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Liam.k.
post Feb 10 2016, 11:52 AM
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The UK's Official Top 20 Biggest Selling Love Ballads of All Time
10 February 2016
By Justin Myers


We're sure by now you're fully prepped for your Valentine's Day wooing by now, right? You've made the dinner reservations, your flowers are on order and the champagne's on ice, but what about a little music to set the mood?

We're a romantic lot in Britain, and many of our biggest selling singles of all time are of the sentimental and mushy nature. To celebrate Valentine's Day and to give you a bit of romantic playlist inspo (we've put one together for you here), we present the UK's favourite love ballads – the Official Top 20 best sellers. ❤

1: Love Is All Around – Wet Wet Wet
Summer 1994 belonged to this song, which spent an astonishing 15 straight weeks at Number 1 – the second longest consecutive run at the top of all time. Taken from the global phenomenon that was Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, Love Is All Around was the Wets' third Number 1.

The track was a cover – it originally got to Number 5 in 1967 for the Troggs. The Wet Wet Wet version has sold 1.88 million copies! "Is it still raining? I hadn't noticed." Smooth.

2: Unchained Melody – Robson and Jerome
One of two appearances in the Top 20 for this much-covered classic, which has hit Number 1 four times for different artists. Coming off the back of their starring roles in ITV's military drama Soldier Soldier, Robson & Jerome's version was a double-A side with a cover of Vera Lynn's White Cliffs of Dover and stayed at Number 1 for a whopping seven weeks. Sentimental sorts couldn't get enough of it – it's sold 1.86 million copies.

3: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You – Bryan Adams
Another movie soundtrack song, the theme from Kevin Costner fairy tale Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves holds the record for longest consecutive run at Number 1.

Bryan's classic ballad kept hold of the top spot for an incredible 16 weeks. Sixteen. If you weren't a big fan of the song, let's just say summer 1991 was a particularly tough time to be a chart fan. 1.82 million of you own this one.

4: Anything Is Possible/Evergreen – Will Young
Two for the price of one for Pop Idol winner Will Young's victory song from 2002. Evergreen was a cover of a Westlife album track, but Anything Is Possible was a new tune co-written by Cathy Dennis, who also penned Toxic for Britney and Can't Get You Out of my Head for Kylie.

The single sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week on sale and is the fastest-selling debut single ever. The single spent three week at the summit and has now hit almost 1.78 million sales.

5: I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
The highest lady on our love ballad countdown is the late, great Whitney Houston. Taken from the hugely successful soundtrack of the hit movie The Bodyguard, in which Houston starred, I Will Always Love You spent 10 weeks at the top was 1992's Official Christmas Number 1.

It's well known the song was a cover of a Dolly Parton track that never charted in the UK. Two further versions have made the Top 40: a dance reinterpretation by Sarah Washington hit Number 12 in 1993, and Pop Idol finalist Rik Waller went Top 10 with his rendition in 2002. Whitney's still the one to beat, though: her version has sold 1.62 million copies.

Other notable entries
Gareth Gates's 2002 cover of Unchained Melody, which actually deposed Will Young from Number 1, comes in eighth with 1.34 million sales, while the highest placed song not to reach Number 1 at all is Robbie Williams' Angels, which peaked at 4 and has racked up 1.2 million sales.

The most recent track in our countdown is John Legend's All of Me, which passed a million sales in 2015 – it's now on 1.18 million – and the only female group to make the Top 20 is the Spice Girls, with 1996's Christmas chart-topper 2 Become 1.

Take That also land two entries in our Top 20, thanks to 1995's Number 1 Back For Good and Rule The World, which peaked at Number 2 in 2007.

And just outside our Top 20, we have two more million-selling ballads worthy of a mention: Atomic Kitten's Whole Again (21) and Kylie and Jason duet Especially For You (22). Play those to us and, yes, we will marry you.

The Official Top 20 biggest selling love ballads ever in the UK are appear below. Click here to listen to a playlist of the songs on Spotify, and here if you're on Deezer.

