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“The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)” by The Jam

Released 1982

“The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)” by The Jam appears on 18 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1982 and 2023. It was first released in 1982. Its best result is #39 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1982. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #117 alternative song of 1982 and #2,586 alternative song of all time.

18countdowns

4stations

#39best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1982–2023years charted

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The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)

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The Jam put out "The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)" in September 1982, and it finds Paul Weller, who wrote it alone, making a full turn toward blue-eyed soul, with Peter Wilson producing. Jennie Matthias, lead singer of the Belle Stars, comes in on backing vocals, and the sleeve put Vaughn Toulouse, the singer of Department S, on the cover.

Arriving between "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" and "Beat Surrender", it ran into cruel timing: two weeks stuck at number two in the UK, unable to shift Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" or Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie" from the top. It still had enough life in it to return to the UK chart in 1997, peaking at 30.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

#1,239 of the '80s

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1982	39	John Peel (BBC Radio 1)	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1982	50

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	1782	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	1783	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1784	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1773	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	542	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	1755	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2003	747	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2004	1755	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	1756	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	1748	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	1718	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1734	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	1687	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	1755	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	1813	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	1880	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2023	723	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850

Also listed as: The Bitterest Pill (i Ever Had To Swallow); The Bitterest Pill.

Charting alongside it in 1982

Best songs of 1982 →

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