Every Song That Topped the U.K. Chart for 8 or More Weeks, But Didn’t Make the Top 10 on the Hot 100

U.K. peak: No. 1 for eight weeks

Hot 100 peak: didn’t chart

Producer: Norrie Paramor

Notes: The Shadows were the backing band for British pop idol Cliff Richard. Their first two No. 1 hits in the U.K. were collabs with Richard – “Living Doll” and “Travellin’ Light.” (They were billed as The Drifters on “Living Doll” in 1959 but subsequently changed their name to The Shadows to avoid confusion with the great American R&B group.) Their only songs to make the Hot 100 were “Living Doll” (No. 30 in 1959) and another collab with Richard, “Bachelor Boy” (No. 99 in 1964).

“Wonderful Land” had the longest run at No. 1 in the U.K. of any instrumental hit. It was the second song from the 1960s to top the U.K. chart for eight weeks, following Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now or Never.” (The feat was later equaled by a third ’60s hit, The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar.”) “Wonderful Land” failed to crack the Hot 100 even though instrumentals were hot at the time. Three instrumentals topped the Hot 100 in 1962: Mr. Acker Bilk’s “Stranger on the Shore,” David Rose’s “The Stripper” and The Tornadoes’ “Telstar.”

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for nine weeks

Hot 100 peak: No. 33 (“Girls’ School”)

Producer: Paul McCartney (both songs)

Notes: This double A-sided single was Wings’ biggest hit in Britain and is one of the best-selling singles of all time in the U.K. It was McCartney’s first No. 1 in his home country since The Beatles disbanded. It was the second song to top the U.K. chart for nine weeks in the 1970s, following Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (The feat was later matched by a third ’70s smash: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease.) In the U.S., “Girls’ School” (with “Mull” on the B-side) peaked at No. 33. For Wings at that time, that was a disappointing showing. Wings had made the top 10 on the Hot 100 earlier in 1977 with a belated single release of “Maybe I’m Amazed.” “With a Little Luck,” their very next single following “Girls’ School,” brought the group back to No. 1.    

Paul McCartney and Denny Laine co-wrote the gentle ballad “Mull of Kintyre” as a tribute to the idyllic area in southwest Scotland where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966. “I certainly loved Scotland enough, so I came up with a song about where we were living: an area called Mull of Kintyre,” he explained in a book that accompanied his 2001 compilation Wingspan: Hits and History. “It was a love song really, about how I enjoyed being there and imagining I was travelling away and wanting to get back there.” The song featured Great Highland bagpipes played by the Campbeltown Pipe Band. It was recorded on Aug. 9, 1977, during a break in recording the forthcoming London Town album. Neither “Mull” nor “Girls’ School” was included on London Town, but both songs were added to the 1993 CD reissue.

Listen to “Mull of Kintyre” here

Listen to “Girls’ School” here

U.K. peak: No. 1 for nine weeks

Hot 100 peak: No. 43

Producer: Trevor Horn

Notes: “Two Tribes” is an anti-war song with a nihilistic lyric expressing enthusiasm for nuclear war. The single was a phenomenal success in the U.K., boosted by multiple remixes. It entered the Official Singles Chart on June 10, 1984, at No. 1, where it remained for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group’s previous single “Relax” (which had logged five weeks at No. 1) climbed back to No. 2. “Two Tribes” was the longest-running No. 1 in the U.K. of the 1980s. “Relax” made the top 10 on the Hot 100, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood received a Grammy nod for best new artist, but “Two Tribes” didn’t do nearly as well.

Fun Fact: Frankie Goes to Hollywood drew its name from publicity recounting Frank Sinatra’s move into the movie industry.

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UK peak: No. 1 for 15 weeks

Hot 100 peak: No. 41

Producer: Wet Wet Wet

Notes: The Scottish group recorded this cover version of The Troggs’ 1968 hit “Love Is All Around” for the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral, which starred Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell. It’s the longest-running No. 1 in U.K. chart history by an ongoing group or duo. “Love Is All Around” reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary radio chart. Four Weddings was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic and even received an Oscar nod for best picture (back when there were only five nominees in the category and landing a spot was twice as hard to do as it is today, with 10 nominees in the category).

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for eight weeks

Hot 100 peak: No. 26

Producer: Calvin Harris

Notes: “One Kiss” was written by Harris and Lipa alongside Canadian singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez. Critics praised the throwback sound of “One Kiss,” as well as its summertime aesthetic. The song spent eight weeks atop the U.K. singles chart. In the U.S., it reached No. 9 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, but didn’t even come especially close to the top 10 on the Hot 100. Lipa performed the song at the 2019 Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, 2019, where she was crowned best new artist. Ten days later, she and Harris performed it together at the Brit Awards, where it won British single of the year.

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for eight weeks

Hot 100 peak: didn’t chart

Producer: LF System

Notes: This was the first (and to date, only) U.K. chart entry for LF SYSTEM, a production duo consisting of Scottish DJs Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan. The recording samples Silk’s 1979 song “I Can’t Stop (Turning You On),” which spent a few weeks on Billboard‘s Hot Soul Singles chart, as it was known at the time. (That disco studio group from Philadelphia is not to be confused with the Georgia-based R&B group of the same name which topped the Hot 100 in 1993 with “Freak Me.”)

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for eight weeks

Hot 100 peak: didn’t chart

Producers: Calvin Harris, Matthew Burns

Notes: Inspired by Eurodance and techno, “Miracle” became Harris’ 11th No. 1 hit as an artist in the U.K.; Goulding’s fourth. It was nominated for best pop dance recording at the 2024 Grammy Awards and for song of the year at the 2024 Brit Awards.

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for 10 weeks

Hot 100 peak: didn’t chart (No. 2 on Bubbling Under)

Producers: Jonny Leslie, Phoebe Stephens, Jo Caleb, Santan, Jim Legxacy, TR, Kyle Evans

Notes: “Sprinter” is a collab by British rappers Dave and Central Cee. It debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles chart, becoming Dave’s third No. 1 and Central Cee’s first. With 10 weeks at No. 1, it became the longest-running No. 1 rap song ever in the U.K.

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U.K. peak: No. 1 for 15 weeks

Hot 100 peak: No. 64

Producers: Sam Fender/Markus Dravs with additional production by Adam Granducial, Joe Atkinson and Dean Thompson

Notes: “Rein Me In” first appeared as a solo recording in February 2025 on Fender’s third studio album, People Watching. A remix featuring Dean was released in June 2025. Fender said at the time that Dean “added a female perspective to ‘Rein Me In,’ and I think it’s all the better for it.” In the meantime, Dean exploded. Her “Man I Need” topped the U.K. Singles Chart in October 2025. Their remix of “Rein Me In” reached No. 1 on that chart in February 2026, soon after it won the Brit Award for song of the year. It was Fender’s first and Dean’s second U.K. No. 1. The song also became Fender’s first entry on the Hot 100. In the U.S., the collab has reached No. 10 on Hot Rock Songs, which uses the same multimetric methodology as the Hot 100.

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