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This is a list based on estimated sales between 1952 (the first charts) and the end of 1999. Availability of sales figures, particularly in earlier decades, means that there is a great deal of uncertainty over the accuracy of these estimates.

Singles are a type of music release defined by the British organisation the Official Charts Company (OCC) as having fewer than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes. Sales of singles in the United Kingdom have been monitored since 1952, when Percy Dickins of NME contacted a sample of 20 shops to asking what their 10 best-selling singles for that week had been. Dickins compiled the results into a Top 12 hit parade, which eventually became the UK Singles Chart. On 16 November 2002, Channel 4 broadcast a television programme to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the chart, which counted down the biggest-selling singles up to that point. The song at number one was "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John, a charity single released to commemorate the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The artist that appeared the most on the chart was The Beatles, who had released five of the biggest-selling singles of the century.

The top 69 entries in this list had sold 1 million copies by the end of 1999, although subsequently "Three Lions" and "3 Lions '98" by Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds—which were both certified Platinum—had their sales combined, meaning that most commentators record there as having been 70 million sellers before 2000.

Singles

References

General (chart positions)

• Presenter: Leigh Francis. Narrator: Sarah Alexander (16 November 2002). "The Ultimate Chart". 1. Episode 1. Channel 4.

Specific

1. "Rules for Chart Eligibility: Singles" (PDF). London: Official Charts Company. August 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
2. Williams, Mark (19 February 2002). "Obituary: Percy Dickins". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
3. Jones, Alan (1 June 2010). "Pendulum and Black Eyed Peas make historic week for sales charts". Music Week. United Business Media.

v t e UK music charts
UK singles	Number ones 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Number one artists Most number ones Christmas Posthumous Scottish One-hit wonders in Scotland List of artists by number of UK Independent Singles Chart number ones Instrumental Simultaneous UK and U.S. Simultaneous with album Top tens 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Most top tens Best-selling 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s (decade) 2010s 1900s 21st century All time Yearly Most-downloaded (2000s) Most streamed Million-sellers Platinum singles (pre-2000) Platinum singles (post-2000) Most weeks on chart One-hit wonders Records and statistics
UK albums	Number ones 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Most number ones Number-one in most decades Christmas Posthumous Simultaneous UK and U.S. Simultaneous with single Top tens 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Most top tens Best-selling 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s (decade) 2010s 21st century All time Yearly Most weeks on chart One-hit wonders
Genre charts	Number ones Afrobeats Singles Americana Albums Christian & Gospel Albums Classical Artist Albums Country (albums/airplay) Dance (singles/albums) Indie (singles/albums) Indie Breakers (singles/albums) Jazz & Blues Albums R&B (singles/albums) Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Specialist Classical Albums
Other charts	Current Album Downloads Albums Streaming Audio Streaming Compilations Midweeks Progressive Record Store (2010s/2020s) Singles Downloads (2000s/2010s/2020s) List of UK Singles Sales Chart number ones UKHot40 Vinyl Albums Vinyl Singles The Official Big Top 40 Former 1952–1969 1Xtra Classical Singles Number-one EPs Fab 40 Fresh 40 Hit40UK Mersey Beat The Network Chart Show NME Official Subscription Plays Chart Pepsi Chart Pick of the Pops Record Mirror Top Pops
Related	Charts Plus Hit Music Media Research Information Bureau Music Week Official Charts Company The Official Chart Record Business Timeline of chart shows on UK radio UK Video Charts British Hit Singles & Albums The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles UKChartsPlus
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• Lists of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom
• 20th century in the United Kingdom