Vote for the #2 song which you think was the unluckiest not to reach #1. As a brief justification of the choices:

 

Groove Is In The Heart smallest known margin

Love The Way You Lie best selling song of 2010

Terry's Theme From 'Limelight' most weeks at #2 (8), most runs at #2 (4)

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) apparently would have been #1 in a week with no new chart compiled

Foundations smallest known combined margin for two different weeks or #1 songs

Crazy For You most weeks at #2 from multiple releases

Moves Like Jagger behind most different #1s (6), highest pure all-time sales for a #2

Wonderwall highest combined all-time sales for a #2

Fairytale Of New York most weeks Top 20, Top 40

God Save The Queen apparently outsold the #1

 

If you voted for another song, please say which and why in the comments.

I went for Deee-Lite and I say that as someone who hates GIITH! :lol:

 

Didn't that lose a tie, due to a technicality or something? I can't remember.

 

EDIT: I always forget just how close Kate was, too! She was extremely unlucky to have 2 weeks SO close to the number 1.

Robert Miles' Children at the top of my head

Interesting debate!

 

I think the title has to go to 'Moves Like Jagger' not just because it ranks as the biggest selling non Number 1 ever (although I suspect that will be 'Wonderwall' next time the all time ranking is updated) but it was held off the top by 6 different songs over 7 straight weeks. Furthermore with the exceptions of 'We Found Love', and 'What Makes You Beautiful', i'd say the songs that kept it from the top would rank as forgotten hits now.

 

I think my honorable mention would go to 'Groove Is In The Heart' though, in the end I believe it was calculated to be something ridiculous like 8 copies behind 'The Joker' but the methodology wasn't as accurate in the early 90s so with a margin that small it might actually have outsold it, there's no way of knowing for sure.

Edited February 11, 20214 yr by Dot Branning

GIITH should’ve got #1. They should’ve had rules in 1990 that in the event of a tie, the newer song should be given the #1 position. If they did it like that, that and The Joker would’ve both had turns at #1

I would say Sash missed a few times :lol:

Has to be 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' - all of the others, while unfortunate, did in fact never have a week where they should have been #1 (unless you believe the Sex Pistols conspiracy) so fair is fair.

 

I'd say a close 2nd place is a song not listed - Years & Years' 'Shine' would, I believe, have almost certainly got to #1 if the chart had covered the full 7 days of its release week, it just got unlucky to narrowly lose out to another song in the singular 5 day week in the history of the charts.

 

Not sure if there are any songs that peaked at #2 behind a song that could have been on ACR if it had had a slightly different sales trajectory in the previous 3 weeks? That'd fall into a similar category.

Honourable mention to Gordon Haskell 'How Wonderful You Are' from 2001, which finished at #2 behind Robbie/Nicole's 'Somethin Stupid' cover:

 

"Despite limited promotion, it charted as the Christmas number two in the UK Singles Chart. Although appearing on Top of the Pops that week, the broadcast was delayed for 14 months due to pressure from EMI Records, Robbie Williams' Management (David Enthoven who had managed him in King Crimson) and the City of London Bank who were arranging a 42 million pound deal with Williams. It is generally accepted that had he been broadcast he would have taken the No 1 from Williams and no explanation or apology was ever given by the BBC Executive Producer."

 

Apparently Radio 2's most requested song ever.

Has to be 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' - all of the others, while unfortunate, did in fact never have a week where they should have been #1 (unless you believe the Sex Pistols conspiracy) so fair is fair.

 

I'd say a close 2nd place is a song not listed - Years & Years' 'Shine' would, I believe, have almost certainly got to #1 if the chart had covered the full 7 days of its release week, it just got unlucky to narrowly lose out to another song in the singular 5 day week in the history of the charts.

I agree with these. I think there's a good case to be made for all the listed songs but it just doesn't compare to a song being the best seller of the week but not recognised as such because there wasn't a chart or there wasn't a full chart week.

 

Not sure if there's an example of a song missing out on #1 entirely due to one format being ineligible. I think this happened to Kylie's 'Hand On Your Heart' and Ronan Keating's 'Life is a Rollercoaster' but they both did reach #1 at one occasion.

