Most number 1s on chart simultaneously?

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mick745 View member profile	Jun 30 2020, 12:48 PM Post #1
BuzzJack Climber Joined: 4 August 2012 Posts: 126 User: 17,441	If anyone in the world knows the answer to this then they will inhabit this forum. What is the highest number of number 1 hits in a chart? That is past, present and future number 1s on the chart. I am guessing it will be late 90s, early 2000s , or a period when the chart didnt move much. If anyone knows i would be grateful to know the answer.


Rush View member profile	Jun 30 2020, 01:47 PM Post #2
wayback machine gif rescuer Joined: 3 April 2013 Posts: 3,771 User: 18,564	I'm sure I've seen this question answered here before, but it may have been top 40 or 75 only (I'm guessing you mean top 100), and it probably wouldn't be easy to find, so I had a look myself. The highest I can see is W/E 10/01/2015, with 33: 1 1 4 1 UPTOWN FUNK MARK RONSON FT BRUNO MARS 3 3 28 1 THINKING OUT LOUD ED SHEERAN 4 2 3 1 SOMETHING I NEED BEN HAENOW 7 7 18 1 ALL ABOUT THAT BASS MEGHAN TRAINOR 8 8 6 1 THESE DAYS TAKE THAT 12 11 15 1 BANG BANG JESSIE J/GRANDE/MINAJ 23 22 33 1 STAY WITH ME SAM SMITH 27 27 31 1 SING ED SHEERAN 28 50 50 1 RATHER BE CLEAN BANDIT FT JESS GLYNNE 29 32 17 1 BLAME CALVIN HARRIS FT JOHN NEWMAN 30 30 30 1 GHOST ELLA HENDERSON 32 39 37 1 WAVES MR PROBZ 33 53 16 1 CHANGING SIGMA FT PALOMA FAITH 34 51 58 1 HAPPY PHARRELL WILLIAMS 39 55 19 1 PRAYER IN C LILLY WOOD & ROBIN SCHULZ 40 36 26 1 RUDE MAGIC 43 41 27 1 AM I WRONG NICO & VINZ 46 59 46 1 MONEY ON MY MIND SAM SMITH 50 69 26 1 PROBLEM ARIANA GRANDE FT IGGY AZALEA 54 70 72 1 COUNTING STARS ONEREPUBLIC 62 Re 41 1 TIMBER PITBULL FT KESHA 68 Re 36 1 HIDEAWAY KIESZA 70 Re 17 1 LOVERS ON THE SUN DAVID GUETTA FT SAM MARTIN 71 77 9 1 I DON'T CARE CHERYL 72 Re 26 1 GECKO (OVERDRIVE) OLIVER HELDENS & BECKY HILL 76 Re 33 1 SUMMER CALVIN HARRIS 78 99 21 1 CRAZY STUPID LOVE CHERYL COLE FT TINIE TEMPAH 82 Re 16 1 TSUNAMI (JUMP) DVBBS & BORGEOUS/TINIE TEMPAH 83 Re 32 1 MY LOVE ROUTE 94 FT JESS GLYNNE 84 Re 18 1 ME AND MY BROKEN HEART RIXTON 90 Re 30 1 NOBODY TO LOVE SIGMA 91 Re 23 1 I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN RITA ORA 94 Re 66 1 WAKE ME UP AVICII All those are past (or current) #1s, with no future ones (though several future #2s). By my count, these are the numbers of #1s (past, present and future) in each week's chart from 1990 until a few weeks ago (using the charts from the OCC's site, so that's top 100 for all except top 75 for a period in 1991-1994). This is not 100% accurate because of the potential for songs that changed credits - for example, 'Cheerleader' only started crediting the remix the week it hit #1, so as far as my calculations are concerned, 'Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)' is a #1 and 'Cheerleader' is not, which is obviously nonsensical but that's how the data I have is formatted. Still, even if a few of the numbers should be perhaps 1 or 2 higher, you can see clear patterns with the early '00s, digital sales, and the addition of streaming - it seems this was generally highest in Q3 of 2014, when streaming was present but weekly #1 debuts were still common. Then I suppose the slow turnover of #1s in 2016 dragged it down and so did ACR from 2017 onwards.


mick745 View member profile	Jul 7 2020, 12:05 PM Post #3
BuzzJack Climber Joined: 4 August 2012 Posts: 126 User: 17,441	Great work. Many thanks. For a spell in 1991 the current number 1 was the only disc in the entire chart to reach the summit. Nowadays of course popular songs hang around the lower reaches of the charts much longer. It would be interesting to see a comparison with the album chart, where some chart for hundreds of weeks and reenter dozens of times.


