This week in 1986, the UK charts were built on contradictions: glossy American imports crashing into grimy warehouse beats, new wave holdouts brushing shoulders with hip-hop pioneers, and heartbreak ballads nestled between synth-funk experiments. It was a chart of street-smart seduction and high-gloss rebellion, where mixtapes mattered and Top of the Pops still shaped fashion. From The Communards to Cameo, Jermaine Stewart to Run DMC, these 20 tracks weren’t just hits. They were how we lived.

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Intro music by Roman Orekhov from Pixabay