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Placebo
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Artist · chart history

Placebo

Band London Formed 1994 UK alternative rock band

Placebo formed in 1994 in London. Placebo has 106 chart appearances on 81 radio countdowns from 28 stations on RockLists, spanning 1996–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Pure Morning”, which appears on 38 lists with a best position of #21. The station that charted Placebo most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 26 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2006.

106appearances
81countdowns
27songs charted
28stations
0#1 finishes
1996–2026years

Placebo came out of London in 1994 built around Brian Molko, singing and playing guitar, and Stefan Olsdal on bass and guitar, the 2 constants through every lineup change. Robert Schultzberg drummed on the 1996 debut before Steve Hewitt took over, and in the middle of Britpop they stood out a mile: androgynous, glam-damaged and unapologetic, with Molko's nasal, needling voice singing openly about sex, mental health and drugs. The gender-bending "Nancy Boy" broke them in the UK in 1997.

Without You I'm Nothing, in 1998, is where they went global. "Pure Morning" rides a woozy, hypnotic guitar loop, "Every You Every Me" snaps along with nervy, clipped guitars, and "You Don't Care About Us" gave them another big single. The album went platinum in the UK, and over the years their collaborators would include David Bowie and Michael Stipe.

The records kept coming: Black Market Music in 2000 with "Special K" and "Taste In Men", Sleeping With Ghosts in 2003, and Meds in 2006 with "Infra-Red" and "Song To Say Goodbye". Hewitt left in 2007, Steve Forrest drummed on the next 2 albums, Battle for the Sun and Loud Like Love, and since his exit in 2015 Placebo has been Molko and Olsdal as a duo, returning with Never Let Me Go in 2022.

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

Songs by Placebo on radio countdowns

#SongStrengthListsBest#1sPeak year
1 Pure Morning
1,327		 38 #21 – 1998
2 Infra-Red
827		 15 #8 – 2006
3 Running Up That Hill
335		 5 #13 – 2007
4 For What It's Worth
266		 6 #11 – 2009
5 Meds
242		 6 #25 – 2006
6 Every You Every Me
190		 4 #5 – 1999
7 Special K
155		 2 #28 – 2001
8 The Bitter End
149		 2 #30 – 2003
9 English Summer Rain
127		 2 #48 – 2004
10 Slave To The Wage
127		 2 #47 – 2002
11 Song To Say Goodbye
122		 2 #7 – 2006
12 Beautiful James
102		 2 #2 – 2022
13 Try Better Next Time
95		 1 #6 – 2022
14 Exit Wounds
94		 1 #9 – 2014
15 Nancy Boy
87		 2 #50 – 1997
16 Too Many Friends
85		 1 #7 – 2013
17 You Don't Care About Us
82		 2 #87 – 1999
18 Surrounded By Spies
81		 1 #18 – 2023
19 20Th Century Boy
68		 4 #300 – –
20 Taste In Men
62		 1 #39 – 2000
21 Battle for the Sun
53		 1 #51 – 2009
22 Bright Lights
39		 1 #59 – 2010
23 Hugz
38		 1 #57 – 2023
24 Broken Promise
24		 1 #82 – 2007
25 Teenage Angst
24		 1 #39 – 1996
26 Special Needs
6		 1 #95 – 2003
27 Twenty Years
6		 1 #95 – 2004

