Here we attempt the impossible; to define and quantify love itself. Well, alright then, love songs !

In honour of St Valentine's Day, and by popular request of radio stations and publications the world over, here are the biggest selling love songs of all time in the UK.

Someone is sure to email to ask "how do you define a 'love song'?" In our judgement (and at the risk of science getting in the way of romance!), the track must:

	a)	express a desire to form or perpetuate a romantic relationship with another person or be a celebration of a romantic relationship with that person;
	b)	be directed toward / dedicated to that person;
and	c)	be performed in a spirit of sentimentality (generally at a tempo below 100bpm).

Estimated sales figures are given. We are reluctant to include a few titles; they have been given at the end of the listing along with a reason for exclusion. Their estimated sales are also given so that you can insert them in the appropriate place should you so desire. We are indebted to Simon Walters for his assistance in the compilation of this chart.

You'll notice that the only song to appear in the above chart more than once is "Unchained Melody" (three times). With combined UK sales well in excess of 4 million this is easily the biggest-selling love song of all time. Its amazing success is, in no small part, due to exposure on TV and the silver screen. Its 1990 success (Righteous Brothers) was sparked by the track's prominence in the soundtrack to the film "Ghost". Five year's later Robson Green & Jerome Flynn took it back to the top spot. They first performed it as part of the storyline of the "Soldier Soldier" TV series. In 2002 Gareth Gates made no. 1 with the track following his success (though second place) through repeatedly performing the song in the first series of ITV's "Pop Idol". Not bad for a track which began its life as a pure instrumental as incidental music for the 1955 film "Unchained" (hence 'Unchained Melody').

If you think (probably with some justification!) that the parody by Rennee and Renato should be disqualified or that "Dance Away" isn't really a lament between two lovers then feel free to substitute these tracks which came close to qualifying for the above chart but which were ultimately excluded for the reasons given:

• "You're The One That I Want" - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (1.98m) [too up-tempo at 124 bpm; more about lust than love in any case!]
• "I'll Be Missing You" - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (1.4m) [platonic lament]
• "Killing Me Softly" - Fugees (1.3m) [narration to a third person]
• "Diana" - Paul Anka (1.2m) [the fact that this was a dubious declaration of love for a babysitter wasn't itself sufficient grounds for exclusion. Its tempo of 140bpm was!]
• "Heartbeat" - Steps (1.1m but well over half of those sales can likely be attributed to the track's double 'A' side, "Tragedy"; definitely not a love song!)
• "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" - Culture Club (0.82m) [more of a futile exercise in damage limitation]
• "Knowing Me Knowing You" - Abba (0.77m) [beyond repair]
• "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Wont Do That)" - Meat Loaf (0.76m) [tender moments overpowered by an argument over a driving rock beat]
• "Whiter Shade Of Pale" - Procol Harum (0.76m) [wonderful romantic ambience; lyrical genious but their deliberate ambiguity leaves us wondering what's actually being said! - sacrilege we know]