The UK's Million Selling Singles

Zeus555Zeus555 Posts: 602
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A new Book, about 'The Million Sellers', can be bought
from Amazon.uk:,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Million-Sellers-Omnibus-Press/dp/1780387180/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352117308&sr=1-1

The Million Sellers – the UK’s biggest ever selling singles revealed!

04/11/2012

By Dan Lane

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Official Singles Chart next week, the Official Charts Company are publishing a hardback book – The Million Sellers. To celebrate its launch, today we unveil the complete list of the UK’s best selling singles ever. And yes, there may be some Whigfield in there!

2012 looks set to be the biggest ever year for singles sales in the UK, however it still takes something special for a record to join the hallowed ‘Million Sellers Club’. Since the Official Singles Chart began in 1952, an estimated 32,000 tracks have entered the chart, though only 123 of them have ever broken through the million copies sales barrier. And here for the first time we reveal them, and show how this decade we are entering a new era of the super hit.

And may we point out, in just what other record collection in the world can Teletubbies and Bob The Builder sit so rightfully alongside The Beatles and Michael Jackson? Oh yes.

Top 123 Million Sellers from the OCC themselves up to May 2012:

THE MILLION SELLERS

TITLE ARTIST YEAR OF RELEASE SALES (MILLION)

1 SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT/CANDLE IN THE WIND 97 - ELTON JOHN 1997 4.90
2 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? - BAND AID 1984 3.69
3 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - QUEEN 1975 2.36
4 MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL - WINGS 1977 2.00
5 YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN 1978 2.00
6 RIVERS OF BABYLON/BROWN GIRL IN THE RING - BONEY M 1978 2.00
7 RELAX - FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD 1983 2.00
8 SHE LOVES YOU - THE BEATLES 1963 1.90
9 UNCHAINED MELODY/(THERE'LL BE BLUEBIRDS OVER) THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER - ROBSON GREEN & JEROME FLYNN 1995 1.86
10 LOVE IS ALL AROUND - WET WET WET 1994 1.85
11 MARY'S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD - BONEY M 1978 1.85
12 I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU - STEVIE WONDER 1984 1.83
13 BARBIE GIRL - AQUA 1997 1.79
14 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/EVERGREEN - WILL YOUNG 2002 1.79
15 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND - THE BEATLES 1963 1.77
16 BELIEVE - CHER 1998 1.74
17 (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU - BRYAN ADAMS 1991 1.72
18 LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS - WHAM! 1984 1.60
19 IMAGINE - JOHN LENNON 1975 1.60
20 SUMMER NIGHTS - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN 1978 1.59
21 TWO TRIBES - FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD 1984 1.58
22 I'LL BE MISSING YOU - PUFF DADDY & FAITH EVANS 1997 1.56
23 PERFECT DAY - VARIOUS ARTISTS 1997 1.55
24 DON'T YOU WANT ME? - HUMAN LEAGUE 1981 1.54
25 CAN'T BUY ME LOVE - THE BEATLES 1964 1.53
26 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - WHITNEY HOUSTON 1992 1.53
27 THREE LIONS - BADDIEL & SKINNER & LIGHTNING SEEDS 1996 1.53
28 TEARS - KEN DODD 1965 1.52
29 ...BABY ONE MORE TIME - BRITNEY SPEARS 1999 1.51
30 MY HEART WILL GO ON - CELINE DION 1998 1.48
31 KARMA CHAMELEON - CULTURE CLUB 1983 1.47
32 YMCA - VILLAGE PEOPLE 1978 1.46
33 CARELESS WHISPER - GEORGE MICHAEL 1984 1.45
34 (WE'RE GONNA) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK - BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS 1955 1.42
35 I FEEL FINE - THE BEATLES 1964 1.41
36 THE CARNIVAL IS OVER - THE SEEKERS 1965 1.41
37 GANGSTA'S PARADISE - COOLIO FEATURING L.V. 1995 1.41
38 EYE OF THE TIGER - SURVIVOR 1982 1.41
39 THE POWER OF LOVE - JENNIFER RUSH 1985 1.39
40 WE CAN WORK IT OUT/DAY TRIPPER - THE BEATLES 1964 1.39
41 RELEASE ME - ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK 1967 1.38
42 SOMEONE LIKE YOU - ADELE 2011 1.36
43 KILLING ME SOFTLY - FUGEES 1996 1.36
44 UNCHAINED MELODY - GARETH GATES 2002 1.34
45 WANNABE - SPICE GIRLS 1996 1.32
46 (IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO - TONY CHRISTIE FT. PETER KAY 2005 1.31
