One Way Ticket (Neil Sedaka song)

"One Way Ticket" is a song performed by Neil Sedaka, written by Jack Keller and Hank Hunter. The track was originally included as the B-side on Sedaka's 1959 single "Oh! Carol".^[1] In 1961, the song featured in the track listing of his third studio album, Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits, but was never released as a standalone single. Despite this, the song made it to #1 on the Japanese pop charts, where it was affectionately called "The Choo-Choo Train Song".

"One Way Ticket" has been covered by other artists, most notably by British disco band Eruption in 1978 and Soviet band "Поющие гитары" ("Poyuschie Gitary" - "The Singing Guitars") in 1969 by the name "Синий иней" ("Siniy Iney" - "Blue Frost").

Eruption version

"One Way Ticket" was covered by British disco band Eruption for their second album, Leave a Light. The song became a big hit in Europe in the first half of 1979, topping charts in Austria and Switzerland, and reaching top 10 across Europe. "One Way Ticket" is now one of the band's trademark hits, along with their cover of "I Can't Stand the Rain".

Track listing

• 7" Single (1979)^[2]

A. "One Way Ticket" – 3:35

B. "Left Me in the Rain" – 3:54

• 12" Single (1979)^[3]

A. "One Way Ticket" (Long Version) – 5:05

B. "Left Me in the Rain" – 3:54

• CD Single (1994)^[4]

1. "One Way Ticket" (Radio Version) – 3:58
2. "One Way Ticket" (Club Mix) – 5:58
3. "One Way Ticket" (Never Return Mix) – 5:44
4. "If I Loved You Less" – 4:08

Chart performance

Other cover versions

• The song was covered by Barry Blue on his 1974 debut album Barry Blue.^[16]
• Polish singer Mandaryna recorded a dance cover of the song for her third studio album, which was shelved in 2008 and remains unreleased. Nonetheless, the singer performed her version at live shows.^[17]
• The song was covered by Metal Scent ^[18]
• The song was covered by Naďa Urbánková ^[19]

Additionally the intro of the version by Eruption was used as background loop on Sido's track Masafaka in 2016 which was a medium hit in Germany.

References