thumb|upright|[[Elvis Presley has achieved 21 number ones on the UK singles chart, more than any other act.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photograph of Elvis Presley from the film Jailhouse Rock.]]
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 14 February 2026, 1,451 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. NMEs 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, with 42; the year with the fewest number ones is 2016, with 10. 1952 had only one number one, although the chart started in November.
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. 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. 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. 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.
thumb|right|Graph showing number of UK number-one singles for each year since 1953. The 2011 figure is projected.
thumb|upright|[[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.|alt=]]
Number ones in each year
thumb|upright|[[The Beatles topped the chart 17 times during the 1960s, more than any other act that decade.|alt=Composite image of four black and white photographs showing the faces of The Beatles]]
thumb|upright|[[Madonna is the most successful female solo artist in the UK, having achieved 13 number-one singles.]]
thumb|upright|[[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.]]
thumb|upright|[[Westlife were the most successful band of the 2000s, with 11 number-one singles in that decade and 14 overall.]]
thumb|upright|[[Tinie Tempah had seven UK number-one singles in the 2010s.]]
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:90%;"
|+Key
|bgcolor=#FFFF99 align=center|
|Most number ones of the decade
|-
|bgcolor=lightblue align=center|
|Most number ones of all time
|}
{|id=toc class=toc summary=Contents
!
|-
|align=center|1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
!scope=col|Year
!scope=col|Number-one singles
!scope=col class=unsortable|Ref.
|- class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|1950s
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1952
|align=center|1
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1953
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1961
|align=center|21
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1962
|align=center|12
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1963
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1964
|align=center|23
|align=center|
|-bgcolor=#FFFF99
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1965
|align=center|24
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1966
|align=center|20
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1967
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1968
|align=center|21
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1969
|align=center|18
|align=center|
|- class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|1970s
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1970
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1971
|align=center|13
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1972
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1973
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-bgcolor=#FFFF99
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1974
|align=center|21
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1975
|align=center|20
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1976
|align=center|16
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1977
|align=center|18
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1978
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1979
|align=center|18
|align=center|
|- class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|1980s
|-bgcolor=#FFFF99
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1980
|align=center|24
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1981
|align=center|19
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1982
|align=center|21
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1983
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1984
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1985
|align=center|19
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1986
|align=center|20
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1987
|align=center|19
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1988
|align=center|19
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1989
|align=center|18
|align=center|
|-class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|1990s
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1990
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1991
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1992
|align=center|12
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1993
|align=center|15
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1994
|align=center|15
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1995
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1996
|align=center|24
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1997
|align=center|24
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1998
|align=center|29
|align=center|
|-bgcolor=#FFFF99
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|1999
|align=center|36
|align=center|
|-class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|2000s
|-bgcolor=lightblue
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2000
|align=center|42
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2001
|align=center|30
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2002
|align=center|30
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2003
|align=center|22
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2004
|align=center|29
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2005
|align=center|28
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2006
|align=center|24
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2007
|align=center|17
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2008
|align=center|20
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2009
|align=center|31
|align=center|
|-class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|2010s
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2010
|align=center|35
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2011
|align=center|30
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2012
|align=center|36
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2013
|align=center|29
|align=center|
|-bgcolor=#FFFF99
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2014
|align=center|38
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2015
|align=center|23
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2016
|align=center|10
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2017
|align=center|14
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2018
|align=center|16
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2019
|align=center|12
|align=center|
|-class=unsortable
!scope=row style="text-align:center;" colspan=3|2020s
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2020
|align=center|20
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2021
|align=center|13
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2022
|align=center|12
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2023
|align=center|15
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2024
|align=center|13
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2025
|align=center|13
|align=center|
|-
!scope=row style="text-align:center;"|2026
|align=center|8
|align=center|
|}
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
References
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