NM Top 100 UK #1s, 1952-2004

[Earl Purple]

This list will surprise many, especially if you follow the NM chart because you will notice that the ordering doesn't necessarily follow what happened during the NM chart era for those that were affected (and over half the period was within the NM chart era). There are some UK #1s that are listed here that were not NM #1s while others that were are omitted. And some which were major NM hits are placed lower than those which were lesser hits.

Although the title says 1952-2004, all the #1s fall in the period 1955 to 2000.

100 Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares 2 U
In some ways I'm surprised this made the cut, but Sinead O'Connor's 1990 cover of a song written by Prince but never recorded by him gets into the chart. It scored well in the "classic" status - this single has become a classic.

99 Abba Take A Chance On Me
Abba had 9 UK #1s and two of them have made the cut. This was a hit in 1978, ending their second run of 3 consecutive UK #1s. Shortly after this they released Abba - The Movie about an Australian reporter trying ot get an interview - a weak plot but did feature a lot of footage of Abba on tour. And Abba - The Album. But later in 1978 they lost out in the popularity battle temporarily to John Travolta & Olivia Newton John and to Boney M. Those artists didn't make it onto this list though.

98 Paul Hardcastle 19 
This scored well because it was so different to anything else that was around at the time - although looping and productions had been used earlier in the year by the Art Of Noise, this single was accompanied by a narrative about Vietnam War victims, and in a sense was a forerunner to house.

97 Bee Gees Night Fever
"Disco" in the 1970s meant music like this, although the sound had originated in Phildelphia with acts like George McCrae, The Three Degrees and the Stylistics (all of whom had UK #1s but none of them made the cut, though the Stylistics were close). A film about a young man who worked in a paint shop and hung around with the guys but liked to dance at discos on a Saturday night became a classic, and the Bee Gees wrote this theme tune. Its star John Travolta struck gold twice in 1978, also starring in Grease and even having two number ones himself from that film together with co-star Olivia Newton John. (They didn't make this list though, although You're The One That I Want was close and was an NM #1).

96 Barry White You're My First My Last My Everything
In the earlier disco period of the 1970s we also had Barry White, who scored a UK #1 with this classic. One of his other singles "You See The Trouble In Me" was also a UK #1 but only as a cover by Black Legend, his own version having reached #2. But Baz did get one over the guy from the Halifax ad.

95 Byrds Mr Tambourine Man
The Byrds were fans of both the Beatles and Bob Dylan, and decided to "mix" them by recording a Bob Dylan song in the style of the Beatles. This was the result.

94 Cliff Richard Bachelor Boy
I think many will be surprised to see this here. Cliff Richard has had about 11 UK #1s (or is it more?), of which 2 are on the list. This was a hit in the early 60s and was prophetic - he did remain a bachelor.

93 A-Ha The Sun Always Shines On TV
We didn't have boy-bands as such in the 1980s, but there were all-male bands (real bands who wrote their own songs and played their instruments and toured etc) that were popular with the girls, among them Duran Duran (not featured) and A-Ha. Take On Me was the bigger hit worldwide but it was this single that gave them their only UK #1 - in my opinion a better song too. Take On Me was eventually a UK #1 for A1 in 2000, and the same year U2 appeared to "borrow" a bit from The Sun Always Shines On TV in their UK #1 hit "Beautiful Day".

92 Jennifer Rush The Power Of Love
The reason "Take On Me" was not a UK #1 was this song - after sitting in the lower end of the top 75 for several weeks it finally entered the UK top 40, then flew to #1 and stayed there 5 weeks. A powerful ballad, much covered, but Jennifer Rush did co-write it.

91 Nena 99 Red Balloons
Around Europe and even in the USA, Nena had a hit "99 Luftballons" but for the UK they decided to record a translated version and it reached #1. Not a perfect translation, but the subject was about a couple who let off some red balloons and when they are seen in the sky, the defence forces mistake it for a nuclear attack and retaliate, thus leading to armageddon. This was near the end of the Cold War period, and there were many who were worried about the possibility.

[Earl Purple]

I was hoping for some replies but 10 more before I go for the weekend. I am a bit late with my personal chart again too, but my last one of those still has no replies.

