The 100 greatest UK No 1 singles
Guardian critics sift through 70 years of music history and choose the best tracks to top the UK charts
'It reminded me I should not go quietly': readers' favourite UK No 1s
Guardian readers fill in the blanks in our countdown of the greatest UK No 1s of all time, with entries from Dusty Springfield to Desmond Dekker, Jimi Hendrix to Joe Dolce
The 100 greatest UK No 1 singles: what did we miss?
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 1, Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
Neil Tennant on West End Girls: 'It's about sex and escape. It's paranoid'
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: 100-1
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 2, The Specials – Ghost Town
The remarkable, dark power of this song, with its harrowing wail of a chorus, plunges you straight back into the anger, violence and despair of the early 80s
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 3, The Beatles – She Loves You
The Fab Four’s 1963 hit is an explosion of exuberance that made “yeah yeah yeah” the fanfare for a culture on the brink of irreversible change
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 4, Donna Summer – I Feel Love
Hypnotic synth, peerless vocals and visionary ambition make the 1977 genre-busting hit a turning point in pop and a truly timeless track
The 100 greatest UK No 1s, No 5: Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
Led with peacock glamour and untamed sexuality from Pete Burns, the Stock Aitken Waterman production is synth-pop at its very finest
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 6, Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Despite the allegations against him, certain of his songs have been deemed too good to lose, and Billie Jean tops the list
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 7, The Human League – Don't You Want Me
Phil Oakey might have hated it, but his hook-laden hit about sexual power politics brought synth-pop in from the cold
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 8, The Prodigy – Firestarter
A surreal and terrifying mix of big-beat pyrotechnics, lyrical vitriol and tabloid outrage. ‘Ban This Sick Fire Record,’ squawked the Mail on Sunday – but it was much too late
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 9, Abba – Dancing Queen
This glittering, many-layered pop track, laced with nostalgia and yearning harmonies, has inspired many imitators – and some covers during lockdown
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 10, Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine
A heady mix of loss, defiance and lust, Gaye’s only UK No 1 is a testament to the Motown singer’s captivating depth – and a glimpse of the masterwork to come
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 11, The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
It captured the mumbled inarticulacy and heightened feelings of love, but also the sound of a culture changing
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 12, Sinéad O'Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
Seismic and ethereal, O’Connor’s cover of an obscure Prince track remains a haunting, heartbreaking evocation of lost love
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 13, Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Relax
Amid 80s homophobia and repression, this gleeful banger about banging thrust its way to the top of the charts, its success boosted by a BBC ban
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 14, Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights
Written when Bush was 18 years old, this eerie gothic tale of lost love and longing cemented her individuality from the very beginning
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 15, Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire
The 1957 rock’n’roll hit is still one of the most lascivious songs ever recorded
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 16, Beyoncé – Crazy in Love
With its blaring horns and dancefloor swagger, Beyoncé’s first solo hit was a regal fanfare announcing her unstoppable ascent to the pop pantheon
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