What Were The Top Ten Selling Singles In 1990?
The Cold Open
Britain in 1990 was a place of hangovers and hang-ups. Thatcher was on the ropes, Poll Tax riots shook the streets, and the Berlin Wall was already rubble. The Channel Tunnel bored onward beneath the sea, while EastEnders pulled 30 million to watch a soap wedding. Football stumbled toward Italia ’90, Gazza cried, and England dared to dream before being dispatched on penalties. CD singles began their invasion, Walkmans were welded to hips, and the charts sounded like a scattergun of dance, ballads, and terrace anthems.
Here are the top ten selling singles in the UK in 1990.
1. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers
Sales: 840,000 • Label: Polydor • Catalogue: ARI 7126
Back from 1965 via Ghost. Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and one pottery wheel later. A spectral ballad reanimated for eight weeks at No 1.
2. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O’Connor
Sales: 770,000 • Label: Ensign/Chrysalis • Catalogue: ENY 633
Prince’s cast-off turned cultural monolith. Close-cropped Sinéad stared down the lens, broke hearts on Top of the Pops, and held No 1 for four weeks.
3. Sacrifice/Healing Hands – Elton John
Sales: 670,000 • Label: Rocket • Catalogue: EJSCD 20
Double A-side redemption. Elton’s balladry finally hit No 1 after two decades of trying. Eight weeks total across summer with new dignity attached.
4. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
Sales: 640,000 • Label: SBK • Catalogue: VICE T 1
Queen and Bowie’s bassline, suburban Miami rap, peroxide. The first rap single to hit No 1 in the UK with three weeks of sideways caps.
5. Killer – Adamski
Sales: 590,000 • Label: MCA • Catalogue: MCAX 1404
Warehouse techno meets Seal’s debut vocal. A cavernous track that bled from raves into Radio 1. Four weeks at No 1 with genre boundaries blown.
6. Show Me Heaven – Maria McKee
Sales: 580,000 • Label: EMI • Catalogue: MT 104
From Tom Cruise’s NASCAR drama Days of Thunder. String-drenched balladry lodged at No 1 for four weeks. Power balladry still ruled the motorway.
7. Dub Be Good To Me – Beats International
Sales: 550,000 • Label: Go! Discs • Catalogue: GOD 39
Norman Cook’s dub alchemy with SOS Band lifted into pirate radio bass bins. One-off brilliance with four weeks at No 1 and baggy trousers in the dance.
8. Vogue – Madonna
Sales: 530,000 • Label: Sire/Warner Bros • Catalogue: W9851CD
Strikes a pose. Hollywood iconography filtered through house beats. Four weeks at No 1. Every mirror became a dancefloor.
9. World in Motion – Englandneworder
Sales: 520,000 • Label: Factory • Catalogue: FAC 293
Italia ’90’s terrace anthem. John Barnes rapped, Peter Beardsley shuffled, Lineker grinned. Two weeks at No 1 and eternal pub karaoke.
10. The Power – Snap!
Sales: 480,000 • Label: Logic • Catalogue: 877 529-2
German Eurodance invades. Turbocharged beats with “I’ve got the power!” screamed into school discos. Two weeks at No 1.
