Their first single is their best single...

Before moving to Philly I lived on a street mentioned in the song...how can it not be my fav of the Lou's recent claim to musical fame?

Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside Down
Elastica - Stutter
Shanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate (not entirely sure about that one thou...)
and just about ever indie band to emerge this century Hope of The States, Hot Hot Heat, The Vines, The Hives etc all released rather fun debuts then slid into deep pits of rubbishness.

I was sure the was a similar thread about bands whose entire career had been downhill since their debut single, but I can't find it. Help?

This one? It's about bands who never bettered their first song on their debut album, so not quite what you were looking for, but maybe.

All Downhill from Here...instances where an artist peaked with the first song on their first album

Aye, that's what I was thinking of. I must have conflated that one and this one in my head.

Anyway, in that "all downhill from the debut single" conflation, I was going to mention Doves; The Cedar Room came on at home yesterday and I just thought wow, this is still amazing, still gives me shivers, still doesn't really sound like anything else anyone else has done, let alone anything else Doves have done, and I'm sad they couldn't / didn't ever mine that vein any further.

I'm surprised it took that long to get to Elastica, "Stutter"

Sultans Of Swing

'Another Girl, Another Planet' The Only Ones

I'm surprised it's taken this long to mention this, but: 'Me, Myself & I' was not De La Soul's first single.

Shite song, in any case.