UK No 1s of 1986 - the grass was greener?

Great:

West End Girls' - Pet Shop Boys
'The Sun Always Shines On TV' - a-ha
A Different Corner' - George Michael

Good:

'When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going' - Billy Ocean
Papa Don't Preach' - Madonna
'Don't Leave Me This Way' - The Communards
'True Blue' - Madonna

you missed "Edge of Heaven" off the Great list

"Reet Petite" is an all-time classic. Don't know what it was doing hitting the charts in 1986 though. Maybe it was in some movie like "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Um, this list crushes the 2016 one like a grape.

1. West End Girls
2. Papa Don't Preach
3. True Blue

Chain Reaction is ludicrous and perfect, big fan of Rock Me Amadeus as well

West End Girls, no question. A Different Corner close second though.
Without trying to open up a can of worms and then leave (New Years party organising), pop used to be a hell of a lot gayer didn't it? I mean that in the best way possible: I can't imagine anything as unabashedly queer as West End Girls (even if Neil wasn't out yet) or The Communards track charting and striking a chord with so many people now. Look how hetero the charts are now in comparison even if these are more "enlightened times".
Just the right wing medias homophobic treatment of George's death got me thinking.

Pretty sure pop's always been gayer in the UK than the US.

it's those accents you guys have

Not having radio stations dedicated to playing hairy-arsed rock music helped too.

1986 was an amazing year.
I turned 10.

lol I turned 8.
I cannot even do basic arithmetic in 2016. Everything is dead.

I turned 8 also. 1986 is still my very favourite year for music ever.

"Reet Petite" is an all-time classic. Don't know what it was doing hitting the charts in 1986 though. Maybe it was in some movie like "Bohemian Rhapsody."

The song was reissued in 1986 following the showing of a clay animation video on the BBC Two documentary series Arena.[3]

'West End Girls', easily, but there's plenty good stuff here.

Papa Don't Preach, thrilling song

Turned eight too. You guys saw Take My Breath Away is on this list tho right

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

west end girls

These were the US #1s the same year. Lots of great songs on that one too.

Would have sworn Sledgehammer was a UK#1 too (peaked at #4 apparently)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_number-one_singles_of_1986

in respect of Reet Petite, Video Jukebox was the name of the aforementioned 1986 'Arena' doc and it's no exaggeration to say it was life changing. anyone else here see it? first place i (at the age of 10) ever saw videos from The Cure, clips from Stop Making Sense, and footage of everyone from Donald Fagen to Bowie. i wish they'd stick it all online, it was 8 hours long and hosted by John Peel.

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150238263

West End Girls is good but I've never been particularly fond of it. The rest are mostly records I detested at the time (and probably still do), plus a few I don't quite remember (Wham, George Michael, A-Ha). Overall, I hate this period of chart music. The early 80s seemed fresh and energetic. To me this period is dull by comparison, and also with a trend towards the overblown and grandiose. But obviously it's all completely subjective. For others it will have been their formative time and they may look back on the era fondly.

like a lot of these songs
went for falco

The proper answer is West End Girls. But 'Take My Breath Away' is so iconic, it's like an integral part of my life growing up and not really being old enough to be conscious of music.

I turned 11, Man, what a list; like a doorway into the clatter and thwap of my unconscious.

Probably Papa Don't Preach. Or West End Girls. Or Don't Leave Me This Way.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ha, only fair.