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 1966, as well as singles which peaked in 1965 but were in the top 10 in 1966. 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).
One-hundred and seventeen singles were in the top ten in 1966. Seven singles from 1965 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year. "Let's Hang On!" by The Four Seasons and "My Ship Is Comin' In" by The Walker Brothers were the singles from 1965 to reach their peak in 1966. Twenty-eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1966. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, Four Tops, Ike & Tina Turner, Nancy Sinatra, Small Faces and The Troggs were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1966.
The 1965 Christmas number-one, "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles, remained at number one for the first two weeks of 1966. The first new number-one single of the year was "Keep On Running" by The Spencer Davis Group. Overall, twenty different singles peaked at number-one in 1966, with The Spencer Davis Group and The Beatles (2) having the joint most singles hit that position.
Background Multiple entries One-hundred and seventeen singles charted in the top 10 in 1966, with one-hundred and twelve singles reaching their peak this year. "Elusive Butterfly" was recorded by Bob Lind and Val Doonican and both versions reached the top 10.
Twenty-eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1966. The Beach Boys, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Kinks and Small Faces shared the record for most top 10 hits in 1966 with four hit singles each.
The Walker Brothers were one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore". Crispian St. Peters, Herman's Hermits, Petula Clark, The Supremes and Val Doonican were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1966.
Chart debuts Thirty artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1966, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, three went on to record another hit single that year: Crispian St. Peters, Lee Dorsey and The Lovin' Spoonful. The Spencer Davis Group and The Troggs both had two more top 10 singles in 1966. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and Small Faces each had three other entries 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 entries3"Keep on Running"1"Somebody Help Me" (1), "Gimme Some Lovin'" (2) Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass1"Spanish Flea"3—1"Michelle"1—Crispian St. Peters2"You Were on My Mind"2"The Pied Piper" (5)Nancy Sinatra1"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"1—Pinkerton's Assorted Colours1"Mirror, Mirror"9—Small Faces4"Sha-La-La-La-Lee"3"Hey Girl" (10), "All or Nothing" (1), "My Mind's Eye" (4)Eddy Arnold1"Make the World Go Away"8—Bob Lind1"Elusive Butterfly"5—Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich4"Hold Tight!"4"Hideaway" (10), "Bend It!" (2), "Save Me" (3) The Alan Price Set1"I Put a Spell on You"9—2"Daydream"2"Summer in the City" (8)Simon & Garfunkel1"Homeward Bound"9—Roy C1"Shotgun Wedding"6—3"Wild Thing"2"With a Girl Like You" (1), "I Can't Control Myself" (2)1"Sorrow"4—The Mamas & the Papas1"Monday, Monday"3—Percy Sledge1"When a Man Loves a Woman"4"—Ike & Tina Turner1"River Deep – Mountain High"3—Chris Farlowe1"Out of Time"1—Los Bravos1"Black Is Black"2—Napoleon XIV1"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"4—David and Jonathan1"Lovers of the World Unite"7—Lee Dorsey2"Working in the Coal Mine"8"Holy Cow" (6)1"Winchester Cathedral"4—1"Guantanamera"7—Four Tops1"Reach Out I'll Be There"1—Paul Jones1"High Times" 4—1"Friday on My Mind"6—Jimmy Ruffin1"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" 8—
Notes Alan Price was the original keyboardist for The Animals, leaving in 1965 after the group had broken through with two top 10 hits, including number-one single "House of the Rising Sun". He went on to have a solo career and charted with his own band The Alan Price Set in 1966.
The Merseys were an offshoot of the group The Merseybeats, created by former members Tony Crane and Billy Kinsley. "Sorrow" was their only hit single as a duo before they folded in 1968.
Songs from films Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Alfie" (from Alfie), "Strangers in the Night" (A Man Could Get Killed) and "Yellow Submarine" (Yellow Submarine in 1968).
Additionally, the original version of "Love Letters" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song after being used in the film of the same name (losing out to "It Might As Well Be Spring" from State Fair). "The More I See You" was first sung by Dick Haymes in the 1945 film Diamond Horseshoe.
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 single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "Green, Green Grass of Home" by Tom Jones is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1966. "Green, Green Grass of Home" (10) ranked in the top 10 best-selling singles of the decade.
