"Outdoor Miner" is a song written by Colin Newman and Graham Lewis, and performed by the English post-punk band Wire. It was released in January 1979 as the band's fourth single (reaching number 51 in the UK singles chart) and appeared on their second album, Chairs Missing.

The song originally appeared on their 1978 album Chairs Missing. The song is based on Graham Lewis's fascination with the Serpentine leaf miner insect and details the life cycle of the insect. EMI recognised that the song could potentially be a hit single, but were concerned that it was too short, measuring only 1 minute 45 seconds. Unusually the label asked the band to make a longer version for the single. The band added an additional verse and chorus, and a piano solo played by producer Mike Thorne, pushing the length to 2 minutes 51 seconds. EMI were confident that the song could become a hit and commercial breakthrough for the band. The single soon entered the charts reaching number 51 and the BBC approached EMI and asked them to appear on the long running music show Top of the Pops if the single continued to rise. At the time Top of the Pops was one of the few opportunities for acts to promote their work on national television, with over 15 million viewers. However the British Market Research Bureau who compiled the UK Singles Chart claimed that there was an attempt to rig the chart by EMI personnel buying multiple copies of the single in chart return shops. Although EMI strenuously denied any attempts at rigging the chart, that weeks sales were not included. Despite selling twice as many copies as the previous week, these sales weren't included and subsequently the single dropped down the chart and Wire's chance to appear on Top of The Pops disappeared along with their chance to reach a wider audience. Wire's place was instead taken by Donny and Marie Osmond who were in London for a concert.

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