RIP Alan Osmond. oldest member of family pop group The Osmonds. Alan featured on their 1974 UK number one, Love Me For a Reason, and co-wrote Crazy Horses, among their many hits. Osmond died on Monday, aged 76.
everyuknumber1.com/2021/02/15/3...
From punk axeman to pop star – Captain Sensible, guitarist for The Damned, shocked his fans with a number 1 cover of Happy Talk – that jolly old Rodgers and Hammerstein showtune from South Pacific.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/04/11/5...
#everyuknumber1 #numberonesingles #retro #pop #80s
When US easy listening singer Charlene originally released I've Never Been to Me for Motown in 1977, it left little mark. In 1982, she was working in a sweet shop in Ilford when the song was rereleased and subsequently went to number 1.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/04/04/5...
RIP Showaddywaddy co-founder and guitarist Trevor Oakes, who died after a short illness on 30 March. The Leicester-based eight-piece scored 23 UK hits in the 70s, including the number one Under the Moon of Love.
#everyuknumber1 #numberonesingles #pop #showaddywaddy #1970s
Adam and the Ants were one of the hottest acts of the 80s, and when the flamboyant frontman went solo, you could forgive him for thinking he had a bright future. However, despite Goody Two Shoes being an excellent debut, it was the end of Adam Ant's peak.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/03/28/5...
Madness are one of the most lovable bands of the 80s, with many fondly remembered hits to their name. So it's surprising - scandalous, really - that House of Fun is the only chart-topper by 'the Nutty Boys'.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/03/21/5...
#everyuknumber1 #numberonesingles #retro #pop #80s
One year on from Bucks Fizz's Eurovision winner/number 1, Making Your Mind Up, singer-songwriter Nicole Seibert won the competition with Ein bißchen Frieden. Her English version, A Little Peace, proved timely, capturing the top spot during the Falklands War.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/03/14/5...
RIP Neil Sedaka, the US singer-songwriter legend, who died yesterday aged 86. Sedaka was a founder member of The Tokens, before co-writing many hits in the 50s and 60s, including Connie Francis’s 1958 number one Stupid Cupid. He also played piano on Bobby Darin’s 1959 chart-topper, Dream Lover.
RIP comedy writer Rob Grant, who died suddenly on Wednesday, aged 70. Grant is most famous for co-creating the classic BBC sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf with Doug Naylor, but they also wrote sketches for Spitting Image. They wrote the lyrics to The Chicken Song, which went to number one in 1986.
In a preview of my forthcoming book, Every UK Number 1: The Beatles and Their Solo Years, my Valentine’s gift to you is… Ebony and Ivory. Here’s the good, the bad and the silly regarding the number 1 superstar duet between Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/02/14/4...
Coming soon: A budget Every UK Number 1 book for The Beatles fans out there. It rounds up all my essays on The Beatles’ 17 number 1s from my weighty 60s book – plus John, Paul and George’s solo chart-toppers, charity single cameos – and an exclusive essay on Now and Then, all in one place. Fab!
RIP Sly Dunbar, who died today aged 73. The Jamaican reggae drummer was one half of legendary rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie with Robbie Shakespeare. His first appearance, aged 18, was Dave & Ansil Collins’ 1971 number 1, Double Barrel.
everyuknumber1.com/2020/03/21/2...
Bucks Fizz's The Land of Make Believe got the group off to a flying start in January 1982. Unfortunately a few months later came their third and final number 1, the interesting but ultimately lacklustre My Camera Never Lies.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/01/24/4...
If you liked a large helping of cheese with your pop, you were well served in the spring of 1982. Toppling Tight Fit's The Lion Sleeps Tonight was the second German number 1 of the year - Goombay Dance Band's Seven Tears.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/01/17/4...
The Lion Sleeps Tonight by manufactured group Tight Fit is a very 1982-sounding number 1. But the song dates back to 1939 and South African singer-songwriter Solomon Linda, who died in poverty.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/01/10/4...