TRACK ARTIST YEAR
1 LOVE IS ALL AROUND WET WET WET 1994 1,880,000
2 UNCHAINED MELODY/(THERE'LL BE BLUEBIRDS OVER) THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER ROBSON GREEN & JEROME FLYNN 1995 1,860,000
3 (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU BRYAN ADAMS 1991 1,820,000
4 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/EVERGREEN WILL YOUNG 2002 1,780,000
5 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1992 1,620,000
6 MY HEART WILL GO ON CELINE DION 1998
7 THE POWER OF LOVE JENNIFER RUSH 1985
8 UNCHAINED MELODY GARETH GATES 2002 1,340,000
9 JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (AMAZING) BRUNO MARS 2010
10 ANGELS ROBBIE WILLIAMS 1997 1,200,000
11 ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND 2014 1,180,000
12 DON'T GIVE UP ON US DAVID SOUL 1976
13 I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING AEROSMITH 1998
14 NO MATTER WHAT BOYZONE 1998
15 THINKING OUT LOUD ED SHEERAN 2014
16 2 BECOME 1 SPICE GIRLS 1996
17 CHASING CARS SNOW PATROL 2006
18 BACK FOR GOOD TAKE THAT 1995
19 RULE THE WORLD TAKE THAT 2007
20 HERO ENRIQUE IGLESIAS 2002
21 WHOLE AGAIN ATOMIC KITTEN 2001
22 ESPECIALLY FOR YOU KYLIE & JASON 1988
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Campbell
post Feb 10 2016, 04:44 PM
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How much have Think Twice and I Just Called To Say I Love You sold? Thought they might be on the list.
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Colm
post Feb 10 2016, 05:23 PM
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QUOTE(Campbell @ Feb 10 2016, 04:44 PM) *
How much have Think Twice and I Just Called To Say I Love You sold? Thought they might be on the list.



They should be well ahead of Rule the World
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vancey
post Feb 10 2016, 08:57 PM
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Does anybody know why Love Is All Around got deleted? I've often wondered this, surely at 15 weeks number one they would want to try and break the record of 16 weeks?

Also, might not be a "love ballad" but where would Steps "Heartbeat" appear on here?
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Popchartfreak
post Feb 10 2016, 09:03 PM
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Wet Wet Wet reportedly deleted it, sick of it being at number one, and enough is enough. Cynics might say it was a last desperate attempt to pile all remaining potential sales into one week to try and stop the coming monster steamroller of Barbie Girl knocking them off the top (to equal Bryan Adams).. laugh.gif
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post Feb 10 2016, 09:29 PM
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QUOTE(vancey @ Feb 10 2016, 08:57 PM) *
Does anybody know why Love Is All Around got deleted? I've often wondered this, surely at 15 weeks number one they would want to try and break the record of 16 weeks?


It actually never stood a chance anyway - the publicity over the single's deletion caused its sales to climb 60% week on week, but it was not enough to stop Saturday Night.

It's also interesting that whilst the sales did fall quite sharply after that, there were clearly plenty of copies lying around, coz it spent another 4 months or so on the top 75!
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Colm
post Feb 10 2016, 09:49 PM
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QUOTE(popchartfreak @ Feb 10 2016, 09:03 PM) *
Wet Wet Wet reportedly deleted it, sick of it being at number one, and enough is enough. Cynics might say it was a last desperate attempt to pile all remaining potential sales into one week to try and stop the coming monster steamroller of Barbie Girl knocking them off the top (to equal Bryan Adams).. laugh.gif


blink.gif

Whigfield's Saturday Night - surely
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Gezza
post Feb 10 2016, 09:50 PM
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If I recall correctly the "deleted" story was later discovered to be a hoax (hence the fact that it lingered around the charts for a long time afterwards). It was true that the record label invented the story to try to get another week at the top and equal the Bryan Adams record.
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Robbie
post Feb 11 2016, 01:06 AM
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QUOTE(Colm @ Feb 10 2016, 09:49 PM) *
blink.gif

Whigfield's Saturday Night - surely
Yup, it was 'Saturday Night' by Whigfield that knocked Wet Wet Wet from the top. 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua knocked the Spice Girls ('Spice Up Your Life') from number 1 three years later!
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fiesta
post Feb 11 2016, 02:12 PM
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The story of Wet Wet Wet being deleted did have an effect as its sales increased 60% that week but still ended up 50,000 sales behind Whigfield

This post has been edited by fiesta: Feb 11 2016, 02:19 PM
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Mangø
post Feb 11 2016, 04:21 PM
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What makes a song classify as a "love ballad" though? Surely the definition is a bit vague...
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slowdown73
post Feb 11 2016, 05:32 PM
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Think twice has sold about 1.3 million in total so don't understand why it's not included unless they don't class it as a ballad.
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JCM20
post Feb 11 2016, 08:50 PM
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I messaged the OCC and apparently Think Twice, Bleeding Love, Someone like You and I Just Called to Say I Love You are not Valentine's Day-appropriate. Hence their exclusion.

