The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1960, as well as singles which peaked in 1959 and 1961 but were in the top 10 in 1960. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
Ninety-five singles were in the top ten in 1960. Ten singles from 1959 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Poetry in Motion" by Johnny Tillotson was both released in 1960 but did not reach its peak until 1961. "Little White Bull" by Tommy Steele, "Rawhide" by Frankie Laine, "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" by The Avons and "Staccato's Theme" by Elmer Bernstein, were the singles from 1959 to reach their peak in 1960. Twenty artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1960. Acker Bilk, Billy Fury, The Drifters, Ken Dodd, Rolf Harris, Roy Orbison and Sam Cooke were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1960.
The 1959 Christmas number-one, "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" by Emile Ford & The Checkmates, remained at number-one for the first four weeks of 1960. The first new number-one single of the year was "Starry Eyed" by Michael Holliday. Overall, seventeen different singles peaked at number-one in 1960, with The Shadows (3, including two entries with Cliff Richard) having the most singles hit that position.
Background Multiple entries Ninety-five singles charted in the top 10 in 1960, with eighty-seven singles reaching their peak this year.
Twenty artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1960. The Shadows secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1960 with eight hit singles.
Jimmy Jones was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "Good Timin'". Bobby Darin, Duane Eddy, Max Bygraves, Neil Sedaka and Tommy Steele were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1960.
Chart debuts Thirty artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1960, either as a lead or featured artist. Jimmy Jones and Johnny Preston both had one other entry in their breakthrough year.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.
Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entriesFreddy Cannon1"Way Down Yonder in New Orleans"3—Johnny Preston2"Running Bear"1"Cradle of Love" (2)Mr. Acker Bilk & His Paramount Jazz Band1"Summer Set"5—Marv Johnson1"You Got What It Takes"7—Lance Fortune1"Be Mine (Alle Mädchen wollen küssen)"4—Percy Faith1"Theme from A Summer Place"2—Bobby Rydell1"Wild One"7—Billy Fury1"Colette"9—Jimmy Jones2"Handy Man"3"Good Timin'" (1)The John Barry Seven1"Hit and Miss"10—Brenda Lee1"Sweet Nothin's"4—Steve Lawrence1"Footsteps"4—Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers1"Ain't Misbehavin'"3—Michael Cox1"Angela Jones"7—Johnny Kidd & the Pirates1"Shakin' All Over"1—Connie Stevens1"Sixteen Reasons"9—Gary Mills1"Look for a Star"7—Brian Hyland1"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini"8—Rolf Harris1"Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"9—Ken Dodd1"Love is Like a Violin"8—Ricky Valance1"Tell Laura I Love Her"1—Roy Orbison1"Only the Lonely"1—1"Walk, Don't Run"8—Sam Cooke1"Chain Gang"9—Hank Locklin1"Please Help Me, I'm Falling"9—Bob Luman1"Let's Think About Living"6—Johnny Burnette1"Dreamin'"5—1"Save the Last Dance for Me"2—Sophia Loren1"Goodness Gracious Me"1—Peter SellersNina & Frederik1"Little Donkey"3—Johnny Tillotson 1"Poetry in Motion" 1—
Notes The Shadows scored two singles independent of Cliff Richard for the first time in 1960, starting with "Apache" reaching number one in August. They followed it up with the double single "Man of Mystery"/"The Stranger" peaking at number 5 in December. Peter Sellers had previously achieved two top 10 singles as a member of The Goons.
Songs from films Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "A Voice in the Wilderness" (from Expresso Bongo ), "Theme from "A Summer Place"" (A Summer Place), Do You Mind (Let's Get Married), "Because They're Young" (Because They're Young), "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" (One, Two, Three) and "As Long as He Needs Me" (Oliver!).
Additionally, earlier versions of "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" had appeared in several films prior to 1960, namely Is Everybody Happy? (1943), Somebody Loves Me (1952), The Benny Goodman Story (1955) and The Gene Krupa Story (1959). "Clementine" featured as background music in The Grapes of Wrath (under the title "Oh My Darling, Clementine") before it was recorded by Bobby Darin. Fats Waller produced an instrumental version of "Ain't Misbehavin'" in 1929 and this was re-recorded with vocals for the 1943 film Stormy Weather. "Apache" was inspired by the film of the same name, originally recorded in instrumental version by composer Jerry Lordan before famously being released by The Shadows. The comedy song "Goodness Gracious Me" was due to be included on the soundtrack of The Millionairess but it was rejected by the producers. The stand-alone single was eventually used to promote the film.
Best-selling singles Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling song of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1960. "It's Now or Never" (9) also ranked in the top 10 best-selling singles of the decade.
Top-ten singles Key SymbolMeaning‡Single peaked in 1959 but still in chart in 1960.♦Single released in 1960 but peaked in 1961.(#)Year-end best-selling single.EnteredThe date that the single first appeared in the chart.PeakHighest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart.
