# The 49 Best British Pop Songs of the 1960s

> Chart-toppers sit beside cult singles here, with Merseybeat jangle, psychedelia and big-voiced ballads all in the mix. A few were even bigger in America than at home.

*By YPB Team · Published November 3, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-49-best-british-pop-songs-of-the-1960s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **She Loves You** — score 1000/1000
   The Beatles' 1963 single, which became the best-selling UK single of the 1960s.
2. **With a Little Help from My Friends** — score 990/1000
   Joe Cocker's slowed-down 1968 cover of the Beatles song, which reached No. 1 in the UK.
3. **Tears** — score 921/1000
   Ken Dodd's 1965 ballad, a five-week UK No. 1 and the best-selling UK single of that year.
4. **Those Were the Days** — score 921/1000
   Mary Hopkin's 1968 debut on the Beatles' Apple label, produced by Paul McCartney and a UK No. 1.
5. **Pinball Wizard** — score 882/1000
   The Who's 1969 single from the rock opera Tommy, which reached No. 4 in the UK.
6. **Do Wah Diddy Diddy** — score 882/1000
   Manfred Mann's 1964 cover of an Exciters song, a No. 1 in both the UK and the US.
7. **For Your Love** — score 881/1000
   The Yardbirds' 1965 single written by Graham Gouldman, a UK No. 3 whose pop direction prompted Eric Clapton to leave the band.
8. **Paint It Black** — score 810/1000
   The Rolling Stones' 1966 single featuring Brian Jones on sitar, a No. 1 in both the UK and the US.
9. **Sunshine Superman** — score 809/1000
   Donovan's 1966 single, an early psychedelic pop record that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 2 in the UK.
10. **A Hard Day's Night** — score 809/1000
   The Beatles' 1964 title song from their first film, known for its ringing opening chord and a UK and US No. 1.
11. **Downtown** — score 809/1000
   Petula Clark's 1964 single written by Tony Hatch, which reached No. 2 in the UK and topped the US chart in 1965.
12. **I'm Into Something Good** — score 809/1000
   Herman's Hermits' 1964 debut single, a Goffin-King song that reached No. 1 in the UK.
13. **You Really Got Me** — score 809/1000
   The Kinks' 1964 breakthrough single with a distorted power-chord riff, which topped the UK chart.
14. **Something in the Air** — score 809/1000
   Thunderclap Newman's 1969 single produced by Pete Townshend, which spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
15. **Honky Tonk Women** — score 726/1000
   The Rolling Stones' 1969 single, released in the UK the day after Brian Jones' death and a UK and US No. 1.
16. **Son of a Preacher Man** — score 726/1000
   Dusty Springfield's 1968 single from the album Dusty in Memphis, a top-10 hit in both the UK and the US.
17. **The House of the Rising Sun** — score 726/1000
   The Animals' 1964 version of an American folk song, a No. 1 in both the UK and the US.
18. **Wild Thing** — score 726/1000
   The Troggs' 1966 single, which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 2 in the UK.
19. **Shout** — score 726/1000
   Lulu and the Luvvers' 1964 cover of the Isley Brothers song, a UK top-10 hit released when Lulu was 15.
20. **Hey Jude** — score 726/1000
   The Beatles' 1968 single running over seven minutes, the first release on their Apple label and a nine-week US No. 1.
21. **Strawberry Fields Forever** — score 630/1000
   John Lennon's psychedelic Beatles song, released in February 1967 as a double A-side with Penny Lane.
22. **My Generation** — score 630/1000
   The Who's 1965 single with Roger Daltrey's stuttered vocal and the line about hoping to die before getting old, a UK No. 2.
23. **Puppet on a String** — score 630/1000
   Sandie Shaw's 1967 single that won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom and topped the UK chart.
24. **Gimme Some Lovin'** — score 629/1000