90 David Bowie Ashes To Ashes
Space Oddity was David Bowie's first hit single in 1969, and reached #1 six years later to be his only #1 single up to the end of 1979. The main character of that song was Major Tom, and was the hero. In Ashes To Ashes he was now a junkie, which may have upset many. I think they lyrics are good - just perhaps not everyone understands them - but it's clearly about someone who is trying to beat their addiction, and then justifies it. Was known for an expensive video featuring a funeral procession. The old lady with David Bowie at the end of the video really is his mother, so I am led to believe.

89 Blondie Atomic
Blondie had started as a punk group then headed in the "new wave" direction, Heart Of Glass had been a brief venture into a "disco" style. With Atomic they completed the transition, but then "Eat To The Beat" was an album full of different musical styles, including their first attempt at reggae with "Die Young Stay Pretty". Later on they would introduce many Americans to rap with their hit "Rapture".

88 Beatles Hey Jude
Hey Jude was written by Paul McCartney for John Lennon's son Julian who would later grow up and have a few hits of his own, including an NM #1. This is included having scored high on "classic" status and the general "feel-good" factor. There are a few more Beatles songs higher up.

87 Small Faces All Or Nothing
The 60s were more than just the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, just as Britpop was more than just Blur and Oasis. Often known as the "swinging" sixties, with the summer of 67 and "flower power" supposedly being the peak, though I was only a baby at the time. The Small Faces, led by Ronnie Lane, started having "feel-good" hits in 1966, this was their only #1. In the 70s some of the members became the Faces and brought Rod Stewart in to sing for them.

86 Gerry & The Pacemakers You'll Never Walk Alone
The Mersey-mania of 1963 saw two bands, The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers prominent, and the latter group got all their first 3 singles to #1, while the Beatles had to make do with a #17 start, and then a #2 with Please Please Me (although it was listed as a #1 on charts other than Record Retailer). Gerry Marsden wrote most of their songs but this one was an old song by Rodgers & Hammerstein from Carousel. Gerry & The Pacemakers put the 6/8 beat into it and around the same time the local football team managed to win the league shortly after, and made this their theme tune.

85 Beautiful South A Little Time
On the whole, the Beautiful South's tunes were gentler than those of the Housemartins, but the lyrics were still bitter and twisted. A Little Time is the tale of a couple where the man starts having doubts and wants to "explore" himself, while the woman is bitter that he is going back on his commitment. This was NM #1 for 6 weeks, and 6 is also the number of NM #1s that the Beautiful South have had to date. It's been a while (8 years) since their last one but they are still going.

84 Roy Orbison It's Over
Roy Orbison had 3 UK #1 hits, two of them in 1964, and all 3 of them appear on this list - this is the lowest placed of the 3. It is sung in the 3rd person, with him singing to another man about a woman, starting with the line "Your baby doesn't love you anymore". And it has a big ending.

83 Kate Bush Wuthering Heights
And suddenly on Top of the Pops there was this "witch" singing in a really high-pitched voice over a piano. And the sound was so weird and wonderful. And she was so young. Yes, she would become a big megastar, but she never had another UK #1 single, though she did have several #1 albums. It was Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd who discovered her.

82 Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Classic Motown - about a breakup of a relationship. He also never had another UK #1 hit, and his life ended on this exact date 21 years ago.

81 Crickets That'll Be The Day
The Crickets were a "complete" band, writing their own songs, and with Buddy Holly as their lead singer. He might have challenged Elvis as the king of rock 'n' roll had his life not ended so soon, and the other two in the plane with him were pretty talented too. The line actually goes "That'll be the day that I die". Subsequently in Don McLean's "American Pie" about the death of Buddy Holly, he changes it to "This will be the day that I die".

[ManicKangaroo]

Earl said:

100 Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares 2 U
In some ways I'm surprised this made the cut, but Sinead O'Connor's 1990 cover of a song written by Prince but never recorded by him gets into the chart. It scored well in the "classic" status - this single has become a classic.

