# List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom
The best-selling singles in the United Kingdom are ranked by the [Official Charts Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/official-charts-company) (OCC), which counts physical sales and digital downloads for each song released since the UK singles chart began in November 1952. Its all-time list is topped by [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john)'s double A-side (single with two songs promoted equally as leads) "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind '97", with UK chart sales in excess of 4.94 million.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First chart | Published 14 November 1952 by the New Musical Express as a Top 12, with Al Martino's "Here in My Heart" at Number 1[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/who-we-are/history-official-charts/) |
| Best-selling single | Elton John, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind '97" (1997), over 4.94 million UK chart sales[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) |
| Million-sellers | 180 singles have surpassed one million sales on combined physical and download figures, the latest being Bastille's "Pompeii"[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) |
| Total market | 4.6 billion singles sold in the UK to date, alongside well over 800 billion total streams[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/) |
| Most million-sellers by one act | The Beatles, with six; their biggest is "She Loves You" (1963) at 1.93 million[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) |
| Biggest non-Number 1 | The Killers' "Mr Brightside", with 5.57 million combined units[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/killers-mr-brightside-UK-biggest-song-not-number-1/) |
| Streaming conversion | 100 premium streams or 600 ad-funded streams count as one single purchase for chart purposes[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/) |
## The top of the list
The top five on the OCC's all-time ranking of physical and download sales is: Elton John's "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind '97" (over 4.94 million), Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (3.83 million), Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2.63 million), Wings' "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls' School" (2.1 million), and [John Travolta](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-travolta) and [Olivia Newton-John](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-newton-john)'s "You're the One That I Want" (2.08 million).[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) The Elton John single was released after the death of [Diana, Princess of Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-princess-of-wales) in 1997, and Guinness World Records records its worldwide sales as 33 million copies, making it the best-selling physical single since the UK and US charts began.[5](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70155-best-selling-single-since-charts-began)
When the OCC first compiled an authoritative ranking of million-sellers to mark the chart's 60th anniversary in 2012, the list contained 123 records, and the top three then stood at 4.9 million, 3.69 million, and 2.36 million respectively.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/04/uk-music-chart-million-sellers) Of the more than 32,000 records that had charted by that point, only 123 had passed one million sales.[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/the-million-sellers-the-uk-s-biggestselling-tracks-since-the-official-singles-chart-began-8282428.html)
## How the list has grown
**The million-seller club has expanded rapidly in the digital era.** At the chart's 50th anniversary in 2002, 76 singles had passed one million sales; ten years later the figure was 123, an increase of over 60 percent in a decade.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/04/uk-music-chart-million-sellers) The Guardian attributed the resurgence partly to digital downloads, which cut the effective price of a single from the equivalent of £5.84 to 99p.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/04/uk-music-chart-million-sellers) By the time Bastille's "Pompeii" became the latest entrant, the total had reached 180.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) The OCC's own About page gives a slightly different figure of 179 singles exceeding one million pure sales, reflecting different counting bases between the two pages.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/)
The underlying market moved in the opposite direction before recovering. Between 1997 and 2003, annual trade deliveries of singles fell by 57 percent, from 87 million to 36 million, a collapse that largely predates illegal online sharing.[8](https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/olympic-britain/technology-and-communication/the-other-diamond-jubilee/) A 2012 OCC survey concluded that UK music fans had bought 3.7 billion singles since 1952, with the 2000s totaling 683 million and 2009 the biggest year at 152 million.[9](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/37-billion-singles-sold-since-official-singles-chart-began-in-1952__2543/) The current total stands at 4.6 billion.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/)
## How sales are counted
The list is based on paid-for sales: physical singles and digital downloads since the chart's inception in 1952. Sales for Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", originally released in 1942, are counted only from 1952 onward.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) The weekly Official Singles Chart itself now combines physical sales, downloads, and streams, with 100 premium streams or 600 ad-funded streams equated to one purchase, and all versions of a track combined into one chart total.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/) Streaming entered the core singles chart in July 2014, and video streams followed in July 2018.[10](https://www.officialcharts.com/getting-into-the-charts/how-the-charts-are-compiled/)
Because the all-time list counts sales rather than streams, its composition differs from streaming-era chart performance. Within the top 40 best-sellers, seven singles released in the 21st century appear: [Pharrell Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pharrell-williams)' "Happy", [Will Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-young)'s "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen", Mark Ronson featuring [Bruno Mars](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-mars)' "Uptown Funk", Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell's "Blurred Lines", Adele's "Someone Like You", Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera's "Moves Like Jagger", and Gotye featuring Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used to Know".[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/)
## Notable records within the list
**Artists with multiple entries.** [The Beatles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beatles) lead with six million-sellers, headed by "She Loves You" at 1.93 million.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/) Rihanna has four million-selling singles in the UK ("We Found Love", "Love the Way You Lie", "Only Girl (In the World)", and "Diamonds"), a total second only to the Beatles' members at the time it was reported.[11](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-rihanna-score-uks-latest-million-selling-singles__3826/)
**The best seller never to reach Number 1.** Oasis's "Wonderwall" long held the title of best-selling song never to top the chart, until [The Killers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-killers)' "Mr Brightside" overtook it on combined sales and streams of 5.57 million in 2024, twenty years after the song first entered the chart at Number 10.[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/killers-mr-brightside-UK-biggest-song-not-number-1/) Wham!'s "Last Christmas" previously held the honor until it finally reached Number 1 in January 2021, 36 years after release.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/)
**Charity and seasonal records.** The original 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" spent five weeks at Number 1 from 15 December 1984 and has returned to the chart every year since 2008, amassing 111 weeks across 22 separate chart runs by 2 January 2025.[12](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70161-best-selling-single-for-charity-on-uk-chart-by-a-group)
## References
1. [The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/)
2. [History of the Official Charts, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/who-we-are/history-official-charts/)
3. [About the Official Charts, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/about/)
4. [The Killers' Mr Brightside overtakes Wonderwall to become the UK's Official biggest single of all time yet to reach Number 1, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/killers-mr-brightside-UK-biggest-song-not-number-1/)
5. [Best-selling physical single since charts began, Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70155-best-selling-single-since-charts-began)
6. [Candle in the Wind tops UK chart of charts – 123 records that sold a million, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/04/uk-music-chart-million-sellers)
7. [The Million Sellers – the UK's biggest-selling tracks since the Official Singles Chart began, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/the-million-sellers-the-uk-s-biggestselling-tracks-since-the-official-singles-chart-began-8282428.html)
8. [The other Diamond Jubilee – The UK singles chart and music sales, UK Parliament](https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/olympic-britain/technology-and-communication/the-other-diamond-jubilee/)
9. [3.7 billion singles sold since Official Singles Chart began in 1952, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/37-billion-singles-sold-since-official-singles-chart-began-in-1952__2543/)
10. [How the Official Charts are compiled, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/getting-into-the-charts/how-the-charts-are-compiled/)
11. [Adele and Rihanna score UK's latest million selling singles, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-rihanna-score-uks-latest-million-selling-singles__3826/)
12. [Best-selling charity single in the UK (duo/group), Guinness World Records](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/70161-best-selling-single-for-charity-on-uk-chart-by-a-group)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Thematic song lists, charts, and media-franchise catalogs › Chart record and certification lists › Best-selling and sales record lists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license