Tainted Love - Wikipedia

1964 song by Ed Cobb This article is about the song performed by Gloria Jones and Soft Cell. For the album by Shivaree, see Tainted Love: Mating Calls and Fight Songs.

"Tainted Love"
Side B of official 1965 US single
Single by Gloria Jones
A-side	"My Bad Boy's Comin' Home"
Released	May 1965
Recorded	1964
Genre	Soul[1][2] pop[2]
Length	2:11
Label	Champion (distributed by Vee-Jay)
Songwriter	Edward Cobb
Producer	Ed Cobb
Gloria Jones singles chronology
"My Bad Boy's Comin' Home" / "Tainted Love" (1965) "Come Go with Me" (1966)

"Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964.[3] In 1981, the song attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop duo Soft Cell for their album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. The song has since been covered by numerous groups and artists.

Gloria Jones versions

[edit]

American artist Gloria Jones made the first recording of "Tainted Love" in 1964. Glen Campbell played lead guitar.[4] The song was written and produced by Ed Cobb and arranged by Lincoln Mayorga. It was the B-side of her 1965 single "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home",[5] which was a commercial flop, failing to chart on either the US or the UK. According to Nick Talevski, before Jones recorded the song, Cobb had offered it to the Standells, whom he managed and produced, but they rejected it.[6] The Standells say that the song was never offered to them, and that they were not signed to Cobb's company Greengrass Productions until 1966, some two years after Jones's recording.[7]

In 1973, British club DJ Richard Searling purchased a copy of the almost decade-old single while on a trip to the United States. The track's Motown-influenced sound (featuring a fast tempo, horns, electric rhythm guitar and female backing vocals) fit in perfectly with the music favoured by those involved in the UK's Northern soul club scene of the early 1970s, and Searling popularised the song at the Northern soul club Va Va's in Bolton, and later, at Wigan Casino.[8]

Owing to the new-found underground popularity of the song, Jones re-recorded "Tainted Love" in 1976 and released it as a single, but it also failed to chart. This version was released on her album Vixen and was produced by her boyfriend Marc Bolan.[9]

In 2014, NME ranked it number 305 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[10]

Certifications

[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Soft Cell version

[edit]

"Tainted Love"
Artwork for original 1981 release
Single by Soft Cell
from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
A-side	"Where Did Our Love Go"
B-side	"Memorabilia" "Tainted Dub"
Released	July 1981[12]
Genre	Synth-pop[13][14][15] new wave[16][17]
Length	2:34 (album version) 2:41 (single version)
Label	Some Bizzare Sire, Warner Bros. Records (US)
Songwriter	Ed Cobb
Producer	Mike Thorne
Soft Cell singles chronology
"Memorabilia" (1981) "Tainted Love" (1981) "Bedsitter" (1981)
Music video
"Tainted Love" on YouTube

English synth-pop duo Soft Cell became aware of "Tainted Love" through its status as a UK "Northern soul" hit.[18] In 2010, DJ Ian "Frank" Dewhirst claimed he was the first person to play the song for Marc Almond, the vocalist for Soft Cell. Some time after, Soft Cell began performing the song in their live setlist, choosing it instead of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' "The Night" (a song they would go on to record in 2003).[19][20] Eventually, a Phonogram Records A&R manager Roger Ames opted the band to record the single at a London-based Advision Studios, with producer Mike Thorne. There, Soft Cell's version was recorded in a day and a half with Almond's first vocal take being used on the record.[21][22]

Thorne commented that he was surprised by the choice as he had not been impressed by Jones's 1976 version on hearing it, but was impressed by the new arrangement and Almond's sinister vocal: "You could smell the coke on that second, Northern Soul version, it was really so over-ramped and so frantic. It was good for the dance floor, but I didn't like the record...when Soft Cell performed the song I heard a very novel sound and a very nice voice, so off we went."[23] Notably, Almond has stated in interviews that Soft Cell's version was inspired more by the 1975 version by English singer Ruth Swann (later known as Jill Saward) than that of Gloria Jones.[24]