I'd go with Moves Like Jagger, just relentlessly unlucky not to overthrow any of those flash in the pan No.1s (at least many of them were).

 

And obviously Groove Is In The Heart, it doesn't get any closer than that, although Foundations ran it close and I so wish that had got a week at the top.

Edited February 11, 20214 yr by gooddelta

GIITH should’ve got #1. They should’ve had rules in 1990 that in the event of a tie, the newer song should be given the #1 position. If they did it like that, that and The Joker would’ve both had turns at #1

Probably not- the "boost" a track got being No 1 would probably carried Deee-lite to the top for a second week. They did change the rules later on to allow "ties" but in 1990 it was done on panel sales which then got rounded up.

 

To quote Alan Jones at the time "‘The Joker’ and ‘Groove is In The Heart’ both had published panel sales of 2595, but these are “rounded” figures. The Gallup computer actually adjudged that ‘The Joker’ sold 44,118 copies and that ‘Groove is In The Heart’ sold 44,110 copies, which equate to panel sales of 2595.2 and 2594.7 respectively. Current chart rules dictate that in the event of the tie on rounded figures then the track showing the greatest increase in sales week on week would be the higher placed so in either case The Steve Miller Band would be No 1"

My pick: All-4-One "I Swear" was stuck behind Wet Wet Wet for 7 weeks in 1994

 

The thing with Moves Like Jagger was that it would have gotten a week if Rihanna hadn’t released midweek. I famously predicted that Rihanna would do that after several members said Maroon 5 would be a shoe in that week and I think loads of We Found Love fakes going around. Can anyone without checking name the other four songs (not Rihanna or 1D) that held them off?

The thing with Moves Like Jagger was that it would have gotten a week if Rihanna hadn’t released midweek. I famously predicted that Rihanna would do that after several members said Maroon 5 would be a shoe in that week and I think loads of We Found Love fakes going around. Can anyone without checking name the other four songs (not Rihanna or 1D) that held them off?

 

 

Pixie Lott - All About Tonight

Example - Stay Awake

Dappy - No Regrets

Sak Noel - Loca People

 

 

 

it's definitely those 4 songs, although I don't remember the order they went to #1 in off the top of my head

 

Pixie Lott - All About Tonight

Example - Stay Awake

Dappy - No Regrets

Sak Noel - Loca People

 

 

 

it's definitely those 4 songs, although I don't remember the order they went to #1 in off the top of my head

 

Correct (almost exact order as well!) 4 very forgettable tracks when you think about it and what’s worse is I think the most forgettable of the bunch was the first to beat MLJ and by the smallest margin.

I knew they were songs that quickly fell away but I couldn't think of a single title! :')

Moves Like Jagger, of these

 

But my first thought was Years & Years - Shine

which iirc was a victim of the chart tracking week changing (?) or something similar

Correct (almost exact order as well!) 4 very forgettable tracks when you think about it and what’s worse is I think the most forgettable of the bunch was the first to beat MLJ and by the smallest margin.

 

That was 'Stay Awake' right?

 

Still the best of the #1s from that stretch imo. (It was close to if not my favourite song of the year at the time, not aged amazingly well but it's still a tune)

 

In fairness though, it is probably the most forgettable of those, I'm just biased.

That was 'Stay Awake' right?

 

Still the best of the #1s from that stretch imo. (It was close to if not my favourite song of the year at the time, not aged amazingly well but it's still a tune)

 

Yeah, but I’d still say it’s the one that everyone would forget the most.

Completely forgot about the Years & Years thing when setting the options here. I now see David Zowie outsold them by less than 1k over the 5-day 'week', while they outsold him by more than 10k the next week in the first full tracking week of the Friday charts - so even if the switch had been staggered over two 6-day weeks, Shine would likely have been the #1 on one of those.

 

I'd still go with Moves Like Jagger myself - even if the charts continue for another 70 years, I doubt there'll be another song held at #2 by new entries over so many weeks again.