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Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1986
Including classics by The Communards, Madonna, George Michael, and Diana Ross.
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1986 saw a mammoth 21 singles hit Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart - the biggest of them all that year was The Communards' Don't Leave Me This Way.
The pop duo's cover of the 70s disco classic spent four weeks at the top of the chart and sold 768,500 copies to be the UK's best-seller of 1986, as revealed on new Channel 5 series Britain's Favourite 80s Songs - currently airing on Fridays at 10pm.
Don't Leave Me This Way was the band's first and only Number 1, and is an example of a cover charting higher than the original: the 1977 recording by Harold Melvin And The Bluetones' reached Number 5, while another cover by Themla Houston peaked at 13.
Meanwhile, Eastenders actor and singer Nick Berry scored the second best-seller of 1986 with Every Loser Wins (748k). The track featured heavily on the soap that summer - sung by Nick's character Simon 'Wicksy' Wicks - sending it to Number 1 for thre weeks.
MORE: Soapstars turned popstars - from telly dramas to chart triumphs
1986 also saw the formation of Comic Relief, which gave Cliff Richard an unexpected (and unusual) Number 1 in Living Doll, a collaboration with the cast of popular sitcom The Young Ones that spent three weeks at the top and earnt Cliff his first chart-topper in seven years. The track was 1986's fourth best-seller with 709,000 sales. Another Cliff collab, All I Ask Of You with Sarah Brightman, places at 29 on the year-end Top 40.
Completing the Top 5 is Diana Ross, who also made a long-awaited return to the top that year with Chain Reaction (677k). Written and produced by the Bee Gees, the song gave Diana her second UK Number 1 following 1971's I'm Still Waiting.
Further down the year-end Top 40, Madonna makes two entries with Papa Don't Preach at 8 (583k) and True Blue at 11 (495k). Both featured on her third album True Blue - the UK's best-selling album that year.
In 17th place is 1986's Christmas Number 1, Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite. Following Jackie's death in 1984, the song - originally a Number 6 hit in 1957 - was re-issued after being used in a television advert for Levi's and ended up claiming the festive top spot. Having first been released 29 years earlier, it set a record for the longest time between a single being released and it hitting Number 1 - a record that would last until 2005 when Tony Christie's 1971 song "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" topped the chart.
MORE: Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1985
Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1986
| TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | |
| 1 | DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY | COMMUNARDS | 1 |
| 2 | EVERY LOSER WINS | NICK BERRY | 1 |
| 3 | I WANT TO WAKE UP WITH YOU | BORIS GARDINER | 1 |
| 4 | LIVING DOLL | CLIFF RICHARD & THE YOUNG ONES | 1 |
| 5 | CHAIN REACTION | DIANA ROSS | 1 |
| 6 | THE LADY IN RED | CHRIS DE BURGH | 1 |
| 7 | WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING | BILLY OCEAN | 1 |
| 8 | PAPA DON'T PREACH | MADONNA | 1 |
| 9 | TAKE MY BREATH AWAY | BERLIN | 3 |
| 10 | SO MACHO/CRUISING | SINITTA | 2 |
| 11 | TRUE BLUE | MADONNA | 1 |
| 12 | A DIFFERENT CORNER | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1 |
| 13 | ROCK ME AMADEUS | FALCO | 1 |
| 14 | WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF | JERMAINE STEWART | 2 |
| 15 | SPIRIT IN THE SKY | DOCTOR AND THE MEDICS | 1 |
| 16 | THE FINAL COUNTDOWN | EUROPE | 1 |
| 17 | REETE PETITE (1986) | JACKIE WILSON | 1 |
| 18 | RAIN OR SHINE | FIVE STAR | 2 |
