BBC Radio 2 listeners have been voting on their favourite duets from the 1980s, and today we can reveal the winner is Fairytale Of New York, by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (1987).

Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie (1981) takes second place, and Islands In The Stream by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers (1983) comes in third.

The full Top 40 countdown, hosted by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, is available on BBC Sounds now and a two-hour special of the Top 30 will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Saturday 9 August from 1-3pm, produced by Platform Media.

Listeners to BBC Radio 2, which is the UK’s most listened to single radio station with a weekly audience of 12.6 million (RAJAR Q2, 2025), were asked to vote for up to five of their favourite duets from the much-loved era, with voting open from 7 – 21 July.

The countdown forms part of ‘Radio 2 Loves the 80s’, a wider season of specials, which celebrate the iconic decade.

Jem Finer, who wrote the song with fellow Pogues bandmate Shane MacGowan, said: “A huge thank you from us to the Radio 2 listeners for voting A Fairytale Of New York your Ultimate 80s duet. It’s amazing the song’s had such a life, such longevity. It took a long time to come together with about three years of endless revisions before we successfully recorded it with Kirsty MacColl and it became the version you know now. Then it took much good fortune and actually got to be heard by enough people to find its way into the charts and onto enduring popularity. So, thanks to you all, thanks to everyone through the years, thanks for listening.”

The full top 40 as voted for by listeners is:

1 The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York
2 Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
3 Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers – Islands In The Stream
4 Aretha Franklin & George Michael – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
5 Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush – Don’t Give Up
6 Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe – Barcelona
7 Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life
8 Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield – What Have I Done To Deserve This
9 The Communards & Sarah Jane Morris – Don’t Leave Me This Way
10 Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson – I Know Him So Well
11 Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan – Especially For You
12 Meat Loaf & Cher – Dead Ringer For Love
13 David Bowie & Mick Jagger – Dancing In The Street
14 Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes – Up Where We Belong
15 Philip Bailey & Phil Collins – Easy Lover
16 Eurythmics & Aretha Franklin – Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves
17 Marc Almond & Gene Pitney – Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart
18 David Bowie & Bing Crosby – Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
19 Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb – Guilty
20 Lionel Richie & Diana Ross – Endless Love
21 Tears For Fears & Oleta Adams – Woman In Chains
22 UB40 & Chrissie Hynde – I Got You Babe
23 Bronski Beat & Marc Almond – I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me
24 Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville – Don’t Know Much
25 Bryan Adams & Tina Turner – It’s Only Love
26 Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony And Ivory
27 Prince & Sheena Easton – U Got The Look
28 Gary Moore & Phil Lynott – Out In The Fields
29 Patti Labelle & Michael McDonald – On My Own
30 Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin – Separate Lives
31 James Ingram & Michael McDonald – Yah Mo B There
32 Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson – Say Say Say
33 Roy Orbison & k.d. lang – Crying
34 Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
35 Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright – With You I’m Born Again
36 David Grant & Jaki Graham – Could It Be I’m Falling In Love
37 Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal – Saturday Love
38 Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney – The Girl Is Mine
39 Al Green & Annie Lennox – Put A Little Love In Your Heart
40 Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett – I Just Can’t Stop Loving You

Songs needed to be two individual voices, united in song, and released as a single between December 1979 and December 1989, and made the UK Top 50.

This vote is a part of ‘Radio 2 Loves the 80s’ a season of programming available on Sounds now and in August, and broadcasting across Radio 2 throughout the month.

In Don’t You Forget About Me: The Accidental 80’s Anthem, Sunday 3 August (00:03 – 00:30), Jo Whiley tells the story of the breakout song from the cult American ‘brat pack’ movie The Breakfast Club. Back in 1985 Don’t You Forget About Me became one of the most iconic 80’s anthems ever. Recorded for the film by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds, the song reached No 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and several other countries, catapulting the group to international stardom. Now, 40 years on, as it surpasses 1 billion streams on Spotify, frontman Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill talk about how they went from refusing to record the song to embracing it – even adding the distinctive ‘La la la la’ lines that audiences in packed stadia across the globe still chant today. The programme includes contributions from musicians K.T Tunstall and Billy Idol. Produced by The Big Light.

Following last year’s unforgettable night, BBC Radio 2 and the BBC Concert Orchestra return to Malta for a high-energy celebration of the greatest hits of the 80s, with 70 world-class musicians and four powerhouse vocalists, in Ultimate 80s: Live! Sunday 9 August (8-10pm). The host of Radio 2’s Sounds of the 80s show (Saturday nights, 8-10pm) Gary Davies takes 80s fans on a journey through the decade’s most iconic anthems, including show-stopping performances of classics from Madonna, Whitney Houston, Elton John, WHAM! and more, in a night of nostalgia and energy. Produced by Get On Media.

Gary Davies returns to a revolutionary era for dance music, with four new Dance Sounds Of The 80s programmes, exclusive to BBC Sounds. The rise of Hip Hop and Synth-Pop, the evolution of Disco, the birth of House, the gay abandon of Hi Energy, the marriage of synths and Soul…it’s all here. The Threemix is back – this time, highlighting the producers and remixers who kept us on the floor whilst crossing over into the charts, taking underground sounds into the mainstream. Listeners will be reliving their nightlife adventures on Dance Hall Days. Produced by Bengo Media.

Other programmes that can be found on BBC Sounds under the Radio 2 Loves the 80s, include The Story of the 12” single with Jo Whiley, Sounds of 1985 – 40 Years On, and Live Aid: The Fans’ Story.

BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to single radio station, with a weekly audience of 12.6 million (RAJAR Q2, 2025) and The Radio 2 Breakfast Show is the most listened to Breakfast show in the UK with 6.2 million listeners (RAJAR Q2, 2025). Vernon Kay is the most listened to radio show in the UK with 6.6 million listeners (RAJAR Q2, 2025).

The network’s presenters include Richie Anderson, Michael Ball, Zoe Ball, Tony Blackburn, OJ Borg, Revd. Kate Bottley, Rylan, Fearne Cotton, Sara Cox, Jamie Cullum, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Gary Davies, Paul Gambaccini, Mark Goodier, Angela Griffin, Bob Harris, Vernon Kay, Shaun Keaveny, Cerys Matthews, Paddy McGuinness, Scott Mills, Jason Mohammad, Trevor Nelson, Dermot O’Leary, Elaine Paige, Mark Radcliffe, Romesh Ranganathan, DJ Spoony, Liza Tarbuck, Jeremy Vine, Michelle Visage, Jo Whiley and Owain Wyn Evans.

SVDG

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