Jump to content

UK singles chart records and statistics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from UK Singles Chart Records)

The UK singles chart was first compiled in 1969. However, the records and statistics listed here date back to 1952 because the Official Charts Company counts a selected period of the New Musical Express chart (only from 1952 to 1960) and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period prior to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts coexisted side by side. For example, the BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops prior to 1969 may not be listed here as chart-toppers since they do not meet the legacy criteria of the Charts Company.

Number one hits

[edit]

Most number ones

[edit]

The following is a list of all the acts who are on eight or more UK number one songs with an individual credit (meaning, the main artist or named separately as a featured artist – being part of a group does not count towards an individual's total).[1]

Simply playing or singing on a single without credit will not count, or the top positions would almost certainly belong to session musicians such as Clem Cattini who is reported to have played drums on over 40 number ones.[2]

Total Artist
21 Elvis Presley
18 The Beatles
14 Cliff Richard
Westlife
Ed Sheeran
13 Madonna
12 Take That
11 Calvin Harris
Eminem
10 Elton John
9 ABBA
Spice Girls
Rihanna
8 The Rolling Stones
Oasis
Sam Smith

Most weeks at number one by artist

[edit]
Rank Artist Weeks at No. 1
1 Elvis Presley 80
2 The Beatles 70
3 Ed Sheeran 61
4 Cliff Richard 46
5 Calvin Harris 39
6 Justin Bieber 38
7 Frankie Laine 32
8 ABBA 31
Drake
10 Madonna 29
Take That
12 Elton John 28
13 Rihanna 25
14 Wet Wet Wet 23
15 Spice Girls 22
16 Queen 21
Sabrina Carpenter
18 Slade 20
Westlife
Ariana Grande

Most weeks at number one by single

[edit]

The record for most non-consecutive weeks at number one is 18 by Frankie Laine's "I Believe" in 1953. It spent nine weeks at number one, dropped down for a week, returned to number one for six weeks, dropped down for a further week and returned to number one for a third time for three weeks.

The longest unbroken run at number one is "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams, which spent 16 consecutive weeks in 1991.

Ed Sheeran is the only artist to ever have multiple songs spend 10 or more weeks at the top of the charts, achieving the feat with both "Shape of You" in 2017 and "Bad Habits" in 2021.

Below is a table of all singles that have spent 10 or more weeks at the top of the charts:

Weeks Artist Single Year
18 Frankie Laine "I Believe"* 1953
16 Bryan Adams "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" 1991
15 Wet Wet Wet "Love Is All Around" 1994
Drake (featuring Wizkid and Kyla) "One Dance" 2016
14 Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody"* 1975–76 and 1991–92[Note 1]
Ed Sheeran "Shape of You"* 2017
11 Slim Whitman "Rose Marie" 1955
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (featuring Justin Bieber) "Despacito"* 2017
Tones and I "Dance Monkey" 2019
Ed Sheeran "Bad Habits" 2021
10 David Whitfield (with Mantovani and his Orchestra) "Cara Mia" 1954
Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You" 1992–93
Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z) "Umbrella" 2007
Harry Styles "As It Was" 2022
Miley Cyrus "Flowers" 2023
Dave and Central Cee "Sprinter"

Note: Songs denoted with an asterisk (*) spent non-consecutive weeks at number one.[3]

Biggest climb to number one

[edit]

The single with the biggest climb to number one is "Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor, which climbed from number 90 on the week ending 20 August 2015.[4]

The biggest climb to number one within the top 40 goes to "So What" by Pink, which climbed from number 38 on the week ending 11 October 2008.[5]

Biggest drop from number one

[edit]

The biggest drop from number one within the top 100 is to number 97. "Three Lions" by Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds returned to number one for a third non-consecutive week on the week ending 19 July 2018, but in the following week it experienced a large drop after England's loss at the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[6] However, two singles have since fallen completely out of the chart after a week at number one: "Last Christmas" by Wham! on the weeks ending 14 January 2021 [7] and 12 January 2023,[8] and "Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John on the week ending 13 January 2022.[9]

Longest climb to number one

[edit]

"All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey reached number one on its 104th non-consecutive week on the chart, debuting on the week ending 10 December 1994 and peaking on week ending 17 December 2020.[10]

