Biggest Singles 1982
The UK's Top 40 best-performing singles in 1982 are listed below. They are ordered by their Chart Measured Performance (CHAMP) scores. A single's peak position and the month it peaked are also provided. Come On Eileen is both the best-performing chart single and the best-seller of the year. Boosted by the small and big screen respectively, Fame and Eye Of The Tiger complete the top three. Appearing for the only time on our year-end chart are long-lived punks The Stranglers with their biggest hit - their pop song Golden Brown (No. 13) is about heroin. Five Years after it was recorded, The Model (No. 12) is one of the biggest chart hits of the year.
➀ – ➈ NME peak position (if different from official chart)
| Peak Month | Peak | CHAMP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | COME ON EILEENDexy's Midnight Runners | August | 1 | 1,659 |
| 2 | FAMEIrene Cara | July | 1 | 1,566 |
| 3 | EYE OF THE TIGERSurvivor | September | 1 | 1,539 |
| 4 | SAVE YOUR LOVERenee And Renato | December† | 1 | 1,508 |
| 5 | THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHTTight Fit | March | 1 | 1,404 |
| 6 | THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVEBucks Fizz | January† | 1 | 1,376 |
| 7 | DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT MECulture Club | October | 1 | 1,362 |
| 8 | I DON'T WANNA DANCEEddy Grant | November† | 1 | 1,244 |
| 9 | GOODY TWO SHOESAdam Ant | June | 1 | 1,244 |
| 10 | SEVEN TEARSGoombay Dance Band | March | 1 | 1,150 |
| 11 | EBONY AND IVORYPaul McCartney And Stevie Wonder | April | 1 | 1,113 |
| 12 | THE MODEL / COMPUTER LOVE Kraftwerk | February | 1 | 1,101 |
| 13 | GOLDEN BROWN The Stranglers | February | 2 | 1,095 |
| 14 | TIME (CLOCK OF THE HEART)Culture Club | December† | 3➀ | 1,081 |
| 15 | LOVE PLUS ONEHaircut 100 | March | 3 | 1,061 |
| 16 | MIRROR MANThe Human League | November† | 2➀ | 1,048 |
| 17 | PASS THE DUTCHIEMusical Youth | October | 1 | 1,006 |
| 18 | ABRACADABRAThe Steve Miller Band | July | 2➀ | 1,000 |
| 19 | OH JULIEShakin' Stevens | May | 1➁ | 990 |
| 20 | YOUNG GUNS (GO FOR IT)Wham! | December† | 3 | 967 |
| 21 | HEARTBREAKERDionne Warwick | November | 2➀ | 965 |
| 22 | TOWN CALLED MALICE The Jam | February | 1 | 961 |
| 23 | ZOOMFat Larry's Band | October | 2 | 957 |
| 24 | STARMAKERThe Kids From Fame | October | 3➁ | 957 |
| 25 | DON'T GOYazoo | July | 3 | 943 |
| 26 | BEAT SURRENDERThe Jam | December† | 1 | 938 |
| 27 | I WON'T LET YOU DOWNPhD | May | 3➀ | 937 |
| 28 | OUR HOUSEMadness | December† | 5 | 937 |
| 29 | HOUSE OF FUNMadness | May | 1 | 930 |
| 30 | IT STARTED WITH A KISSHot Chocolate | August | 5➂ | 927 |
| 31 | MAD WORLDTears For Fears | November | 3 | 926 |
| 32 | I'VE NEVER BEEN TO MECharlene | June | 1➂ | 925 |
| 33 | MICKEYToni Basil | March | 2 | 925 |
| 34 | IT MUST BE LOVEMadness | January† | 4 | 924 |
| 35 | MIRROR MIRROR (MON AMOUR)Dollar | July | 4➂ | 907 |
| 36 | ONLY YOUYazoo | May | 2➀ | 898 |
| 37 | WALKING ON SUNSHINERocker's Revenge Featuring Donnie Calvin | September | 4 | 893 |
| 38 | JUST AN ILLUSIONImagination | April | 2 | 890 |
| 39 | TORCHSoft Cell | June | 2 | 883 |
| 40 | INSIDE OUTOdyssey | July | 3➁ | 880 |
Chart © Wow Vinyl 2023
➀ – ➈ NME peak position (if different from official chart)
† Part of the chart run was in 1981 or 1983, which has been included in calculating the CHAMP score
Tie-breaker: singles with equal CHAMP scores are ordered by better performance in the official chart