Though the band last hit the charts big with 1981's "I Ran," singer Mike Score of Flock of Seagulls sees his group's appearance at Stoney's tonight as one small step back to stardom.

"I guess people can say we're a one-hit wonder, but a year from now we could be the best band in the world," Score said.

Despite the fact that you don't see too many women sporting Pat Benatar cuts and leg warmers or men in parachute pants and Michael Jackson jackets anymore, bands such as Flock of Seagulls are attempting comebacks like, fer shure.

What started with Modern English's fantastic remake of "I Melt With You" in 1991, bands such as Madness and Chic have regrouped in the hope of recapturing their audience and hit potential -- without VJs Alan Hunter, J. J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood.

This totally new trend seems hanging more on people's memories than on MTV. If you've never heard of Flock of Seagulls, you probably don't care about the state of old New Wave. Carl Esterling, owner of Stoney's Post House Tavern, 146 N. Atherton, admits he hopes State College will feel nostalgic.

Jay Williams, employee at Blue Train Compact Disc, 418 E. College Ave., said he sees otherwise.

"I think a lot of people will go as a joke," Williams said, adding that the Flock of Seagulls Greatest Hits sells about once every four months.

Talking from a nearby Motel 6, Score said he isn't joking.

"I would put our band somewhere in the top 50 bands in the world," Score said.

Score said he hasn't spent the last eight years wallowing in "what ifs," or finishing a Rubik's Cube, but he's been working as a solo artist and later forming a new Flock of Seagulls. He sees his fallen success and his old band's breakup as just a case of too famous, too fast.

"Now (the old band is) as far apart as people can get," Score said. "Sometimes I feel sad about it but other times I think thank God I can do what I want now. It makes me a lot happier to be alone to write -- of course it hasn't proved as successful."

With his new band in place, Score spent the last couple of years writing some new pretty tubular tunes. It was only until this past year that the band perfected its sound, Score said.

"It's much more powerful, it's just better musicians with 10 years experience behind it," Score said. "We tend to put on more of a show."

Before Score put together his band, he said he noticed the Seagulls' influence in other groups, a sure sign of greatness.

"The Wet Sprocket thing, I think that they're towards where we were," Score said. "It makes you want to put out an album."

Though the group is unsigned, Score hopes to record his band's new material soon.