Phonogram Records chose to release "Tainted Love" in 1981 as Soft Cell's second single (their first was "Memorabilia", which did not chart).[23] The label's representatives implied that this single would be Soft Cell's final release on Some Bizzare if it did not sell.[23] The 12-inch single version (extended dance version) is a medley, transitioning to a cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" halfway through the song. Marc Almond said that this decision was not the duo's, recounting, "If only we'd put our own song on it then we would be considerably richer", while David Ball described the medley as "the most costly idea of our career".[25]

Following a performance on the BBC's Top of the Pops chart show, "Tainted Love" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, and was known as the best-selling single of 1981 in the UK, until the Official Charts Company recalculated the data in 2021[26] (giving the title to "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League).[27] "Tainted Love" had 1.05 million sales in the UK in 1981, with that total increasing to 1.35 million copies as of August 2017.[27] In 2023, it was listed as the 59th best-selling single of all time in the UK.[28]

Buoyed by the then-dominant new wave sound of the time and released on their album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, "Tainted Love" became a major hit in the US during the Second British Invasion, with the song spending a then-record breaking[29] 43 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100.[30] On the US chart dated January 16, 1982, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 90. It appeared to peak at number 64 and fell to number 100 on February 27. After spending a second week at number 100, it started climbing again. It took 19 weeks to crack the American Top 40 and reached number 8 during the summer of 1982.[30]

"Soft Cell, a tweezy synthesizer and singer duo whose fondest subject was sexual perversion, had a huge turntable hit in the clubs with "Tainted Love", which then crossed over to radio, enjoying the longest tenure, at forty-three weeks, of any single in Billboard history."

—Anglomania: The Second British Invasion, by Parke Puterbaugh for Rolling Stone, November 1983.[30]

A video was recorded specially for Soft Cell's video album Non-Stop Exotic Video Show, directed by Tim Pope and featuring David Ball as a cricketer meeting Marc Almond in a toga on what seems to be Mount Olympus.[31]

In 1996, director Spike Jonze used Soft Cell's version of the song in a television commercial for Levi's jeans, titled "Doctors", syncing the song to the sound of a heart rate monitor in a hospital.[32][33] The television commercial was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards the following year.[34][35]

In 2013, Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love" ranked number five on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 1980s.[36] It was also heavily sampled on Rihanna's 2006 single "SOS" from her album A Girl Like Me and the Veronicas' 2007 single "Hook Me Up" from their album Hook Me Up.[37] In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's fourth favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.[38] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "Tainted Love" number 170 with "Where Did Our Love Go" in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".[39]

Tainted Love '91

[edit]

A re-recorded version, titled "Tainted Love '91", was issued in 1991, seven years after Soft Cell's dissolution in 1984, as a tie-in to the compilation album Memorabilia – The Singles (which reached number eight in the UK Albums Chart in June 1991).[40] "Tainted Love '91" was a follow-up to "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye '91", which was another re-recorded/remixed version of an earlier single from the Soft Cell/Marc Almond compilation. "Tainted Love '91" became another top-40 hit from the collection and peaked at number five in the UK charts, making it Soft Cell's sixth top-10 hit (as records with re-recorded vocals were seen as a new hit by the chart compilers of the time)[41]

The video for this version, directed by Peter Christopherson, features a man pacing at night and dancing with starry apparitions, while Almond sings amongst the stars.[42] Christopherson's band Coil had covered "Tainted Love" in 1985, with a music video that included a cameo appearance by Almond.[43]

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts [edit] Chart (1981–1982) Peakposition Australia (Kent Music Report)[44] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[45] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[46] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[47] 1 France (SNEP)[48] 4 Ireland (IRMA)[49] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[50] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[51] 7 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[52] 2 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[53] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[54] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[55] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[56] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[57] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[58] 8 US Disco Top 80 (Billboard)[59]with "Where Did Our Love Go" 4 US Rock Top Tracks (Billboard)[60] 12 West Germany (GfK)[61] 1 Chart (1985) Peakposition UK Singles (OCC)[57] 43 Chart (1991) Peakposition Ireland (IRMA)[49] 4 Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)[62] 5 UK Singles (OCC)[57] 5 UK Airplay (Music Week)[63] 14 UK Dance (Music Week)[64] 30 Chart (1999) Peakposition US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[65] 24 US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[66] 6

