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The Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1984
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The UK's best-selling single of 1984 was Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid, with chart sales in excess of 2.4 million, according to Official Charts Company data.
As revealed on new Channel 5 series Britain's favourite 80s songs, currently airing on Fridays at 10pm, the iconic charity single organised by Bob Geldof is both the second-bestselling single of all time in the UK, as well as the best-selling Christmas single ever, with the original spending five weeks at Number 1.
MORE: The UK's Official best-selling singles of all time
Band Aid also has an enviable legacy - the 1984 original has since spawned three successive cover versions for charity, all of which have also peaked at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart.
Coming up in second place is Stevie Wonder, whose tender ballad I Just Called To Say I Love You sold a cool 1.82 million that year, swiftly followed by Frankie Goes To Hollywood's controversial debut single Relax on 1.8 million.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood also make another appearance at Number 4 with Two Tribes, the follow-up to Relax which also peaked at Number 1 and sold 1.7 million. For two weeks that summer, Two Tribes was Number 1 while Relax was Number 2.
George Michael is the most featured artist in the Top 40, with a total of five appearances overall, including as a solo artist, as a member of Wham! and as part of Band Aid.
His biggest hit of the year was his first solo single Careless Whisper (included on the duo's LP Make It Big but credited as a singular George release) which lands at Number 5 selling 1.2 million, with Wham! themselves just one spot behind at 6 with Last Christmas/Everything She Wants, shifting 937k in the process.
The highest-selling female release of 1984 came from Chaka Khan with I Feel For You at Number 12, selling 639k. It was the first chart-topping hit for the Queen of Funk who celebrated her 68th birthday last month.
Further down the Top 40, Madonna released one of the most iconic hits of her entire career with in Like A Virgin (18), Tina Turner finds emancipation and re-births herself as a rock superstar with What's Love Got To Do With It (20) and Culture Club (the best-selling act of 1983 with Karma Chameleon) also found success with The War Song (31).
The Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1984
| TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | YEAR | |
| 1 | DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? | BAND AID | 1 | 1984 |
| 2 | I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU | STEVIE WONDER | 1 | 1984 |
| 3 | RELAX | FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD | 1 | 1984 |
| 4 | TWO TRIBES | FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD | 1 | 1984 |
| 5 | CARELESS WHISPER | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1 | 1984 |
| 6 | LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS | WHAM! | 2 | 1984 |
| 7 | HELLO | LIONEL RICHIE | 1 | 1984 |
| 8 | AGADOO | BLACK LACE | 2 | 1984 |
| 9 | GHOSTBUSTERS | RAY PARKER JR | 2 | 1984 |
| 10 | FREEDOM | WHAM! | 1 | 1984 |
| 11 | WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO | WHAM! | 1 | 1984 |
| 12 | I FEEL FOR YOU | CHAKA KHAN | 1 | 1984 |
| 13 | WHITE LINES (DON'T DO IT) | GRANDMASTER FLASH & MELLE MEL | 7 | 1984 |
| 14 | WE ALL STAND TOGETHER | PAUL MCCARTNEY AND FROG CHORUS | 3 | 1984 |
| 15 | 99 RED BALLOONS | NENA | 1 | 1984 |
| 16 | THE POWER OF LOVE | FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD | 1 | 1984 |
| 17 | THE REFLEX | DURAN DURAN | 1 | 1984 |
| 18 | LIKE A VIRGIN | MADONNA | 3 | 1984 |
| 19 | TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW (AGAINST ALL ODDS) | PHIL COLLINS | 2 | 1984 |
| 20 | WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT | TINA TURNER | 3 | 1984 |
| 21 | I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER | JIM DIAMOND | 1 | 1984 |
| 22 | NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS | PAUL MCCARTNEY | 2 | 1984 |
| 23 | I WANT TO BREAK FREE | QUEEN | 3 | 1984 |
| 24 | HOLE IN MY SHOE | NEIL | 2 | 1984 |
| 25 | TIME AFTER TIME | CYNDI LAUPER | 3 | 1984 |
| 26 | RADIO GA GA | QUEEN | 2 | 1984 |
| 27 | TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS | GIORGIO MORODER & PHILIP OAKEY | 3 | 1984 |
| 28 | WHEN DOVES CRY | PRINCE | 4 | 1984 |
| 29 | DOCTOR DOCTOR | THOMPSON TWINS | 3 | 1984 |
| 30 | SELF CONTROL | LAURA BRANIGAN | 5 | 1984 |
| 31 | THE WAR SONG | CULTURE CLUB | 2 | 1984 |
| 32 | GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN | CYNDI LAUPER | 2 | 1984 |
| 33 | THE WILD BOYS | DURAN DURAN | 2 | 1984 |
| 34 | I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME | NIK KERSHAW | 2 | 1984 |
| 35 | LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL | HOWARD JONES | 4 | 1984 |
| 36 | NELLIE THE ELEPHANT | TOY DOLLS | 4 | 1984 |
| 37 | PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) | U2 | 3 | 1984 |
| 38 | AUTOMATIC | THE POINTER SISTERS | 2 | 1984 |
| 39 | JOANNA | KOOL AND THE GANG | 2 | 1984 |
| 40 | THAT'S LIVIN' ALRIGHT (FROM AUF WIEDERSEHEN PET) | JOE FAGAN | 3 | 1984 |
©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
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J
JC
Great times, great year, fantastic music!
S
Stu
Presumably, this chart would be for actual sales in 1984. By now, Relax and Last Christmas have eclipsed Stevie Wonder, looking at the million sellers list? Looks like the great songs keep on selling!
JC
Joe Clayton
Relax was revealed to have swapped places with Stevie when the best sellers of the decade were revealed on New Year's Day 1990. Last Christmas might have taken a little longer to overtake it. Fascinating that White Lines scored so highly considering it peaked at no7. I'm sure Richard Skinner said this was down to sales in the north west of England. Enhanced club scene perhaps.