Prince has in fact recorded this EP and it features on his re-released The Hits/The B Sides compilation

[Earl Purple]

Also, a slight correction in that although Gerry Marsden wrote Gerry & The Pacemakers' later singles, both their first two #1s were written by Mitch Miller. He is credited with having written a #1 though, when "Ferry Across The Mersey" topped the chart in 1989 for the Hillsborough Disaster Charity Fund. They'd already used "You'll Never Walk Alone" for the Bradford Fire (although Bradford City have never really had any connection with that song, albeit that Valley Parade also has a "kop"). Gerry Marsden sang on that version too so he has in fact appeared on 5 #1 singles, of which he wrote just one.

[Elmer]

Great list NM. I would have put Hey Jude probably in my top 5 of all #1's.

I wonder how many more 50's #1's will be in there..

Some of my faves were in the late 50's

[Earl Purple]

80 Beatles From Me To You
Technically, the later Beatles songs were much better, with more meaningful lyrics and often more complex chord sequences and cool riffs. However this one was picked for its simplicity, and its major influence on the pop scene, particularly as they were among the first British groups to write their own songs.

79 Adamski Killer
Adamski had had one unusual instrumental hit called "N-R-G" but for his next single he wanted to team up with a vocalist so he co-wrote this song with an unknown singer called Seal. Due to record company issues, Seal was not credited on this single, but it was his career that took off subsequently, while Adamski's only subsequent success was a cover of Elvis's "All Shook Up" as "Space Jungle". Seal re-recorded this song under his own name and it reached the top 10.

78 Jam Going Underground
The Jam had hits over 6 years but for most of the first 3 years, they had managed no higher than a #13 hit with "All Around The World", but "Eton Rifles" reached #3 near the end of 1979. They were often compared to the Clash because they both recorded political songs with mod-rock-style tunes (sometimes wrongly classified as punk, simply because punk was also a popular rock at the time). Since Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" in December 1973, no single had entered the chart at #1 in 6 years and 3 months to March 1980, so it was a major surprise when this single entered the chart at the very top.

77 Walker Brothers The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
While the UK had bands like the Beatles, the US seemed to be going for the "big production", led by Phil Spector but others followed. In fact this was written by one of the Four Seasons with the Righteous Brothers (produced by Phil Spector) in mind, but it was not recorded by them of the Four Seasons but in fact by another group of non-brothers.

76 Kinks You Really Got Me
One of the greatest bands of the 60s, they were really brothers. Ray Davies wrote the songs - this one a simple uptempo rock song, but they diversed a lot.

75 Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock
Classic Elvis Presley, about a dance in a jail. This one went quite peacefully, unlike 10cc's which led to a riot and sirens being called in.

74 Madness House Of Fun
The late 70s ska-revival was led by the Specials and Madness were one of the bands signed to their 2-Tone label but they moved to Stiff Records (who also had Ian Dury) shortly into their career. Known for their "nutty" sound, their records were fun, with more of the Ian Dury feel to them (clearly a heavy influence), but with a ska music-beat. A similar band at that time were Bad Manners. After "Cardiac Arrest", their first single not to make the top 10 since their first hit, one might have thought they were slipping but they bounced back with their only UK #1 hit about a young man who has walks into a chemist to buy some condoms but is too embarrassed to ask for them. This theme became popular in adverts promoting their use to prevent AIDS later on in the decade.

73 Four Seasons December '63 (Oh What A Night)
Their song "Silence Is Golden" had been a #1 for the Tremeloes and one of them wrote "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" (see above) for the Walker Brothers, but they'd never had a #1 hit of their own. Years later, in 1976, they finally got to the top singing about a night from just over 12 years earlier. They followed it up with a #3 "Silver Star" which had a strange yo-yo chart run, and Frankie Valli subsequently also got to #3 with the theme song from Grease.

72 Ben E King Stand By Me
Ben E King left the Drifters in a protest over the management and hoped the others would join him, but they didn't and went on recording without him. So he went solo and co-wrote "Stand By Me" with Lieber and Stoller, who had written some of Elvis's hits. It wasn't a big UK hit at first, in 1961, reaching only #30. It took nearly 26 years to get to #1, when used in a film. #2 behind it was another 60s classic "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge. And Sam Moore was also in the chart with a re-recorded "Soul Man", this time duetting with Lou Reed. Later in 1987, one of the Drifters classics "Under The Boardwalk" which had also flopped for them became a #2 hit but as a cover version by Bruce Willis.

