'Rein Me In' becomes the longest running number one single in UK chart history

[Gaz90]

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's duet "Rein Me In" has broken a chart record that stood for 73 years, spending 19 non consecutive weeks at number one on the UK's Official Singles Chart and surpassing Frankie Laine's 1953 hit "I Believe," which had held the record at 18 weeks since the chart's earliest days. The song has since extended its own record even further, logging a 20th week at the top shortly after breaking the milestone.

The path to the top was anything but quick. "Rein Me In" first entered the chart back in June 2025 and took nearly eight months and 35 weeks on the chart before finally reaching number one in February this year, the slowest climb to the top spot in UK chart history, beating the previous record held by Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud." Along the way it briefly lost the top spot to Harry Styles' "American Girls" in March, only to reclaim number one just seven days later and never really relinquish it again.

The record breaking run happened in stages rather than one continuous streak. The song has spent blocks of three, five, five, and six weeks at number one so far, tying and then surpassing Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around" as the longest running number one by a British act along the way, before also passing Bryan Adams' 16 week reign with "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" from 1991. Beyond the headline record, the song has also racked up the longest uninterrupted run in the UK Top 40 at 58 consecutive weeks, the longest continuous stretch in the Top 10, and the most total weeks inside the Top 10 for any non Christmas single ever.

The achievement is especially significant for both artists individually. It's Fender's first ever number one single despite three previous UK number one albums, with his best known anthem "Seventeen Going Under" having only reached number three back in 2021. For Dean, it's her second chart topper following her earlier solo hit "Man I Need." The Official Charts Company presented Fender with an Official Chart Record Breaker Award to mark the occasion, and with the song still sitting at number one and showing no clear signs of slowing down, it remains unclear just how much further this particular reign will extend

HISTORY IS MADE! Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's Rein Me In breaks 73-year record to become longest-running Official Number 1 single everwww.officialcharts.com