Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1990
Hits by Madonna, Sinead O'Connor and Roxette are among the top sellers of 1990.
1990 saw a dramatic shift in pop, and an unexpected classic becoming the year's biggest single - Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers.
The track spent seven weeks at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart between May - July that year thanks to its inclusion in the hit film Ghost. Originally a modestNumber 14 hit in 1965, the big ballad by the US duo sold just under 840,000 copies to finish as the UK's best-seller of 1990, according to Official Charts Company data. A re-issue of their 1965 UK breakthrough hit You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' was also a hit in December that year, peaking at Number 3.
The UK's second best-selling single of 1990 wasSinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U. The power ballad, famously written by Prince, held the top spot for four weeks in February (and topped charts across the world), selling 671,000 copies that year.
In third is Elton John's Sacrifice/Healing Hands double A-side (649k), the icon'sfirst solo UK Number 1 and second overall, released to raise money for AIDS charities. Both songs had previously failed to reach the Top 40 when they were originally released in 1989, but a boost in airplay saw the reissued single take them to Number 1 for 5 weeks.
Rounding out the Top 5 of 1990 areVanilla Ice's debut single Ice Ice Baby (586k), and Killer by acid house DJ/producerAdamski featuring vocals from Seal (537k).
Also in the end-of-year Top 10,Madonna's worldwide smash Vogue features at Number 8 (436k), followed by the England's 1990 World Cup single, New Order's World In Motion at 9 (429k).
MORE:Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1989
In addition to Unchained Melody, three more Number 1s in 1990 came from films and feature in the year-end chart: Maria McKee's Show Me Heaven from Days Of Thunder (6), Partners In Kryme's Turtle Power from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (13), and Kylie Minogue's Tears On My Pillow from The Deliquents (34) - the latter being the final chart-topper for producers Stock Aiten Waterman. Kylie features again at 38 with her SAW-produced Number 2 hit Better The Devil You Know.
Elsewhere, house music was on the rise in 1990, with big hits including The Power and Ooops Up by Snap!, Get Up by Belgian outfit Techtronic, and Tom's Diner by British dance actDNA featuring Suzanne Vega.
Finally, the 1990 Christmas Number 1, Saviour's Day byCliff Richard, places at Number 21. The track followed his 1988 festive chart-topper Mistletoe And Wine to become his 13th UK Number 1.
Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1990
| TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | |
| 1 | UNCHAINED MELODY | THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS | 1 |
| 2 | NOTHING COMPARES 2 U | SINEAD O’CONNOR | 1 |
| 3 | SACRIFICE/HEALING HANDS | ELTON JOHN | 1 |
| 4 | ICE ICE BABY | VANILLA ICE | 1 |
| 5 | KILLER | ADAMSKI | 1 |
| 6 | SHOW ME HEAVEN | MARIA MCKEE | 1 |
| 7 | DUB BE GOOD TO ME | BEATS INTERNATIONAL | 1 |
| 8 | VOGUE | MADONNA | 1 |
| 9 | WORLD IN MOTION | ENGLAND/NEW ORDER | 1 |
| 10 | THE POWER | SNAP! | 1 |
| 11 | NESSUN DORMA | LUCIANO PAVAROTTI | 2 |
| 12 | A LITTLE TIME | BEAUTIFUL SOUTH | 1 |
| 13 | TURTLE POWER | PARTNERS IN KRYME | 1 |
| 14 | IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE | ROXETTE | 3 |
| 15 | U CAN'T TOUCH THIS | MC HAMMER | 3 |
| 16 | ITSY BITSY TEENY WEENY WELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI | BOMBALURINA | 1 |
| 17 | GET UP (BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER) | TECHNOTRONIC FEAT YA KID K | 2 |
| 18 | BLACK VELVET | ALANNAH MYLES | 2 |
| 19 | DIRTY CASH | ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V | 2 |
| 20 | DON'T WORRY | KIM APPLEBY | 2 |
| 21 | SAVIOUR'S DAY | CLIFF RICHARD | 1 |
| 22 | MONA | CRAIG MCLACHLAN & CHECK 1-2 | 2 |
| 23 | LOVE SHACK | B-52'S | 2 |
| 24 | THE JOKER | STEVE MILLER BAND | 1 |
| 25 | OPPOSITES ATTRACT | PAULA ABDUL WITH THE WILD PAIR | 2 |
| 26 | GROOVE IS IN THE HEART | DEEE-LITE | 2 |
| 27 | BLUE VELVET | BOBBY VINTON | 2 |
| 28 | HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU | MICHAEL BOLTON | 3 |
| 29 | I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU | LONDONBEAT | 2 |
| 30 | UNBELIEVABLE | EMF | 3 |
| 31 | NAKED IN THE RAIN | BLUE PEARL | 4 |
| 32 | TOM'S DINER | DNA FEAT SUZANNE VEGA | 2 |
| 33 | OOOPS UP | SNAP! | 5 |
| 34 | TEARS ON MY PILLOW | KYLIE MINGUE | 1 |
| 35 | KINGSTON TOWN | UB40 | 4 |
| 36 | THE ANNIVERSARY WALTZ - PART 1 | STATUS QUO | 2 |
| 37 | TAKE MY BREATH AWAY | BERLIN | 3 |
| 38 | BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW | KYLIE MINGUE | 2 |
| 39 | TONIGHT | NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK | 3 |
| 40 | I'M FREE | SOUP DRAGONS FEAT JUNIOR READ | 5 |
©2021Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
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thierry henon
with ROXETTE, LONDONBEAT is definitely my favourite track on that list so a shock for me to see I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU only at 29!!
thierry henon
ROXETTE only at 14!! Massive success worldwide so i was expected the beautiful track to be easily in the Top 5..
You so ugly
I think you might need to amend your text for The Righteous Brothers as
it was No.1 in October and NOT May/June like you've wrote, also Sinead
O'Connor was No.1 in January and NOT February. How can you get things
so wrong? I expect better from yourselves.
John Buergo-Rodriguez
Hi Rob. The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” only spent four weeks at Nº1 in Official Singles Chart in November 2020, from week ending November 3d to December 1st. I think you got confused with Robson Green & Jerome Flynt’s version of this iconic song, which spent 7 weeks at Nº1 in 1995, from May 20th until July 8th. “Unchained Melody” would eventually return to Nº1 for four more weeks in March/April 2002 in a new version by Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates, taking its total spell at Nº1 to 15 weeks.
