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 1959, as well as singles which peaked in 1958 and 1960 but were in the top 10 in 1959. 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).
Eighty singles were in the top ten in 1959. Eight singles from 1958 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "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 all released in 1959 but did not reach their peak until 1960. "Love Makes the World Go 'Round" by Perry Como, "Tea for Two Cha Cha" by The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra starring Warren Covington, "The Day the Rains Came" by Jane Morgan and "Tom Dooley" by The Kingston Trio were the singles from 1958 to reach their peak in 1959. Nineteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1959. Adam Faith, Anthony Newley, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Neil Sedaka and Russ Conway were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1959.
The 1958 Christmas number-one, "It's Only Make Believe" by Conway Twitty, remained at number-one for the first three weeks of 1959. The first new number-one single of the year was "The Day the Rains Came" by Jane Morgan. Overall, sixteen different singles peaked at number-one in 1959, with Elvis Presley, Russ Conway, Bobby Darin and Cliff Richard (2) having the joint most singles hit that position.
Background Multiple entries Eighty singles charted in the top 10 in 1959, with seventy singles reaching their peak this year. Three songs were recorded by several artists with each version reaching the top 10:
"Come Softly to Me" – Frankie Vaughan & The Kaye Sisters, The Fleetwoods "Personality" – Anthony Newley, Lloyd Price "Tom Dooley" – The Kingston Trio (charted 1958, peaked this year), Lonnie Donegan (peaked 1958)
Nineteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1959. Russ Conway secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1959 with six hit singles.
Shirley Bassey was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "As I Love You". Anthony Newley, Frankie Vaughan, Neil Sedaka and Shirley Bassey were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1959.
Chart debuts Twenty-five artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1959, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, four went on to record another hit single that year: Anthony Newley, Bobby Darin, Lloyd Price and Neil Sedaka. Russ Conway had five other entries in his 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 entriesRuss Conway6"More Party Pops"10"Side Saddle" (1), "Roulette" (1), "China Tea" (5), "Snow Coach" (7), "More and More Party Pops" (5)1"To Know Him is to Love Him"2—Slim Dusty1"A Pub with No Beer"3—Chris Barber's Jazz Band1"Petite Fleur"3—Lloyd Price2"Stagger Lee" 7"Personality" (9)Eddie Cochran1"C'mon Everybody"6—1"Charlie Brown"6—1"Come Softly to Me"6—Anthony Newley2"I've Waited So Long"3"Personality" (6)Neil Sedaka2"I Go Ape" 9"Oh! Carol" (3)Bert Weedon1"Guitar Boogie Shuffle"10 —Bobby Darin2"Dream Lover"1"Mack the Knife" (1)Duane Eddy1"Peter Gunn"6—Craig Douglas1"Only Sixteen"1—Jerry Keller1"Here Comes Summer"1—1"The Three Bells (Les trois cloches)"6—Sarah Vaughan1"Broken Hearted Melody"7—Johnny and the Hurricanes1"Red River Rock"3—Emile Ford & The Checkmates1"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"1—Floyd Robinson1"Makin' Love"9—Adam Faith1"What Do You Want?"1—1"Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" 3—Sandy Nelson1"Teen Beat"9—Elmer Bernstein1"Staccato's Theme" 4—
Notes
Cliff Richard's backing group previously charted under the name The Drifters, including three entries in 1959, but they changed their name to The Shadows towards the end of this year. "Travellin' Light" was the first song to reach the top 10 under their new identity, topping the chart for five weeks from 30 October.
Songs from films Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Living Doll" (from Serious Charge), "Lonely Boy" (Girls Town), "The Heart of a Man" (The Heart of a Man) and "High Hopes" (A Hole in the Head).
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, "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard and The Drifters is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1959. "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" (4), "What Do You Want?" (6), "Living Doll" (7) and "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (10) all ranked in the top 10 best-selling singles of the decade.