Year-end charts [edit] Chart (1981) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[67] 28 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[68] 58 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[69] 49 UK Singles (OCC)[70] 2 Chart (1982) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[71][72] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[73] 7 New Zealand (RIANZ)[74] 14 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[75] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[76] 11 West Germany (Media Control)[77] 35 Chart (1991) Position UK Singles (OCC)[78] 82

Certifications

[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[79]	Gold	50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[80]	Platinum	100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[81]	Platinum	90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[82]	Platinum	600,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[83] sales since 2009	Platinum	100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[84]	3× Platinum	90,000‡
Spain (Promusicae)[85] Remaster 2021	Platinum	60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[86]	3× Platinum	1,800,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Marilyn Manson version

[edit]

"Tainted Love"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack and The Golden Age of Grotesque
Released	November 13, 2001 (2001-11-13)
Genre	Electronic rock[87]
Length	3:20
Label	Maverick Warner Bros.
Songwriter	Ed Cobb
Producers	Marilyn Manson Tim Sköld
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"The Nobodies" (2001) "Tainted Love" (2001) "Mobscene" (2003)

American rock band Marilyn Manson covered "Tainted Love" with an arrangement based on Soft Cell's version. It was released in November 2001 as a single from the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack.[88] The accompanying music video featured cast members Chyler Leigh, Mia Kirshner, Chris Evans and Jaime Pressly.[89][90] It was later included as a bonus track on international editions of the band's following album, The Golden Age of Grotesque in 2003.[91] Manson said that he was not "really thinking about '80s nostalgia" during the recording, while recognizing it as a main concept behind the soundtrack.[92]

"Tainted Love" topped the charts in Portugal and peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom.[93] It also peaked within the top ten of the charts throughout the rest of Europe, including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Norway.[94] It was nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2002,[95] and won the Kerrang! Award for Best Video.[96] It was also nominated for Best Video at the 2002 Q Awards.[97]

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]

Chart (2001–2002)	Peakposition
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[98]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[99]	11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[100]	7
Denmark (Tracklisten)[101]	3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[94]	3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[102]	11
France (SNEP)[103]	25
Germany (GfK)[104]	3
Hungary (Single Top 40)[105]	3
Ireland (IRMA)[49]	11
Italy (FIMI)[106]	2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[107]	44
Norway (VG-lista)[108]	7
Portugal (Billboard)[94]	1
Scotland Singles (OCC)[109]	4
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[110]	4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[111]	11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[112]	2
UK Singles (OCC)[93]	5
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[113]	30
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[114]	33

Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (2002)	Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[115]	18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[116]	55
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[117]	17
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[118]	25
Germany (Media Control)[119]	24
Ireland (IRMA)[120]	77
Italy (FIMI)[121]	16
Sweden (Hitlistan)[122]	37
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[123]	19
UK Singles (OCC)[124]	65

Certifications

[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[125]	Gold	20,000*
Belgium (BRMA)[126]	Gold	25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[127]	Gold	250,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[128]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[129]	Gold	400,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone.‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	November 13, 2001	Mainstream rock active rock alternative radio	Maverick Warner Bros.	[130]
United Kingdom	March 18, 2002	CD		[131]
Japan	May 9, 2002		Maverick	[132]

References

[edit]

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Bibliography

[edit]

• Almond, Marc (1999). Tainted Life. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-06340-8 – via the Internet Archive.
• Bielefeldt, Christian & Pendzich, Mark (2011). "Spot checks of pop history: The cover recordings of 'Stand By Me' and 'Tainted Love'". Lied und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture. 56: 97–111. JSTOR 23339032.
• Davis, Sharon (2012). "September 1981. Soft Cell: Tainted Love". 80s Chart-Toppers: Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story. Random House. ISBN 978-1-7805-7411-0.
• Haslam, Dave (1999). Manchester, England: The Story of the Pop Cult City. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-1-8411-5145-8.
• Miller, Chuck (2011). Tracy L. Schmidt (ed.). Warman's American Records. Krause Publications. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4402-2821-6.
• Talevski, Nick (2006). Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries. Omnibus Press. p. 90. ISBN 1-84609-091-1. Retrieved February 29, 2012.

