UK Singles Chart Records and Statistics - Most Successful Debuts

Most Successful Debuts

Al Martino scored the first No.1 hit, meaning he was the first act to have his first single reach No.1 (although it was not the first single he ever released, it was the first single to chart). Eddie Calvert took "Oh Mein Papa" to the top in 1954 and "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" the following year. Eddie Calvert became the first act to have his first two singles reach No.1. Over eight years later, in 1963, Gerry & the Pacemakers became the first act to have their first three singles reach No.1 when "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" & "You'll Never Walk Alone" all hit the top spot.

Gerry & the Pacemakers remained the only act to have achieved this until 1984, when Frankie Goes to Hollywood's first three singles also reached No.1 ("Relax", "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love"). Five years later, Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers equalled the record when their first three singles reached No. 1.

During 1996 and 1997, the Spice Girls took their first six singles to No.1. These were "Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice up Your Life" and "Too Much". Their run was eventually broken by their seventh single "Stop", which stalled at No.2, although the group then went on to have another three consecutive No.1 hits following this.

Westlife, became the first act to have their first seven singles ("Swear It Again", "If I Let You Go", "Flying Without Wings", "I Have a Dream / Seasons in the Sun", "Fool Again", "Against All Odds" & "My Love") reach No.1. This record was achieved in 2000.

In 2006, Leona Lewis' début single "A Moment Like This" broke the world record for fastest downloaded single, having been downloaded 50,000 times in just half an hour. It debuted at number one on the 24th December, making it the coveted Christmas number one having sold more records than all of the other songs in the top 40 combined. It stayed at number one for four weeks and was the most downloaded song of the year. In October 2007, Lewis released her second single "Bleeding Love". It went on to be Lewis' second number one single and stayed at the position for seven weeks. It had the biggest first-week sales of 2007 with 218,805 copies sold. It was the biggest selling single in the UK of 2007 (it became the biggest selling single internationally in 2008) and to this day remains one of the biggest selling singles of the 21st century. Lewis' streak of luck was broken when her third single "Better in Time" failed to top the charts. It still proved very popular however, peaking at the no. 2 position. Lewis' debut album, "Spirit", was the fastest-selling debut album until the release of Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream in November 2009. Spirit is the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s, and the twentieth best-selling album of all time.

Rita Ora became the first act in 2012 to have her first three singles ("Hot Right Now" (featured with DJ Fresh), "R.I.P." (feat. Tinie Tempah) and "How We Do (Party)") to go to No.1 within the first week on sale with, all breaking 100,000 sales barrier. This occurred as "How We Do: reached No.1 on the week of 19th August 2012. Also, her debut album ORA reached No.1 on the week of 02nd September 2012. She is also one of the few artists to have three consecutive debut number ones (Little Mix: "Wishing on a Star" (featured artist), "Cannonball", and "Wings" have also debuted with three consecutive chart-toppers; however, Ora is the first to do so in the same year).