The longest climb to number one in a consecutive chart run is 19 weeks, achieved by Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", which debuted on the week ending 5 July 2014 and peaked on the week ending 8 November 2014.[11]

In terms of overall surpassed time, the record is held by "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, which first charted on the week ending 17 August 1985 and reached number one on the week ending 23 June 2022, almost 37 years since its first appearance on the chart.[12]

Self-replacement at number one

[edit]

Since the inception of the UK Singles Chart in 1952 only seven acts have replaced themselves at the top of the UK charts with exactly the same billing (as opposed to featured credits or backing credits, for example 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows' and 'The Shadows' have had back to back number ones on four occasions):

In addition, Ariana Grande is the first female artist to replace herself, and the first artist to replace herself at Number 1 for two consecutive weeks.[14]

Songwriters with the most number one singles

[edit]

The following have writing credits on at least 12 UK number one singles. Double A-sides and EPs count as one single rather than separate songs, and songs that have been number one for multiple artists are included as separate singles.

Number of singles Songwriter Weeks at number one
31
John Lennon
105
30
Paul McCartney
110
21
Max Martin
52
19
Ed Sheeran
76
17
Steve Mac
49
14
Calvin Harris
42
Dr. Luke
25
Wayne Hector
19
13
Benny Andersson
46
Björn Ulvaeus
Madonna
29
Gary Barlow
28
12
Eminem
16

Most consecutive number ones

[edit]

The Beatles had 11 consecutive number ones with official releases on Parlophone between 1963 ("From Me to You") and 1966 ("Yellow Submarine" / "Eleanor Rigby"), though releases of archive material from their previous record company also charted during this time.

Even including the archive releases, they still have the most consecutive number ones with 7, from "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964 up to "Yellow Submarine" / " Eleanor Rigby" in 1966. They share this record with Westlife, who achieved this from their 1999 debut "Swear It Again" up to 2000's "My Love".[15]

Most consecutive number ones from chart debut

[edit]

Spice Girls became the first British music act and girl group to have their first six singles reach number one on the UK singles chart between 1996 and 1997 with "Wannabe" in July 1996 to "Too Much" in December 1997.

Westlife became the first music act to have their first seven singles ("Swear It Again", "If I Let You Go", "Flying Without Wings", "I Have a Dream / "Seasons in the Sun", "Fool Again", "Against All Odds" and "My Love") to reach number one from 1999 to 2000.[16] It took Westlife just over 18 months to achieve their first seven number ones, faster than any other music act.

Most songs to debut at number 1 on the chart

[edit]

Acts with the most songs to debut at number 1 on the Official Singles Chart. Westlife claim the most number 1 debuts on the Official Singles Chart, with all 14 of their chart-toppers landing there in their first week.[17]

Total Artist
14 Westlife
10 Take That
9 Eminem
8 Spice Girls
Oasis
Ed Sheeran
7 McFly
Robbie Williams
Calvin Harris
Tinie Tempah
Ariana Grande
Sam Smith

Most number-one singles from one album

[edit]

The following artists have had at least 3 number-one singles in the UK with a single album. No soundtracks have had 4 number-one singles as of today. Lady Gaga's The Fame and The Fame Monster are considered to be one album by the Official Charts Company. George Michael is credited as a sole singer for some number-one songs that are tracks on Wham! albums. Although "Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John was a number-one single on a Christmas edition of Sheeran's album =, the special edition was later removed from stores, and the song is now listed as a single from John's album The Lockdown Sessions, therefore removing the third number-one single credit from Sheeran's album.

