“Vienna” voted favourite no.2 single
Ultravox’s 1981 hit Vienna has been voted the nation’s favourite number two single.
The song topped the poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company to find the greatest track to miss out on the number one spot.
Vienna was held off by novelty track Shaddup You Face by Joe Dolce.
Ultravox frontman Midge Ure said winning the poll had “restored our faith in the idea that the public will always recognise the good in music”.
“We are extremely pleased and very humbled to have been given this honorary number one, especially knowing the outstanding records which were also in the running,” he added.
Christmas favourite Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl was voted into second place.
TOP 10 NUMBER TWOS
1. Ultravox – Vienna, 1981 (beaten by Shaddup You Face – Joe Dolce)
2. The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York, 1987 (Always On My Mind – Pet Shop Boys)
3. Don McLean – American Pie, 1972 (Son Of My Father – Chicory Tip, Without You – Nilsson)
4. James – Sit Down, 1991 (The One And Only – Chesney Hawkes)
5. The Stranglers – Golden Brown, 1982 (Town Called Malice – The Jam)
6. The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset, 1967 (Silence Is Golden, The Tremeloes)
7. The Beatles – Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, 1967 (Release Me, Engelbert Humperdinck)
8. Queen – We Are The Champions, 1977 (The Name Of The Game – Abba, Mull Of Kintyre/Girls’ School – Wings)
9. The Beach Boys – God Only Knows, 1966 (Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles)
10. A-ha – Take On Me, 1985 (The Power Of Love, Jennifer Rush)
The 1987 hit was originally beaten to the top by the Pet Shop Boys’ cover of Elvis Presley hit Always On My Mind.
Other songs to feature in the top 10 include The Beatles’ Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, which was held off by Engelbert Humperdinck’s Release Me in 1967 and A-ha’s 1985 hit Take On Me, which was pipped to the top by The Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush.
The Who’s My Generation was 12th in the list, Wonderwall by Oasis finished at 13, Adele’s Rolling In The Deep was at 34 and Rocket Man by Sir Elton John was at 37.
The poll was launched to celebrate 60 years of the singles chart.
A panel of experts – including Radio 2’s Ken Bruce and Janice Long, Radio 1’s Annie Nightingale, Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot and 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq – compiled a shortlist from 941 singles which have made it to number two. Radio 2 listeners then voted.
“Ultravox’s Vienna has beaten off some truly great, classic tracks to claim the title of the UK public’s favourite number two single,” said Mr Talbot.
“It is also probably the most apt winner, given the fact that it was kept from the chart summit by Joe Dolce’s Shaddup You Face, which has long been considered one of the biggest chart injustices of all time.”