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.
Contents
- Most number ones
- Progression of the record
- Most weeks at number one
- Number ones by different artists
- Most number ones from chart debut
- Posthumous number ones
- Lowest selling number one
- Self replacement at number one
- Fastest selling single
- Biggest selling single not to top the chart
- Downloads
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- 2000s
- 2010s up to and including week ending 17th November 2016
- Top chart acts per year by total weeks on the singles chart
- Youngest
- Oldest
- General
- Most hits without reaching
- Weeks on chart by individual singles
- Most singles in a year
- Simultaneously charting song
- Longest time between number one hit singles for an artist
- Album with most original number one hits
- Biggest drop out of the Top 10
- Singles to have stalled at Number 2 twice
- Shortest playing single to reach Number 1
- First to
- References
Most number ones
The following is a list of all the acts who are on five 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).
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.
Progression of the record
Al Martino was the first act to have a number one single, with "Here in My Heart" in November 1952. Seven months later Eddie Fisher became the first act to have two number one singles, with "I'm Walking Behind You" following "Outside of Heaven". In November 1953 Frankie Laine scored a third number one single with "Answer Me" and a fourth with "A Woman in Love" in October 1956. In 1960 "It's Now or Never" gave Elvis Presley his fifth number-one single. He increased the record ten times until June 1965 when "Crying in the Chapel" became his 15th number one. The Beatles then took the record with a 16th, "Get Back", and 17th, "The Ballad of John and Yoko", their last number one to date. After his death in August 1977, Elvis scored a 17th chart topper with "Way Down" to tie.
In 2002, having been used in a Nike World Cup advertisement, a 1968 Elvis song "A Little Less Conversation" was remixed as Elvis vs JXL and went straight to the top for 4 weeks, giving Elvis his 18th number one single. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of his birthday, all of Elvis' 18 number ones were re-issued in 2005. Despite being re-issues, they were given different catalogue numbers and therefore count as separate singles, giving Elvis 21 number one singles.
^ Note: The Shadows, or The Drifters as they were originally called, are credited on twelve #1 singles. Seven of these share credit with Cliff Richard and some lists recognise only their 5 chart-topping singles without Richard.
Most weeks at number one
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. It is one of four singles to return to number one more than once, the others being "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell in 1957, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams in 2014 and "What Do You Mean?" by Justin Bieber in 2015.
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.
Below is a table of all singles that have spent 10 or more weeks at the top of the charts:
* not consecutive weeks at the top of the charts
Number ones by different artists
Currently two songs have reached number one four times by different artists, which are "Unchained Melody" and "Do They Know It's Christmas?".
Four artists
Three artists
Two artists
Most number ones from chart debut
In 1963, Gerry & the Pacemakers became the first act to have their first three singles reach number one when "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" & "You'll Never Walk Alone" all hit the top spot.
The record was equalled by Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1984 and five years later by Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers.
During 1996 and 1997, the Spice Girls took their first six singles to number one from "Wannabe" to "Too Much".
Westlife, became the first 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" & "My Love") reach number one in 2000.
Posthumous number ones
The first artist to score a number one single after their death was Buddy Holly in April 1959 with "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". Singer Eddie Cochran later made no. 1 after being killed in a taxi crash with "Three Steps to Heaven" in June 1960. Jim Reeves scored a no. 1 single with "Distant Drums" in September 1966, two years after his death in a plane crash.
Dying in 1970, Jimi Hendrix scored his only chart-topping single with "Voodoo Child" two months after his death, in November. After this the only other artists to receive one posthumous number one single were:
Harrison took over from Aaliyah at the top, marking the only time in UK chart history one posthumous act has replaced a different posthumous act at number one.
Elvis Presley and John Lennon have both accumulated three or more posthumous chart toppers. John Lennon did not have any solo no. 1 singles during his lifetime, but after his death "(Just Like) Starting Over" and 1975 song "Imagine" went to number one. Lennon became the second act to replace themselves at the top of the UK charts when "Woman" took over for a two-week spell at the top. Shortly after this Roxy Music's version of "Jealous Guy" also reached no. 1, meaning that from December 1980 to March 1981 four out of six chart toppers were written by Lennon.
