List of UK top-ten singles in 1968 explained
The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles.[2] [3] This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1968, as well as singles which peaked in 1967 and 1969 but were in the top 10 in 1968. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
One-hundred and eleven singles were in the top ten in 1968. Ten singles from 1967 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by Marmalade were both released in 1968 but did not reach their peak until 1969. "All My Love" by Cliff Richard, "Daydream Believer" by The Monkees, "Magical Mystery Tour (EP)" by The Beatles and "Thank U Very Much" by The Scaffold were the singles from 1967 to reach their peak in 1968. Nineteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1968. Amen Corner, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Nina Simone and Status Quo were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1968.
The 1967 Christmas number-one, "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles, remained at number-one for the first four weeks of 1968. The first new number-one single of the year was "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" by Georgie Fame. Overall, twenty different singles peaked at number-one in 1968, with The Beatles (2) having the joint most singles hit that position.
Background
Multiple entries
One-hundred and eleven singles charted in the top 10 in 1968, with one-hundred and three singles reaching their peak this year.
Nineteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1968. The Beatles secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1968 with four hit singles.
Manfred Mann was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)". Amen Corner, Bee Gees, Donovan, Lulu and Status Quo were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1968.
Chart debuts
Forty-nine artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1968, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, four went on to record another hit single that year: Amen Corner, Don Partridge, Marmalade and Status Quo. Love Affair had two other entries in their breakthrough year.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.
Songs from films
Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Mrs. Robinson" (from The Graduate) and "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize" (Les Bicyclettes de Belsize).
Additionally, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)" from the film of the same name, originally recorded by Ennio Morricone, topped the chart when it was covered by Hugo Montenegro.
Best-selling singles
Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1968.
Top-ten singles
- Key
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|
| bgcolor=lightblue | ‡ | Single peaked in 1967 but still in chart in 1968. |
| ♦ | Single released in 1968 but peaked in 1969. |
| (#) | Year-end best-selling single. |
| Entered | The date that the single first appeared in the chart. |
|---|
| Peak | Highest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart. | |
|---|
Entered
(week ending) | Weeks
in
top
10 | Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached
(week ending) | Weeks
at
peak |
|---|
| Singles in 1967 |
|---|
| 7 | "Let The Heartaches Begin" ‡ | Long John Baldry | 1 | | 2 |
| 9 | "If The Whole World Stopped Loving" ‡ | Val Doonican | 3 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" ‡ | Gene Pitney | 5 | | 3 |
| 3 | "All My Love" | Cliff Richard | 6 | | 1 |
| 9 | "Hello, Goodbye" ‡ | The Beatles | 1 | | 7 |
| 7 | "I'm Coming Home" ‡ | Tom Jones | 2 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" ‡ | Traffic | 8 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Thank U Very Much" | The Scaffold | 4 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Magical Mystery Tour (EP)" | The Beatles | 2 | | 3 |
| 7 | "Daydream Believer" | The Monkees | 5 | | 1 |
| Singles in 1968 |
|---|
| 5 | "Walk Away Renée" | Four Tops | 3 | | 1 |
| 2 | "Kites" | Simon Dupree and the Big Sound | 9 | | 2 |
| 6 | "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" | Georgie Fame | 1 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Everlasting Love" | Love Affair | 1 | | 2 |
| 6 | "Am I That Easy to Forget" | Engelbert Humperdinck | 3 | | 2 |
| 5 | "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" | John Fred & His Playboy Band | 3 | | 1 |
| 2 | "Tin Soldier" | Small Faces | 9 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Everything I Am" | Plastic Penny | 6 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Bend Me, Shape Me" | Amen Corner | 3 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Mighty Quinn" | Manfred Mann | 1 | | 2 |
| 6 | "She Wears My Ring" | Solomon King | 3 | | 1 |
| 4 | "Suddenly You Love Me" | The Tremeloes | 6 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Gimme Little Sign" | Brenton Wood | 8 | | 2 |
| 4 | "Pictures of Matchstick Men" | Status Quo | 7 | | 3 |
| 6 | "Fire Brigade" | The Move | 3 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Cinderella Rockefella" | Esther & Abi Ofarim | 1 | | 3 |
| 6 | "The Legend of Xanadu" | Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich | 1 | | 1 |
| 1 | "Words" | Bee Gees | 8 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Rosie" | Don Partridge | 4 | | 2 |
| 4 | "Jennifer Juniper" | Donovan | 5 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Green Tambourine" | The Lemon Pipers | 7 | | 1 |
