The UK's Official Songs of the Summer 2022: Kate Bush’s record-breaking Stranger Things anthem Running Up That Hill is the Official Song of the Summer 2022 as 80s nostalgia reigns supreme

It may be 2022 but most of the UK was transported back to 1985 this summer, as Kate Bush’s record-breaking hit Running Up That Hill has been named the UK’s Official Song of the Summer 2022, the Official Charts Company can reveal today.
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It may be 2022 but most of the UK was transported back to 1985 this summer, as Kate Bush’s record-breaking hit Running Up That Hill has been named the UK’s Official Song of the Summer 2022, the Official Charts Company can reveal today.

Nostalgia reigns supreme as Running Up That Hill – resurrected into the public consciousness thanks to the release of Stranger Things season 4 in in two parts across May and July – beats off modern-day anthems by the likes of Harry Styles, LF SYSTEM and Beyoncé.

Based on new Official Charts Company streaming and sales data from around 9,000 UK physical and digital outlets, the juddering New Wave masterpiece clocks in over 762,000 chart units over the summer period; tracked from the first week of June to the last week of August.

When it (finally) hit Number 1 this June, Running Up That Hill broke several Official Charts records in the process, including the longest time taken for a single to reach Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart – 37 years, and now the lead single from Bush’s magnum opus Hounds of Love tops the Official Charts’ Songs of the Summer list with the most streams of any song this summer (86.6 million) and the most digital downloads too (over 42,000).

MORE: The chart history of Running Up That Hill

The longest-running Number 1 single of the year so far, Harry Styles’ similarly 80s-themed As It Was, places at Number 2, while Harry himself claims a further two entries in the wider Top 40; Late Night Talking (10) and Music For A Sushi Restaurant (22).

Also helping to soundtrack the hottest summer on record was LF SYSTEM’s long-running Number 1 hit Afraid To Feel, Cat Burns’ breakthrough viral anthem Go (5) and Beyoncé’s extravagant house banger Break My Soul (8).

Now that dance music is officially back on the charts, a number of high-tempo releases also appear, including David Guetta, Becky Hill & Ella Henderson’s Crazy What Love Can Do (7), Nathan Daw & Ella Henderson’s 21 Reasons (12), Jax Jones & MNEK on Where Did You Go? (16) and Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott’s Where Are You Now (20), all Top 10 hits on the Official Singles Chart this year.

Elsewhere, we also see appearance’s from Sam Ryder’s record-breaking Eurovision anthem SPACE MAN (26), Dave’s Number 1 hit Starlight (35) and Tate McRae’s ascendant pop-rock anthem She’s All I Wanna Be (39).

The UK's Official Songs of the Summer 2022

Listen to the chart in full on Spotify here.

POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK
1 RUNNING UP THAT HILL KATE BUSH 1
2 AS IT WAS HARRY STYLES 1
3 AFRAID TO FEEL LF SYSTEM 2
4 GREEN GREEN GRASS GEORGE EZRA 3
5 GO CAT BURNS 2
6 ABOUT DAMN TIME LIZZO 3
7 CRAZY WHAT LOVE CAN DO DAVID GUETTA/HILL/HENDERSON 5
8 BREAK MY SOUL BEYONCE 2
9 LAST LAST BURNA BOY 4
10 LATE NIGHT TALKING HARRY STYLES 2
11 IFTK TION WAYNE & LA ROUX 6
12 21 REASONS NATHAN DAWE FT ELLA HENDERSON 9
13 BAD HABITS ED SHEERAN 1
14 HEAT WAVES GLASS ANIMALS 5
15 I AIN'T WORRIED ONEREPUBLIC 4
16 WHERE DID YOU GO JAX JONES FT MNEK 7
17 PERU FIREBOY DML & ED SHEERAN 2
18 SHIVERS ED SHEERAN 1
19 2STEP ED SHEERAN 9
20 WHERE ARE YOU NOW LOST FREQUENCIES/CALUM SCOTT 3
21 WAIT FOR U FUTURE FT DRAKE & TEMS 8
22 MUSIC FOR A SUSHI RESTAURANT HARRY STYLES 3
23 SEVENTEEN GOING UNDER SAM FENDER 3
24 FIRST CLASS JACK HARLOW 2
25 STAY THE NIGHT SIGALA & TALIA MAR 11
26 SPACE MAN SAM RYDER 1
27 MASSIVE DRAKE 8
28 BAM BAM CAMILA CABELLO FT ED SHEERAN 7
29 MAKE ME FEEL GOOD BELTERS ONLY FT JAZZY 4
30 COLD HEART ELTON JOHN & DUA LIPA 1
31 BABY AITCH/ASHANTI 2
32 GLIMPSE OF US JOJI 12
33 NO EXCUSES BRU-C 14
34 JE M'APPELLE BENZZ 17
35 STARLIGHT DAVE 1
36 MR BRIGHTSIDE KILLERS 10
37 POTION CALVIN HARRIS/DUA LIPA/YOUNG 16
38 SHE'S ALL I WANNA BE TATE MCRAE 14
39 DOJA CENTRAL CEE 2
40 BIG ENERGY LATTO/MARIAH CAREY/DJ KHALED 21

