Ultravox‘s 1981 single ‘Vienna‘ has topped a BBC poll which aimed to find the UK’s favourite ‘number two’ to mark the 60th anniversary of the Singles Chart.
The track spent four weeks in second position on the chart after first being kept off the top spot by Joe Dolce‘s novelty single ‘Shaddup You Face‘, and has now been named as the best song to peak at #2 by listeners of BBC Radio 2, after a longlist was compiled by a panel of industry figures including Janice Long, Steve Lamacq and the Official Charts Company’s managing director Martin Talbot, who has commented:
“Ultravox’s Vienna has beaten off some truly great, classic tracks to claim the title of the UK public’s favourite number two single. It is also probably the most apt winner, given the fact that it was kept from the chart summit by Joe Dolce’s Shaddup You Face, which has long been considered one of the biggest chart injustices of all time.”
The Pogues‘ festive single ‘Fairytale Of New York‘ is the track to find itself in second place once again, with Don McLean, James and The Stranglers completing the Top 5.
Elsewhere, The Beatles‘ 1967 double A-side ‘Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever‘ which was kept off the summit by Engelbert Humperdinck – thus ending the Fab Four’s long run of consecutive number one singles – is at #7. Singalong tune Wonderwall by Oasis finished at 13.
Top 10:
1: Ultravox – ‘Vienna’
2: The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl – ‘Fairytale Of New York’
3: Don McLean – ‘American Pie’
4: James – ‘Sit Down’
5: The Stranglers – ‘Golden Brown’
6: The Kinks – ‘Waterloo Sunset’
7: The Beatles – ‘Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever’
8: Queen – ‘We Are The Champions’
9: The Beach Boys – ‘God Only Knows’
10: A-ha – ‘Take On Me’