Every year it seems to have at least one song that for some reason (usually locked at #2 before a huge #1 hit) doesn't get to be #1 but has a long chart life (at least by that era's standards), sells as much if not more than most #1s that year and are more remembered. There are some cases where people get to think that they actually were #1 (like "Mysterious Girl" before 2004). I decided to name these songs "pseudo-number ones" but if anyone comes up with a better term, it's fine by me.

 

Here are some examples

 

1984 - Wham! 'Last Christmas'

1985 - A-Ha 'Take on me'

1986 - Kim Wilde - Keep me hangin' on

1988 - Bros 'When will I be famous' and Kylie Minogue 'Loco-motion'

1989 - Technotronic 'Pump up the jam'

1990 - DNA feat. Suzanne Vega 'Tom's diner'

1991 - Right Said Fred 'I'm too sexy'

1993 - 4 Non Blondes 'What's up?'

1994 - All 4 One 'I swear'

1995 - Oasis 'Wonderwall' and Everything But The Girl 'Missing'

1996 - Robert Miles 'Children' and Toni Braxton 'Un-break my heart'

1997 - Natalie Imbruglia 'Torn', Chumbawamba 'Tubthumping' and Robbie Williams 'Angels'

1998 - Stardust 'The music sounds better with you', Pras, Mya & ODB 'Ghetto supastar', LeAnn Rimes 'How do I live' (the lowest-peaking pseudo-number-one), Aerosmith 'I don't want to miss a thing' and Savage Garden 'Truly madly deeply'

1999 - Alice Deejay 'Better off alone' and Shania Twain 'That don't impress me much'

2000 - Baha Men 'Who let the dogs out'

2001 - Wheatus 'Teenage dirtbag'

2002 - Shakira 'Whenever, wherever'

2003 - 50 Cent 'In da club'

2004 - Kelis 'Milkshake'

2005 - Kanye West & Jamie Foxx 'Gold digger'

2006 - Snow Patrol 'Chasing cars'

2007 - Take That 'Rule the world'

2008 - Kings Of Leon 'Use somebody'

2009 - La Roux 'In for the kill'

2010 - Eminem & Rihanna 'Love the way you lie' and Katy Perry 'Firework'

2011 - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera 'Moves like Jagger' and Adele 'Rolling in the deep'

2012 - Emeli Sandé 'Next to me'

2013 - Passenger 'Let her go'

2014 - John Legend 'All of me'

 

Can you think of more "Pseudo-number-ones"?

Edited September 29, 201410 yr by N-S

Almost all the Sash! number 2 this :(

 

Rihanna had a couple of number 2 songs as well.

Add Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden and I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith to 1998.

You could just look at the year-end charts and see which songs from each year are higher than half the #1s.

 

For example in 2000 you have:

 

Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out

S Club 7 - Reach

Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

Trusteppers & Dane Bowers ft. Victoria Beckham - Out Of Your Mind

Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler

Darude - Sandstorm

Sisqo - Thong Song

Artful Dodger - Movin' Too Fast

Tweenies - Number One

Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers

etc.

Edited September 29, 201410 yr by Eric_Blob

You could just look at the year-end charts and see which songs from each year are higher than half the #1s.

 

For example in 2000 you have:

 

Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out

S Club 7 - Reach

Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

Trusteppers & Dane Bowers ft. Victoria Beckham - Out Of Your Mind

Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler

Darude - Sandstorm

Sisqo - Thong Song

Artful Dodger - Movin' Too Fast

Tweenies - Number One

Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers

etc.

 

In 2000, it was fairly easy for a song not reaching #1 to sell more than the dozens who did it. But although most of the songs you mentioned sold well and are remembered, I think that only Who Let The Dogs Out and maybe Reach fit the high status that I'm thinking of.

 

P.S - Is there a site where I can see all year-end charts?

Add Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden and I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith to 1998.

 

Agreed

Daniel Powter - Bad Day?

In 2000, it was fairly easy for a song not reaching #1 to sell more than the dozens who did it. But although most of the songs you mentioned sold well and are remembered, I think that only Who Let The Dogs Out and maybe Reach fit the high status that I'm thinking of.

 

P.S - Is there a site where I can see all year-end charts?

 

I think it's the case with most recent years too tbh. Probably the 2006-2008 period would have the least as there were long-running #1s in those years, but I think the others years would be a similar story to 2000 with loads of songs which didn't get #1 beating the sales of lot of the actual #1s.

 

For the year-end charts you can see them on Wikipedia, if you search "2000 in British Music Charts" or something like that.

You could just look at the year-end charts and see which songs from each year are higher than half the #1s.

 

For example in 2000 you have:

 

Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out

S Club 7 - Reach

Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch

Trusteppers & Dane Bowers ft. Victoria Beckham - Out Of Your Mind

Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler

Darude - Sandstorm

Sisqo - Thong Song

Artful Dodger - Movin' Too Fast

Tweenies - Number One

Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers

etc.

 

The only flaw in this logic is that it suggests that The Tweenies should have had a No.1 single! I don't think the song is very remembered at all...

Lady Gaga - Born This Way (#3, 690k)

Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (#4, 585k)

Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory (#6, 581k)

I would imagine that "Empire State Of Mind" by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z would probably be a good candidate for 2009? And maybe Aloe Blacc's "I Need A Dollar" for 2011, and Nicki Minaj's "Starships" for 2012 (just off the top of my head)?

Unbreak My Heart didn't go to #1?!?!

 

What kind off injustice

You could just look at the year-end charts and see which songs from each year are higher than half the #1s.

 

For example in 2000 you have:

Darude - Sandstorm

There's a silly joke on youtube which I don't get where if you ask what the name of any song is this Darude song gets mentioned.

MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This

 

Gwen Stefani ft Akon - The Sweet Escape

 

Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl

Edited September 29, 201410 yr by MC Delroy

Ask anyone what position 'Mr Brightside' or 'Seven Nation Army' got to and you'll probably not get anything lower than #2, when both of which were low top 10 hits that disappeared off the charts quickly.

MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This

 

Gwen Stefani ft Akon - The Sweet Escape

 

Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl

 

MC Hammer fair enough, but the other two...? :unsure:

 

If I were to say any Gwen Stefani song I'd say 'What Are You Waiting For?', but even that I don't think's worthy enough.

 

Underworld 'Born Slippy' from '96 and 'Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve in '97 I would both class as classics, both of which didn't reach number one.

Oasis - Little By Little

Kate Nash - Foundations

Flo Rida - Low & Whistle

Nickelback - Rockstar

Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble

Calvin Harris - Bounce & Feels So Close

Mariah Carey - We Belong Together

Beyonce - Halo & Single Ladies

The Game - One Blood

I'd say "You Keep me Hanging On" is not a very good example from 1986, and "Unbreak My Heart" from a decade later doesn't really belong either. "Manic Monday" would be a better 1986 example. Others from the mid-late 80s - "1999" by Prince, "Fairytale of New York" of course and "Gold" by Spandau Ballet from even a little bit farther back.

1992 would have to be Michael Jackson's Heal The World.