Longest span of UK No.1 singles

The 18 UK No.1 singles achieved by The Beatles (UK) stretch over a period of 60 years 198 days, from the first of seven weeks at No.1 for “From Me to You” on the chart dated 2 May 1963 to “Now and Then”, which debuted at the top on 16 November 2023 courtesy of 78,200 combined sales and streaming units – including 19,400 vinyl copies (unrivalled by any act in the 21st century) and 5.03 million streams (a career high for the band). The 47 years 208 days between Elvis Presley’s first and 21st No.1 singles – “All Shook Up” on 12 July 1957 to the re-issued “It’s Now or Never” on 5 February 2005 – had been the longest span of UK chart-toppers, while Kate Bush retains the solo female record of 44 years 118 days, from “Wuthering Heights” on 11 March 1978 to “Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)” on 7 July 2022.

“Now and Then” was released as a double A-side with a stereo mix of their first single, 1962’s “Love Me Do”, and has been added to an expanded re-issue of their 1973 compilation album 1967–1970 (aka the “Blue Album”). The single debuted at No.42 on the Official Singles Chart on 9 November 2023, on the strength of just 10 hours’ worth of streaming and sales activity following its worldwide premiere on 2 November. In its first full week of availability in the UK (3–9 November), “Now and Then” shifted enough paid-for downloads and physical copies (38,000 on CD/vinyl/cassette – the highest one-week total since 2014) and attracted enough streams – including 1,597,209 on Spotify alone – to climb 41 places to No.1. “Now and Then” also gave The Beatles the longest gap between UK No.1 singles: their 17th chart-topper, “The Ballad of John and Yoko”, spent the last of its three weeks at the top on the chart dated 25 June 1969 – 54 years 144 days before “Now and Then” tasted No.1 success.