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All-time countdown · John Peel (BBC Radio 1) · January 1, 1980

John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979)

The all-time countdown (January 1, 1980) from John Peel (BBC Radio 1) ranks 50 songs, with “Anarchy in the U.K.” by The Sex Pistols at number one. The list features 25 different artists; Siouxsie and the Banshees has the most entries with seven songs.

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Listener poll of all-time favourite tracks (not restricted to 1979 releases), broadcast 20 December 1979 - 1 January 1980.

# Song ListsBest
1 Anarchy in the U.K. The Sex Pistols 96 #1
2 Teenage Kicks The Undertones 18 #2
3 White Man In Hammersmith Palais The Clash 24 #3
4 Down in the Tube Station at Midnight The Jam 12 #4
5 Complete Control The Clash 9 #2
6 Alternative Ulster Stiff Little Fingers 10 #6
7 Gangsters The Specials 5 #7
8 Suspect Device Stiff Little Fingers 7 #4
9 Public Image Public Image Ltd. 18 #9
10 New Rose The Damned 24 #8
11 In A Rut The Ruts 4 #11
12 Get Over You The Undertones 4 #12
13 God Save the Queen The Sex Pistols 72 #3
14 Holidays In The Sun The Sex Pistols 9 #11
15 Johnny Was' Stiff Little Fingers 4 #15
16 Pretty Vacant The Sex Pistols 23 #6
17 Shot By Both Sides Magazine 4 #5
18 Wasted Life Stiff Little Fingers 2 #18
19 The Eaton Rifles The Jam 2 #19
20 Another Girl, Another Planet The Only Ones 13 #17
21 Love in a Void Siouxsie and the Banshees 2 #21
22 Love Song The Damned 3 #22
23 Damaged Goods Gang of Four 11 #23
24 Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin 169 #1
25 Boredom The Buzzcocks 4 #12
26 White Riot The Clash 20 #15
27 Strange Town The Jam 1 #27
28 Death Disco Public Image Ltd. 2 #28
29 You've Got My Number (Why Don The Undertones 1 #29
30 Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pink Floyd 71 #7
31 Jimmy Jimmy The Undertones 1 #31
32 My Generation The Who 85 #26
33 California Uber Alles Dead Kennedys 11 #31
34 Heroes David Bowie 125 #1
35 Icons Siouxsie and the Banshees 1 #35
36 Too Much Too Young The Specials 6 #36
37 Into The Valley Skids 1 #37
38 Switch Siouxsie and the Banshees 5 #38
39 Are Friends Electric? Tubeway Army 5 #39
40 Rowche Rumble The Fall 2 #40
41 Where were You? Mekons 1 #41
42 Jigsaw Feeling Siouxsie and the Banshees 5 #35
43 10:15 Saturday Night The Cure 12 #43
44 Playground Twist Siouxsie and the Banshees 1 #44
45 No More Heroes The Stranglers 8 #33
46 Helter Skelter Siouxsie and the Banshees 2 #34
47 Babylon's Burning The Ruts 2 #47
48 Hong Kong Garden Siouxsie and the Banshees 8 #22
49 Police and Thieves The Clash 29 #23
50 What Do I Get? The Buzzcocks 7 #8

About this countdown

John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979) was voted by John Peel (BBC Radio 1)’s listeners in January 1, 1980. Positions are shown exactly as the station ranked them; artist and song names have been standardized so that every entry links to that song’s complete chart history across all stations. It counts toward the Alternative & Modern Rock rankings.

Source: John Peel Wiki (Fandom), "1979 Festive Fifty".

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