Total Artists Albums Years
5
Westlife Westlife
1999–2000
4 Take That Everything Changes
1993–1994
Spice Girls Spice
1996–1997
B*Witched B*Witched
1998–1999
Dizzee Rascal Tongue n' Cheek
2008–2010
Lady Gaga The Fame/The Fame Monster
2009–2010
3 George Michael/Wham! Make It Big
1984
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Welcome to the Pleasuredome
1984
Madonna True Blue
1986–1987
Take That Nobody Else
1994–1995
Aqua Aquarium
1997–1998
Spice Girls Spiceworld
1997–1998
All Saints All Saints
1998
S Club 7 Sunshine
2000–2001
McFly Motion in the Ocean
2006–2007
Leona Lewis Spirit
2006–2008
Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D.
2009
Alexandra Burke Overcome
2008–2010
Bruno Mars Doo-Wops & Hooligans
2010–2011
Calvin Harris Motion
2013–2014
Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour
2014–2015
Justin Bieber Purpose
2015
Drake Scorpion
2018
Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
2018–2019
Ed Sheeran No.6 Collaborations Project
2019
George Michael/Wham! The Final
1985–1986; 2021
Lewis Capaldi Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent
2022–2023
Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet
2024

Longest span of number one singles

[edit]

The Beatles have the longest time span of number one singles with 60 years between their first "From Me to You" in May 1963 and their last "Now and Then" in November 2023.

Elvis Presley has the longest time span of number one singles for a solo artist, with over 47 years between his first number one "All Shook Up" in June 1957 and his most recent, the reissue of "It's Now or Never" in January 2005.

Kate Bush has the longest time span of number one singles for a female artist, with 44 years between her first number one "Wuthering Heights" in April 1978 and her second and most recent "Running Up That Hill" in June 2022.

Longest gap between two number one singles

[edit]

The Beatles have the longest gap between two number ones, with 54 years between "The Ballad of John and Yoko" in June 1969 and "Now and Then" in November 2023.

Kate Bush has the longest gap between two number ones for a solo artist, with 44 years between her first "Wuthering Heights" in April 1978 and her second "Running Up That Hill" in June 2022.

Tom Jones has the longest gap between two number ones for a male artist, with over 42 years between "Green, Green Grass of Home" in December 1966 and his featured appearance on "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" in March 2009.

Lowest selling number one

[edit]

The lowest weekly sale for a number one single is 17,694 copies held by Orson's "No Tomorrow" in 2006.[18]

The addition of downloads to the UK charts meant that singles could reach number one with no physical copy being released. The first single to achieve this was Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" in early 2006. Since 2014, audio streaming has been included in the calculation of chart position, so it is now possible for a single to reach number one without selling any copies (if it were only available on streaming services). In the week ending 24 September 2015, "What Do You Mean?" by Justin Bieber became the first number one with over half of its chart sales made up of streaming points, with sales of 30,000 and 36,000 points from 3.6 million streams.

Since the incorporation of streaming into the singles chart, the Official Charts Company have continued to compile a sales only chart. In week ending 27 April 2017 "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles became the first number one in the sales-only chart to sell less than "No Tomorrow" by Orson, with 16,686 copies.[19]

Longest and shortest songs to reach number one

[edit]

In terms of a song's running length, "All Around the World" by Oasis (1998) at 9 minutes and 38 seconds is the longest song to reach No.1. "What Do You Want?" by Adam Faith at 1 minute 35 seconds (1959) is the shortest.[20]

Instrumental number ones

[edit]

Posthumous number ones

[edit]

Non-English language number ones

[edit]

Source:[21]

Songs that were number one for multiple artists

[edit]

Acts to occupy the top two

[edit]

In addition, in the final week that Justin Bieber was at No. 1 and No. 2 with "Love Yourself" and "Sorry", "What Do You Mean" was at No. 3. For the first three weeks that Ed Sheeran was at No. 1 and No. 2 with "Shape of You" and "Galway Girl", "Castle on the Hill" was at No. 3, and for the first of these three weeks Sheeran's "Perfect", "New Man" and "Happier" were at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 respectively, prompting a change in chart rules so that only 3 of an artist's songs can appear in the chart at one time. When Harry Styles occupied the top two he was also at No. 3 with "Music for a Sushi Restaurant". In the first two weeks Sabrina Carpenter occupied the top two in September, she was also at No. 3 with "Espresso", making her the first female artist to occupy the entire top 3.[22]

The chart double: Simultaneously having number one on both the singles chart and album chart

[edit]

Age records

[edit]
  • Captain Tom Moore is the oldest artist to reach number one. He was exactly 100 years old when his rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" with Michael Ball reached number one on the week ending 30 April 2020.
  • Kate Bush is the oldest female artist to reach number one. She was age 63 years, 343 days when her 1985 single "Running Up That Hill" spent its third and final week at number one on the week ending 7 July 2022.
  • Jimmy Osmond is the youngest artist to reach number one. He was age 9 years, 252 days when "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" first reached number one on the week ending 23 December 1972.
  • Helen Shapiro is the youngest female artist to reach number one. She was age 14 years, 323 days when "You Don't Know" first reached number one on the week ending 16 August 1961.