Top-ten singles Key SymbolMeaning‡Single peaked in 1958 but still in chart in 1959.♦Single released in 1959 but peaked in 1960.(#)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 195811"It's All in the Game" ‡Tommy Edwards1313"Hoots Mon" ‡Lord Rockingham's XI1312"It's Only Make Believe" ‡Conway Twitty159"Tea for Two Cha Cha" starring Warren Covington319"Tom Dooley" ‡ Lonnie Donegan358"Love Makes the World Go 'Round" Perry Como617"Tom Dooley" 517"High Class Baby" ‡Cliff Richard & The Drifters 719"The Day the Rains Came" Jane Morgan112"Come On, Let's Go" ‡ Tommy Steele102Singles in 19591"More Party Pops" Russ Conway1017"Baby Face" Little Richard218"To Know Him Is to Love Him" 229"Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" Shirley Bassey327"One Night"/"I Got Stung"Elvis Presley1312"As I Love You" Shirley Bassey145"Problems" 6114"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" 116"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)" Lonnie Donegan312"(All Of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" Paul Anka1028"A Pub with No Beer" Slim Dusty3215"Petite Fleur" Chris Barber's Jazz Band335"The Little Drummer Boy" 6118"Side Saddle" Russ Conway148"My Happiness" Connie Francis426"Stagger Lee" Lloyd Price755"Gigi" Billy Eckstine8315"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" Buddy Holly131"Tomboy" Perry Como1019"Donna" Marty Wilde313"C'mon Everybody" Eddie Cochran615"Charlie Brown" 6213"A Fool Such as I"/"I Need Your Love Tonight" Elvis Presley1511"It's Late" Ricky Nelson326"Come Softly to Me" 6111"I've Waited So Long"Anthony Newley315"Come Softly to Me"Frankie Vaughan & The Kaye Sisters921"Mean Streak"Cliff Richard & The Drifters 10114"Roulette"Russ Conway122"I Go Ape" Neil Sedaka912"Guitar Boogie Shuffle" Bert Weedon10213"Dream Lover" Bobby Darin1411"A Teenager in Love"Marty Wilde221"May You Always"Joan Regan9113"The Battle of New Orleans" Lonnie Donegan226"Peter Gunn"Duane Eddy627"Personality"Anthony Newley613"Personality" Lloyd Price911"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye"Ruby Murray10115"Living Doll" (#1)Cliff Richard & The Drifters 1611"Lipstick on Your Collar"Connie Francis316"A Big Hunk o' Love"Elvis Presley4110"Lonely Boy"Paul Anka337"The Heart of a Man"Frankie Vaughan5111"Only Sixteen"Craig Douglas147"China Tea"Russ Conway527"Someone"Johnny Mathis639"Here Comes Summer"Jerry Keller115"Mona Lisa" Conway Twitty5111"(Till) I Kissed You"2111"Mack the Knife"Bobby Darin127"The Three Bells" 627"High Hopes"Frank Sinatra617"Sea of Love"Marty Wilde3213"Travellin' Light" Cliff Richard & The Shadows 156"Broken Hearted Melody" Sarah Vaughan7210"Red River Rock"Johnny and the Hurricanes3115"What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" Emile Ford & The Checkmates167"Put Your Head on My Shoulder"Paul Anka751"Makin' Love"Floyd Robinson9112"Oh! Carol"Neil Sedaka3411"What Do You Want?" Adam Faith138"Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" ♦312"Teen Beat"Sandy Nelson914"Snow Coach"Russ Conway714"Rawhide" ♦ Frankie Laine612"More and More Party Pops"Russ Conway511"Piano Party"Winifred Atwell1017"Staccato's Theme" ♦Elmer Bernstein416"Little White Bull" ♦ Tommy Steele61
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1959, including singles that reached their peak in 1958 or 1960. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1959 is also shown.
Entries Artist Weeks Singles6Russ Conway44"China Tea", "More and More Party Pops", "More Party Pops", "Roulette", "Side Saddle", "Snow Coach" 4Cliff Richard 29"High Class Baby", "Living Doll", "Mean Streak", "Travellin' Light"The Shadows/The Drifters 29"High Class Baby", "Living Doll", "Mean Streak", "Travellin' Light"3Elvis Presley26"A Big Hunk o' Love", "A Fool Such as I"/"I Need Your Love Tonight", "One Night"/"I Got Stung"Lonnie Donegan 24"The Battle of New Orleans", "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)", "Tom Dooley"Marty Wilde27"A Teenager in Love", "Donna", "Sea of Love"Paul Anka19"(All Of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", "Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"2Anthony Newley18"I've Waited So Long", "Personality"Bobby Darin24"Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife"Connie Francis19"Lipstick on Your Collar", "My Happiness"Conway Twitty 10"It's Only Make Believe", "Mona Lisa"16"Problems", "(Till) I Kissed You"Frankie Vaughan12"Come Softly to Me", "The Heart of a Man"Lloyd Price9"Personality", "Stagger Lee"Neil Sedaka6"I Go Ape", "Oh! Carol"Perry Como 5"Love Makes the World Go Round", "Tomboy"Shirley Bassey21"As I Love You", "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me"Tommy Steele 3"Come On, Let's Go", "Little White Bull"
Notes
"Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" reached its peak of number three on 7 January 1960 (week ending). "Staccato's Theme" reached its peak of number four on 21 January 1960 (week ending). "Tom Dooley" (Lonnie Donegan version) re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 5 February 1959 (week ending). "Tom Dooley" (The Kingston Trio version) re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 29 February 1959 (week ending). The Drifters changed their name to The Shadows in 1959, to avoid confusion with the American group of the same name, who also threatened legal action over the band's name after "Feelin' Fine" was released in the United States. "Travellin' Light" was the group's first top 10 entry under their new name. "Come On, Let's Go" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 22 January 1959 (week ending). "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 19 March 1959 (week ending). "It's Late" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 6 August 1959 (week ending) for 2 weeks. "Come Softly to Me" (Frankie Vaughan & The Kaye Sisters version) re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 18 June 1959 (week ending). "I Go Ape" re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 18 June 1959 (week ending). "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 25 June 1959 (week ending). "Personality" (Lloyd Price version) re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 30 July 1959 (week ending). "Mona Lisa" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 29 October 1959 (week ending). "The Three Bells" re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 26 November 1959 (week ending). "Broken Hearted Melody" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 3 December 1959 (week ending). "Rawhide" re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 7 January 1960 (week ending) for 3 weeks.