Lists of UK singles chart number ones

Black-and-white publicity photograph of Elvis Presley from the film Jailhouse Rock.

Elvis Presley has achieved 21 number ones on the UK Singles Chart, more than any other act.

The UK Singles Chart is a weekly record chart which for most of its history was based on single sales from Sunday to Saturday in the United Kingdom. Since July 2014 it has also incorporated streaming data, and from 10 July 2015 has been based on a Friday to Thursday week. As of 8 May 2025, 1437 singles have reached number one. The chart was founded in 1952 by Percy Dickins of New Musical Express (NME), who telephoned 20 record stores to ask what their top 10 highest-selling singles were. Dickins aggregated the results into a top 12 hit parade, which was topped by "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino. NMETemplate:'s chart was published each week in its eponymous magazine.

The sources, in accordance with the official canon of the Official Charts Company, are the New Musical Express chart from 1952 to 1960; the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969; and the Official UK Singles Chart from 1969 onwards.

Turnover of number ones

The calendar year that has featured the most UK number ones is 2000, which featured 42 singles reaching the top spot; the year with the fewest number ones is 1952 with 1, followed by 2016 with 10. The act that has achieved the most number ones is American entertainer Elvis Presley, who has topped the chart 21 times (including 3 re-releases of songs that had previously been number ones) – Presley's second number one, "Jailhouse Rock", was the first single ever to debut at the top of the chart.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The most successful band (and equal with Elvis based on unique songs) are The Beatles, who have achieved 18 number ones. The Beatles' first chart-topper, "From Me to You", reached number one in May 1963, and their last in November 2023 – the longest span of number ones for any artist.

In the 1970s, the required number of sales needed to top the chart was roughly 150,000.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During 1992, when few releases were reaching number one, sales of CD singles were low: songs needed to sell only 60–70,000 each week to remain at the top.<ref name=Masterton/> In 2000, when turnover of number ones was high, tracks could often sell between 100,000 and 200,000 copies in a single week.<ref name=Masterton/> UK chart commentator James Masterton remarked in 2003: "When record sales are high, public interest in a song expires very quickly and this creates a need for ever more new product to take its place."<ref name=Masterton>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sales figures improved in 2008 and continued into the early 2010s, peaking in 2013, before declining over the next few years as audio streaming became popular. Eventually, streaming was incorporated into the sales chart.

File:Numberones.JPG

Graph showing number of UK number-one singles for each year since 1953. The 2011 figure is projected.

File:Al Martino 1952.JPG

Al Martino's track "Here in My Heart" was the first single ever to top the UK Singles Chart, and the only single to reach number one during 1952.

Number ones in each year

Composite image of four black and white photographs showing the faces of The Beatles

The Beatles topped the chart 17 times during the 1960s, more than any other act that decade

File:Madonna at the premiere of I Am Because We Are.jpg

Madonna is the most successful female solo artist in the UK, having achieved 13 number one singles

File:Bryan Adams Hamburg MG 0631 flickr.jpg

Bryan Adams' first number one, "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", spent 16 consecutive weeks at number one, longer than any other track

File:West life.jpg

Westlife were the most successful band of the 2000s, with 11 number one singles in that decade and 14 overall

File:Tinie Tempah Toronto 2011.jpg

Tinie Tempah (above) had seven UK number one singles in the 2010s

Key

Template:Dagger	Most number ones of the decade
Template:Double dagger	Most number ones of all time

Year	Number-one singles	Ref.
Template:Anchor1950s
1952	1	<ref name=1950s>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1953	14	<ref name=1950s/>
1954	11	<ref name=1950s/>
1955	14	<ref name=1950s/>
1956	12	<ref name=1950s/>
1957	13	<ref name=1950s/>
1958	13	<ref name=1950s/>
1959	16 Template:Dagger	<ref name=1950s/>
Template:Anchor1960s
1960	16	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1961	21	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1962	12	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1963	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1964	23	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1965	24 Template:Dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1966	20	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1967	14	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1968	21	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1969	18	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor1970s
1970	14	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1971	13	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1972	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1973	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1974	21 Template:Dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1975	20	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1976	16	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1977	18	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1978	14	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1979	18	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor1980s
1980	24 Template:Dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1981	19	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1982	21	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1983	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1984	14	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1985	19	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1986	20	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1987	19	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1988	19	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1989	18	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor1990s
1990	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1991	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1992	12	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1993	15	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1994	15	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1995	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1996	24	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1997	24	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1998	29	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	36 Template:Dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor2000s
2000	42 Template:Double dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2001	30	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2002	30	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2003	22	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004	29	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2005	28	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006	24	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2007	17	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2008	20	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2009	31	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor2010s
2010	35	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2011	30	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2012	36	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2013	29	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2014	38 Template:Dagger	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2015	23	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2016	10	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2017	14	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	16	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	12	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Anchor2020s
2020	20	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021	13	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2022	12	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023	15	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	13	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2025	12	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of NME number-one singles of the 1970s – the original chart source continued to independently compile a chart
• List of NME number-one singles of the 1980s – the original chart source continued to independently compile a chart

External links

• Official UK Singles Top 100 at the Official Charts Company
• The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart at BBC Radio 1
• UK number 1 chart singles since 1952