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Cover of Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves — Cover: Walking on Sunshine

Song · Katrina and the Waves

“Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves

From the album Walking on Sunshine (1983)

“Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves appears on 20 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1985 and 2026. It was first released in 1983 on the album Walking on Sunshine. Its best result is #1 on The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #150 alternative song of 1985 and #1,935 alternative song of all time.

20countdowns

10stations

#1best position

1#1 finishes

1top 10 finishes

1985–2026years charted

Watch

Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (KatrinaTheWavesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Guitarist Kimberley Rew wrote "Walking on Sunshine" for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 album of the same name, where Pat Collier produced, engineered and mixed it. Rew has said there was no grand inspiration behind it: it was simple fun, an optimistic song from a band that wasn't especially cheery, just an insecure young group that looked nothing like a Motown-style act. You'd never guess it from the record, a blast of sheer, bouncing joy that barrels along at full tilt.

The band recut it in 1985 for their self-titled album, and that remake became their first American top-40 hit, reaching nine in the US, eight in the UK and four in Australia, and stayed their biggest British success until "Love Shine a Light" won Eurovision in 1997.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1985	89	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985	107
1985	80	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 1985	91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1994	330	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)	500
1996	318	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)	498
1999	328	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)	500
1999	1306	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	1306	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1311	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1310	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	729	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	1295	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	918	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	1295	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	1295	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2010	810	WXPN	WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010)	885
2021	34	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s	909
2023	301	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850
2023	699	WYEP	WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023	1229
2025	1	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs	800
2026	25	WFPK	WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s	498

Also listed as: Walking on Sunshine.

Charting alongside it in 1985

Best songs of 1985 →

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