Most weeks

[edit]

Weeks on chart by single

[edit]
  • Most weeks in the chart by a single:

Top 100: "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers (437 weeks)

Top 75: "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers (180 weeks)

Top 40: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey (98 weeks)
Excluding Christmas songs: "My Way" by Frank Sinatra (75 weeks)

Top 20: "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl (76 weeks)
Excluding Christmas songs: "As It Was" by Harry Styles (44 weeks)

Top 10: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey (46 weeks)
Excluding Christmas songs: "As It Was" by Harry Styles (37 weeks)

  • Longest consecutive run in the chart by a single:

Top 100: "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd (105 weeks)
Top 75: "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd (103 weeks)
Top 40: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (54 weeks)[23]
Top 20: "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk (37 weeks)
Top 10: "I Believe" by Frankie Laine (35 weeks)

Sales

[edit]

Fastest selling singles

[edit]

The fastest selling single in chart history is "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John, which sold 1.55 million copies in its first week (it sold 658,000 on the first day of release, 13 September 1997).[24]

The fastest selling debut single is "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen" by Will Young, which sold 1.11 million copies in its first week on sale.[25] Publicity had built up due to the televised talent contest Pop Idol with 8.7 million people phoning in to vote for the finalists.[26]

The fastest selling single by a girl group is the Spice Girls' "2 Become 1", which sold over 462,000 copies during its first week on sale and over 763,000 copies in a fortnight. In total, the single has sold over 1.2 million copies.[27]

Outside number one

[edit]

Artists with the most number 2 singles

[edit]

The following artists have had at least five singles that stalled at number 2:[28]

Number Artist Number one singles
17 Elvis Presley 21
12 Madonna 13
11 Kylie Minogue 7
Cliff Richard 14
9 Rihanna 9
8 Michael Jackson 7
7 Justin Timberlake 4
Calvin Harris 11
Ed Sheeran 14
6 Queen 6
Boyzone 6
Oasis 8
Robbie Williams 7
Justin Bieber 7
5 The Sweet 1
Tom Jones 3
The Beatles 18
George Michael 7
Sash! 0
Steps 2
S Club 7 4
U2 7
Girls Aloud 4
Taylor Swift 4
Ariana Grande 7

Songs with the most weeks at number 2

[edit]

The following songs have all spent at least six weeks at number 2 without going higher on the chart:

Number of
weeks
Single Artist Year Held off number 1 by
8 "Terry's Theme from Limelight" Frank Chacksfield 1953 "I Believe" – Frankie Laine
7 "Love Letters in the Sand" Pat Boone 1957 "All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley; "Diana" – Paul Anka
"I Swear" All-4-One 1994 "Love Is All Around" – Wet Wet Wet
"Moves Like Jagger" Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera 2011 "Stay Awake" – Example; "All About Tonight" – Pixie Lott; "What Makes You Beautiful" – One Direction; "No Regrets" – Dappy; "Loca People" – Sak Noel; "We Found Love" – Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris
"Murder on the Dancefloor" Sophie Ellis-Bextor 2001–02; 2024 "Gotta Get Thru This"- Daniel Bedingfield; "Stick Season" – Noah Kahan
6 "Blowing Wild" Frankie Laine 1954 "Oh Mein Papa" – Eddie Calvert
"Are You Sure?" The Allisons 1961 "Walk Right Back" / "Ebony Eyes" – The Everly Brothers; "Wooden Heart" – Elvis Presley
"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" Kenny Rogers and The First Edition 1969–70 "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies; "Two Little Boys" – Rolf Harris
"The Floral Dance" Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band 1977–78 "Mull of Kintyre" / "Girls' School" – Wings
"The Smurf Song" Father Abraham and The Smurfs 1978 "You're the One That I Want" – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
"I'm Too Sexy" Right Said Fred 1991 "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" – Bryan Adams
"Let Me Love You" DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber 2016 "Cold Water" – Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and ; "Closer" – The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey
"Stay" The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber 2021 "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran
"Peru" Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran 2022 "We Don't Talk About Bruno" – Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero and Stephanie Beatriz; "Starlight" – Dave
"Good Luck, Babe!" Chappell Roan 2024 "Please Please Please" – Sabrina Carpenter; "Backbone" – Chase & Status and Stormzy; "Taste" –Sabrina Carpenter

