Longest climb to No.1 on the UK Official Singles Chart (consecutive chart run)

“Rein Me In”, by the British singer-songwriters Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, rewrote the definition of a “slow-burning” hit single when it took all of 36 consecutive weeks to climb to the top of the UK Official Singles Chart, finally getting there on 26 February 2026. The melancholy ballad, a remixed version of the track that first appeared on Fender's Mercury Prize-winning album People Watching (2025), debuted at No.86 on 26 June 2025 and reached a peak position of No.5 three times – on 4 December 2025, 8 January 2026 and 19 February 2026 – before making the ultimate leap to No.1 when Taylor Swift’s “Opalite” surrendered its position at the summit.

“Rein Me In” obliterated the previous record of 19 weeks, set when Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking out Loud” climbed to No.1 on 8 November 2014, having first entered the UK Official Singles Chart on 5 July 2014.

If non-consecutive chart runs are taken into account, the all-time leader is “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, whose indefatigable festive favourite finally made it to No.1 in its 104th chart week (17 December 2020) – remarkably, on its 16th separate chart run since 10 December 1994.