Inspired by the other thread, I thought we would go for even more. Sorry if some of these are already in that. Also open to things that weren't even released as singles in the UK but are extremely well-known anyway.

Obviously it's normal for big songs to miss the Top 40 all the time now so should we keep this to, I don't know, 2009 max? It's largely to help me fill gaps in my retro playlists. Basically tunes that are pretty famous now but didn't do a lot then.

So please help me.

Sorry if I or six million other Buzzjackers have done this before. I can't remember! I know I'll probably get sh!t for this. But it will really be really useful, I don't want my throwback playlists to be missing a single non-charting classic (nothing since about 2006 really matters as I used Radio 1 last.fm stats to compile those)!

Many of these will be guitar bands.

I'll get the ball rolling with:

Joy Division: Pretty much everything apart from Love Will Tear Us Apart and Atmosphere
The Cure: Boys Don't Cry (at least originally), Jumping Someone Else's Train, Charlotte Sometimes, Let's Go To Bed etc
New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle, The Perfect Kiss
Elbow: Powder Blue
Manics: Motown Junk
R.E.M: Stand, By The River
Pixies: Monkey Gone To Heaven
Suede: The Drowners
Annie: Heartbeat
Rick James: Superfreak
Stevie Nicks: The Edge of Seventeen
Robert Palmer: Johnny and Mary
A Flock of Seagulls: I Ran

St. Etienne: Like A Motorway (remember this from when I was 11 somehow but only realised it didn't chart a few months ago. They were great on Top of the Pops, Pale Movie is ace!)

Turns out Dermot has some too

Some of those charted the second time round though.

These are just from the top of my head, feel free to come up with more options that are a bit less guitary.

Just found out this got to #77 in 1991. Had no idea!

Also Come Out And Play by The Offspring got to #98 for one week in autumn 1994, but I had to keep that separated.

EDIT: Google says there have been several threads along these lines, but not one exactly like this and some of them were quite short or a very long time ago. Doubt most of these have gone platinum either.

Edited Wednesday at 01:004 days by HiyaLuv!

Won't this be a very subjective/personal taste list though? What's iconic to one person may be mediocre, indifferent or plain awful to others? The definition of "well known" may be subjective too. I havent heard of a couple of songs on your list and the physical era was my era! 😃 At least with the other list there was a defined criteria metric of having to be platinum (or was it multi platinum?) and also outside the top 40 for inclusion.

This thread potentially can include every non top 40 song ever recorded as such a song may be iconic or well known to at least one Buzzjack member...just saying... 😃

This one came to my attention last year as I don't think I was at all familiar with it before it appeared on a Now Yearbook and it never charted in the UK somehow. So unknowingly I tried to send it to a song contest on this forum having not checked previously the total streams on Spotify or YouTube views, of course it was vetoed.

I guess this was iconic at the time, albeit released before my lifetime, but if you only want songs that didn't chart then this qualifies.

7 hours ago, Ongarboy said:

Won't this be a very subjective/personal taste list though? What's iconic to one person may be mediocre, indifferent or plain awful to others? The definition of "well known" may be subjective too. I havent heard of a couple of songs on your list and the physical era was my era! 😃 At least with the other list there was a defined criteria metric of having to be platinum (or was it multi platinum?) and also outside the top 40 for inclusion.

This thread potentially can include every non top 40 song ever recorded as such a song may be iconic or well known to at least one Buzzjack member...just saying... 😃

Yeah I would agree with this, it's going to be a very subjective list. There's several songs mentioned which I've never heard so they're not iconic or bangers to me, and that Manics song is one of my least favourite songs they've recorded, any time I'm playing their greatest hits I'll always be sure to skip that one

Led Zeppelin's whole back catalogue

I love The Cure, but I think putting something like 'Jumping Someone Else's Train' on a list like this is pushing it ever so slightly

'Bizarre Love Triangle' is a very good shout though!

Every Tori Amos song including all her b-sides :)

I'd say it's an impossible task and too personal, all the ones you listed for Rem, Manics, The Cure, none are it...