Most top ten singles

[edit]
Number of singles Artist
76
Elvis Presley
68
Cliff Richard
64
Madonna
45
Drake
44
Michael Jackson
41
Ed Sheeran
36
Elton John
35
Kylie Minogue
34
Eminem
33
U2

[29]

Acts to peak across the entire top ten

[edit]
Acts who have peaked at every position in the Top 10[30]
Artist No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10
Lonnie Donegan "Cumberland Gap" "Lost John" / "Stewball" "Tom Dooley" "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" "I Wanna Go Home (Wreck of the John B)" "The Grand Coolie Dam" "Bring A Little Water Sylvie" / "Dead or Alive" "Rock Island Line" / "John Henry" "The Party's Over" "My Dixie Darling"
Elvis Presley "All Shook Up" "Heartbreak Hotel" "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" "A Big Hunk o' Love" "Until It's Time for You to Go" "Too Much" "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" "Paralyzed" "Blue Suede Shoes" "Kissin' Cousins"
Madonna "Into the Groove" "Crazy for You" "Like a Virgin" "Gambler" "Angel" "Deeper and Deeper" "Rain" "Human Nature" "The Look of Love" "Bad Girl"
Mariah Carey "Without You" "I'll Be There" "Endless Love" "Fantasy" "Heartbreaker" "One Sweet Day" "Hero" "Anytime You Need a Friend" "Vision of Love" "Thank God I Found You"
Tom Jones "It's Not Unusual" "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" "Sex Bomb" "Mama Told Me Not to Come" "Help Yourself" "The Young New Mexican Puppeteer" "Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings" "Detroit City" "Love Me Tonight" "Without Love (There Is Nothing)"
Elton John "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" "Rocket Man" "Nikita" "Daniel" "Crocodile Rock" "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" "Blue Eyes" "I Want Love" "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
U2 "Desire" "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "With or Without You" "Walk On" "The Unforgettable Fire" "One" "Even Better Than the Real Thing" "Angel of Harlem" "New Year's Day"
Cliff Richard "Living Doll" "Move It" "Nine Times Out of Ten" "Gee Whizz It's You" "Santa's List" "I Could Easily Fall (In Love with You)" "High Class Baby" "I'm the Lonely One" "It's All Over" "Mean Streak"
Pink "Lady Marmalade" "Get the Party Started" "Feel Good Time" "Stupid Girls" "Most Girls" "There You Go" "Trouble" "Try" "You Make Me Sick" "U + Ur Hand"
Usher "You Make Me Wanna..." "Pop Ya Collar" "U Remind Me" "I Need a Girl (Part One)" / "U Don't Have to Call" "U Got It Bad" "Without You" "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" "I Don't Mind" "Caught Up" "Good Kisser"
Taylor Swift "Look What You Made Me Do" "Love Story" "Me!" "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" "Cardigan" "Everything Has Changed" "Exile" "22" "The 1"
Drake "What's My Name?" "Work" "Hotline Bling" "Hold On, We're Going Home" "Emotionless" "No Guidance" "Jimmy Cooks" "Greece" "Take Care" "Fake Love"
Nine out of ten
No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10
  1. ^ Bon Jovi band member Jon Bon Jovi did peak at No. 1 as part of the charity single Everybody Hurts in 2010.
  2. ^ Michael Jackson did peak at No. 6 as a fifth of The Jackson 5.
  3. ^ Frankie Bridge and Rochelle Humes of The Saturdays did peak at No. 6 as two-eighths of S Club 8.
  4. ^ Beyoncé did peak at No. 6 as a quarter of Destiny's Child.
  5. ^ All nine of Eurythmics' top ten hits reached different peaks.
  6. ^ Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud did peak at No. 8 as a solo artist.