CianS View member profile	Jul 9 2020, 01:41 PM Post #4
Do Wah Dootastic :D Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 6,531 User: 8,914	QUOTE(Rush @ Jun 30 2020, 02:47 PM) [snip] Really interesting, What was the chart rules in place between 2009 and 2016 to cause such a lag? Downloads but no streaming? I also wonder how many entries were in the 10th or less week in the charts and how that has changed over the years i.e. the turnover speed of the chart. This post has been edited by CianS: Jul 11 2020, 09:03 AM


Robbie View member profile	Jul 9 2020, 02:06 PM Post #5
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,443 User: 366	^ Streaming was included in the UK Singles chart from July 2014. From 2009 record labels began to hold back the release date of many download tracks to build up demand. The result was a return to the instant number 1 charts of the 90s and early 00s with a high turnover of tracks at number 1. 2014 was the peak year in the digital era for tracks having one or two week runs at the top. 2014 also is joint second for the year with most instant number 1s (33), along with 1999. 2000 is top with 41 instant chart toppers but back then singles fell off the chart quite quickly. From 2016 the number of number 1 tracks fell dramatically. This post has been edited by Robbie: Jul 9 2020, 02:08 PM


crazy chris View member profile	Jul 9 2020, 03:24 PM Post #6
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 22,001 User: 53	QUOTE(mick745 @ Jul 7 2020, 01:05 PM) For a spell in 1991 the current number 1 was the only disc in the entire chart to reach the summit. That would of course be Bryan Adams.


