Longest gap between No.1s on the UK’s Official Singles Chart

The Beatles (UK) took 54 years 144 days to return to No.1 on the Official Singles Chart. The iconic quartet’s 17th UK No.1, “The Ballad of John and Yoko”, spent the last of its three weeks at the top on the chart dated 25 June 1969. Fast-forward to the week ending 16 November 2023, when “Now and Then”, billed as the “last Beatles song”, became their long-awaited 18th No.1 single thanks to 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).

“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 span of UK No.1 singles: their first chart-topper, “From Me to You”, spent the first of its seven weeks at the top on the chart dated 2 May 1963 – 60 years 198 days before “Now and Then” tasted No.1 success.