Biggest selling non-number one

[edit]

Based on purchases alone, the record is held by Oasis with their 1995 single "Wonderwall", with 1.55 million copies sold. The song spent a week at number two behind "I Believe" by Robson & Jerome.[31] Including streaming data, the record is held by "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers, which peaked at number 10 in 2004 and has been certified 9x Platinum for 5.4 million units.[32]

Based on purchases, the biggest selling single to peak at number three is New Order's "Blue Monday", which has sold over a million copies.[33] However, it garnered its total sales via two further remixes of the track, meaning its one million sales are attributed over all three releases. The biggest selling individual release to peak at number three is Ed Sheeran's "The A Team", which has sold over 1,067,000 copies since its 2011 release.[34]

The biggest selling single never to make the top 5 is "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, which peaked at number 6 and has sold more copies than "The A Team".[35]

The biggest selling single not to reach the top 10 is "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri with physical sales of 844,000 and a peak of number 11.[36] With streams included, this title goes to "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys, which peaked at number 11 in 2013 and has been certified 5x Platinum for 3 million units.[37]

Simultaneously charting songs and singles

[edit]

Most hits without reaching...

[edit]

Most top 10 hits without a number 1 single

[edit]
Total Artist
18 Bon Jovi
17 Janet Jackson
15 Nat King Cole
14 Depeche Mode
14 The Who
14 50 Cent
13 Texas
12 Guns N' Roses
12 Kendrick Lamar
11 Billy Fury

Other records

[edit]

First to...

[edit]
  • On 8 January 2016 Justin Bieber became the first artist in history to hold the top three positions in the UK Official Singles Chart. He achieved this feat as "Love Yourself", "Sorry" and "What Do You Mean?" charted at positions one, two and three simultaneously.[45]
  • The first song to have four separate spells at number one with the same artist line-up was "Three Lions" by Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds. The original 1996 version had two one-week stints in 1996, while the 1998 re-work had one three-week spell at the top. The 2018 FIFA World Cup propelled it to a record-breaking fourth outing at the top in July 2018.[46]
  • The first week when all the Top 10 singles (actually Top 12) stayed at the previous week's positions (other than Xmas or other "frozen" charts) occurred on 7 June 2019.[47] This is only true of the combined sales and streaming chart; in the sales only chart, only the top two positions were static and there was a new entry.[48]
  • On 29 July 2021 Little Mix became the first girl group in history to spend 100 weeks inside the UK singles chart Top 10.[49]

Downloads

[edit]

Downloads grew steadily in popularity after first being integrated into the chart in 2005. In early September 2004, the UK Official Download Chart was launched, and a new live recording of Westlife's "Flying Without Wings" was the first number-one.[50] The first number one to chart without ever receiving a UK physical release was Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" in June 2008. As of 2012, very few songs are given a physical release, and almost the entire chart is released solely on digital download and, since 2014, streaming.

On 22 June 2008, both songs in the top two were there on downloads alone:[51]

  1. "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
  2. "Closer" by Ne-Yo

On 31 August 2008, the top three were download-only at the time:[52]

  1. "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
  2. "Pjanoo" by Eric Prydz
  3. "Disturbia" by Rihanna

On 1 March 2009, the top four were all download-only:[53]

  1. "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson
  2. "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
  3. "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga
  4. "Dead and Gone" by T.I. (feat. Justin Timberlake)

By 13 February 2010, the whole top 9 consisted of download-only songs:[54]