External links

[edit]

• "Tainted Love" on YouTube

v t e Gloria Jones
Studio albums	Come Go with Me Share My Love Vixen Windstorm Reunited
Singles	"Tainted Love"

v t e Soft Cell
Marc Almond David Ball
Studio albums	Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing The Art of Falling Apart This Last Night in Sodom Cruelty Without Beauty Happiness Not Included
EPs	Mutant Moments Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go
Live albums	Live Soft Cell at the BBC
Compilations	The Twelve Inch Singles The Singles Memorabilia – The Singles Down in the Subway Say Hello to Soft Cell The Very Best of Soft Cell The Bedsit Tapes
Video	Soft Cell's Non-Stop Exotic Video Show Memorabilia – The Singles
Notable songs	"Tainted Love" "Bedsitter" "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" "Torch" "What"
Related	Soft Cell discography Marc Almond discography The Grid

v t e Coil
John Balance Peter Christopherson Stephen Thrower Danny Hyde Drew McDowall William Breeze Ossian Brown Thighpaulsandra
Studio albums	Transparent Scatology Horse Rotorvator Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) Love's Secret Domain Stolen & Contaminated Songs The Angelic Conversation Worship the Glitch A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room Time Machines Astral Disaster Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1 Queens of the Circulating Library Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2 Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) Bonus Disc The Remote Viewer Black Antlers The Ape of Naples The New Backwards
Live albums	Coil Presents Time Machines Live in Moscow Live Four Live Two Live One Megalithomania! Selvaggina, Go Back into the Woods ...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms Live in Porto
Compilation albums	Unnatural History How to Destroy Angels (Remixes and Re-Recordings) Unnatural History II Windowpane & the Snow Unnatural History III A Guide for Beginners: The Voice of Silver A Guide for Finishers: Golden Hair Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) The Golden Hare with a Voice of Silver
Extended plays	How to Destroy Angels The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser Born Again Pagans Spring Equinox: Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull Summer Solstice: Bee Stings Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers Winter Solstice: North elph.zwölf The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence
Box sets	The Key to Joy Is Disobedience ANS Duplais Balance
Singles	"Panic/Tainted Love" "Wrong Eye/Scope" "Windowpane" "The Snow" "Airborne Bells/Is Suicide a Solution?" "Nasa-Arab"
Associated releases	Dolbied Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex Nightmare Culture Recoiled Songs of the Week
Associated acts	Throbbing Gristle Psychic TV Zos Kia Current 93 Rosa Mundi The Threshold HouseBoys Choir Soisong
Related articles	Discography Threshold House Eskaton Chalice
Category

