Halloween Hits: The Best and Worst!
Whilst we can’t have a Halloween party this year, we thought we could still bring the party to you! We found the list of all the UK Number Ones on Halloween for the past 50 years and our team voted the best and worst songs!
To our surprise, there are no spooky or Halloween themed number ones on the list! So, see what songs beat out spooky classics to the top spot, and get adding them to your playlists!
Best 10
#10- Billy Joel- Uptown Girl
Come on now…. What a classic! After nearly 40 years, this smash doo-wop hit is still guaranteed to get everyone up on their feet! Uptown girl held on to the number one spot in the UK charts for five weeks. It was also Billy Joel’s only UK number one ever, and was the 19th biggest selling single of the 1980s.
For Joel, this single has been known to be a bit of a sore subject! After playing the working class man attempting woo the uptown girl, Christie Brinkley, the two go together and married. Unfortunately, they didn’t last forever and when the two split, the song was too associated with his Ex-Wife for him. However, they do seem to be on better grounds now and the song remains an absolute must in any throw-back party!
#9- The Archies- Sugar, Sugar
The Archies might be fictional, but this bubble-gum pop track’s success certainly wasn’t! In 1969, ‘Sugar, Sugar’ peaked for 8 weeks at the top of the UK charts, selling more than 900,000 copies. It’s still loved now, being certified as Silver by the BPI in April this year, after selling 200,000 digital units since 2004. It’s currently sitting at more than 165 million Spotify Streams, and it keeps on growing!
#8- Grease! Cast- Summer Nights
Now I’m not usually a fan of musicals. Too many people singing when they should be talking! And someone please tell me how everyone suddenly knows the words, when to sing, how to dance? The list is endless. Musicals just don’t do it for me. But, I will always make an exception for Grease!
‘Summer Nights’ was one of many successful songs from the movie, hitting the UK top spot for seven weeks! This followed on from an earlier nine week run of “You’re the one that I want”, giving John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John a solid 16 weeks at the top during 1978.
#7- Lorde- Royals
This art-pop song landed back in 2013, selling 10 million units worldwide, making it one of the best selling singles of all time. The song expresses a disapproval of the lavish styling and over-dramatized wealth that many contemporary artists and celebrities portray within their image. Despite taking inspiration from artists such as Kanye West and Jay-Z, Lorde used the song to depict a sense of reality and partake in lavish lifestyle references, declaring them “bullshit”.
Given its unique styling, fusing art-pop and electropop, whilst drawing on various other stylings such as hip-hop, R&B and indie, this track earnt it’s place as number 7!
Fun Fact: Lorde wrote ‘Royals’ in just 30 minutes!
#6- Cher- Believe
Cher is ICONIC. Often referred to as the “Goddess Of Pop”, Cher’s career has spanned six decades, with over 30 albums and numerous high profile film roles!
In 1998, she released ‘Believe’ as part of another re-invention of her image. Considered one of the greatest LGBT anthems of all time, this song is credited for restoring Cher’s popularity and establishing her position as a pop and pop-culture icon. The song pioneered the use of auto-tune, debuting it into a long-standing and ever present feature of modern pop music.
Believe spent seven weeks in the UK top spot in 1998 and 1999, and rightfully earns its spot as our number 6!
#5- Kelly Rowland and Nelly- Dilemma
We all remember the time that Kelly got mad after texting Nelly on Excel. How dare Nelly not answer her!
This old school R&B ballad deserved it’s spot in the Top 5. In the UK the song spent 2 weeks in the top spot, before spending a further 22 weeks on the chart.
Did you know that in 2011, Kelly and Nelly released a single called “gone”?
#4- Meatloaf- I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That!)
Does anyone know what “that” is? We’ve not been able to find out, and after a lengthy google search, we stumbled across a few questionable meanings. What exactly won’t they do for love? Someone help!
The song in it’s original format is over 12 minutes long and had to be shortened down by 7 minutes in order to receive radio play. The single marked Meatloaf’s first number one single, and was the biggest UK hit in 1993, selling almost 800,000 copies. With seven weeks in the top spot, “bat out of hell” was re-released and finally cracked the top 10, giving Meatloaf two top 10s at one time.
#3- Boyz II Men- End Of The Road
End of the Road is considered to be one of the most successful songs of all time, spending a record-breaking 13 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100. According to Billboard, it is the sixth most successful song of the 1990s, and was the biggest single of 1992.
