1987 in British music
| 1980s in music in the UK | |
| Number-one singles | |
| Number-one albums | |
| Best-selling singles | |
| Best-selling albums | |
| Summaries and charts 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 |
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| ←1979 | 1990→ |
| Top 10 singles 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 |
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| ←1979 | 1990→ |
This is a summary of 1987 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
The start of the year saw an important milestone in electronic dance music, when Steve "Silk" Hurley's song "Jack Your Body" became the first house music track to reach number 1 in the UK charts. This was despite Hurley refusing to promote the song, and the 12-inch single technically breaking chart rules as it was longer than the allowed 25-minute play time. House music had been steadily growing in popularity since it started underground in the early 1980s, and another number 1 would follow in September, the huge selling "Pump Up The Volume" by British act M|A|R|R|S which was one of the top ten biggest selling songs of the year.
For most of the 1980s, the main musical format in the charts was the gramophone record, with songs being released on both 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl singles. However, in 1987 two new formats started to appear. The first was the digital CD single, where songs are put on a Compact Disc. These were first made eligible for the UK Singles Chart this year, and the first number 1 to be released as a CD single was Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" released in May. The second was the cassette single where the song is released on an audio tape - the BPI began recording their sales this year, but they would not become eligible until 1989. Both formats would dominate the chart throughout the 1990s.
Synthpop bands Pet Shop Boys and Erasure continued their success from their breakthrough year in 1986, with the Pet Shop Boys achieving their second number 1 single ("It's a Sin") in the summer, and two more top ten singles with "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", a collaboration with Dusty Springfield, which peaked at number 2, and "Rent", which peaked at number 8. Their album "Actually" also sold well and peaked at number 2. Erasure's album The Circus was their first charting album and peaked at number 6, and had two top 10 hits this year with the eponymous title track and "Victim of Love", as well as the number 12 charting "It Doesn't Have to Be" and their big hit from the previous year, "Sometimes". Both bands would continue to have huge success into the early 1990s.
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