Presley holds the record for the most posthumous chart toppers. Following his death in August 1977, "Way Down" instantly shot to the top for five weeks. Twenty-five years later, an old song called "A Little Less Conversation" was remixed by JXL and used in a Nike World Cup advert. It became so popular that it shot straight to the top of the charts and remained there for four weeks. Then in 2005, RCA decided to re-issue all 18 of his no. 1 singles for his 70th birthday anniversary. "Jailhouse Rock", "One Night/I Got Stung" and "It's Now or Never" became three more chart toppers for the superstar, giving him 21 in total of which five were posthumous. In 2007, the 30th anniversary of his death, one of Presley's albums reached the top spot.
American rapper Tupac Shakur died in September 1996. His rival, the Notorious B.I.G., was killed a few months later in 1997. Neither reached the top of the UK charts during their lifetimes, but in 2005, Tupac reached number one with "Ghetto Gospel" sharing the credit with Elton John. A few months later, in 2006 the Notorious B.I.G. matched this feat with "Nasty Girl" (sharing the credit with Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm).
Lowest selling number one
The lowest weekly sale for a number one single is 17,694 copies held by Orson's "No Tomorrow" in 2006.
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.
Self replacement at number one
Since the inception of the UK Singles Chart in 1952 only four acts have replaced themselves at the top of the UK charts with exactly the same billing (as opposed to any named artist, for example 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows' and 'The Shadows' have had back to back number ones on four occasions):
Fastest selling single
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).
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. Publicity had built up due to the televised talent contest Pop Idol with 8.7 million people phoning in to vote for the finalists.
Biggest selling single not to top the chart
The record is held by Wham! with their 1984 Christmas release, "Last Christmas" / "Everything She Wants", which peaked at number two, being kept off the top by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It has sold 1.77 million copies following first week sales of half a million.
The biggest selling single to peak at number three is New Order's "Blue Monday", which has sold over a million copies. 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 single to peak at number three without re-issues is Ed Sheeran's "The A Team", which has sold over 1,067,000 copies since its 2011 release. The biggest selling single to never make the top 5 is "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, which peaked at number 6 and has sold more copies than "The A Team".
Downloads
Downloads grew steadily in popularity after first being integrated into the chart in 2005. Although Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" gained considerable attention for being the first song to enter at number one on downloads alone in 2006, this eventually received a physical CD release. 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.
On 22 June 2008, both songs in the top two were there on downloads alone:
- "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
- "Closer" by Ne-Yo
On 31 August 2008, the top three were download-only at the time:
- "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
- "Pjanoo" by Eric Prydz
- "Disturbia" by Rihanna
On 1 March 2009, the top four were all download-only:
- "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson
- "Love Story" by Taylor Swift
- "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga
- "Dead and Gone" by T.I. (feat. Justin Timberlake)
By 13 February 2010, the whole top 9 consisted of download-only songs:
- "Fireflies" by Owl City
- "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" by Jedward (feat. Vanilla Ice)
- "If We Ever Meet Again" by Timbaland (feat. Katy Perry)
- "Don't Stop Believin'" by Glee Cast
- "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" by Alicia Keys
- "Replay" by Iyaz
- "Starstrukk" by 3OH!3 (feat. Katy Perry)
- "One Shot" by JLS
- "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey
1950s
1. Elvis Presley 298 weeks 2. Frankie Laine 268 weeks 3. Pat Boone 239 weeks 4. Lonnie Donegan 213 weeks 5. Perry Como 191 weeks 6. David Whitfield 189 weeks 7. Bill Haley & his Comets 173 weeks 8. Johnnie Ray 163 weeks 9. Guy Mitchell 153 weeks 10. Nat "King" Cole 147 weeks1960s
1. The Shadows 631 weeks 2. Cliff Richard 537 weeks 3. Elvis Presley 444 weeks 4. The Beatles 333 weeks 5. Roy Orbison 309 weeks 6. Jim Reeves 292 weeks 7. Billy Fury 258 weeks 8. Adam Faith 246 weeks 9. The Hollies 231 weeks 10. The Everly Brothers 222 weeks1970s
