Lists of UK singles chart number ones

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. NME's chart was published each week in its eponymous magazine.

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

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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] In 2000, when turnover of number ones was high, tracks could often sell between 100,000 and 200,000 copies in a single week.^[3] 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."^[3] 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key

†	Most number ones of the decade
‡	Most number ones of all time

Contents
1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010s • 2020s

Year	Number-one singles	Ref.
1950s
1952	1	[4]
1953	14	[4]
1954	11	[4]
1955	14	[4]
1956	12	[4]
1957	13	[4]
1958	13	[4]
1959	16 †	[4]
1960s
1960	16	[5]
1961	21	[6]
1962	12	[7]
1963	17	[8]
1964	23	[9]
1965	24 †	[10]
1966	20	[11]
1967	14	[12]
1968	21	[13]
1969	18	[14]
1970s
1970	14	[15]
1971	13	[16]
1972	17	[17]
1973	17	[18]
1974	21 †	[19]
1975	20	[20]
1976	16	[21]
1977	18	[22]
1978	14	[23]
1979	18	[24]
1980s
1980	24 †	[25]
1981	19	[26]
1982	21	[27]
1983	17	[28]
1984	14	[29]
1985	19	[30]
1986	20	[31]
1987	19	[32]
1988	19	[33]
1989	18	[34]
1990s
1990	17	[35]
1991	17	[36]
1992	12	[37]
1993	15	[38]
1994	15	[39]
1995	17	[40]
1996	24	[41]
1997	24	[42]
1998	29	[43]
1999	36 †	[44]
2000s
2000	42 ‡	[45]
2001	30	[46]
2002	30	[47]
2003	22	[48]
2004	29	[49]
2005	28	[50]
2006	24	[51]
2007	17	[52]
2008	20	[53]
2009	31	[54]
2010s
2010	35	[55]
2011	30	[56]
2012	36	[57]
2013	29	[58]
2014	38 †	[59]
2015	23	[60]
2016	10	[61]
2017	14	[62]
2018	16	[63]
2019	12	[64]
2020s
2020	20	[65]
2021	13	[66]
2022	12	[67]
2023	15	[68]
2024	13	[69]
2025	4	[70]

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