Rush View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 07:28 AM Post #7
wayback machine gif rescuer Joined: 3 April 2013 Posts: 3,771 User: 18,564	QUOTE(CianS @ Jul 9 2020, 11:41 PM) I also wonder how many entries were in the 10th or less week in the charts and how that has changed over the years i.e. the turnover speed of the chart. An interesting idea! This is the amount of songs that had been charting for 11+ weeks in each chart: Note that the several 0s in 1992 are from when the OCC only has top 75s, not top 100s (in this table, that's week 14 of 1991 to week 5 of 1994). Among those, there's one week (W/E 18/01/1992) where the oldest song was on 9 weeks (Michael Jackson's 'Black Or White'), although 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was #1 so it only counts because the OCC have it separate from its original run. There are 6 weeks in 1990 and early 1991 though where 99/100 songs were on 10 or less weeks. I believe the late '90s and/or early '00s would also be affected by rules removing old songs below #75 and the budget chart rule (?) removing songs below #40 (?) after falling at a certain rate (?) but, evidently from the question marks, I can't remember exactly how those worked or which years they were. The record is 68, shared by W/E 07/01/2016 and 07/04/2016. I added a column of averages on the right because there's not an obvious shift from streaming or ACR without it, but the averages show that 2015-2016 (streaming and no ACR) were the highest, and 2018-2020 (streaming and ACR) have been the lowest since 2007. Also note the sudden drop in March 2017 due to Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and Drake's albums being released and getting a heap of chart entries in close succession. Songs that had been charting for 21+ weeks: Songs that had been charting for 41+ weeks: 1990 and early 1994 are re-entries of 'White Lines (Don't Do It)'; the run in 1993 is a reissue of FGTH's 'Relax' that the OCC have merged with the original; 1995 is 'Love Is All Around'; all the numbers in 1996, 1997 and early 1998 are entirely from Oasis singles and The Prodigy's 'Firestarter'; the isolated few in mid-to-late 1998 are 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' and the Teletubbies; all the late 1998, 1999 and early 2000 ones are Robbie Williams' 'Angels'; the 2003 one is a reissue of 'Born Slippy .NUXX' combined with the original; the run in late 2005 is a reissue of Faithless' 'Insomnia' combined with the original. The record of 21 songs on W/E 07/01/2016 has this mix of long charters and what Christmas songs could muster enough streams from a tracking week of 25-31 December: 37 11 72 2 ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU MARIAH CAREY 39 37 43 3 WHERE ARE U NOW SKRILLEX & DIPLO/JUSTIN BIEBER 46 13 79 2 FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK POGUES FT KIRSTY MACCOLL 48 46 44 2 LEAN ON MAJOR LAZER FT MO & DJ SNAKE 50 67 59 15 PHOTOGRAPH ED SHEERAN 54 18 42 14 LAST CHRISTMAS WHAM 55 71 56 1 UPTOWN FUNK MARK RONSON FT BRUNO MARS 57 77 52 1 CHEERLEADER (FELIX JAEHN REMIX) OMI 60 87 41 1 HOLD MY HAND JESS GLYNNE 67 26 52 1 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE SHAKIN' STEVENS 68 92 80 1 THINKING OUT LOUD ED SHEERAN 70 89 72 2 TAKE ME TO CHURCH HOZIER 72 100 44 1 KING YEARS & YEARS 77 Re 57 2 HOLD BACK THE RIVER JAMES BAY 78 29 41 29 DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS CHRIS REA 80 Re 43 10 LET IT GO JAMES BAY 81 99 46 1 LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO ELLIE GOULDING 86 38 61 1 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS BAND AID 90 Re 44 7 SUGAR MAROON 5 91 55 82 1 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY SLADE 92 Re 51 8 FIRESTONE KYGO FT CONRAD SEWELL This is the average 'weeks on' of every song in the chart, each week: W/E 07/04/2016 is the highest with 25.01, and W/E 07/05/1994 (which is a top 100) the lowest with 2.99. And this is the amount of new entries (not counting re-entries) each week: W/E 03/09/1994 is the highest with 40: 6 New 1 6 I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU BOYZ II MEN 10 New 1 10 PARKLIFE BLUR 18 New 1 18 DREAMER LIVIN' JOY 23 New 1 23 SUMMER BUNNIES R KELLY 25 New 1 25 PRETEND BEST FRIEND TERRORVISION 27 New 1 27 STAY (I MISSED YOU) LISA LOEB & NINE STORIES 28 New 1 28 KNOW BY NOW ROBERT PALMER 30 New 1 30 SUGAR SUGAR DUKE BAYSEE 34 New 1 34 WILD NIGHT J MELLENCAMP & M NDEGEOCELLO 36 New 1 36 HEART OF STONE DAVE STEWART 37 New 1 37 PRETTIEST EYES BEAUTIFUL SOUTH 38 New 1 38 HOT HOT HOT ARROW 39 New 1 39 SW LIVE EP PETER GABRIEL 40 New 1 40 YOUR FAVORITE THING SUGAR 41 New 1 41 ONE DAY D:MOB 48 New 1 48 ONLY SAW TODAY/INSTANT KARMA AMOS 50 New 1 50 THE RIGHT KINDA LOVER PATTI LABELLE 52 New 1 52 ONE GIANT LOVE CUD 53 New 1 53 HITS MEDLEY GIPSY KINGS 57 New 1 57 SHINING ROAD CRANES 59 New 1 59 DRE DAY DR DRE 63 New 1 63 WALKIN' ON SHEER BRONZE 64 New 1 64 CHURA LIYA BALLY SAGOO 65 New 1 65 EVERY LITTLE THING HE DOES IS MAGIC SHAWN COLVIN 69 New 1 69 LITTLE CHILD DES'REE 70 New 1 70 THE SINGLE RISE 74 New 1 74 THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPOOK SHANE MACGOWAN AND THE POPES 75 New 1 75 OBSESSION ULTRA SONIC 77 New 1 77 THE QUEEN'S ANTHEM LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY 82 New 1 82 SIX DAYS INTERMISSION FEAT LORI GLORI 84 New 1 84 ALTERED STATES EP BLACK SCIENCE ORCHESTRA 86 New 1 86 WHEN YOU RETURN CAPERCAILLIE 87 New 1 87 ANALOGUE BUBBLEBATH 4 AFX 91 New 1 91 PIECE OF CRAP NEIL YOUNG WITH CRAZY HORSE 92 New 1 92 SILVER SHADOW ALL SAINTS 1.9.7.5 93 New 1 93 MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF/SITAM AMAR 94 New 1 94 BANANA HOLIDAY BANANAS IN PYJAMAS 95 New 1 95 SHE DON'T USE JELLY FLAMING LIPS 97 New 1 97 CLOSE TO YOU FUN FACTORY 99 New 1 99 WHAT JAIL IS LIKE AFGHAN WHIGS There are 5 post-Christmas weeks with 0, but I'm honestly surprised it's never come close outside of that. Outside of December and January, these are the lowest: W/E 13/08/2011: 1 New 1 1 SWAGGER JAGGER CHER LLOYD 37 New 1 37 MASTERCHEF SYNESTHESIA SWEDE MASON 83 New 1 83 POT OF GOLD GAME FT CHRIS BROWN W/E 11/02/2012: 2 New 1 2 ALONE AGAIN ALYSSA REID FT JUMP SMOKERS 52 New 1 52 BORDERS FEEDER 88 New 1 88 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW WALK OFF THE EARTH W/E 18/02/2016: 53 New 1 53 HOW LOVE BEGINS DJ FRESH/HIGH CONTRAST/DIZZEE 89 New 1 89 WHO AM I KATY B/MAJOR LAZER/CRAIG DAVID 93 New 1 93 NEEDED ME RIHANNA W/E 14/07/2016: 56 New 1 56 M.I.L.F. MONEY FERGIE 79 New 1 79 THE OCEAN MIKE PERRY FT SHY MARTIN 82 New 1 82 ALL IN MY HEAD (FLEX) FIFTH HARMONY FT FETTY WAP W/E 04/08/2016: 1 New 1 1 COLD WATER MAJOR LAZER/JUSTIN BIEBER/MO 70 New 1 70 SUNSHINE TIEKS FT DAN HARKNA 97 New 1 97 DO IT RIGHT MARTIN SOLVEIG FT TKAY MAIDZA W/E 08/09/2016: 50 New 1 50 BLOW YOUR MIND (MWAH) DUA LIPA 83 New 1 83 SEXUAL NEIKED 97 New 1 97 LOST BOY RUTH B


