“Now And Then” becomes Number 1 single in the UK

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It’s mind boggling. It’s blown my socks off. It’s also a very emotional moment for me. I love it!

Paul McCartney

From Official Charts, November 10, 2023:

The Beatles’ Now And Then is UK’s Official Number 1 song in record-breaking return

The Beatles make UK Official Chart history today with Now And Then, as the Liverpool legends’ ‘last’ track storms to Number 1 with some incredible stats.

The Fab Four – Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison – vault 41 places to the summit, having debuted at Number 42 last week based on just 10 hours’ worth of sales following the track’s Thursday release.

Now And Then uses WingNut Films’ groundbreaking MAL audio technology to ‘reunite’ the inimitable group one last time, returning them to the top of the Official Singles Chart a whole 60 years after their first Number 1 single From Me to You, marking the longest-ever gap between an act’s first and last chart-topping hit.

Their 18th Number 1 hit, The Beatles extend their record as the British act with the most UK Number 1 singles in Official Charts history. Only Elvis Presley, with 21 Number 1 hits to his name, has more.

Delve into Now and Then’s unbelievable achievements below.

The Beatles’ Now And Then in numbers this week: all the chart facts

Sales

• Number 1 with 78,200 combined UK chart units across sales and streaming. 
• Fastest-selling single of the year to date,– 48,600 physical and download sales based on the track’s first 7 days.  
• Biggest one-week physical sales in almost a decade (38k) – biggest since The X Factor 2014 winner Ben Haenow’s Something I Need (47k).
• Fastest-selling vinyl single of the century so far – 19.4k copies on vinyl.

Streams

• Now And Then is the most-streamed Beatles track in one week ever – 5.03m streams against previous record set by Here Comes the Sun (1.05m in 7 days in 2021).
• Now And Then is The Beatles’ most-watched music video in one week ever –2.15m streams v Here Comes The Sun’s 171.7k in 7 days in 2019.

Official Chart feats

• The Beatles are now the act with the longest gap ever between Number 1 singles (54 years) – they last reached Number 1 with The Ballad of John and Yoko in 1969. They overtake Kate Bush’s 44 years between Wuthering Heights (1978) and Running Up That Hill (2022).
• The Beatles now boast the longest time span between an artist’s first and last Number 1 single. The Beatles’ first Number 1 single was From Me to You in May 1963, 60 years and 6 months ago. They overtake Elvis Presley, with 47 years and 6 months between All Shook Up (1957) and a reissue of It’s Now or Never (2005).
• Now the British act with the most Number 1 singles ever. They extend their lead to 18 UK Number 1 singles, with only Elvis securing more.
• They are the oldest band ever to score a UK Number 1 single (and second and third oldest chart-topping artists ever after Sir Captain Tom Moore, aged 99). The average age of surviving members Paul and Ringo is 82, McCartney being 81 and Starr being 83.

Celebrating the news, The Beatles‘ Paul McCartney exclusively tells Official Charts:

“It’s mind boggling. It’s blown my socks off. It’s also a very emotional moment for me. I love it!“

Last updated on November 11, 2023