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"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in July 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
"Without You" is a song written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of British rock group Badfinger, and first released on their 1970 album No Dice. The power ballad has been recorded by over 180 artists, and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson (1971), T. G. Sheppard (1983) and Mariah Carey (1994) became international best-sellers. Paul McCartney once described the ballad as "the killer song of all time".
"Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film Top Gun, performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1986.
I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album of American singer Whitney Houston released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album has been certified quadruple platinum in the US by the RIAA.
"Sadeness " is the debut single by German musical project Enigma. The song was released in 1990 as the first of four singles from their debut album MCMXC a.D. (1990). It became an international hit, reaching number one in 14 countries. In the United States, the song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on its dance chart. A sequel to the song, "Sadeness " featuring Anggun, was released on Enigma's eighth studio album, The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016).
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974 on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" is a novelty song telling the story of a shy girl wearing a revealing polka dot bikini at the beach. It was written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and first released in June 1960 by Brian Hyland, with an orchestra conducted by John Dixon. The Hyland version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, selling a million copies in the US, and was a worldwide hit. The song has been adapted into French as "Itsy bitsy petit bikini" and into German as "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Honolulu-Strand-Bikini", reaching number one on national charts in both languages. Several versions of the song have proved successful in various European countries. In 1990 a version by British pop band Bombalurina, titled "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and in Ireland.
"I'm Your Baby Tonight" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her third studio album of the same name. The song, written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, was released by Arista Records as the lead single on October 2, 1990 from the album. The single features a B-side, "Feels So Good", which has not been featured on any Whitney Houston album. While the original version, produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, was released in the United States, the Yvonne Turner mix, was released in other countries.
"The Final Countdown" is a song by Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was based on a keyboard riff he made in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie's "Space Oddity". Originally made to just be a concert opener, it is the first single and title track from the band's third studio album. A music video by Nick Morris was made to promote the single that features footage from the band's two concerts at the Solnahallen in Solna, as well as extra footage of the sound checks at those concerts.
"Suicide Blonde" is the first single from the INXS album X. It reached number two in Australia, number nine in the United States, and number 11 in the United Kingdom. In Canada and New Zealand, the single peaked at number one for two and three weeks, respectively. At the APRA Music Awards of 1991, "Suicide Blonde" won the award Most Performed Australian Work Overseas.
American singer Madonna has released 88 singles and 24 promotional singles and charted with 16 other songs. She has sold more than 100 million singles worldwide. According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the Hot 100 chart history, second overall behind the Beatles. In the United Kingdom, Madonna scored a total of 63 top-ten hits and 12 number-two peaks. In 2012, she was ranked as the best-selling singles female artist in the UK with 17.6 million singles sold. At the 40th anniversary of the GfK Media Control Charts, Madonna was ranked as the most successful singles artist in German chart history.
"Believe" is a song recorded by American singer and actress Cher for her twenty-second studio album Believe (1998). Preceding the album release by three days, "Believe" debuted as the lead single on October 19, 1998. "Believe" was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, Timothy Powell and Cher, and was produced by Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling. "Believe" departed from Cher's pop rock style of the time, adopting an upbeat dance-pop style. It featured a pioneering use of the audio processing software Auto-Tune to distort Cher's vocals, which was widely imitated and became known as the "Cher effect". The lyrics describe empowerment and self-sufficiency after a painful breakup.
"Never Gonna Give You Up" is the debut single recorded by English singer and songwriter Rick Astley, released on 27 July 1987. It was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and was released as the first single from Astley's debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody (1987). The song was a worldwide number-one hit, initially in the United Kingdom in 1987, where it stayed at the top of the chart for five weeks and was the best-selling single of that year. It eventually topped the charts in 25 countries, including the United States and West Germany. The song won Best British Single at the 1988 Brit Awards.
"Pump Up the Jam" is the opening track on Belgian act Technotronic's album Pump Up the Jam: The Album. It was released as a single on 18 August 1989 and was a worldwide hit, reaching number two in the United Kingdom in 1989 and on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1990. The song was later certified triple platinum. It also peaked at number-one in Belgium, Iceland, Portugal and Spain.
"Sacrifice" is a ballad by English musician Elton John. The song was written by John and his collaborator, Bernie Taupin. The song appears on the 1989 album Sleeping with the Past. It was first released in October 1989 as the second single from the album. It achieved success in 1990, particularly in France and the United Kingdom, becoming John's first solo chart-topper in both nations.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 153 singles. At age twelve, Dion collaborated with her mother and brother, Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve", which was released as a single in Quebec, Canada in 1981. During the 1980s, Dion topped the Quebec chart with six of her singles, including "D'amour ou d'amitié", "Mon ami m'a quittée", and four songs from the Incognito album. In 1985, "Une colombe" won two Félix Awards for Song of the Year and Best Selling Single of the Year. Both "D'amour ou d'amitié" and "Une colombe" were certified gold in Canada. Elsewhere, "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" won the Best Song Award at the World Popular Song Festival in Japan in 1982, and in 1983, Dion became the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour ou d'amitié". Further success in Europe came when she represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi", which later won the contest.
"Rhythm of the Rain" is a song performed by The Cascades, released in November 1962. It was written by Cascades band member John Claude Gummoe. On March 9, 1963, it rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent two weeks at number 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked the record as the number 4 song of 1963.
"Surrender" is a #1 song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1961. It is an adaptation by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman of the music of a 1902 Neapolitan ballad by Giambattista and Ernesto de Curtis entitled "Torna a Surriento". It hit number one in the US and UK in 1961 and eventually became one of his best-selling singles. This was one of 25 songs Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman wrote for Presley. It has been recorded by many other artists, including Michael Bublé, The Residents, and Il Volo.
This is a list of the number-one singles of the UK Indie Chart.