71 Soft Cell Tainted Love
Soft Cell wrote most of their songs, but not this one - however most people have never heard the original. Ed Cobb wrote it and Gloria Jones recorded it - she was the girlfriend of Marc Bolan of T-Rex, and was part of the "Northern Soul" scene. Soft Cell gave it the "new romantic" feel with David Ball on the keyboards and of course Marc Almond's vocals. After a number of hits, Soft Cell split. Marc Almond went solo and had many hits, including another UK #1 duetting with Gene Pitney on one of his older songs, while David Ball had brief success with the Grid.

[Elmer]

Strange about the credits for Adamski's Killer as Seal did the Killer E.P and Killer was actually the lead track on it and it reached top 10 too

The Walker Brothers track is absolutely awesome. They had god like voices that could melt chocolate. I could listen to them all day

[Fire Down Below]

Earl said:

100 Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares 2 U
Strangely it's #1 in simfelemy's chart. Very nice song well performed.

99 Abba Take A Chance On Me
A shame those artists didn't make it to your list!

I think Abba The Movie is coming out on DVD soon, which I may well buy.

Anyway, this song is very high in my list so you can tell I like it.

98 Paul Hardcastle 19 
Not bad but surprisingly little singing!

97 Bee Gees Night Fever
A true classic.

96 Barry White You're My First My Last My Everything
Like the Halifax version - but you can't beat Barry's...

95 Byrds Mr Tambourine Man
Didn't know they wanted to recorded it in the style of the Beatles, though it does show. Not one of my favourites, but it's better than Bob Dylan's version (IMO).

94 Cliff Richard Bachelor Boy
Brilliant! Also love the other side, "The Next Time".

93 A-Ha The Sun Always Shines On TV
For some reason, I can't remember this at all, though I do like "Take On Me".

92 Jennifer Rush The Power Of Love
Absolute brilliance. In my chart.

91 Nena 99 Red Balloons
Yes a surprising theme when many just view it as a fun party song. Not bad.

[Fire Down Below]

Earl said:

90 David Bowie Ashes To Ashes
Well, I liked Samantha Mumba's "Body To Body"...

89 Blondie Atomic
Great stuff.

88 Beatles Hey Jude
Good - nearly made my chart in fact. Love the first few minutes.

87 Small Faces All Or Nothing
Surprising they were known as "feelgood" - this is more in the style of the depressing Stones rockers!

86 Gerry & The Pacemakers You'll Never Walk Alone
Brilliant, true classic.

85 Beautiful South A Little Time
Great, deserved #1 - shame they haven't had any more.

84 Roy Orbison It's Over
Nice opening... like you my least favourite of his #1s, though I wouldn't put it anywhere near my top 100.

83 Kate Bush Wuthering Heights
What a debut! Classic #1.

82 Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Good song - surprising it actually made #1 in 1969, as others like it didn't make it until the 1980s...

81 Crickets That'll Be The Day
I'm a 50s lover, and this is a great #1 of the 50s.

[Fire Down Below]

Earl said:

Also, a slight correction in that although Gerry Marsden wrote Gerry & The Pacemakers' later singles, both their first two #1s were written by Mitch Miller.

I think you mean Mitch Murray - the thought of Mitch Miller, the man responsible for all of the hits by Frankie Laine, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day etc writing for Gerry and co makes the mind boggle somewhat!

[Fire Down Below]

80 Beatles From Me To You
I agree with you - it's good for it's simplicity. Doesn't deserve the knocking it gets.

79 Adamski Killer
Didn't know that about "Space Jungle". I like ATB's Killer, Adamski's isn't bad either.

78 Jam Going Underground
Good #1...

77 Walker Brothers The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Two similar #1s both about heartbreak - quite unique. Good song, good production.

76 Kinks You Really Got Me
Yes they were diverse - I like this one but their other #1s are good too.

75 Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock
But is it a gay #1?

Classic of course.

74 Madness House Of Fun
Brilliant #1 - interestingly on the 7" version, it ends with fairground sounds instead of just fading out.

73 Four Seasons December '63 (Oh What A Night)
Like Clock's version

72 Ben E King Stand By Me
Not bad.

71 Soft Cell Tainted Love
Great song, though a tad overplayed... far better than Marilyn Manson's!

[Earl Purple]

hopefully I'll find some time to continue this