   The Spencer Davis Group's 1966 single sung by 18-year-old Steve Winwood, a UK No. 2 and US top-10 hit.
25. **You'll Never Walk Alone** — score 629/1000
   Gerry and the Pacemakers' 1963 UK No. 1 version of the Carousel show tune, later adopted as Liverpool FC's anthem.
26. **You Don't Have to Say You Love Me** — score 515/1000
   Dusty Springfield's 1966 UK No. 1, an English adaptation of the Italian song Io che non vivo (senza te).
27. **I Want to Hold Your Hand** — score 515/1000
   The Beatles' 1963 single that gave them their first US No. 1 in February 1964.
28. **Itchycoo Park** — score 515/1000
   Small Faces' 1967 single known for its phasing effect, a No. 3 hit in the UK and their only US top-20 single.
29. **Needles and Pins** — score 515/1000
   The Searchers' 1964 UK No. 1, a jangling version of a song by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono.
30. **Green, Green Grass of Home** — score 515/1000
   Tom Jones' 1966 recording of a country song by Curly Putman, which spent seven weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
31. **The Young Ones** — score 515/1000
   Cliff Richard and the Shadows' title song from the 1961 film, which spent six weeks at No. 1 in the UK in 1962.
32. **Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?** — score 515/1000
   Peter Sarstedt's 1969 single, a four-week UK No. 1 that won an Ivor Novello Award.
33. **Flowers in the Rain** — score 515/1000
   The Move's 1967 single, the first record played on BBC Radio 1 and a UK No. 2.
34. **Goldfinger** — score 515/1000
   Shirley Bassey's 1964 theme song for the James Bond film, with music by John Barry, which reached the US top 10.
35. **Yesterday** — score 515/1000
   Paul McCartney's acoustic ballad with string quartet from the Beatles' 1965 album Help!, released as a US No. 1 single that year.
36. **(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction** — score 378/1000
   The Rolling Stones' 1965 single built on Keith Richards' fuzz-guitar riff, their first US No. 1.
37. **A Whiter Shade of Pale** — score 378/1000
   Procol Harum's 1967 debut single with a Bach-inspired organ line, which spent six weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
38. **Massachusetts** — score 378/1000
   The Bee Gees' 1967 single, which gave the Gibb brothers their first UK No. 1.
39. **Glad All Over** — score 378/1000
   The Dave Clark Five's 1963 single that replaced I Want to Hold Your Hand at No. 1 in the UK in January 1964.
40. **Everlasting Love** — score 378/1000
   Love Affair's 1968 cover of Robert Knight's soul song, which reached No. 1 in the UK.
41. **Waterloo Sunset** — score 378/1000
   Ray Davies' 1967 song for the Kinks about a London riverside scene, which reached No. 2 in the UK.
42. **Release Me** — score 378/1000
   Engelbert Humperdinck's 1967 UK No. 1, which kept the Beatles' Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever at No. 2.
43. **Have I the Right?** — score 378/1000
   The Honeycombs' 1964 UK No. 1, produced by Joe Meek and featuring drummer Honey Lantree.
44. **It's Not Unusual** — score 0/1000
   Tom Jones' 1965 breakthrough single, his first UK No. 1.
45. **Bus Stop** — score 0/1000
   The Hollies' 1966 single written by Graham Gouldman, a top-five hit in both the UK and the US.
46. **Space Oddity** — score 0/1000
   David Bowie's 1969 single about the fictional astronaut Major Tom, released days before the Apollo 11 launch and a UK No. 5.
47. **Nights in White Satin** — score 0/1000
   The Moody Blues' 1967 single from the album Days of Future Passed, which charted again in the early 1970s.
48. **Anyone Who Had a Heart** — score 0/1000
   Cilla Black's 1964 cover of a Bacharach-David song, which went to No. 1 in the UK.
49. **Build Me Up Buttercup** — score 0/1000
   The Foundations' 1968 single, which reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US.

Tags: pop, music, 60s, uk