They're kinda right, Stevie is just calling for the sake of saying "I love you", Leona's having a troubled relationship, and Celine and Adele are both going through break-ups - not really appropriate for Valentine's Day


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JCM20
post Feb 11 2016, 09:10 PM
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Then again, Think Twice and Don't Give Up on Us both have a subject matter of "please don't leave me" - so it is a little confusing how only one of them made the list

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Seinfeld
post Feb 11 2016, 09:40 PM
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Just a minor quibble I know, but I find it a bit odd that the OCC have 'Anything Is Possible/Evergreen' on 1,780,000 when they normally have it on 1,790,000. I assume they've just made an error and it should be the latter figure?
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Colm
post Feb 11 2016, 10:57 PM
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QUOTE(JCM20 @ Feb 11 2016, 08:50 PM) *
I messaged the OCC and apparently Think Twice, Bleeding Love, Someone like You and I Just Called to Say I Love You are not Valentine's Day-appropriate. Hence their exclusion.

They're kinda right, Stevie is just calling for the sake of saying "I love you", Leona's having a troubled relationship, and Celine and Adele are both going through break-ups - not really appropriate for Valentine's Day



Someone thinks too much about these things.
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Liam.k.
post Feb 11 2016, 11:55 PM
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QUOTE(OutstandingMixer @ Feb 11 2016, 09:40 PM) *
Just a minor quibble I know, but I find it a bit odd that the OCC have 'Anything Is Possible/Evergreen' on 1,780,000 when they normally have it on 1,790,000. I assume they've just made an error and it should be the latter figure?

I assume it is just an error. It sold 1.784m in 2002 and has been on 1.79m for absolutely years without any more precise info than that. I'd personally like to see how close it is to 1.8m now, particularly since it won't automatically be certified 3x Platinum by the BPI as it already has that certification from when they were based on shipments.
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JCM20
post Feb 12 2018, 03:41 PM
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12 February 2018

The UK's Official Top 20 biggest selling love ballads of all time
It's almost Valentine's Day! We reveal the best selling love ballads that get the UK feeling loved up.

By Justin Myers

Ah, Valentine's Day – bunches of flowers, boxes of chocolates, a glass of champagne and a romantic dinner, but let's not forget the music to set the mood!

The Brits are a soppy lot, and many of our biggest selling singles of all time are love songs. To celebrate Valentine's Day we've put together a romantic playlist for you here, and we count down the UK's favourite love ballads – the Official Top 20 best sellers. ❤

1: Love Is All Around – Wet Wet Wet


Summer 1994 belonged to this song, by Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, which spent an astonishing 15 straight weeks at Number 1 – the second longest consecutive run at the top of all time, and equalled in 2016 by Drake's One Dance. Taken from the global movie phenomenon Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, Love Is All Around was the Wets' third Number 1.

The track was a cover – it originally got to Number 5 in 1967 for the Troggs. The Wet Wet Wet version has sold 1.9 million copies! "Is it still raining? I hadn't noticed." Smooth, Andie. Smooth.

2: Unchained Melody – Robson and Jerome
Unchained Melody hay be over five decades old, but it still has enduring appeal, and is much-covered, reaching Number 1 four times for different artists. Coming off the back of their starring roles in ITV's military drama Soldier Soldier, Robson & Jerome's version was a double-A side with a cover of Vera Lynn's White Cliffs of Dover and stayed at Number 1 for a whopping seven weeks. Sentimental sorts couldn't get enough of it – it's sold 1.87 million copies.

MORE: See the chart runs of every version of Unchained Melody

3: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You – Bryan Adams


Another movie soundtrack song, the theme from Kevin Costner fairy tale Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves holds the record for longest consecutive run at Number 1.

Bryan's classic ballad kept hold of the top spot for an incredible 16 weeks. Sixteen. If you weren't a big fan of the song, let's just say summer 1991 was a particularly tough time to be a chart fan. 1.85 million of you own this one.

4: Anything Is Possible/Evergreen – Will Young
Two for the price of one for Pop Idol winner Will Young's victory song from 2002. Evergreen was a cover of a Westlife album track, but Anything Is Possible was a new tune co-written by Cathy Dennis, who also penned Toxic for Britney and Can't Get You Out of my Head for Kylie.

