The Beatles’ Now And Then becomes their 18th UK number one single

The Beatles’ ‘Now And Then’ has become the band’s 18th UK number one single, smashing several records in the process.

The single entered the official UK singles chart at number 42 last week, based on just 10 hours of sales and streams, but jumped to the top spot after its first full week on release.

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

‘Now And Then’ tops the chart 60 years after their first number one, becoming the longest-ever gap between an act’s first and last number one. Their previous UK number one was ‘The Ballad Of John And Yoko’ in 1969.

The Beatles also become the band with the most UK number one singles. Only Elvis Presley, with 21 number one hits, attained more.

‘Now And Then’ hit number one with 78,000 chart units across sales and streams. It is the UK’s fastest-selling single to date, with 48,600 physical and digital sales in the first seven days.

It also had the biggest one-week physical sales for any single since 2014, and is the fastest-selling vinyl single of the 21st century, with 19,400 copies sold on vinyl.

The song was also the most-streamed Beatles song in a single week, with 5.03m streams. The previous record was ‘Here Comes The Sun’, which had 1.05m streams in seven days in 2021.

The Beatles are also the oldest band ever to reach number one. The surviving band members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, are 81 and 83 respectively.