1. Elvis Presley 331 weeks 2. Elton John 223 weeks 3. Diana Ross 220 weeks 4. Paul McCartney/Wings 216 weeks 5. Rod Stewart 209 weeks 6. Marc Bolan/T. Rex 196 weeks 7. David Bowie 196 weeks 8. Cliff Richard 185 weeks 9. Hot Chocolate 176 weeks 10. Abba 173 weeks1980s
- Shakin' Stevens 254 weeks
- Madonna 252 weeks
- Michael Jackson 241 weeks
- Cliff Richard 234 weeks
- UB40 222 weeks
- Madness 217 weeks
- Kool & the Gang 196 weeks
1990s
- Oasis 282 weeks
- Madonna 258 weeks
- Mariah Carey 219 weeks
- Celine Dion 215 weeks
- Boyzone 201 weeks
- Janet Jackson 177 weeks
- Michael Jackson 175 weeks
- East 17/E17 170 weeks
- Whitney Houston 169 weeks
- Bryan Adams 163 weeks
2000's
- Kanye West 320 weeks
- Rihanna 300 weeks
- Justin Timberlake 289 weeks
- Beyoncé 287 weeks
- Akon 280 weeks
- Britney Spears 278 weeks
- Pink 268 weeks
- Sugababes 265 weeks
- Girls Aloud 255 weeks
- Eminem 250 weeks
2010's (up to and including week ending 17th November 2016)
- Rihanna 782 weeks
- Ed Sheeran 526 weeks
- David Guetta 507 weeks
- Justin Bieber 481 weeks
- Drake 414 weeks
- Tinie Tempah 406 weeks
- Calvin Harris 397 weeks
- Bruno Mars 385 weeks
- Nicki Minaj 365 weeks
- Chris Brown 361 weeks
Top chart acts per year by total weeks on the singles chart
Totals include all instances where an artist is actually credited as part of the act. Therefore, for example, The Shadows score for their own hits as well as those where they backed Cliff Richard, and Diana Ross scores for both her solo hits and those as Diana Ross & the Supremes. However, Paul McCartney, for example, is not credited for any of The Beatles' hits as he does not have a separate credit, (although his hits with Wings do count towards his total as they are classed together in the Guinness Book of Hit Singles).
Youngest
Oldest
General
NB: In the following statistics, Elvis Presley's 17 re-issues in 2005, which all made the Top 5, count as separate hits.
Most hits without reaching...
Weeks on chart by individual singles
Top 100: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol (166 weeks)
Top 75: "My Way" by Frank Sinatra (124 weeks) (122 weeks when only a top 50 was compiled followed by two more in the top 75)
Top 40: "My Way" (75 weeks)
Top 100: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (95 weeks)
Top 75: "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (73 weeks)
Top 40: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (54 weeks)
Most singles in a year
Simultaneously charting song
Longest time between number one hit singles for an artist
The Hollies went 23 years between their first top hit "I'm Alive" in 1965 and their next top hit, the re-release of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" in 1988. They had eleven other singles in the top 10 in that interim time, including three singles to reach the number 2 spot.
Album with most original number-one hits
There are two albums which have produced four number-one original hits: Spice by Spice Girls ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Mama" / "Who Do You Think You Are") and B*Witched by B*Witched ("C'est la Vie", "Rollercoaster", "To You I Belong" and "Blame It on the Weatherman").
Biggest drop out of the Top 10
Some singles have been deleted from the charts due to technicalities, and have thus "dropped" out of the Top 10 and the singles chart entirely. Such singles include: "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel (1969), "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (2006) and "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado (2006).
Singles to have stalled at Number 2 twice
This unlucky feat has only been achieved three times in chart history:
"Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro on 1 June 1968 then, on reissue, on 26 April 1975
"Crazy for You" by Madonna on 29 June 1985 then, on reissue on 2/9 March 1991
"One for Sorrow" by Steps on 5 September 1998 then, on reissue on 6 October 2001
11 songs have reached number 1 with a longer playing time than "Bohemian Rhapsody" (5:55):
"All Around the World" by Oasis 9:38
"Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake 8:05
"I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf 7:48
"D'You Know What I Mean?" by Oasis 7:21
"Hey Jude" by The Beatles 7:11
"We Are the World" by USA for Africa 7:05
"Jesus to a Child" by George Michael 6:51
"Belfast Child" by Simple Minds 6:39
"Innuendo" by Queen 6:30
"Frozen" by Madonna 6:12
"I'm Not in Love" by 10cc 6:04
Shortest playing single to reach Number 1
"What Do You Want?" by Adam Faith 1:35 (1959)