47 NEVER EVER - ALL SAINTS 1997 1.31
48 COME ON EILEEN - DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS 1982 1.31
49 THINK TWICE - CELINE DION 1994 1.30
50 I GOTTA FEELING - BLACK EYED PEAS 2009 1.30
51 IT WASN'T ME - SHAGGY FEATURING RIKROK 2001 1.28
52 TAINTED LOVE - SOFT CELL 1981 1.27
53 HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE 1979 1.27
54 MOVES LIKE JAGGER - MAROON 5 FEATURING CHRISTINA AGUILERA 2011 1.27
55 WONDERWALL - OASIS 1995 1.26
56 IT'S NOW OR NEVER - ELVIS PRESLEY 1960 1.26
57 DIANA - PAUL ANKA 1957 1.25
58 IT'S LIKE THAT - RUN-D.M.C. VS JASON NEVINS 1997 1.25
59 HALLELUJAH - ALEXANDRA BURKE 2008 1.24
60 GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME - TOM JONES 1966 1.23
61 SEX ON FIRE - KINGS OF LEON 2008 1.20
62 BRIGHT EYES - ART GARFUNKEL 1979 1.20
63 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY - SLADE 1973 1.19
64 HEARTBEAT/TRAGEDY - STEPS 1998 1.18
65 MARY'S BOY CHILD - HARRY BELAFONTE 1957 1.18
66 THE LAST WALTZ - ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK 1967 1.17
67 EARTH SONG - MICHAEL JACKSON 1995 1.16
68 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? - BAND AID 20 2004 1.16
69 BLUE MONDAY - NEW ORDER 1983 1.16
70 STRANGER ON THE SHORE - MR ACKER BILK AND THE LEON YOUNG STRING CHORALE 1961 1.16
71 DON'T GIVE UP ON US - DAVID SOUL 1976 1.16
72 CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD - KYLIE MINOGUE 2001 1.15
73 I LOVE YOU LOVE ME LOVE - GARY GLITTER 1973 1.14
74 SPACEMAN - BABYLON ZOO 1996 1.14
75 SATURDAY NIGHT- WHIGFIELD 1994 1.14
76 WE FOUND LOVE - RIHANNA FEATURING CALVIN HARRIS 2011 1.13
77 NO MATTER WHAT - BOYZONE 1998 1.13
78 JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (AMAZING) - BRUNO MARS 2010 1.12
79 PARTY ROCK ANTHEM - LMFAO FEATURING LAUREN BENNETT AND GOONROCK 2011 1.12
80 I BELIEVE/UP ON THE ROOF - ROBSON & JEROME 1995 1.11
81 ANGELS - ROBBIE WILLIAMS 1997 1.11
82 HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK - IAN DURY AND THE BLOCKHEADS 1978 1.11
83 TELETUBBIES SAY "EH-OH!" - TELETUBBIES 1997 1.11
84 2 BECOME 1 - SPICE GIRLS 1996 1.11
85 TORN - NATALIE IMBRUGLIA 1997 1.11
86 POKER FACE - LADY GAGA 2009 1.11
87 I REMEMBER YOU - FRANK IFIELD 1962 1.10
88 THAT'S MY GOAL - SHAYNE WARD 2005 1.10
89 GHOSTBUSTERS - RAY PARKER JR. 1984 1.09
90 PURE AND SIMPLE - HEAR'SAY 2001 1.09
91 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) - PINK FLOYD 1979 1.08
92 BACK FOR GOOD - TAKE THAT 1995 1.07
93 BLUE (DA BA DEE) - EIFFEL 65 1999 1.07
94 PRICE TAG - JESSIE J FEATURING B.o.B 2011 1.07
95 HEY JUDE - THE BEATLES 1968 1.06
96 THE YOUNG ONES - CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS 1962 1.06
97 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW - GOTYE FEATURING KIMBRA 2011 1.06
98 DANCING QUEEN - ABBA 1976 1.06
99 I FEEL LOVE - DONNA SUMMER 1977 1.05
100 LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - EMINEM FEATURING RIHANNA 2010 1.05
101 FAME - IRENE CARA 1982 1.05
102 RIDE ON TIME - BLACK BOX 1989 1.05
103 ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD) - RIHANNA 2010 1.04
104 UNCHAINED MELODY - THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS 1965 1.04
105 BLEEDING LOVE - LEONA LEWIS 2007 1.04
106 CRAZY - GNARLS BARKLEY 2006 1.04
107 STAND & DELIVER- ADAM AND THE ANTS 1981 1.03
108 I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING - AEROSMITH 1998 1.03
109 CAN WE FIX IT? - BOB THE BUILDER 2000 1.02
110 UPTOWN GIRL - BILLY JOEL 1983 1.02
111 I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR 1979 1.02
112 SAILING - ROD STEWART 1975 1.02
113 SUGAR SUGAR - THE ARCHIES 1969 1.02
114 SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME - BROTHERHOOD OF MAN 1976 1.01
115 I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - THE NEW SEEKERS 1971 1.01
116 WHITE CHRISTMAS - BING CROSBY WITH THE KEN DARBY SINGERS AND JOHN SCOTT TROTTER ORCHESTRA 1942 1.01
117 DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA - JULIE COVINGTON 1976 1.01
118 THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT - TIGHT FIT 1982 1.01
119 EYE LEVEL- THE SIMON PARK ORCHESTRA 1972 1.01
120 LONG HAIRED LOVER FROM LIVERPOOL - LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND 1972 1.00
121 UNDER THE MOON OF LOVE - SHOWADDYWADDY 1976 1.00
122 TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLE OAK TREE - DAWN FEATURING TONY ORLANDO 1973 1.00
123 WHEN WE COLLIDE - MATT CARDLE 2010 1.00

