"The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)" is a single that was released by

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

in September 1982. It reached number 2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and remained there for two weeks, unable to dislodge "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by American rock band Survivor. It was released as a single from their third album of the same name and was also the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'', which was released a day before the single. The song ...

" by Survivor and "

Pass the Dutchie "Pass the Dutchie" is a 1982 song performed by British-Jamaican band Musical Youth, taken from their debut studio album, ''The Youth of Today''. It was produced by Toney Owens from Kingston, Jamaica. The song was a major hit, hitting number one ...

" by

Musical Youth Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their 1982 single "Pass the Dutchie", which was a number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Youth ...

from the top spot. The backing vocals are provided by Jennie Matthias, lead singer of

The Belle Stars The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single " Sign of the Times". Career After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophon ...

. The man on the front cover of this single is

Vaughn Toulouse Vaughn Toulouse (born Vaughn Cotillard; 30 July 1959 – 8 August 1991), was a British singer. He was a founding member of Guns for Hire and its successor band Department S. Toulouse was born in St. Helier on the island of Jersey and raised i ...

, singer of Department S.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitterest Pill 1982 singles 1982 songs Polydor Records singles Songs written by Paul Weller The Jam songs