The Official Top 100 biggest songs in the UK not to have reached Number 1

As The Killers' Mr Brightside is crowned the UK's biggest song ever not to reach the top spot, Official Charts reveals the full Top 100

Official Top 100 biggest songs not to reach Number 1

As The Killers' Mr. Brightside is named the UK’s official biggest single of all time yet to reach Number 1, Official Charts unveils the full Top 100 list for the first time ever.

The ultimate indie-pop crowd-pleaser, Mr. Brightside made its first appearance on the UK's Official Singles Chart in June 2004; peaking at a modest Number 10 before going on to become the country's biggest song of all time not to have hit the top spot (yet).

To take the title, Mr. Brightside has amassed combined UK sales and streams of 5.57 million (including 1.066m sales and 530,340,000 streams) to date, overtaking Oasis's 1995 classic Wonderwall to achieve the feat.

In fact, Mr. Brightside is the third biggest song of all time in the UK when sales and streams are combined.

Discover the incredible numbers behind The Killers' Mr. Brightside here.

Image: Chris Phelps

MORE: The Killers' Mr Brightside is UK's Official biggest song ever not to reach Number 1

In second place on the list is Oasis's Wonderwall, which peaked at Number 2 on its release in 1995, while John Legend's 2014 track All Of Me (chart peak Number 3) comes in third.

Irish singer-songwriter Hozier's Take Me To Church (chart peak Number 2) places fourth on the newly-unveiled list, while The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl's festive favourite Fairytale Of New York (chart peak Number 2) is in fifth.

Ed Sheeran's 2017 tune Castle On The Hill (chart peak Number 2) makes the Top 10 at Number 6, while Vance Joy's 2013 track Riptide lands at Number 7. Riptide also shares its Official Singles Chart peak with Mr. Brightside (10).

Bastille's Pompeii (chart peak Number 2) - which surpassed one million sales during its 10th anniversary year in 2023 - comes in eighth on the list, as Passenger's 2012 single Let Her Go (chart peak Number 2) places ninth.

Closing out the Top 10 is George Ezra's Budapest. Despite peaking at Number 3 on its release in 2013, the single makes Number 10 on this list.

The Official Top 100 biggest songs in the UK not to have reached Number 1:

POS	TITLE	ARTIST	YEAR	PEAK
1	MR BRIGHTSIDE	KILLERS	2004	10
2	WONDERWALL	OASIS	1995	2
3	ALL OF ME	JOHN LEGEND	2014	2
4	TAKE ME TO CHURCH	HOZIER	2013	2
5	FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK	POGUES FT KIRSTY MACCOLL	1987	2
6	CASTLE ON THE HILL	ED SHEERAN	2017	2
7	RIPTIDE	VANCE JOY	2013	10
8	POMPEII	BASTILLE	2013	2
9	LET HER GO	PASSENGER	2012	2
10	BUDAPEST	GEORGE EZRA	2013	3
11	CHASING CARS	SNOW PATROL	2006	6
12	DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'	JOURNEY	1982	6
13	IRIS	GOO GOO DOLLS	1998	3
14	UNFORGETTABLE	FRENCH MONTANA FT SWAE LEE	2017	2
15	SHUT UP & DANCE	WALK THE MOON	2014	4
16	DO I WANNA KNOW	ARCTIC MONKEYS	2013	11
17	THE A TEAM	ED SHEERAN	2011	3
18	CHEAP THRILLS	SIA	2015	2
19	CAN'T STOP THE FEELING	JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE	2016	2
20	LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE	EMINEM FEATURING RIHANNA	2010	2
21	DANCING ON MY OWN	CALUM SCOTT	2016	2
22	THIS IS ME	SETTLE/GREATEST SHOWMAN ENS	2017	3
23	CAN'T HOLD US	MACKLEMORE/RYAN LEWIS/DALTON	2013	3
24	PHOTOGRAPH	ED SHEERAN	2014	15
25	DON'T STOP ME NOW	QUEEN	1979	9
26	ANOTHER LOVE	TOM ODELL	2012	10
27	EVERYWHERE	FLEETWOOD MAC	1988	4
28	SHAKE IT OFF	TAYLOR SWIFT	2014	2
29	SWEET CHILD O' MINE	GUNS N' ROSES	1988	6
30	GALWAY GIRL	ED SHEERAN	2017	2
31	ROLLING IN THE DEEP	ADELE	2011	2
32	SUNFLOWER	POST MALONE FT SWAE LEE	2018	3
33	NAIVE	KOOKS	2006	5
34	CHANDELIER	SIA	2014	6
35	STARBOY	WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK	2016	2
36	HEAT WAVES	GLASS ANIMALS	2020	5
37	BAD GUY	BILLIE EILISH	2019	2
38	HUMAN	RAG'N'BONE MAN	2016	2
39	SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS	CHAINSMOKERS & COLDPLAY	2017	2
40	DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT	TOPLOADER	2000	7
41	YELLOW	COLDPLAY	2000	4
42	I'M YOURS	JASON MRAZ	2008	11
43	A THOUSAND YEARS	CHRISTINA PERRI	2011	11
44	LIVIN' ON A PRAYER	BON JOVI	1986	4
45	DREAMS	FLEETWOOD MAC	1977	24
46	BRUISES	LEWIS CAPALDI	2017	6
47	AFRICA	TOTO	1983	3
48	LOCATION	DAVE FT BURNA BOY	2019	6
49	SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT	NIRVANA	1991	7
50	SUMMER OF '69	BRYAN ADAMS	1985	42
51	LET IT GO	JAMES BAY	2014	10
52	YOU'VE GOT THE LOVE	FLORENCE & THE MACHINE	2008	5
53	BABY SHARK	PINKFONG	2017	6
54	LEAN ON	MAJOR LAZER FT MO & DJ SNAKE	2015	2
55	RADIOACTIVE	IMAGINE DRAGONS	2012	12
56	MOVES LIKE JAGGER	MAROON 5 FEATURING CHRISTINA AGUILERA	2011	2
57	LET IT GO	IDINA MENZEL	2013	11
58	THE CHAIN	FLEETWOOD MAC	1977	81
59	DOG DAYS ARE OVER	FLORENCE & THE MACHINE	2008	23
60	HOLD BACK THE RIVER	JAMES BAY	2014	2
61	NO SCRUBS	TLC	1999	3
62	BELIEVER	IMAGINE DRAGONS	2017	42
63	THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR	CALVIN HARRIS FT RIHANNA	2016	2
64	GO YOUR OWN WAY	FLEETWOOD MAC	1977	38
65	FAST CAR	TRACY CHAPMAN	1988	4
66	DON'T START NOW	DUA LIPA	2019	2
67	THE HILLS	WEEKND	2015	3
68	USE SOMEBODY	KINGS OF LEON	2008	2
69	LUSH LIFE	ZARA LARSSON	2015	3
70	I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY	WIZZARD	1973	4
71	MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE	ADELE	2008	4
72	WATERMELON SUGAR	HARRY STYLES	2019	4
73	HALO	BEYONCE	2009	4
74	MR BLUE SKY	ELO	1978	6
75	HO HEY	LUMINEERS	2012	8
76	SUMMERTIME SADNESS	LANA DEL REY	2012	4
77	SAVE YOUR TEARS	WEEKND	2020	2
78	TEENAGE DIRTBAG	WHEATUS	2001	2
79	HOW TO SAVE A LIFE	FRAY	2006	4
80	FIX YOU	COLDPLAY	2005	4
81	HOLD ME WHILE YOU WAIT	LEWIS CAPALDI	2019	4
82	TAKE ON ME	A-HA	1985	2
83	PARADISE	GEORGE EZRA	2018	2
84	ONE LAST TIME	ARIANA GRANDE	2014	2
85	SEVEN NATION ARMY	WHITE STRIPES	2003	7
86	GOLD DIGGER	KANYE WEST FT JAMIE FOXX	2005	2
87	2002	ANNE-MARIE	2018	3
88	FEEL IT STILL	PORTUGAL THE MAN	2017	3
89	BLUE MONDAY	NEW ORDER	1983	3
90	ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE	BRENDA LEE	1962	4
91	HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)	JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO	1972	2
92	LEVITATING	DUA LIPA	2020	5
93	PUMPED UP KICKS	FOSTER THE PEOPLE	2010	18
94	BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY	VERVE	1997	2
95	FLUORESCENT ADOLESCENT	ARCTIC MONKEYS	2007	5
96	TORN	NATALIE IMBRUGLIA	1997	2
97	LEAVE A LIGHT ON	TOM WALKER	2017	7
98	IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE	MICHAEL BUBLE	2011	9
99	SHE MOVES IN HER OWN WAY	KOOKS	2005	7
100	SET FIRE TO THE RAIN	ADELE	2011	11

Article images: Getty/press

Related artists

Related Singles and Albums

MR BRIGHTSIDE
KILLERS

WONDERWALL
OASIS

ALL OF ME
JOHN LEGEND

TAKE ME TO CHURCH
HOZIER

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK
POGUES FT KIRSTY MACCOLL

CASTLE ON THE HILL
ED SHEERAN

RIPTIDE
VANCE JOY

POMPEII
BASTILLE

BUDAPEST
GEORGE EZRA

LET HER GO
PASSENGER

Sunshine Gal

12th May 2024

very cool about tlc making the list! they were my ALL time fave female group on the billboard hot 100! i saw them on the hot 100 chart since their very first u.s. single 'ain't too proud to beg' was in the top 10 over here. no other female group can hold a candle to them, in my opinion, on the hot 100 chart, not even destiny's child. when tlc had a top 10 hit over here, it NEVER left the top 10! they were def. one of fave acts on that chart over the years.

reissus77

10th May 2024

Where's Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule The World??

a-ha should be much higher up the list when combined with its 1985's sales

How is Wizzard (certified 3x platinum) higher than a lot of songs ceriltified 4x platinum below it? If its 1973 sales havd been added, why haven't a-ha's?