  1. "Fireflies" by Owl City
  2. "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" by Jedward (feat. Vanilla Ice)
  3. "If We Ever Meet Again" by Timbaland (feat. Katy Perry)
  4. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Glee Cast
  5. "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" by Alicia Keys
  6. "Replay" by Iyaz
  7. "Starstrukk" by 3OH!3 (feat. Katy Perry)
  8. "One Shot" by JLS
  9. "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The 1975–76 original release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" b/w "I'm in Love with My Car" spent 9 weeks atop the chart.
    The 1991–92 re-release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" b/w "These Are the Days of Our Lives" spent 5 weeks atop the chart.
  2. ^ This record was previously held by D-Block Europe, who surrendered their claim to The 1975 by reaching No.6 with "Overseas", their 31st hit, with their run of 30 hits failing to reach the top 10, an all-time record.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Record-Breakers and Trivia". EveryHit.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  2. ^ Wilson, John. "Clem Cattini, Britain's record chart topper, keeps that backbeat going strong at 72". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. ^ "The songs that spent the longest at Number 1". Official Charts Company. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Artists who replaced themselves at Number 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Ariana Grande replaces herself at Number 1 for a second time on the Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  15. ^ "Found the 'love' of a Westlife time". Billboard. 2000.
  16. ^ British Hit Singles. Virgin Books. 4 November 2010.
  17. ^ Copsey, Rob (30 October 2020). "Acts with most songs to debut at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart". OfficialCharts.com.
  18. ^ Masterton, James (13 April 2013). "Hey, What Does It Take".
  19. ^ Jones, Alan (21 April 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: Ed Sheeran topples Harry Styles to reclaim singles top spot". Music Week.
  20. ^ "Adam Faith - What do You want? (78rpm - 1959)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  21. ^ Myers, Justin (13 May 2017). "Foreign language songs that got to Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Acts that have held number 1 and 2 on the Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  23. ^ Copsey, Rob (22 June 2015). "Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud becomes first single ever to spend one year inside the Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  24. ^ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (14 November 2012). "60 years of singles charts... in numbers". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  25. ^ Wells, Matt (4 March 2002). "Pop Idol Will faces Top of the Pops ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Pop Idol's career hots up". BBC News. BBC. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  27. ^ Myers, Justin (14 December 2017). "Classic Christmas Number Ones". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  28. ^ "The acts with the most number 2 hits on the UK's Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Artists with the most Top 10 singles in the UK". Official Charts Company. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Charts bingo: Acts who have peaked at every position in the Top 10". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  31. ^ "The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart". Official Charts Company. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  32. ^ "British singles certifications - Killers - Mr. Brightside". British Phonographic Industry. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  33. ^ "The million-selling songs that never made it to Number 1". Official Charts Company. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  34. ^ Jones, Alan (2 January 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Sheeran's x scores 12th week at No.1 with sales of 211,168". Music Week. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  35. ^ Moss, Liv (19 June 2015). "Official Biggest Selling Singles of the decade so far revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  36. ^ Copsey, Rob (19 September 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  37. ^ "British singles certifications - Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know". British Phonographic Industry. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  38. ^ Philip Dodd; Paul Du Noyer (1999). The encyclopedia of singles. p. 222. ISBN 0-7525-3337-1.
  39. ^ Bychawski, Adam (21 December 2008). "Alexandra Burke, Jeff Buckley storm Christmas charts with 'Hallelujah'". Nme.com.
  40. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  41. ^ Jones, Alan. "Charts analysis: LF System feeling good at singles summit | Analysis". Music Week. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  42. ^ "The 1975 | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Charts analysis: Adele does the double on albums and singles charts | Analysis | Music Week".
  44. ^ "The curse of Number 11: Big songs that missed the Top 10". Officialcharts.com.
  45. ^ Copsey, Rob (15 February 2019). "Acts that have held Number 1 and 2 at the same time on the Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company.
  46. ^ Copsey, Rob (13 July 2018). "Football may not have come home, but Three Lions has on the UK's Official Chart - and it's broken an all-time chart record". Official Charts Company.
  47. ^ "Charts analysis: First ever static singles Top 10 in chart history | Analysis". Musicweek.com.
  48. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 07 June 2019 - 13 June 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  49. ^ "Little Mix make history as first girl group to claim 100 weeks in Top 10". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  50. ^ "Download chart waits for youth: while its beginnings may be modest, the new rundown has an important future ahead". Music Week. 11 September 2004. ISSN 0265-1548.
  51. ^ "Official Chart for the 22nd June 2008". Official Charts Company.
  52. ^ "Official Chart for the 31st August 2008". Official Charts Company.
  53. ^ "Official Chart for the 1st March 2009". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  54. ^ "Official Chart for the 13th of Feb 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 March 2016.