Lists of UK singles chart number ones

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.

[1] The most successful band (and equal with Elvis based on unique songs) are The Beatles, who have achieved 18 number ones.

[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] 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.

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.
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.
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
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