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 1983, as well as singles which peaked in 1982 and 1984 but were in the top 10 in 1983. 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 forty-nine singles were in the top ten in 1983. Ten singles from 1982 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, "Marguerita Time" by Status Quo and "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel were all released in 1983 but did not reach their peak until 1984. "A Winter's Tale" by David Essex, "Best Years of Our Lives" by Modern Romance and "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins were the singles from 1982 to reach their peak in 1983. Thirty-three artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1983. Billy Joel, The Cure, Eurythmics, Paul Young and U2 were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1983.
The 1982 Christmas number-one, "Save Your Love" by Renée and Renato, remained at number-one for the first two weeks of 1983. The first new number-one single of the year was "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins of Genesis. Overall, eighteen different singles peaked at number-one in 1983, with eighteen unique artists having singles hitting that position.
One-hundred and forty-nine singles charted in the top 10 in 1983, with one-hundred and thirty-nine singles reaching their peak this year.
Thirty-three artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1983. Michael Jackson secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1983 with five hit singles.
Billy Joel was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "Uptown Girl". Bananarama, David Essex, Heaven 17, Lionel Richie and The Police were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1983.
Forty-nine artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1983, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, seven went on to record another hit single that year: Big Country, Billy Joel, Heaven 17, JoBoxers, Malcolm McLaren, The Style Council and Thompson Twins. Three artists achieved two more chart hits in 1983: Kajagoogoo, Paul Young and Tracey Ullman. Eurythmics had three 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.
Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Up Where We Belong" (An Officer and a Gentleman) and "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (Flashdance).
Culture Club had the best-selling single of the year with "Karma Chameleon". The single spent ten weeks in the top 10 (including six weeks at number one) and sold over 1.39 million copies and was certified platinum by the BPI. "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel came in second place, selling more than 949,000 copies and losing out by around 390,000 sales. UB40's "Red Red Wine", "Let's Dance" from David Bowie and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler made up the top five. Singles by Spandau Ballet, Men at Work, Michael Jackson, The Flying Pickets and Lionel Richie were also in the top ten best-selling singles of the year.
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=lightblue | ‡ | Single peaked in 1982 but still in chart in 1983. |
| ♦ | Single released in 1983 but peaked in 1984. | |
| (#) | Year-end top-ten single position and rank | |
| Entered | The date that the single first appeared in the chart. | |
| Peak | Highest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart. |
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1983, including singles that reached their peak in 1982 or 1984. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1983 is also shown.
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