v t e Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson Tim Skold Gil Sharone Piggy D. Reba Meyers Zsa Zsa Speck Olivia Newton Bundy Gidget Gein Sara Lee Lucas Daisy Berkowitz Zim Zum John 5 Mark Chaussee Madonna Wayne Gacy Rob Holliday Wes Borland Andy Gerold Ginger Fish Chris Vrenna Fred Sablan Jason Sutter Spencer Rollins Daniel Fox Twiggy Ramirez Paul Wiley Juan Alderete Brandon Pertzborn Tyler Bates
Studio albums	Portrait of an American Family Antichrist Superstar Mechanical Animals Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) The Golden Age of Grotesque Eat Me, Drink Me The High End of Low Born Villain The Pale Emperor Heaven Upside Down We Are Chaos One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1
Live albums	The Last Tour on Earth
Compilations	Lunch Boxes & Choklit Cows Lest We Forget: The Best Of
Extended plays	Smells Like Children Remix & Repent Lost & Found
Singles	"Get Your Gunn" "Lunchbox" "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" "The Beautiful People" "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" "Tourniquet" "The Dope Show" "I Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)" "Rock Is Dead" "Disposable Teens" "The Fight Song" "The Nobodies" "Tainted Love" "Mobscene" "This Is the New Shit" "Personal Jesus" "Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)" "Putting Holes in Happiness" "We're from America" "Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon" "No Reflection" "Slo-Mo-Tion" "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" "Deep Six" "Cupid Carries a Gun" "We Know Where You Fucking Live" "Kill4Me" "Cry Little Sister" "God's Gonna Cut You Down" "The End" "We Are Chaos" "Don't Chase the Dead" "As Sick as the Secrets Within" "Raise the Red Flag" "Sacrilegious" "In the Air Tonight" "God Is a Weapon"
Promotional singles	"Dope Hat" "Antichrist Superstar" "Man That You Fear" "Coma White" "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" "You and Me and the Devil Makes 3" "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" "The Devil Beneath My Feet" "Tattooed in Reverse"
Other songs	"Apple of Sodom" "This Is Halloween" "If I Was Your Vampire" "Running to the Edge of the World" "WOW" "Killing Strangers" "Say10" "One Assassination Under God"
Video albums	Dead to the World God Is in the T.V. Guns, God and Government
Books	The Long Hard Road Out of Hell Holy Wood Genealogies of Pain Campaign
Films	Born Villain
Concert tours	Portrait of an American Family Tour Smells Like Children Tour Dead to the World Tour Mechanical Animals Tour Beautiful Monsters Tour Rock Is Dead Tour Guns, God and Government Tour Grotesk Burlesk Tour The High End of Low Tour Hey Cruel World... Tour Twins of Evil Tour Masters of Madness Tour The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour The End Times Tour Heaven Upside Down Tour Twins of Evil: The Second Coming Tour Twins of Evil: Hell Never Dies Tour One Assassination Under God Tour Freaks on Parade Tour
Related	Discography Awards and nominations Band members List of songs The Manson Family Album Posthuman Records Hell, etc. Columbine massacre controversy Alice Cooper Godhead Goon Moon Jack Off Jill Loser Nine Inch Nails Rob Zombie Slipknot The Smashing Pumpkins Rasputina
Category

v t e Brit Award for Song of the Year
1970s	"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen / "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum (1977)
1980s	"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (1982) "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners (1983) "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club (1984) "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1985) "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears (1986) "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys (1987) "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley (1988) "Perfect" by Fairground Attraction (1989)
1990s	"Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins (1990) "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode (1991) "These Are the Days of Our Lives" by Queen (1992) "Could It Be Magic" by Take That (1993) "Pray" by Take That (1994) "Parklife" by Blur (1995) "Back for Good" by Take That (1996) "Wannabe" by Spice Girls (1997) "Never Ever" by All Saints (1998) "Angels" by Robbie Williams (1999)
2000s	"She's the One" by Robbie Williams (2000) "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams (2001) "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7 (2002) "Just a Little" by Liberty X (2003) "White Flag" by Dido (2004) "Your Game" by Will Young (2005) "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay (2006) "Patience" by Take That (2007) "Shine" by Take That (2008) "The Promise" by Girls Aloud (2009)
2010s	"Beat Again" by JLS (2010) "Pass Out" by Tinie Tempah featuring Labrinth (2011) "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction (2012) "Skyfall" by Adele (2013) "Waiting All Night" by Rudimental featuring Ella Eyre (2014) "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2015) "Hello" by Adele (2016) "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix (2017) "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man (2018) "One Kiss" by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa (2019)
2020s	"Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi (2020) "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles (2021) "Easy on Me" by Adele (2022) "As It Was" by Harry Styles (2023) "Escapism" by Raye featuring 070 Shake (2024) "Guess" by Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish (2025) "Rein Me In" by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean (2026)