| 8 | "Delilah" | Tom Jones | 2 | | 3 |
| 6 | "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Otis Redding | 3 | | 1 |
| 2 | "Me, the Peaceful Heart" | Lulu | 9 | | 1 |
| 11 | "What a Wonderful World"/"Cabaret" | Louis Armstrong | 1 | | 4 |
| 5 | "Lady Madonna" | The Beatles | 1 | | 2 |
| 6 | "Congratulations" | Cliff Richard | 1 | | 2 |
| 3 | "If I Were a Carpenter" | Four Tops | 7 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Step Inside Love" | Cilla Black | 8 | | 1 |
| 6 | "If I Only Had Time" | John Rowles | 3 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Simon Says" | 1910 Fruitgum Company | 2 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Jennifer Eccles" | The Hollies | 7 | | 2 |
| 6 | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" | Andy Williams | 5 | | 1 |
| 2 | "I Can't Let Maggie Go" | Honeybus | 8 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Lazy Sunday" | Small Faces | 2 | | 1 |
| 8 | "A Man Without Love" | Engelbert Humperdinck | 2 | | 3 |
| 6 | "I Don't Want Our Loving to Die" | The Herd | 5 | | 1 |
| 9 | "Young Girl" | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | 1 | | 4 |
| 8 | "Honey" | Bobby Goldsboro | 2 | | 1 |
| 2 | "White Horses" | Jacky | 10 | | 2 |
| 4 | "Rainbow Valley" | Love Affair | 5 | | 2 |
| 2 | "Joanna" | Scott Walker | 7 | | 1 |
| 4 | "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" | Dionne Warwick | 8 | | 2 |
| 5 | "This Wheel's on Fire" | Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger and the Trinity | 5 | | 1 |
| 7 | "Jumpin' Jack Flash" | The Rolling Stones | 1 | | 2 |
| 5 | "Blue Eyes" | Don Partridge | 3 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Hurdy Gurdy Man" | Donovan | 4 | | 3 |
| 7 | "Baby, Come Back" | The Equals | 1 | | 3 |
| 9 | "I Pretend" | Des O'Connor | 1 | | 1 |
| 6 | "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp" | O. C. Smith | 2 | | 3 |
| 3 | "Lovin' Things" | Marmalade | 6 | | 1 |
| 4 | "Yesterday Has Gone" | Cupid's Inspiration | 4 | | 2 |
| 3 | "My Name Is Jack" | Manfred Mann | 8 | | 1 |
| 4 | "Yummy Yummy Yummy" | Ohio Express | 5 | | 2 |
| 8 | "Mony Mony" | Tommy James and the Shondells | 1 | | 3 |
| 4 | "MacArthur Park" | Richard Harris | 4 | | 2 |
| 8 | "Fire" | The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | 1 | | 1 |
| 8 | "This Guy's in Love with You" | Herb Alpert | 3 | | 4 |
| 4 | "Mrs. Robinson" | Simon & Garfunkel | 4 | | 1 |
| 4 | "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" | Dusty Springfield | 4 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Last Night in Soho" | Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich | 8 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Help Yourself" | Tom Jones | 5 | | 3 |
| 4 | "Sunshine Girl" | Herman's Hermits | 8 | | 2 |
| 3 | "Dance to the Music" | Sly and the Family Stone | 7 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Do It Again" | The Beach Boys | 1 | | 1 |
| 7 | "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" | Bee Gees | 1 | | 1 |
| 4 | "High in the Sky" | Amen Corner | 6 | | 1 |
| 6 | "I Say a Little Prayer" | Aretha Franklin | 4 | | 3 |
| 6 | "Hold Me Tight" | Johnny Nash | 5 | | 3 |
| 4 | "On the Road Again" | Canned Heat | 8 | | 2 |
| 9 | "Hey Jude" (#1) | The Beatles | 1 | | 2 |
| 11 | "Those Were the Days" | Mary Hopkin | 1 | | 6 |
| 8 | "Jesamine" | The Casuals | 2 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Lady Willpower" | Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | 5 | | 2 |
| 7 | "Little Arrows" | Leapy Lee | 2 | | 1 |
| 3 | "The Red Balloon" | The Dave Clark Five | 7 | | 1 |
| 4 | "My Little Lady" | The Tremeloes | 6 | | 2 |
| 1 | "Ice in the Sun" | Status Quo | 8 | | 1 |
| 1 | "Classical Gas" | Mason Williams | 9 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize" | Engelbert Humperdinck | 5 | | 1 |
| 2 | "A Day Without Love" | Love Affair | 6 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Light My Fire" | José Feliciano | 6 | | 1 |
| 10 | "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" | Hugo Montenegro | 1 | | 4 |
| 5 | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Joe Cocker | 1 | | 1 |
| 4 | "Only One Woman" | The Marbles | 5 | | 1 |
| 6 | "Eloise" | Barry Ryan | 2 | | 2 |
| 7 | "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" | The Isley Brothers | 3 | | 2 |
| 4 | "All Along the Watchtower" | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 5 | | 1 |
| 5 | "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache" | The Bandwagon | 4 | | 1 |
| 3 | "Elenore" | The Turtles | 7 | | 1 |
| 9 | "Ain't Got No, I Got Life"/"Do What You Gotta Do" | Nina Simone | 2 | | 1 |
| 10 | "Lily the Pink" | The Scaffold | 1 | | 4 |
| 2 | "I'm a Tiger" | Lulu | 9 | | 2 |
| 5 | "1–2–3 O'Leary" | Des O'Connor | 4 | | 3 |
| 1 | "May I Have the Next Dream With You" | Malcolm Roberts | 8 | | 1 |
| 8 | "Build Me Up Buttercup" | The Foundations | 2 | | 2 |
| 7 | "I'm the Urban Spaceman" | Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band | 5 | | 3 |
| 5 | "Sabre Dance" | Love Sculpture | 5 | | 1 |
| 2 | "Race with the Devil" | The Gun | 8 | | 1 |
| 9 | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" ♦ | Marmalade | 1 | | 3 |
| 10 | "Albatross" ♦ | Fleetwood Mac | 1 | | 1 |
|
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1968, including singles that reached their peak in 1967 or 1969. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1968 is also shown.
