1982 saw the Official Singles Chart celebrate its 500th Number 1, claimed by A Little Peace by Nicole Seibert, the winning song on the Eurovision Song Contest, which that year was held in Harrogate.
The song spent two weeks at Number 1 and ranks 38th on the year-end chart, with just over 518,000 estimated sales, according to Official Charts Company data.
As revealed on new Channel 5 series Britain's favourite 80s songs, The biggest song of 1982 was Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express, with an estimated 1.21 million sales, according to Official Charts Company data. The song spent four weeks at Number 1 and was the British pop band's second chart-topper following Geno in 1980.
Eileen also bagged Dexy's Brit Award for Best British Single in 1983, while the single went on to top the charts in a further seven countries, including America.
MORE: Every Official UK Number 1 single ever
In second place is Irene Cara's Fame, with an estimated 1.1 million UK sales. The theme of the hit film spent three weeks at the summit, released to coincide with the adapted TV series, which launched in 1982 following Oscar-winning success for the movie, in which Irene played the role of Coco Hernandez.
Another song made popular from a film, Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger from Rocky III, ranks third with 956,000 sales, while a cover of The Lion Sleeps Tonight by pop group Tight Fit, a three-week Number 1, is fourth on 901,000. Tight Fit make a second appearance in the chart with Top 5 hit Fantasy Island at 42.
Closing out the Top 5 is Culture Club's Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?. The new wave band's breakout hit and first Number 1 spent three weeks at the summit and sold 882,440 copies that year.
Other big hitters in 1982 that rank among the Top 10 best-sellers that year include Pass the Dutchie, a three-week chart-topper by British-Jamaican reggae band Musical Youth (6), Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's Ebony And Ivory (9), and The Jam's third Number 1 single, double A-side Town Called Malice/Precious (10).
The Official Top 100 best-selling singles of 1982
| POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK |
| 1 | Come On Eileen | Dexy's Midnight Runners | 1 |
| 2 | Fame | Irene Cara | 1 |
| 3 | Eye Of The Tiger | Survivor | 1 |
| 4 | The Lions Sleeps Tonight | Tight Fit | 1 |
| 5 | Do You Really Want To Hurt Me | Culture Club | 1 |
| 6 | Pass The Dutchie | Musical Youth | 1 |
| 7 | I Don't Wanna Dance | Eddy Grant | 1 |
| 8 | Seven Tears | Goombay Dance Band | 1 |
| 9 | Ebony And Ivory | Paul McCartney With Stevie Wonder | 1 |
| 10 | Town Called Malice/Precious | Jam | 1 |
| 11 | Golden Brown | Stranglers | 2 |
| 12 | Mad World | Tears For Fears | 1 |
| 13 | Mickey | Toni Basil | 2 |
| 14 | Love Plus One | Haircut One Hundred | 3 |
| 15 | The Model/Computer Love | Kraftwerk | 1 |
| 16 | Oh Julie | Shakin' Stevens | 1 |
| 17 | Goody Two Shoes | Adam Ant | 1 |
| 18 | Heartbreaker | Dionne Warwick | 2 |
| 19 | Only You | Yazoo | 1 |
| 20 | Don't Go | Yazoo | 2 |
| 21 | Walkin' On Sunshine | Rocker's Revenge | 4 |
| 22 | Zoom | Fat Larry's Band | 2 |
| 23 | Save Your Love | Renne & Renato | 1 |
| 24 | I Won't Let You Down | PHD | 3 |
| 25 | Just An illusion | Imagination | 2 |
| 26 | Starmaker | Kids From Fame | 3 |
| 27 | Hard To Say I'm Sorry | Chicago | 4 |
| 28 | Abracadabra | Steve Miller Band | 2 |
| 29 | The Look Of Love | ABC | 4 |
| 30 | Centrefold | J Geils Band | 3 |
| 31 | House Of Fun | Madness | 1 |
| 32 | The Land Of Make Believe | Bucks Fizz | 1 |
| 33 | Maid Of Orleans | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark | 4 |
| 34 | Young Guns (Go For It) | Wham! | 3 |
| 35 | Ain't No Pleasing You | Chas & Dave | 2 |
| 36 | Save A Prayer | Duran Duran | 2 |
| 37 | It Ain't What You Do | Fun Boy Three With Bananarama | 4 |
| 38 | A Little Peace | Nicole | 1 |
| 39 | Hungry Like The Wolf | Duran Duran | 5 |
| 40 | My Camera Never Lies | Bucks Fizz | 1 |
| 41 | It Started With A Kiss | Hot Chocolate | 5 |
| 42 | Fantasy Island | Tight Fit | 5 |
| 43 | Dead Ringer For Love | Meat Loaf | 5 |
| 44 | Inside Out | Odyssey | 3 |
| 45 | Torch | Soft Cell | 2 |
| 46 | This Time (We'll Get It Right)/England,We'll Fly The Flag | England World Cup Squad | 2 |
| 47 | Say Hello, Wave Goodbye | Soft Cell | 3 |
| 48 | I've Never Been To Me | Charlene | 1 |
| 49 | Mirror Man | Human League | 2 |
| 50 | Papa's Got A Brand New Pig Bag | Pig Bag | 3 |
©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Please note, this chart may differ from previously published charts as it is compiled using the very latest Official Charts Company sales information now available for the 1980s period. Read more on how the Official Charts were compiled back in the 1980s here.
Article image: ITV/Shutterstock