v t e Best-selling singles by year in the United Kingdom
1950s	1952: "Here in My Heart" – Al Martino 1953: "I Believe" – Frankie Laine 1954: "Secret Love" – Doris Day 1955: "Rose Marie" – Slim Whitman 1956: "I'll Be Home" – Pat Boone 1957: "Diana" – Paul Anka 1958: "Jailhouse Rock" – Elvis Presley 1959: "Living Doll" – Cliff Richard (UK)
1960s	1960: "It's Now or Never" – Elvis Presley 1961: "Wooden Heart" – Elvis Presley 1962: "I Remember You" – Frank Ifield (UK) 1963: "She Loves You" – The Beatles (UK) 1964: "Can't Buy Me Love" – The Beatles (UK) 1965: "Tears" – Ken Dodd (UK) 1966: "Green, Green Grass of Home" – Tom Jones (UK) 1967: "Release Me" – Engelbert Humperdinck (UK) 1968: "Hey Jude" – The Beatles (UK) 1969: "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies
1970s	1970: "The Wonder of You" – Elvis Presley / "In the Summertime" – Mungo Jerry (UK) 1971: "My Sweet Lord" – George Harrison (UK) 1972: "Amazing Grace" – Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (UK) 1973: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Dawn featuring Tony Orlando 1974: "Tiger Feet" – Mud (UK) 1975: "Bye Bye Baby" – Bay City Rollers (UK) 1976: "Save Your Kisses for Me" – Brotherhood of Man (UK) 1977: "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" – Wings (UK) 1978: "Rivers of Babylon" / "Brown Girl in the Ring" – Boney M. 1979: "Bright Eyes" – Art Garfunkel
1980s	1980: "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – The Police (UK) 1981: "Tainted Love" – Soft Cell (UK) / "Don't You Want Me" – The Human League (UK) 1982: "Come On Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners (UK) 1983: "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club (UK) 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – Band Aid (UK) 1985: "The Power of Love" – Jennifer Rush 1986: "Don't Leave Me This Way" – The Communards (UK) 1987: "Never Gonna Give You Up" – Rick Astley (UK) 1988: "Mistletoe and Wine" – Cliff Richard (UK) 1989: "Ride on Time" – Black Box
1990s	1990: "Unchained Melody" – The Righteous Brothers 1991: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" – Bryan Adams 1992: "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston 1993: "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" – Meat Loaf 1994: "Love Is All Around" – Wet Wet Wet (UK) 1995: "Unchained Melody" – Robson & Jerome (UK) 1996: "Killing Me Softly" – Fugees 1997: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" – Elton John (UK) 1998: "Believe" – Cher 1999: "...Baby One More Time" – Britney Spears
2000s	2000: "Can We Fix It?" – Bob the Builder (UK) 2001: "It Wasn't Me" – Shaggy featuring Rikrok (UK) 2002: "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" – Will Young (UK) 2003: "Where Is the Love?" – Black Eyed Peas 2004: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – Band Aid 20 (UK) 2005: "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" – Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay (UK) 2006: "Crazy" – Gnarls Barkley 2007: "Bleeding Love" – Leona Lewis (UK) 2008: "Hallelujah" – Alexandra Burke (UK) 2009: "Poker Face" – Lady Gaga
2010s	2010: "Love the Way You Lie" – Eminem featuring Rihanna 2011: "Someone like You" – Adele (UK) 2012: "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye featuring Kimbra 2013: "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams 2014: "Happy" – Pharrell Williams 2015: "Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson (UK) featuring Bruno Mars 2016: "One Dance" – Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla (UK) 2017: "Shape of You" – Ed Sheeran (UK) 2018: "One Kiss" – Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa (UK) 2019: "Someone You Loved" – Lewis Capaldi (UK)
2020s	2020: "Blinding Lights" – The Weeknd 2021: "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran (UK) 2022: "As It Was" – Harry Styles (UK) 2023: "Flowers" – Miley Cyrus 2024: "Stick Season" - Noah Kahan 2025: "Ordinary" - Alex Warren

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