© 2012 The Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.


Sir Elton John’s double A-Side Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind ’97 tops the chart with sales of over 4.9 million copies. The single was released in September 1997 to pay tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales who had been killed in a car accident the previous month. It sold 658,000 copies on its first day on sale, and 1.5 million copies during its first week on sale, making it the UK’s biggest and fastest selling single ever.

The new era of the super hit!

When the Official Singles Chart celebrated its 50th birthday back in 2002, only 76 singles had registered on the million-selling record books. Today, that number is 123. That’s a disproportionately huge 62% increase in just one decade. It is clear from The Million Sellers book that the ‘70s was an era of the monster single producing 27 million-sellers – until the ‘90s, when 32 tracks reached the million mark.

Right now, however, the current decade is on course to surpass both the ‘70s and ‘90s , with 10** more singles passing that significant landmark in less than three years. Artists such as the unstoppable Rihanna having racked up 3 million-sellers to her name by the age of 24, plus the mighty Adele, Jessie J, Calvin Harris and Gotye – all of whom between them are creating a new era of the super-hit.

NOTE - Since the Book was written, (May), there has been
a 124th UK Million Selling Single - 'Call Me Maybe', by
Carly Rae Jepsen.

Comments

  • wonderwall2012wonderwall2012 Posts: 306
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    Its amazing how well Robson & Jermone did on the back of their hit sseries at that time "Soldier Soldier"
  • MandarkMandark Posts: 47,926
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    EYE LEVEL- THE SIMON PARK ORCHESTRA 1972 - I used to listen to that constantly as a little kid and then when I was a bit older. Loved it!! :D
  • StratusSphereStratusSphere Posts: 2,813
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    Fascinating stuff...of course with everything being available at once digitally, older songs just short of the million mark will be pushing over the line now too I imagine...
  • Hound of LoveHound of Love Posts: 79,800
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    Interesting list! Thanks, OP.

    Now, if only Guinness, or someone else, would bring back the Book Of Hit Singles.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    Since some of them were double-a-sides (Elton, Wings, Boney M, etc), does it mean they would've sold double that originally?

    I ask as I remember reading Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever didn't make no. 1 as the sales were halved as a result

    Maybe I was wrong, I dunno :D
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    tbh its a skewed listing.

    id like to see a listing taking into account population increase plus music buying publics increase.

    back in the 60's pop was largely the domaine of the young... 16-26 year olds, so to sell a million back then was a much bigger event then today, where theres more money, easier accessed, more people and more people buying music.
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    Interesting list! Thanks, OP.

    Now, if only Guinness, or someone else, would bring back the Book Of Hit Singles.

    virgin has...
  • gettygetty Posts: 3,480
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    Will Young is the only act from the noughties in the top 40 at #14 with "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen," Adele is sure to enter though as she's at #42 now with "Someone Like You" and it's still getting sales boosts from X Factor on a regular basis.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,280
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    Zeus555 wrote: »
    NOTE - Since the Book was written, (May), there has been a 124th UK Million Selling Single - 'Call Me Maybe', by Carly Rae Jepsen.

    Do you know how many copies Call Me Maybe sold so far?
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    Adele and Alexandra Burke have the biggest selling singles by UK female solo artists...impressive. :)
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