List of 1990s UK Singles Chart Number Ones

List Of 1990s UK Singles Chart Number Ones

The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled on behalf of the British record industry. During the 1990s, the chart was compiled by The Chart Information Network (CIN) based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets - airplay statistics are not used in compiling the official UK Singles Chart. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, and the Top 40 is first revealed on BBC Radio 1. Record companies began making singles available to radio stations much further in advance of their release dates and making greater use of direct marketing techniques in the 1990s. As a result, the number of singles that entered the charts at number one increased dramatically, and it became commonplace for singles to enter the charts at the top and then plummet down the listing soon after.

During the decade, 206 singles reached the number-one position on the chart. "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids on the Block reached number one on the first new chart of the decade, replacing "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid II which had been number one on the last chart issued in 1989. The longest spell at the top was achieved by Bryan Adams's song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", which spent 16 weeks at number one in 1991, beating the record for the longest unbroken run at the top of the charts which had been held by Slim Whitman's "Rose Marie" since 1955. Wet Wet Wet and Whitney Houston also had runs of 10 or more weeks at number one during the 1990s. Although it only spent five weeks at number one, Elton John's 1997 single "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" sold over 5 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling single in UK history. Cher's song "Believe" spent 7 weeks at number-one at the end of 1998 and became the biggest-selling single by a female artist in UK history. The final number one of the decade was the double A-side "I Have a Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun" by Westlife. Take That and the Spice Girls share the distinction of having achieved the most number-one hits in the 1990s, with eight each.