"My Favourite Waste Of Time" (AKA "You're My Favorite Waste of Time") is a single recorded by Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 singer Owen Paul

Owen Paul

Owen Paul , is a Scottish singer, best known in the UK for his 1986 #3 hit single, "My Favourite Waste of Time", a cover version of a song that was originally written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw...

 and released in 1986. It remains his biggest hit single, reaching number 3 in the UK charts in July 1986.

This song features future Thunder

Thunder (band)

Thunder were an English hard rock band, who originally formed in 1989 when the band Terraplane broke up, leaving lead singer Danny Bowes and guitarist/main songwriter Luke Morley to form a new group, namely Thunder...

 member Mark Luckhurst on bass. It was famously aborted on the television programme Pebble Mill at One

Pebble Mill at One

Pebble Mill at One was a popular British lunchtime chat show broadcast live originally on BBC2 before transferring to BBC1. It was produced from the Pebble Mill facilities of BBC Birmingham, and uniquely was hosted from the centre's main reception area rather than a traditional studio...

when the band members just stood still instead of miming as they were unable to hear the backing track..

The song was written and first released by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer/songwriter Marshall Crenshaw

Marshall Crenshaw

Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...

. His 1979 home demo of the song was released as the B-side of his 1982 hit "Someday Someway."

Paul is usually considered as a "one hit wonder" because of this song's popularity and the fact his follow-up singles didn't really succeed. It is said that Owen hated the song so much he quit the music business.

In 2008, the song featured in a Kellogg's Cereal commercial.

The song was covered by Freedy Johnston

Freedy Johnston

Freedy Johnston is a New York City-based singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas.Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment...

, Bette Midler

Bette Midler

Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...

, and Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector

Veronica Yvette "Ronnie" Spector is an American rock and roll and popular music vocalist, and was the lead singer of the 1960s hit-making girl group, The Ronettes, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. She is known as the "original bad girl of rock and roll."-Personal...

.