(Credits: Far Out / Alexander Wark Feeney / Patrick Lindenberg)
Tue 13 January 2026 22:00, UK
As much as rock music and drugs have always seemed to go hand in hand, it’s very rare that a song that so explicitly references substance use reaches the higher positions in the charts, let alone number one.
One reason you might presume that this is the case is that it can be seen as a taboo subject, with large numbers of the public generally frowning upon such open discussion of drug use, and the fact that taking a track to number one while it deals with the topic of drug use could be reasonably misconstrued as glamourising something that could be harmful to impressionable listeners.
Similarly, when songs deal with such heavy subject matter, it can be seen as uncommercial, and when a song delves further into the horrors and negative aspects of drug use rather than the highs that one can get from it, it’s often considered a bad move to release this as a single due to the fact that the record-buying public may see it as too depressing to hail as a chart-worthy song.
That being said, a handful of songs of this nature have managed to find their way to the top of the charts in the UK, and while it has never been a frequent occurrence, many of these tracks are still well-known, in many cases because of the ways in which they have managed to tackle such heavy subject matter.
However, not a great deal of these songs that have managed to reach number one in the UK charts can be argued as having come from a classic rock persuasion, with several of them either stemming from other musical subcultures far from the world of rock. With this in mind, what was the first ‘classic rock’ song about drugs to reach the top of the charts in the UK?
(Credits: Far Out)What was the first classic rock song about drugs to reach number one?
As previously reported by Far Out Magazine, the first UK number one single about drugs came remarkably late, courtesy of Musical Youth’s 1982 debut single, ‘Pass The Dutchie’; a breezy, reggae-infused track about smoking cannabis. Part of the reason this became the first song about drugs to reach number one was due to there being a considerably more relaxed attitude around the topic by the 1980s, and because the song was so upbeat in its tone.
With other songs such as Shamen’s ‘Ebenezer Goode’ touching on the use of ecstasy around the time of rave culture emerging in the UK, songs about drugs became more commonplace within the charts, but not to the point where it was considered to be less taboo than a song about, say, sex or violence.
There appeared to be a glut of drug-related hit singles in the UK released in 1997, with both Blur’s ‘Beetlebum’ and The Verve’s ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ both reaching the peak of the charts and tackling the subject of using drugs to escape from life’s troubles. However, with both having come from two of Britpop’s main proponents, it’s hard to argue that either of these is the first classic rock song about drugs to top the charts, with arguably the first actual claimant coming later the same year.
Despite being a cover of a Lou Reed classic, and arguably not even one that represents him at his rockiest, the version of ‘Perfect Day’ that was recorded by an all-star cast of musicians for BBC Children in Need is a rather unusual track to be the one to claim this, given the circumstances in which it was used.
With the track seemingly being a love song about Reed and his then-partner, Bettye Kronstad, spending a day of splendour together, there’s a hidden subtext beneath the track which several would argue is actually not about Reed’s romantic relationship, but about his relationship with heroin.
For this to have been used as the song of choice for a charity fundraiser that donates to children in underprivileged circumstances around the UK is somewhat baffling, but given the fact that it was recorded for a good cause and featured the likes of Bono, David Bowie, Tammy Wynette and Reed himself, it was hardly ever going to fail to reach number one. It’s just a shame that those who picked the song weren’t aware of the deeper meaning behind it…
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