| Entries | Artist | Weeks | Singles |
|---|
| 4 | | 24 | "Hello, Goodbye", "Hey Jude", "Lady Madonna", "Magical Mystery Tour (EP)" |
| 3 | Engelbert Humperdinck | 17 | "Am I That Easy to Forget", "A Man Without Love", "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize" |
| Love Affair | 13 | "A Day Without Love", "Everlasting Love", "Rainbow Valley" |
| 18 | "Delilah", "Help Yourself", "I'm Coming Home" |
| 2 | Amen Corner | 9 | "Bend Me, Shape Me", "High in the Sky" |
| Bee Gees | 8 | "I've Gotta Get a Message to You", "Words" |
| 7 | "All My Love", "Congratulations" |
| Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich | 9 | "Last Night in Soho", "The Legend of Xanadu" |
| Des O'Connor | 13 | "1-2-3 O'Leary", "I Pretend" |
| Don Partridge | 10 | "Blue Eyes", "Rosie" |
| Donovan | 9 | "Hurdy Gurdy Man", "Jennifer Juniper" |
| Four Tops | 8 | "If I Were a Carpenter", "Walk Away Renée" |
| Gary Puckett & The Union Gap | 15 | "Lady Willpower", "Young Girl" |
| Lulu | 4 | "I'm a Tiger", "Me, the Peaceful Heart" |
| Manfred Mann | 10 | "My Name Is Jack", "Mighty Quinn" |
| 5 | "Lovin' Things", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" |
| 9 | "Lily the Pink", "Thank U Very Much" |
| Small Faces | 9 | "Lazy Sunday", "Tin Soldier" |
| Status Quo | 5 | "Ice in the Sun", "Pictures of Matchstick Men" |
| The Tremeloes | 5 | "My Little Lady", "Suddenly You Love Me" | |
Notes
- "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" reached its peak of number-one on 7 January 1969 (week ending).
- "Albatross" reached its peak of number one on 4 February 1969.
- "All My Love" re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 26 December 1967 (week ending).
- "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 16 January 1968 (week ending).
- "Suddenly You Love Me" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 5 March 1968 (week ending).
- "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released posthumously following Otis Redding's death in a plane crash.
- "Congratulations" was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968.
- "A Man Without Love" was first performed in Italian (recorded as "Quando m'innamoro") by both Anna Identici and The Sandpipers at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival.
- "White Horses" was the theme song to the UK dub of the German/Yugoslavian television series "The White Horses".
- "This Guy's in Love with You" re-entered the top 10 at number 5 on 13 August 1968 (week ending) for 7 weeks.
- "Help Yourself" was first performed in Italian (recorded as "Gli occhi miei") by both Dino and Wilma Goich at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival.
- "High in the Sky" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 8 October 1968 (week ending).
- "Jesamine" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 19 November 1968 (week ending).
- Figure includes single that peaked in 1967.
- Figure includes single that first charted in 1967 but peaked in 1968.
- Figure includes single that peaked in 1969.
See also
References
General
- Web site: Six decades of singles charts . The Official Charts Company . 18 January 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110303221018/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart-singles/ . 3 March 2011 .
Specific
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: The Official UK Charts Company . . 1 January 2012.
- Book: Roberts, David. Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition). 2005. 1-904994-00-8. 14. Guinness World Records Limited.
- Web site: New singles formats to save the charts. BBC News. 16 October 2003 . 21 February 2010.