#2- AfroMan- Because I Got High
Afroman released this soon-to-be hit in 2000, without being signed to a major label. He focused on distributing it through concerts and the file-sharing service Napster, where it soon got discovered. Following the success of this track, Afroman was signed to Universal Records to continue creating his unique sound.
This fun, comedy hip-hop track is a great escape from the standard music in 2000 and made it to the top spot of the UK Charts over Halloween!
We still love it, and it was a close-run for our first place spot!
#1- Coolio- Gangsta’s Paradise
Oh come on, it couldn’t be anything else! This Coolio classic is the best Halloween Number #1 of all time!
Gangsta’s Paradise is one of the few Coolio tracks which contains no explicit words or profanities. This is due to the sampling of “Pastime Paradise” by Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder loved the track, but would not allow permission for the sampling with any explicit language.
Coolio has always said that “Gangsta’s Paradise wanted to be born”. After quoting a line from Psalm 23:4, he freestyled the rest of the song and the lyrics came to him in one sitting.
The hip-hop track has received various awards, rankings and mentions as one of the best tracks of all time. It featured in the UK charts twice, first after it’s debut where it had a lengthy run in the first place spot. Secondly, following Coolio appearing nearly 15 years later on Big Brother UK.
Gangsta’s Paradise has achieved more than 6 million sales worldwide, only falling behind Cher’s ‘Believe’ in this list.
Worst 10
#10- Girls Aloud- The Promise
The leading single from Girls Aloud’s fifth studio album may have debuted at #1 on the UK singles chart, but it wasn’t a hit for us!
An attempt to cash in on the 60s femme pop styles that were popular with the likes of Duffy and Amy Winehouse, it just didn’t quite land!
#9- Enya- Orinoco Flow
No, we do not want to sail away, sail away, sail away. Despite recently being named as the 77th greatest UK No.1 we are going to have to pass. Sorry Enya, this just doesn’t make it up with the great songs we highlighted above!
#8- Cheryl Cole- Promise This
Maybe it’s just the irritating “Alouette uette uette, Alouette uette uette, Alouette uette uette, Déployer l’aile” but there’s something not right here. It has everything we’d ask for a track to have, yet no one in the office wants to add it to their playlists…
#7- Cheryl Cole- Fight For This Love
Cheryl’s attempt to go out on her own got off to a strong start with “Fight for this love”, debuting at number one on the UK singles chart and selling 134,000 copies in just one day.
Despite the popstars best efforts, this song made in into the worst 10 because the verses are just too sluggish.
#6- Jive Bunny- That’s What I Like
Just no. This novelty pop track is just… just no.
#5- Nick Berry- Every Loser Wins
This track is quite literally an EastEnders song. The track was heavily featured on the soap opera throughout 1986, being regularly renditioned by Nick Berry’s character. One character referred to it as “sentimental garbage” in the episode, and quite frankly, we agree.
#4- Bee Gees- You Win Again
This was the first track for the Bee Gees to reach #1 in eight years. Once it got there, it stayed for 4 weeks. We know the music was different in 1987, but we can’t see what the fuss was about…
#3- Leona Lewis- Bleeding Love
Okay, I am putting my foot down! The team came to a decision that Leona Lewis’s ‘Bleeding Love’ earnt the title of ‘Third Worst Halloween Number One’, but I can’t do this. There were plenty of songs that deserved the title more. While it doesn’t deserve the Top 10, it’s not this bad… Is it?
Sorry Leona, forgive us!
#2- McFly- Star Girl
Despite McFly frontrunner Tom Fletcher managing to get this song played in space in 2009 to wake up the astronauts, this song is still the second worst Halloween number one. Those poor astronauts!
#1- Meghan Trainor- All About That Bass
This bubble-gum pop track was just terrible! This was easily the most annoying song of 2014, and definitely earns the space as “Worst Halloween Number One of All Time”. It’s “body-positive” message has come under criticism for shaming thing-woman and being anti-feminist. This song focuses on uplifting one body style through shaming another. Body image and promoting self-love is definitely a worthy cause, but inciting negativity is not the way to do it…
Honourable mention
Aqua- Barbie Girl
Perhaps one of the greatest songs of the 90s! A must have at all big events like Weddings, Parties and a cheesy night out! It’s a fun novelty dance-pop track that we can’t get enough of! It wasn’t voted into the top 10, but it more than deserved it’s 4 weeks at number one in the UK.
What did you think of our list? Was there a song you think deserved to be a Halloween number one that didn’t make it? Or do you think we placed a song in the wrong place? Give us a comment or get in touch to tell us!
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