©2022 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

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H

HazDaSprinter

0

This summer was all about dance... not my fav summer aint gonna lie

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🧡 oliviasnoodles 🍜

4

surprised afraid to feel isn’t number 1 but i can’t exactly complain, running up that hill is great!

my song of the summer is “tek it” by cafune

C

Conor

0

glad tate mcrae is holding on in there, hopefully she'll make the final year to date top 40!

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Conor

1

congrats Kate, so deserved! Such an incredible song

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Piran

5

Happy to see RUTH coming out on top! 😊

Btw ‘Space Man’ peaked at #2, not #1 as the article indicates.

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Michael Farrie

1

Same with Afraid To Feel, but it's #1 not #2.

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David N'jama

0

I was hoping as it was would be the song but Running up that hill is great nonetheless

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David N'jama

1

Mr. Brightside might not go away even in 2122. 😂😂

H

HazDaSprinter

1

Glad to see Central Cee's bop in the top 40, it did well. Bit gutted Dave isnt close to the top, and im also surprised that Afraid To Feel didnt make number 1. My reorder:
1) Doja by Central Cee
2) Starlight by Dave
3) As It Was by Harry Styles
4) 2Step by Ed Sheeran ft. Lil Baby
5) First Class by Jack Harlow
6) Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran
7) J'M'Appelle by Benzz
8) I Ain't Worried by OneRepublic
9) Wait For You by Future ft. Drake & Tems
10) Massive by Drake
11) Baby by Aitch & Ashanti
12) Peru by Fireboy DML ft. Ed Sheeran
13) Late Night Talking by Harry Styles
14) Heatwaves by Glass Animals
15) Where DId You Go? by Jax Jones ft. MNEK
16) IFTK by Tion Wayne ft. La Roux
17) Last Last by Burna Boy
18) Shivers by Ed Sheeran
19) Cold Heart by Elton John ft. Dua Lipa
20) 21 Reasons by Nathan Dawe ft. Ella Henderson
21) Crazy What Love Can Do by David Guetta, Becky Hill & Ella Henderson
22) Green Green Grass by George Ezra
23) Music For A Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles
24) No Excuses by Bru-C
25) Space Man by Sam Ryder
26) Where Are You Now by Lost Frequencies ft. Calum Scott
27) Glimpse Of Us by Joji
28) Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender
29) Break My Soul by Beyonce
30) Afraid To Feel by LF System
31) Mr Brightside by The Killers
32) Big Energy (Remix) by Latto x Mariah Carey ft. DJ Khaled
33) Stay The Night by Sigala ft. Talia Mar
34) Bam Bam by Camila Cabello ft. Ed Sheeran
35) she's all i wanna be by Tate McRae
36) Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush
37) Potion by Calvin Harris ft. Dua Lipa & Young Thug
38) B.O.T.A by Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal
39) go by Cat Burns
40) About Time by Lizzo