The single sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week on sale and is still the fastest-selling debut single ever. The single spent three weeks at the summit and now has over 1.81 million sales. See where all of Will Young's UK singles and albums have charted.

5: I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston


The highest lady on our love ballad countdown is the late, great Whitney Houston. Taken from the hugely successful soundtrack of the hit movie The Bodyguard, in which Houston starred, I Will Always Love You spent 10 weeks at the top was 1992's Official Christmas Number 1.

It's well known the song was a cover of a Dolly Parton track that never charted in the UK. Two further versions have made the Top 40: a dance reinterpretation by Sarah Washington hit Number 12 in 1993, and Pop Idol finalist Rik Waller went Top 10 with his rendition in 2002. Whitney's still the one to beat, though: her version has sold 1.64 million copies.

Other notable entries
Céline Dion is the only star to snare two spots on our Top 20, cementing her place as the queen of love songs. Titanic-soundtracking My Heart Will Go On is her biggest, sailing into sixth place with 1.58 million sales. Bonus fact: My Heart Will Go On came out exactly 20 years ago this week! Not too far behind is Think Twice, Céline's first chart-topper, with 1.37 million sales at 8, one place behind Jennifer Rush's The Power of Love, which Céline herself would later cover.



Gareth Gates's 2002 version of Unchained Melody, which actually deposed Will Young from Number 1, comes in eighth with 1.35 million sales, while the highest placed song not to reach Number 1 at all is John Legend's All Of Me, also the most recent track in our countdown. It passed a million sales in 2015 – it's now on 1.25 million.

The only female group to make the Top 20 is the Spice Girls, with 1996's Christmas chart-topper 2 Become 1 on 1.14 million sales.



And just outside our Top 20, we have a few more million-selling ballads worthy of a mention: Unchained Melody makes yet another appearance, this time from original hitmakers the Righteous Brothers – thanks to its inclusion on '90s movie Ghost, while Take That make another showing at 22 with Rule The World, from the film Stardust. Also bubbling under are classics from Atomic Kitten, with Whole Again (23) and Kylie and Jason's duet Especially For You (24). Adele's Make You Feel My Love comes in 25th. Play those to us and, yes, we will marry you.

The Official Top 20 biggest selling love ballads ever in the UK appear below. Click here to listen to a playlist of the songs on Spotify, and here if you're on Deezer.

TRACK ARTIST YEAR
1 LOVE IS ALL AROUND WET WET WET 1994 (1,900,000)
2 UNCHAINED MELODY/(THERE'LL BE BLUEBIRDS OVER) THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER ROBSON GREEN & JEROME FLYNN 1995 (1,870,000)
3 (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU BRYAN ADAMS 1991 (1,860,000)
4 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/EVERGREEN WILL YOUNG 2002 (1,810,000)
5 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON 1992 (1,640,000)
6 MY HEART WILL GO ON CELINE DION 1998 (1,580,000)
7 THE POWER OF LOVE JENNIFER RUSH 1985
8 THINK TWICE CELINE DION 1994 (1,380,000)
9 UNCHAINED MELODY GARETH GATES 2002 (1,350,000)
10 JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (AMAZING) BRUNO MARS 2010
11 ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND 2014 (1,250,000)
12 ANGELS ROBBIE WILLIAMS 1997
13 THINKING OUT LOUD ED SHEERAN 2014
14 I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING AEROSMITH 1998
15 DON'T GIVE UP ON US DAVID SOUL 1976
16 NO MATTER WHAT BOYZONE 1998
17 CHASING CARS SNOW PATROL 2006
18 2 BECOME 1 SPICE GIRLS 1996 (1,140,000)
19 BACK FOR GOOD TAKE THAT 1995
20 THAT'S MY GOAL SHAYNE WARD 2005

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.


This post has been edited by JCM20: Feb 15 2018, 11:02 AM
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post Feb 13 2018, 05:10 PM
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QUOTE
I messaged the OCC and apparently Think Twice, Bleeding Love, Someone like You and I Just Called to Say I Love You are not Valentine's Day-appropriate. Hence their exclusion.

8 THINK TWICE CELINE DION 1994 (1,380,000)

Seems they have changed their mind.


ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/EVERGREEN (1,810,000) seems too high compared to the sales given in September 2017. (1,795,213 in Sept. 2017)
ALL OF ME (1,250,000) should be rounded up to 1.26m. (1,259,708 in Sept. 2017)


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post Feb 13 2018, 05:49 PM
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Cringe at All Of Me being in this list...basic and sappy >.<
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