Step Ahead” by Split Enz

From the album Waiata (1981)

“One Step Ahead” by Split Enz appears on 14 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1981 on the album Waiata. Its best result is #488 on The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,172 alternative song of all time.

14countdowns

4stations

#488best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2023years charted

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Split Enz - One Step Ahead

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Split Enz sent "One Step Ahead" out in November 1980 as the first single from Waiata, their sixth studio album, and it catches the New Zealand art-rockers at their most cool-headed: Neil Finn's song, all tension and restraint, new wave with the nerves showing just under the surface.

Its flip side, "In the Wars", came from the same Waiata sessions but stayed off the album until the 2006 reissue tacked it on as track twelve. Finn held on to the A-side long after the Enz broke up in 1984, playing it with Crowded House, including at their Spring Break '87 show in Daytona.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#3,172 of all time

Indie & Adult Alternative

#544 of the '80s

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	1909	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	1909	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1908	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1893	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	489	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	1857	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	643	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	1859	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	1847	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	1950	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	1931	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1962	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2021	606	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s	909
2023	488	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850

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