Here's a few I would consider to be well known:

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

Queen - Love Of My Life

The Art Of Noise - Moments In Love

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

OMD - Electricity

Pink Floyd - Money

The Traveling Wilburys - End Of The Line

After The Fire - Der Kommissar

Propaganda - P Machinery

Squeeze - Tempted

Don Henley - New York Minute

The Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith

Hard to tell what would be considered a "classic" but here's some of my picks that aren't platinum

Marvin Gaye- What's Going On

The Ramones- Blitzkreig Bop

Rolling Stones- Mother's Little Helper, Beast Of Burden, Wild Horses

AC/DC- TNT

Nirvana's Nevermind album tracks

Most Beatles albums tracks

Just now, King Rollo said:

Here's a few I would consider to be well known:

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

Think live versions of these reached the top 40. If we aren't counting these I'm gonna have to add them to the list of platinum non-top 40s!

Edited Wednesday at 16:303 days by gasman449

Yes, both of those songs had live versions that were top 40 hits.

44 minutes ago, gasman449 said:

Think live versions of these reached the top 40. If we aren't counting these I'm gonna have to add them to the list of platinum non-top 40s!

'Born To Run' would have had my +50 if it counted for the rate!

I'd suggest most people would have heard this cover version of this song at a funeral in the last couple of decades somewhere;

It's arguably Eva's most famous recording despite the fact she even had a UK #1 single.

Apart from some already mentioned, these are some of my non top 40 favourites, most of them are my favourite songs by these artists (I’m not sure if any would be considered as iconic by others though)

Night Of The Living Baseheads - Public Enemy

NYC - Interpol

Goodbye Girl - Squeeze

Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

WFL - Happy Mondays

Can’t Be Sure - Sundays

Soon -My Bloody Valentine

Sally MacLennane - Pogues

Hit The North - Fall

Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys

Gigantic - Pixies (could be most of their singles really)

Star Sign - Teenage Fanclub

Nothing Can Stop Us -Saint Etienne

Fall On Me - REM (or pretty much all of their early singles)

Last Of The Melting Snow  - Leisure Society (perhaps the most gorgeous song ever written IMO)

I Hang Suspended - Boo Radleys

Lazy Line Painter Jane - Belle & Sebastian

Birthday - Sugarcubes

Almost Prayed - Weather Prophets

Flag Day - Housemartins

Never Understand - Jesus & Mary Chain

Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

38 minutes ago, Jaz13music said:

Fall On Me - REM (or pretty much all of their early singles)

That's my favourite R.E.M. song and one of my all-time favourites!

I compiled my top 100 non-charting songs in 2010, which included a lot of R.E.M., and 'Fall On Me' was at #3, with Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) second, and Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road at the top.

3 hours ago, jimwatts said:

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) second, and Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road at the top.

Oh wow I forgot about those two, they’re going on my playlist, thanks!

Is your full list recorded on the forum somewhere, would love to have a look at your other suggestions?

Just now, Jaz13music said:

Oh wow I forgot about those two, they’re going on my playlist, thanks!

Is your full list recorded on the forum somewhere, would love to have a look at your other suggestions?

Not online as it was before my time on here. Maybe I'll post it at some point.

Thanks to everyone that didn't moan, I'm glad some people are getting something out of it. I know I have!

 

On 30/07/2025 at 02:01, Ongarboy said:

Won't this be a very subjective/personal taste list though? What's iconic to one person may be mediocre, indifferent or plain awful to others? The definition of "well known" may be subjective too. I havent heard of a couple of songs on your list and the physical era was my era! 😃 At least with the other list there was a defined criteria metric of having to be platinum (or was it multi platinum?) and also outside the top 40 for inclusion.

This thread potentially can include every non top 40 song ever recorded as such a song may be iconic or well known to at least one Buzzjack member...just saying... 😃

Not hurting anyone is it?

 

On 30/07/2025 at 17:20, King Rollo said:

Here's a few I would consider to be well known:

The Art Of Noise - Moments In Love

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

OMD - Electricity

Squeeze - Tempted

WOAH, I had absolutely no idea these didn't go Top 40.

Thanks! Somehow many of these got on my retro playlists anyway, not sure how, it's about seven years since I compiled them.

