Curated category
UK singles chart number-one singles
- She Loves YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney began composing She Loves You on the 26th of June 1963 after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne.
- Roar (song)"Roar" arrived on the 10th of August 2013, two days before Katy Perry's label had planned, after a digital leak forced Capitol Records to release it early.
- Help! (song)"Help!" is a song that John Lennon would later call one of the most honest things he ever wrote. It arrived in the summer of 1965 dressed as a pop single…
- Let It Be (song)Paul McCartney dreamed of his mother Mary Patricia McCartney in 1956 after she had died of cancer. He was fourteen years old at the time.
- Ticket to Ride (song)"Ticket to Ride" arrived in April 1965 and sounded like nothing the Beatles had released before. Recorded at EMI Studios in London on the 15th of February…
- Bohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" arrived in 1975 as something British radio executives were fairly certain would never be played. Six minutes long, with no chorus, three…
- She's Leaving Home"She's Leaving Home" begins with a door closing quietly in the early morning. A teenager slips out of the house, leaving a note behind.
- All You Need Is Love"All You Need Is Love" reached over 400 million people in 25 countries on the 25th of June 1967, making it one of the most witnessed moments in television…
- Eleanor RigbyEleanor Rigby is a 1966 song by the Beatles, and it arrived on the charts with none of the guitars, drums, or amplified roar the band had built its name on.
- Paperback Writer"Paperback Writer" arrived in May 1966 as the A-side of the Beatles' eleventh single, and it came loaded with an unusual distinction: it was the first…
- The Long and Winding Road"The Long and Winding Road" arrived as the Beatles were already falling apart. Paul McCartney wrote it at High Park Farm, his property near Campbeltown…
- Get Back"Get Back" began not as a song but as an offhand riff played on a Höfner bass at Twickenham Studios on the 7th of January 1969.
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song the Beatles nearly tore themselves apart making. Paul McCartney wrote it in Rishikesh, India, in early 1968, while he and his…
- I Want to Hold Your Hand"I Want to Hold Your Hand" was recorded by the Beatles on the 17th of October 1963, and within weeks it had upended the American music industry in ways no…
- Space OddityDavid Bowie released his self-titled debut album through Deram Records in 1967. The record failed to sell and did little to gain him notice.
- Hey Jude"Hey Jude" began as a car journey and a father's absence. In June 1968, Paul McCartney drove out to Weybridge to visit a five-year-old boy named Julian…
- From Me to YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing From Me to You while on a coach heading to Shrewsbury as part of the Beatles' tour with Helen Shapiro.
- I Will Survive"I Will Survive" arrived in October 1978 as a B-side nobody expected to matter. Gloria Gaynor recorded her vocals wearing a back brace, recovering from a…
- Mull of Kintyre (song)"Mull of Kintyre" was recorded outdoors on the 9th of August 1977, with Paul McCartney's vocals and acoustic guitar captured in the open air at High Park…
- Now and Then (Beatles song)"Now and Then" arrived on the 2nd of November 2023 carrying a weight no pop single ever had before: it was billed as the last Beatles song.