In early 1982, the future looked very bright for The Jam. They were at their peak - Town Called Malice/Precious became an instant number 1, and was their third chart-topper. However, by the end of the year, Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler had split up.
everyuknumber1.com/2026/01/03/4...
I still find it weird to know that Kraftwerk, one of the greatest, most influential groups of all time, had a UK number 1 single. Even weirder that it's primarily due to The Model, a song that had been released five years before it topped the chart. everyuknumber1.com/2025/12/20/4...
1981 had been a banner year for Shakin’ Stevens, with two number 1 cover versions of rock’n’roll classics This Ole House and Green Door. Shaky was back a year later and he topped the charts for the third time with a song of his own - the Cajun-flavoured Oh Julie. everyuknumber1.com/2025/12/13/4...
Bucks Fizz may be considered a bit of a joke, but they deserve better than that. Not only did they win Eurovision with Making Your Mind Up, but they went on to have a further two number 1s, and The Land of Make Believe is an excellent pop song.
everyuknumber1.com/2025/11/22/4...
The tall but true tale of how a bunch of Sheffield synth-based misfits fell apart, causing the singer to hire two dancing teenage girls he saw in a club and release one of the best pop songs ever. This is the story of The Human League and Don’t You Want Me.
everyuknumber1.com/2025/10/04/4...
RIP US songwriter Bobby Hart, whose death was announced today. Hart, along with his co-writer and co-producer Tommy Boyce, were behind some of the finest pop songs by The Monkees, including their sole UK number one, Last Train to Clarksville, in 1967. He was 86.
Singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias is the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and the best-selling male Latin artist in history. However, it took his cover of Cole Porter’s Begin the Beguine to take him to number one on the UK singles chart. everyuknumber1.com/2025/09/06/4...
Keith Nunnally, vocalist on Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley’s groundbreaking 1987 number one Jack Your Body, has died. This single was the first house track to top the charts, partly due to its popularity in clubs like the legendary Hacienda. His death was announced by Hurley yesterday.
Under Pressure, that behemoth of a pop track by Queen & David Bowie, sees both acts trying to outdo each other. Somehow, rather than come out as a sloppy egotistical mess, it became one of the greatest number 1s of the 80s, no matter how many times you hear it.
everyuknumber1.com/2025/08/24/4...
RIP Ozzy Osbourne, icon of heavy metal. The ‘Prince of Darkness’ has died aged 76, only weeks after his final gig. Black Sabbath singer Osbourne reached number one in 2003 with the duet Changes, also featuring his daughter, Kelly.
#everyuknumber1 #musicblog #musicnostalgia #retro #pop #ozzyosbourne
RIP Connie Francis. The US pop singer hit the number one spot in the UK chart twice during 1958, with Who’s Sorry Now? and Carolina Moon/Stupid Cupid. She died on Wednesday, aged 87.
#everyuknumber1 #numberonesingles #chartmusic #nostalgia #popculture #musicblog #musicnostalgia #retro #pop
A true music genius has died. Brian Wilson, the driving force behind The Beach Boys two number ones and so many great pop songs, has died, aged 82. Good Vibrations, one of the most astounding pieces of music of all time, topped the chart in 1966, and Do It Again followed in 1968. RIP Brian Wilson.
Look for this song anywhere online and the first thing you'll read is 'No, not that Dave Stewart'. Nonetheless this Dave Stewart, with Barbara Haskin's version of the 60s teen classic It's My Party by Lesley Gore is a curio in the history of number ones.
everyuknumber1.com/2025/02/21/4...
RIP Rick Buckler, drummer in The Jam, who died yesterday after a short illness, aged 69. New wave legends The Jam scored four excellent number one singles – Going Underground/Dreams of Children and Start! in 1980, and Town Called Malice/Precious and Beat Surrender in 1982.