| 19 | CARAVAN OF LOVE | HOUSEMARTINS | 1 |
| 20 | THE CHICKEN SONG/A NICE SOUTH AFRI | SPITTING IMAGE | 1 |
| 21 | THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV | A-HA | 1 |
| 22 | ON MY OWN | PATTI LABELLE/MICHAEL MCDONALD | 2 |
| 23 | WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN | BANGLES | 3 |
| 24 | IN THE ARMY NOW | STATUS QUO | 2 |
| 25 | LESSONS IN LOVE | LEVEL 42 | 3 |
| 26 | GLORY OF LOVE | PETER CETERA | 3 |
| 27 | THE EDGE OF HEAVEN | WHAM! | 1 |
| 28 | SLEDGEHAMMER | PETER GABRIEL | 4 |
| 29 | ALL I ASK OF YOU | CLIFF RICHARD/SARAH BRIGHTMAN | 3 |
| 30 | TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) | SAMANTHA FOX | 3 |
| 31 | WONDERFUL WORLD | SAM COOKE | 2 |
| 32 | A KIND OF MAGIC | QUEEN | 3 |
| 33 | HOLDING BACK THE YEARS | SIMPLY RED | 2 |
| 34 | YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON | KIM WILDE | 2 |
| 35 | LET'S GO ALL THE WAY | SLY FOX | 3 |
| 36 | WORD UP | CAMEO | 3 |
| 37 | MANIC MONDAY | BANGLES | 2 |
| 38 | I CAN'T WAIT | NU SHOOZ | 2 |
| 39 | MY FAVOURITE WASTE OF TIME | OWEN PAUL | 3 |
| 40 | YOU CAN CALL ME AL | PAUL SIMON | 4 |
©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
MORE: Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1984
Article image: Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock
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Edwin Green
Where's West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys? Nowhere in either 1985 or 86 listing.
S
Stu
I guess the split year affected it. Combined 85/86 sales would be good, but as it fell in two separate years, that could be the issue?
Vytautas Macionis
A kind of magic by Queen was only No 3??? Such a superb and catchy song. No 1 for sure!
Damián
Cant believe You Keep Me Hanging On wasn't 1, it was a shame
Solidpeag
Every one a smash ...
Bengy
"... Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite. .. was re-issued after being used in a television advert for Levi's ..."
Actually it was a clay animation video on the BBC Two documentary series Arena. Nothing to do with Levi jeans.
Blank
Was it the same company that did Star Trekkin? Looks similar.
LM
Lee Moore
It wouldn't be the OCC if there weren't errors/inconsistencies in their lists!
D
Del
There is a double mistake! Firstly, as noted Berlin reached No1. Secondly, when Channel 5 aired the Top 30 last night, they incorrectly broadcast that The Housemartins were Christmas No1!!! We all know it wasn't. Researchers not doing what they are paid to do!
S
Stu
Del: that was going to be my point, too! Am really enjoying the Ch5 progs, but that error is unforgivable. It's a Christmas no 1 which is often incorrectly labelled, but a quick check on the OCC will confirm it was Jackie Wilson. Have even seen Paul Heaton commenting on how the Christmas no 1 was taken from them! Sloppy research from the prog's researchers!
Blank
Oddly, a long time ago Jamie Thiekston presented A Question Of Pop (like Question Of Sport that has been running ofr 50 year, but for music). They got the question wrong too, stating that it was Xmas #1. It got knocked off the week before by Reet Petite.
I wonder if they researched the same incorrect source?
You'd think a professional TV researcher would get such basic facts right. The Christmas #1 isn't exactly an obscure fact!
Blank
Think you'll find Berlin were #1, not #3.
Venezia24
Yes, the OCC need to QA these EOY articles against their own data. It would be good to see it & 1985 updated. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5163e6ec07bcb2f72dff1180551c5fd58077ec00d1cd3f66946a67b7b33fc911.jpg
S
spinny
Thats what I thought. they seem to have gotten mistaken with when it re-entered and peaked at number 3 in 1990
Damián
It should've been 1 for sure
S
Stu
OCC- why has this error still not been amended???