See, there IS a point to this thread!

 

On 30/07/2025 at 02:01, Ongarboy said:

Won't this be a very subjective/personal taste list though? What's iconic to one person may be mediocre, indifferent or plain awful to others? The definition of "well known" may be subjective too. I havent heard of a couple of songs on your list and the physical era was my era! 😃 At least with the other list there was a defined criteria metric of having to be platinum (or was it multi platinum?) and also outside the top 40 for inclusion.

This thread potentially can include every non top 40 song ever recorded as such a song may be iconic or well known to at least one Buzzjack member...just saying... 😃

Considering the suggestions have mainly consisted of VERY well-known songs by very big names that I'm amazed didn't chart and I previously presumed did well in the hit parade, I'd say you 'just said' wrong. It's been very helpful to me and others, apparently.

Also had no idea Crazy Train didn't go Top 40 at the time until this week.

 

On 01/08/2025 at 08:03, Jaz13music said:

Apart from some already mentioned, these are some of my non top 40 favourites, most of them are my favourite songs by these artists (I’m not sure if any would be considered as iconic by others though)

Night Of The Living Baseheads - Public Enemy

NYC - Interpol

Goodbye Girl - Squeeze

Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

WFL - Happy Mondays

Can’t Be Sure - Sundays

Soon -My Bloody Valentine

Sally MacLennane - Pogues

Hit The North - Fall

Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys

Gigantic - Pixies (could be most of their singles really)

Star Sign - Teenage Fanclub

Nothing Can Stop Us -Saint Etienne

Fall On Me - REM (or pretty much all of their early singles)

Last Of The Melting Snow  - Leisure Society (perhaps the most gorgeous song ever written IMO)

I Hang Suspended - Boo Radleys

Lazy Line Painter Jane - Belle & Sebastian

Birthday - Sugarcubes

Almost Prayed - Weather Prophets

Flag Day - Housemartins

Never Understand - Jesus & Mary Chain

Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

That's a great playlist right there!

Just thought of another, one of the best songs on the Thriller album, Human

Nature!

49 minutes ago, Jaz13music said:

Just thought of another, one of the best songs on the Thriller album, Human

Nature!

Yep, I presumed this was a UK single for a long time as I'd heard it so many times on the radio etc.

Looking forward to compiling all the best suggestions into a playlist tomorrow!

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by HiyaLuv!

Okay, using my very random brain, I've quickly put all the suggestions into what could be a coherent order, but I'll have to go through it properly to make sure.

Went for 1 track per artist.

I definitely don't think this was a waste of time in any way, I've come out with exactly what I wanted.

Transmission into Bizarre Love Triangle is a great one-two punch opener if I do say so myself.

No they're not the same band.

And BLT into Like a Motorway sounded fantastic. Let's Go To Bed - The Drowners - Stairway To Heaven - Piano Man has been a fabulous run too. Great to hear Straight Outta Compton again too. Word to the motherf**ker! Went into Mama Said Knock You Out* flawlessly.

Okay, got to 84 using some of Dermot O'L's choices from the Radio 2 show, can we credibly get it to 100 without resorting to DJ Supermarket and MC Catflap who got to #98 in July 1990 with Pot Noodle Time (In The House), which I completely just made up off the top of my head?

Might add My Book by The Beautiful South, best commercial suicide follow-up to A Little Time they could have possibly come up with.

*Jaz13Music is a legend for suggesting this. When I was compiling my 90s playlists it was all about the biggest chart and radio hits so I missed it but I forgot how banging it is, great to hear it again.

Not overwhelmed with the 'this is subjective, what's the point' comments but I've road-tested the first half of it and it's mint so thanks so much to the people that did co-operate. Also, there are much worse ways you could spend a Sunday afternoon if you're at a loose end today, so sit back, press play and let the prestigious flops wash all over you.

It's reconnected me with a load of bangers I haven't heard for ages, like W.F.L., which sounds brilliant!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2hl27S0jL3ftrG1RUmjgNe?si=17165a84a20a4354&pt=0a0fb8abb92ea99d99d374e316e9b75a

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by HiyaLuv!