The UK’s most-streamed songs of each year from 1952 to 2022 have been revealed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the UK Singles Chart.
The findings come from the Official Charts Company, who have teamed up with BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds to mark the anniversary.
The UK’s most-streamed songs from the calendar year in which they were released have now been revealed, featuring tracks by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, Dolly Parton, Adele, The Beatles and Oasis.
Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ are the most-streamed tracks from 2005 and 2007 respectively, while Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (1991), Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ (1973), Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ (1995), Radiohead‘s ‘Creep’ (1992) and The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ (2003) also feature in the chart.
Gene Kelly’s ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ is the first entry in the chart as the most-streamed song that was originally released in 1952, while Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ currently holds the same title for 2022.
We’ve teamed up with @BBCR1, @BBCRadio2, and @BBCSounds to unveil the most-streamed songs from the past 70 (!) years to celebrate the anniversary of the Official Singles Chart 🎉 https://t.co/GNYrEC3YNA
— Official Charts (@officialcharts) November 3, 2022
Other notable inclusions include Elvis Presley‘s ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (1957), The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’ (1963), Elton John‘s ‘Your Song’ (1970), Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Dreams’ (1977), Whitney Houston‘s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ (1987), Eminem‘s ‘Lose Yourself’ (2002) and Ed Sheeran‘s ‘Shape Of You’ (2017).
You can check out the full most-streamed UK chart from 1952-2022 here.
The full chart will also be broadcast decade-by-decade on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 on November 11-12, while a host of special programmes are available to stream now on BBC Sounds.
“It’s particularly fascinating to see which classic songs from the past are rated by today’s music consumers, and how that appeal can be driven by exposure on TV, adverts and social media,” Robert Gallacher, commissioning editor at BBC Radio, said in a statement.
“This chart is a true testament to the timelessness of brilliant pop music.”
Taylor Swift is currently top of both the UK’s album and singles chart with ‘Midnights’ and ‘Anti-Hero’ respectively.