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 06 07 08 09 10 13 14 22 23

Every countdown appearance

Year#SongCountdown
2026 753 Pure Morning KXT 917 Song Countdown
2025 374 Pure Morning WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s
2025 65 Nancy Boy Absolute Radio 100 Ultimate Britpop Anthems
2025 76 Pure Morning Absolute Radio 100 Ultimate Britpop Anthems
2024 767 Infra-Red The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century
2024 58 Running Up That Hill The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs
2024 300 20Th Century Boy The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs
2023 18 Surrounded By Spies WBER Listener Countdown 2023
2023 57 Hugz WBER Listener Countdown 2023
2023 262 Pure Morning The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2022 2 Beautiful James WBER Listener Countdown 2022
2022 6 Try Better Next Time WBER Listener Countdown 2022
2022 107 Beautiful James Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2022
2022 493 Pure Morning X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time
2022 289 You Don't Care About Us The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s
2021 458 Pure Morning 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2014 9 Exit Wounds WBER Listener Countdown 2014
2014 332 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014 1100 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2013 7 Too Many Friends Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2013
2013 336 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013 1045 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013 53 Every You Every Me Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013)
2011 335 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011 992 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2010 59 Bright Lights WBER Listener Countdown 2010
2010 339 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010 961 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2009 42 For What It's Worth 91X Top 91 Songs of 2009
2009 11 For What It's Worth Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2009
2009 29 For What It's Worth WVBR Top 93 of 2009
2009 51 (tie) Battle for the Sun WBER Listener Countdown 2009
2009 63 For What It's Worth KSLG Top 94 of 2009
2009 63 For What It's Worth WEQX Top 102.7 of 2009
2009 96 For What It's Worth WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2009
2009 341 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 931 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 2005 20Th Century Boy CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 83 Every You Every Me Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009)
2008 19 Running Up That Hill WBER Listener Countdown 2008
2008 338 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 901 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 1976 20Th Century Boy CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2007 66 Running Up That Hill WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2007
2007 82 Broken Promise The End Top 107 Songs of 2007
2007 13 (tie) Running Up That Hill WBER Listener Countdown 2007
2007 35 Meds Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2007
2007 345 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 699 Infra-Red CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1846 Meds CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1990 20Th Century Boy CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2006 83 Meds 91X Top 91 Songs of 2006
2006 46 Meds The End Top 107 Songs of 2006
2006 59 Infra-Red The End Top 107 Songs of 2006
2006 9 Infra-Red CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006
2006 40 Infra-Red Y100 Top 88.5 Songs of 2006
2006 7 Song To Say Goodbye Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2006
2006 8 Infra-Red WBER Listener Countdown 2006
2006 8 Infra-Red Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2006
2006 56 Meds WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006
2006 63 Infra-Red WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006
2006 25 Meds Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006
2006 59 Song To Say Goodbye Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006
2006 78 Infra-Red Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006
2006 497 Pure Morning WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2005 487 Pure Morning WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005 1678 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2004 48 (tie) English Summer Rain WBER Listener Countdown 2004
2004 53 English Summer Rain Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004
2004 95 Twenty Years Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004
2004 485 Pure Morning The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)
2004 1680 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003 45 (tie) The Bitter End WBER Listener Countdown 2003
2003 30 The Bitter End Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003
2003 72 Running Up That Hill Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003
2003 95 Special Needs Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003
2003 499 Pure Morning WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003 1680 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2002 61 (tie) Slave To The Wage WBER Listener Countdown 2002
2002 1914 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2001 28 Special K WBER Listener Countdown 2001
2001 32 Special K Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001
2001 1929 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2000 39 Taste In Men Triple J Hottest 100 of 2000
2000 47 Slave To The Wage Triple J Hottest 100 of 2000
2000 1931 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
1999 70 Pure Morning K-Rock Top 92 Songs of 1999
1999 47 Pure Morning WFNX Top 99 Songs of 1999
1999 74 Every You Every Me WBER Listener Countdown 1999
1999 5 Every You Every Me Triple J Hottest 100 of 1999
1999 87 You Don't Care About Us Triple J Hottest 100 of 1999
1999 89 Pure Morning Radio & Records Top 104 Songs of 1999
1999 832 Pure Morning Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1020 Pure Morning The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1944 Pure Morning CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 881 Pure Morning CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1998 75 Pure Morning Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998
1998 65 Pure Morning Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998
1998 86 Pure Morning WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998
1998 72 Pure Morning The End Top 107 Songs of 1998
1998 30 Pure Morning The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998
1998 21 Pure Morning WBER Listener Countdown 1998
1998 76 Pure Morning WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998
1998 41 Pure Morning Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998
1997 50 Nancy Boy WBER Listener Countdown 1997
1996 39 Teenage Angst John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1996

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