Entered(week ending) Weeksintop10 Single Artist Peak Peak reached(week ending) WeeksatpeakSingles in 195913"Travellin' Light" ‡Cliff Richard & The Shadows1510"Red River Rock" ‡ Johnny and the Hurricanes3115"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" ‡Emile Ford & The Checkmates1612"Oh! Carol" ‡Neil Sedaka3411"What Do You Want?" ‡Adam Faith138"Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" 314"Snow Coach" ‡Russ Conway714"Rawhide" Frankie Laine617"Staccato's Theme" Elmer Bernstein416"Little White Bull" Tommy Steele61Singles in 19601"Jingle Bell Rock" Max Bygraves712"Bad Boy" Marty Wilde717"Starry Eyed" Michael Holliday118"Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" Freddy Cannon3211"Why" Anthony Newley145"Heartaches by the Number" Guy Mitchell519"A Voice in the Wilderness" Cliff Richard & The Shadows239"Poor Me" Adam Faith126"Pretty Blue Eyes" Craig Douglas416"On a Slow Boat to China" Emile Ford & The Checkmates315"Beyond the Sea" Bobby Darin8210"Running Bear" Johnny Preston124"Summer Set" Mr. Acker Bilk & His Paramount Jazz Band516"Delaware" Perry Como325"You Got What It Takes" Marv Johnson711"Be Mine" Lance Fortune417"Theme from A Summer Place" Percy Faith219"My Old Man's a Dustman" Lonnie Donegan1410"Fall in Love with You" Cliff Richard & The Shadows212"Wild One" Bobby Rydell716"Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" Max Bygraves521"Colette" Billy Fury9110"Do You Mind" Anthony Newley116"Stuck on You" Elvis Presley3113"Handy Man" Jimmy Jones351"Beatnik Fly" Johnny and the Hurricanes811"Clementine" Bobby Darin811"Hit and Miss" The John Barry Seven1016"Someone Else's Baby" Adam Faith2111"Cathy's Clown" 178"Sweet Nothin's" Brenda Lee411"Standing on the Corner" 417"Footsteps" Steve Lawrence417"Shazam!"Duane Eddy417"Cradle of Love" Johnny Preston232"The Heart of a Teenage Girl" Craig Douglas1028"Three Steps to Heaven" Eddie Cochran126"I Wanna Go Home" Lonnie Donegan518"Mama"/"Robot Man" Connie Francis212"Stairway to Heaven" Neil Sedaka818"Ain't Misbehavin'" Tommy Bruce & the Bruisers311"That's You" Nat King Cole1019"Good Timin'" Jimmy Jones135"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"/"Made You" Adam Faith513"Angela Jones" Michael Cox714"What a Mouth (What a North and South)" Tommy Steele5113"Please Don't Tease" Cliff Richard & The Shadows131"Down Yonder" Johnny and the Hurricanes8110"Shakin' All Over" Johnny Kidd & the Pirates111"Sixteen Reasons" Connie Stevens914"If She Should Come to You" Anthony Newley419"When Will I Be Loved" 412"Look for a Star" Gary Mills7112"Because They're Young" Duane Eddy2113"A Mess of Blues" Elvis Presley223"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" Brian Hyland8211"Apache"153"Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" Rolf Harris913"Love Is Like a Violin" Ken Dodd8314"As Long as He Needs Me" Shirley Bassey253"Paper Roses" 714"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" Connie Francis511"Lorelei" Lonnie Donegan1018"Tell Laura I Love Her" Ricky Valance1310"Only the Lonely" Roy Orbison126"Nine Times Out of Ten" Cliff Richard & The Shadows327"How About That" Adam Faith428"Lucille"/"So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)"411"Walk, Don't Run" 812"Chain Gang" Sam Cooke912"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" Hank Locklin916"Let's Think About Living" Bob Luman6212"It's Now or Never" (#1) Elvis Presley1811"Rocking Goose" Johnny and the Hurricanes325"Dreamin'" Johnny Burnette533"My Love for You" Johnny Mathis915"My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" Connie Francis319"Man of Mystery"/"The Stranger" 5211"Save the Last Dance for Me" 248"Goodness Gracious Me" Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren416"Little Donkey" Nina & Frederik319"I Love You"Cliff Richard & The Shadows126"Strawberry Fair" Anthony Newley3210"Poetry in Motion" ♦Johnny Tillotson124"Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop)" Adam Faith42
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1960, including singles that reached their peak in 1959 or 1961. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1960 is also shown.
Entries Artist Weeks Singles 8 65"Apache", "A Voice in the Wilderness", "Fall in Love with You", "I Love You", "Man of Mystery"/"The Stranger", "Nine Times Out of Ten", "Please Don't Tease", "Travellin' Light" 6Adam Faith 35"How About That", "Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop)", "Poor Me", "Someone Else's Baby", "What Do You Want?", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"/"Made You"Cliff Richard 48"A Voice in the Wilderness", "Fall in Love with You", "I Love You", "Nine Times Out of Ten", "Please Don't Tease", "Travellin' Light" 4Anthony Newley28"Do You Mind", "If She Should Come to You", "Strawberry Fair", "Why"Johnny and the Hurricanes 11"Beatnik Fly", "Down Yonder", "Red River Rock", "Rocking Goose" 3Connie Francis16"Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "Mama"/"Robot Man", "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own"Elvis Presley27"A Mess of Blues", "It's Now or Never", "Stuck on You"26"Cathy's Clown", "Lucille"/"So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)", "When Will I Be Loved"Lonnie Donegan16"I Wanna Go Home", "Lorelei", "My Old Man's a Dustman" 2Bobby Darin6"Clementine", "Beyond the Sea"Craig Douglas8"Pretty Blue Eyes", "The Heart of a Teenage Girl"Duane Eddy19"Because They're Young", "Shazam!"Emile Ford & The Checkmates 13"On a Slow Boat to China", "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"Jimmy Jones22"Good Timin'", "Handy Man"Johnny Preston17"Cradle of Love", "Running Bear"Max Bygraves7"Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be", "Jingle Bell Rock"Neil Sedaka 8"Oh! Carol", "Stairway to Heaven"Tommy Steele 9"Little White Bull", "What a Mouth (What a North and South)"
Notes
"Poetry in Motion" reached its peak of number one on 18 January 1961 (week ending). "Red River Rock" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 14 January 1960 (week ending).