The era of Rock & Roll was well and truly over, the age of pop music had begun and teenagers everywhere were filling their vinyl collection with records by The Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers, The Crystals and The Dave Clark 5. Here are the best 40 singles of the year pop took over the world.
1962 was the calm before the storm that was the rest of the 60s music charts but it was still a fertile pop landscape featuring acts such as The Everly Brothers, Joe Brown, Elvis and The Shadows. The Beatles also had their first hit but it wasn't one of the best 40 singles of the year.
1961's pop chart was sprinkled with some gloriously uplifting and exciting music. However, it was also home to some bizarre fare, some of which make me wonder if someone was conducting some kind of social experiment.
In this series, you'll be going back to the sixties with someone who wasn't there. This is a true objective list of the best singles to grace the chart in every year of the decade, starting here in 1960.
The closing year of the best decade in music was a mish-mash of evolving music genres, soap stars trying to have pop careers and hints at the brilliance to come in the 90s. Madonna and Michael Jackson were still dominating things but Guns 'n Roses and R.E.M. were waiting in the wings.
The 80s had some of the best music of all time - it also had some of the very worst. Let me take you though the haunted basement where nobody dares set foot and hear some music that will (rightly) remain unheard for the rest of time.
Revisiting the 40 best singles of 1987, a year that gave us 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' by Belinda Carlisle, 'Alone' by Heart, and 'The Fairytale of New York' by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl.
Revisiting the 40 best singles of 1986, a year that gave us "Panic" by The Smiths, "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer.
Revisiting the 40 best singles of 1985, a year that gave us Live Aid, "Take on Me" by A-ha, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, and "West End Girls" by The Pet Shop Boys.
The 1980s gave us Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears and Transformers, but what were some of the toys you forgot you loved?
A look back at some of the worst lyrics in one of the most eclectic decades for music, including R.E.M., Oasis, and The Spice Girls.
Revisiting the 40 best singles of 1984, a year that gave us "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and "When Doves Cry" by Prince.
A look back at some of the worst lyrics in one of the best decades for music, including The Smiths, The Eurythmics, and Duran Duran.
Revisiting the 40 best singles of 1983, a year that gave us "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Hold Me Now" by Thompson Twins, and "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama.
1982 ushered in new genres of pop music with synthesizers becoming affordable and John Peel providing a platform for countless acts, including ABC, Duran Duran, Madness, Yazoo, and Tears for Fears.
Revisiting the best singles of 1981, including "Don't You Want Me" by Human League, "Vienna" by Ultravox, and "Kids In America" by Kim Wilde.
Some regard the 1980s as the greatest decade for music. I can't disagree but I've made it my mission to find out whether this is actually true. I've tasked myself with listening to every song that hit the top 40 every year from 1960 to 2010, charting the best 40 singles of each year along the way.