1988 in pop marked the arrival of Kylie Minogue, sibling duo Bros and the rise of house music, but it was long-standing chart icon Cliff Richard who claimed the year's best-selling single.
Mistletoe & Wine spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart, across the whole of December - including the Christmas Number 1 - racking up an estimated 737,000 sales by the end of the year to claim 1988's top song, according to Official Charts Company data.
As revealed on Channel 5 series Britain's Favourite 80s Songs, the festive track was Cliff's 12th chart-topper and is still proving popular more than 30 years on from its release, re-entering the Top 100 at Christmas for the past two years during the festive season.
MORE: Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1987
The UK's second best-seller of 1988 was The Only Way Is Up by Yazz & The Plastic Population, with 630,000 sales. The track - a cover of Otis Clay's 1980 single - spent five weeks at Number 1 that summer.
1988 was also the breakout year for Kylie Minogue; the Australian singer landed an impressive five Top 2 singles that year, all of which land on the end-of-year chart. Her debut UK release, I Should Be So Lucky, is third on 616,000 sales, followed by Jason Donovan collaboration Especially For You in fourth on 555,000 sales.
Rounding out the Top 5 is I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany (498k); the US singer was just 16 when she hit the top with her first UK single, claiming three weeks at the summit.
A total of 20 songs occupied the Number 1 spot across the year, all of which feature on the end-of-year Top 40; including The Hollies' He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, which hit the top 19 years after its release after being reissued thanks to its use in a beer advert.
Elsewhere, big debut singles that make the 1988 best-sellers list include Belinda Carlisle's Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Orinoco Flow by Irish artist Enya, and I Owe You Nothing by Bros.
Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1988
TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | |
1 | MISTLETOE & WINE | CLIFF RICHARD | 1 |
2 | THE ONLY WAY IS UP | YAZZ & THE PLASTIC POPULATION | 1 |
3 | I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY | KYLIE MINOGUE | 1 |
4 | ESPECIALLY FOR YOU | KYLIE MINOGUE & JASON DONOVAN | 1 |
5 | I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW | TIFFANY | 1 |
6 | NOTHING'S GONNA CHANGE MY LOVE FOR YOU | GLENN MADEIROS | 1 |
7 | GROOVY KIND OF LOVE | PHIL COLLINS | 1 |
8 | HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER | THE HOLLIES | 2 |
9 | WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS/SHES LEAVING HOME | WET WET WET/BILLY BRAGG | 1 |
10 | TEARDROPS | WOMACK & WOMACK | 3 |
11 | THE LOCO-MOTION | KYLIE MINOGUE | 2 |
12 | FIRST TIME | ROBIN BECK | 1 |
13 | PERFECT | FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION | 1 |
14 | ONE MOMENT IN TIME | WHITNEY HOUSTON | 1 |
15 | PUSH IT / TRAMP | SALT 'N PEPA | 2 |
16 | SUDDENLY | ANGRY ANDERSON | 3 |
17 | HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH | BELINDA CARLISLE | 1 |
18 | ORINOCO FLOW | ENYA | 1 |
19 | THEME FROM S'EXPRESS | S'EXPRESS | 1 |
20 | JE NE SAIS PAS POURQUOI | KYLIE MINOGUE | 2 |
21 | GOT TO BE CERTAIN | KYLIE MINOGUE | 2 |
22 | THE HARDER I TRY | BROTHER BEYOND | 2 |
23 | TELL IT TO MY HEART | TAYLOR DAYNE | 3 |
24 | CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL | ERASURE | 2 |
25 | I OWE YOU NOTHING | BROS | 1 |
26 | HEART | PET SHOP BOYS | 1 |
27 | GET OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR | BILLY OCEAN | 3 |
28 | DON’T TURN AROUND | ASWAD | 1 |
29 | NOTHING CAN DIVIDE US | JASON DONOVAN | 5 |
30 | BEAT DIS | BOMB THE BASS | 2 |
31 | DROP THE BOY | BROS | 2 |
32 | SIGN YOUR NAME | TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY | 2 |
33 | THE TWIST (YO, TWIST) | FAT BOYS & CHUBBY CHECKER | 2 |
34 | WHEN WILL I BE FAMOUS? | BROS | 2 |
35 | BOYS (SUMMERTIME LOVE) | SABRINA | 3 |
36 | HOUSE ARREST | KRUSH | 3 |
37 | YOU CAME | KIM WILDE | 3 |
38 | LOVELY DAY (SUNSHINE MIX) | BILL WITHERS | 4 |
39 | I NEED YOU | B.V.S.M.P. | 3 |
40 | GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE | MILLI VANILLI | 3 |
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