Top-ten singles Key SymbolMeaning‡Single peaked in 1965 but still in chart in 1966.(#)Year-end best-selling singles.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 1965 17"Tears" ‡Ken Dodd 1 5 11"The Carnival Is Over" ‡ 1 3 9"Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)" ‡Cliff Richard 2 3 9"Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" ‡ 1 5 8"The River" ‡Ken Dodd 3 2 8"My Ship Is Comin' In" 3 1 7"Let's Hang On!" 4 1Singles in 1966 7"Keep On Running" 1 1 2"Merry Gentle Pops"The Barron Knights 9 1 5"Till the End of the Day" 8 2 5"A Must to Avoid"Herman's Hermits 6 2 8"Spanish Flea"Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass 3 3 4"Michelle" 1 3 6"You Were on My Mind"Crispian St. Peters 2 1 4"Love's Just a Broken Heart"Cilla Black 5 2 6"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"Nancy Sinatra 1 4 7"A Groovy Kind of Love" 2 1 2"Mirror, Mirror"Pinkerton's Assorted Colours 9 1 1"Like a Baby"Len Barry 10 1 4"19th Nervous Breakdown" 2 3 2"Tomorrow"Sandie Shaw 9 2 3"My Love"Petula Clark 4 1 6"Sha-La-La-La-Lee"Small Faces 3 1 6"Barbara Ann" 3 1 4"Backstage"Gene Pitney 4 1 6"Make the World Go Away" Eddy Arnold 8 2 5"I Can't Let Go" 2 3 7"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" 1 4 4"Shapes of Things" 3 2 5"Dedicated Follower of Fashion" 4 2 4"Elusive Butterfly"Bob Lind 5 2 4"Elusive Butterfly"Val Doonican 5 1 5"Somebody Help Me" 1 2 6"Hold Tight!"Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich 4 2 6"The Sound of Silence" 3 2 2"Substitute" 5 1 6"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"Dusty Springfield 1 1 4"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"Cher 3 1 2"I Put a Spell on You"The Alan Price Set 9 2 5"The Pied Piper"Crispian St. Peters 5 1 5"Pretty Flamingo"Manfred Mann 1 3 4"Daydream" 2 2 2"Alfie"Cilla Black 9 1 6"Sloop John B" 2 1 2"Homeward Bound"Simon & Garfunkel 9 1 3"Shotgun Wedding"Roy C 6 1 5"Wild Thing" 2 1 5"Paint It Black" 1 1 6"Sorrow"The Merseys 4 3 4"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"Bob Dylan 7 1 8"Strangers in the Night"Frank Sinatra 1 3 6"Monday, Monday"The Mamas & the Papas 3 2 2"Hey Girl"Small Faces 10 2 3"Promises"Ken Dodd 6 1 6"When a Man Loves a Woman"Percy Sledge 4 1 3"Don't Bring Me Down" 6 1 5"Paperback Writer" 1 2 2"Over Under Sideways Down" 10 2 7"Sunny Afternoon" 1 2 3"Don't Answer Me"Cilla Black 6 1 6"River Deep – Mountain High"Ike & Tina Turner 3 2 4"Nobody Needs Your Love"Gene Pitney 2 1 4"Bus Stop" 5 1 3"Hideaway"Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich 10 3 5"Get Away"Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames 1 1 5"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love"Petula Clark 6 1 6"Out of Time"Chris Farlowe 1 1 6"Black Is Black"Los Bravos 2 1 4"Love Letters"Elvis Presley 6 1 8"With a Girl Like You" 1 2 5"The More I See You"Chris Montez 3 1 2"Goin' Back"Dusty Springfield 10 2 6"Mama"Dave Berry 5 2 7"God Only Knows" 2 2 8"Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" 1 4 3"Summer in the City" 8 1 3"Visions"Cliff Richard 7 3 5"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"Napoleon XIV 4 3 6"All or Nothing"Small Faces 1 1 4"Lovers of the World Unite"David and Jonathan 7 1 6"Too Soon to Know"Roy Orbison 3 1 10"Distant Drums"Jim Reeves 1 5 3"Working in the Coal Mine"Lee Dorsey 8 1 2"Got to Get You into My Life"Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers 6 1 1"Just Like a Woman"Manfred Mann 10 1 6"I'm a Boy" 2 1 4"Little Man"Sonny & Cher 4 1 5"You Can't Hurry Love" 3 1 6"Bend It!"Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich 2 2 7"Winchester Cathedral" 4 1 1"Walk with Me" 10 1 4"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" 5 1 2"All I See Is You"Dusty Springfield 9 1 5"Guantanamera" 7 3 6"I Can't Control Myself" 2 1 7"Reach Out I'll Be There"Four Tops 1 3 6"Stop Stop Stop" 2 2 3"No Milk Today"Herman's Hermits 7 1 5"High Time"Paul Jones 4 1 1"Time Drags By"Cliff Richard & The Shadows 10 1 5"Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James"Manfred Mann 2 1 7"Good Vibrations" 1 2 6"Gimme Some Lovin'" 2 1 4"Holy Cow"Lee Dorsey 6 2 2"If I Were a Carpenter"Bobby Darin 9 1 13"Green, Green Grass of Home" (#1)Tom Jones 1 7 8"What Would I Be"Val Doonican 2 1 5"My Mind's Eye" Small Faces 4 2 2"Just One Smile"Gene Pitney 8 1 9"Morningtown Ride" 2 3 4"Friday on My Mind" 6 1 5"Dead End Street" 5 2 4"You Keep Me Hangin' On" 8 2 2"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" Jimmy Ruffin 8 1 5"Sunshine Superman"Donovan 2 1 5"Save Me"Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich 3 1 1"If Every Day Was Like Christmas"Elvis Presley 9 1
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1966, including singles that reached their peak in 1965 or 1967. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1966 is also shown.