I was hoping it would be Shaky just to see the reaction. Thanks for doing another interesting countdown, Gezza.

Imagine Shakin Stevens winning over Madonna... That would have been insane.

Ridiculous enough that he beat Michael Jackson!

But he had the hits, I guess.

Madonna the rightful Queen of the 80s.

So many classics. Always thought Like a Prayer was the masterpiece, but True Blue is probably her best 80s album.

And great for choosing Express Yourself for the video, especially with the awesome Blond Ambition choreography.

Interesting.

I have never seen any answer other than Shakey, for the last 30 odd years. Would be interestng to see the breakdown of the numbers

Funny enough I just went and asked ChatGTP, the answer... Shakin'Stevens :D same with google

We need to bear in mind that the actual panel sales have only been known for a few years now and no one has (to the best of my knowledge) totted them up and produced a list like this. It may be that previous articles omitted the word "UK" or "British" or that they used another metric like most top 40 hits or indeed most hits in the decade which i believe Shaky does hold too.

Yes, I've always taken any sales claims with a pinch of salt unless it came direct from Alan Jones/Music Week - people doing TV rundowns like to have a hook they can use to grab people. Shaky was always claimed to be the biggest singles act of the decade by virtue of number of hits, is how I remember it, or most top of the pops appearances. In terms of impact, Madonna was always going to win, she changed pop music from male/bands dominated to female-dominated (eventually) by being in control and opting for dance music rather than singer-songwriter.

Shaky was better than I remembered, I took my Aunty (aged 85) to see a Shaky tribute last year and he was pretty good - I'd forgotten how many tracks Shaky had bunged out and he got his break starring in the London Elvis musical circa '79. Best tracks? Not the covers or xmas songs. You Drive Me Crazy, Cry Just A Little Bit maybe.

Madonna best tracks? Drove past the Ex's Dorset airfield last week, I was surveying roads in that area back in 1984 as Her Madgeness was breaking, so let's go for Holiday, and Like A Prayer, Dear Jessie, Papa Don't Preach, Express Yourself.

Thank you Gezza

So George is the clear winner with total sales of more than 7.6 million single sales and only 19 Hits compared to other Artists with more than 20.

No one can compare to George he was genius wrote produced sang and sometimes played all instruments by himself.

Did you also count the Club Fantastic Mega Mix and Backing Vocals in Nikita and Last Kiss ?

20 minutes ago, Yog1963 said:

Thank you Gezza

So George is the clear winner with total sales of more than 7.6 million single sales and only 19 Hits compared to other Artists with more than 20.

No one can compare to George he was genius wrote produced sang and sometimes played all instruments by himself.

Did you also count the Club Fantastic Mega Mix and Backing Vocals in Nikita and Last Kiss ?

"Club fantastic megamix" is in the Wham total. Only official credits count so anybody doing being vocals on anything won't count unless they are a credited.

Difficult to pick a fav from Madonna's 80s singles

but has to be between Live to Tell and Into the Groove

the songs couldn't be more different

also love Like a Prayer, Papa don't preach, La isla bonita, Dress you up, Borderline

Holiday, Lucky Star and Dear Jessie prob in my bottom 3

16 minutes ago, Yog1963 said:

Thank you Gezza

So George is the clear winner with total sales of more than 7.6 million single sales and only 19 Hits compared to other Artists with more than 20.

No one can compare to George he was genius wrote produced sang and sometimes played all instruments by himself.

Did you also count the Club Fantastic Mega Mix and Backing Vocals in Nikita and Last Kiss ?

19 minutes ago, Gezza said:

"Club fantastic megamix" is in the Wham total. Only official credits count so anybody doing being vocals on anything won't count unless they are a credited.

Thank you

Do you have sales from each single song starting with Wham Rap?

Madonna’s 80s output was incredible!!

I strongly dislike Papa Don't Preach, but love two first albums and Dear Jessie / Like A Prayer.

Material Girl is her 10/10 song for me.

I’ve loved following this since I discovered it, thank you Gezza!!

I’ve gone through and added a few songs from each artist into a playlist and I’m working my way through it.

So far my fave discoveries have been Dollar, Imagination, and Odyssey.

Just finished this thread Kate and as ever @Gezza is amazing at creating these epic threads, def the best on BJ.

Happy with the no1 and although I’m not a mega Madge fan her music speaks for itself.

Do have time for a bit of shaky though as his Xmas no1 is so iconic and joyous. And he was SO consistent in the decade. This Ole House will always now remind me of the Caravan Club episode of the Inbetweeners used for its naffness no doubt! 🤣