Robbie View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 08:20 AM Post #8
BuzzJack Gold Member Joined: 4 April 2006 Posts: 3,443 User: 366	Those grapghs are excellent Rush. This is the sort of chart analysis that I love! QUOTE I believe the late '90s and/or early '00s would also be affected by rules removing old songs below #75 and the budget chart rule (?) removing songs below #40 (?) after falling at a certain rate (?) but, evidently from the question marks, I can't remember exactly how those worked or which years they were. There were two separate exclusion rules in force by 2005 (when downloads were incorporated into the chart) which helped remove older singles (the wording is taken from an OCC Chart Rules booklet from the mid 00s): Records in positions 76-100 (this rule was introduced in January 1983) A single which, in the normal course of events, would appear between positions 76 and 100 of the combined Singles Chart is excluded if its sales have fallen for two or more consecutive weeks AND have fallen by more than 20% in the past week. Once excluded in this way, a record will only re-appear in the chart if its sales increase. Records excluded by this rule are shown on the printed chart report with their sales index and asterisks (***) in place of a chart position. Sell Off Singles (this rule was introduced in either 2002 or 2003) If a single has previously achieved a top 40 position (and has spent at least one week outside the top 40) then subsequently achieves a week on week sales change of > 5% stronger than that of the total singles market it will be assumed to be a 'sell off' title and 'starred out' - not achieving a chart position. Once ‘starred out’ by this rule, the product will not receive a chart position for the following 6 weeks. At it's absolute discretion, OCC may choose to override this rule. When downloads sales were included in the chart from April 2005 the above two rules were removed and replaced by an exclusion rule which removed a record from the chart once it had been on sale (as a physical single) for over 52 weeks. In March 2006 a further exclusion rule was added to remove a single two weeks after it had been deleted from (physical) sale. However a track could chart as a download one week ahead of a physical release In January 2007 these two rules were removed and all tracks became eligible to chart and for an unlimited length of time.


Rush View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 09:26 AM Post #9
wayback machine gif rescuer Joined: 3 April 2013 Posts: 3,771 User: 18,564	^ Thank you! It's good to have that info in one place. I didn't realise the 76-100 rule existed for over 20 years, and forgot which direction the sell-off rule worked in.


Dobbo View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 09:30 AM Post #10
BuzzJack Legend Joined: 4 November 2013 Posts: 30,513 User: 20,053	Rush deserves a Buzzjack Knighthood


CianS View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 10:06 AM Post #11
Do Wah Dootastic :D Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 6,531 User: 8,914	QUOTE(Rush @ Jul 10 2020, 08:28 AM) An interesting idea! This is the amount of songs that had been charting for 11+ weeks in each chart: [snip] Fantastic work, I feel you should send these to OCC, they might revise their chart rules to encourage more new entries. I know it felt like it at the time, but these numbers really highlight how much of a bloat year 2016 was... Reason for edit: please don't quote entire long posts


jimwatts View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 10:38 AM Post #12
This custom member title has been edited by jimwatts Joined: 28 August 2017 Posts: 10,667 User: 38,591	Excellent stats and analysis, well done Rush! We actually had a Top 100 with just 1 new entry a few weeks after the last one in your data: W/E 18/06/2020: #93 Sleepy Hallow - Deep End Freestyle (feat. Foushee)


jimwatts View member profile	Jul 10 2020, 11:19 AM Post #13
This custom member title has been edited by jimwatts Joined: 28 August 2017 Posts: 10,667 User: 38,591	Interesting to see the average weeks on chart for the last couple of years is comparable to 2008-2011 and noticeably less than 2012-2013, all in the pre-sreaming era. I wonder how much lower this year's average to date of 15.0 would have been had it not been for Perfect getting reset to SCR (guess it might still have made the Top 100 in some weeks when it wasn't starred out though.)


Rush View member profile	Jul 11 2020, 05:37 AM Post #14
wayback machine gif rescuer Joined: 3 April 2013 Posts: 3,771 User: 18,564	QUOTE(jimwatts @ Jul 10 2020, 08:38 PM) Excellent stats and analysis, well done Rush! We actually had a Top 100 with just 1 new entry a few weeks after the last one in your data: W/E 18/06/2020: #93 Sleepy Hallow - Deep End Freestyle (feat. Foushee) Ah thanks for pointing that out! The 15.0 average for the first 19 weeks of 2020 drops to 14.18 if I exclude 'Perfect' (but of course like you said it might have still made the top 100 in some weeks, or been replaced by another old song).