List of best - selling singles in the United Kingdom - wikipedia List of best - selling singles in the United Kingdom `` Candle in the Wind 1997 '' / `` Something About the Way You Look Tonight '' by Elton John is the best - selling single in the UK. For the purposes of calculating sales, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company ( OCC ) as either a ' single bundle ' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2004 and streaming in 2014. The best - selling single in the UK is `` Something About the Way You Look Tonight '' / Candle in the Wind 1997 '', a double A-side released by Elton John following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Since September 1997, the single has sold over 4.93 million copies in the UK. Sales of singles have been monitored and charted in the UK since 1952, when Percy Dickins of New Musical Express ( NME ) telephoned around 20 record stores and aggregated their best - selling singles into a hit parade. Dickins published this Top 12 chart in NME on 14 November 1952. The highest - selling by a solo female artist is `` Believe '' by Cher -- released in October 1998, it has sold over 1.8 million copies in the UK. The highest - selling single not to top the UK Singles Chart is `` Last Christmas '' / `` Everything She Wants '' by Wham !. Released in December 1984, the single sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, but was kept off number one by `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '', and peaked at number two. It has since sold more than 1.8 million copies. It is beaten when streaming is taken into account by `` All of Me '' by John Legend with over 2.1 million combined sales. The highest - selling single ( paid for purchases ) in the 21st century is `` Happy '' by Pharrell Williams, which has sold over 1.9 million ; it overtook `` Anything Is Possible '' / `` Evergreen '' by Will Young in 2015. The most streamed song is `` Shape of You '' by Ed Sheeran with over 200 million streams ( 2 million equivalent sales ) from 2017. Twenty other songs have been streamed over 100 million times, including two more by Ed Sheeran. Contents 1 Best - selling singles based on paid - for purchases 2 Best - selling songs based on combined sales 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links Best - selling singles based on paid - for purchases Until June 2014, only a paid download or a purchase of a physical single counted as a sale. Based on this definition, these are the 50 best - selling singles in the UK. Sales positions are current as of 19 September 2017. No. Single Artist Record label Released Chart peak Traditional sales `` Something About the Way You Look Tonight '' / `` Candle in the Wind 1997 '' John, Elton Elton John Rocket 000000001997 - 09 - 01 - 0000 September 1997 4,935,426 `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '' Band Aid Mercury 000000001984 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1984 3,802,066 `` Bohemian Rhapsody '' `` Bohemian Rhapsody '' / `` These Are the Days of Our Lives '' Queen EMI 000000001975 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1975 000000001991 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1991 2,540,604 `` Mull of Kintyre '' / `` Girls ' School '' Wings Parlophone 000000001977 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1977 2,086,183 5 `` You 're the One That I Want '' Travolta, John John Travolta and Olivia Newton - John RSO 000000001978 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1978 2,072,035 6 `` Relax '' Frankie Goes to Hollywood ZTT 000000001984 - 01 - 01 - 0000 January 1984 2,066,230 7 `` Rivers of Babylon '' / `` Brown Girl in the Ring '' Boney M. Atlantic / Hansa 000000001978 - 04 - 01 - 0000 April 1978 2,032,656 8 `` She Loves You '' Beatles, The The Beatles Parlophone 000000001963 - 08 - 01 - 0000 August 1963 1,922,275 9 `` Happy '' Pharrell Williams Columbia 000000002013 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 2013 1,921,805 10 `` Love Is All Around '' Wet Wet Wet Precious Organisation ! PolyGram 000000001994 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1994 1,898,790 11 `` Mary 's Boy Child -- Oh My Lord '' Boney M. Atlantic / Hansa 000000001978 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1978 1,885,274 12 `` I Just Called to Say I Love You '' Wonder, Stevie Stevie Wonder Motown 000000001984 - 08 - 01 - 0000 August 1984 1,874,225 13 `` Unchained Melody '' / `` ( There 'll Be Bluebirds Over ) The White Cliffs of Dover '' Robson & Jerome RCA 000000001995 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1995 1,867,755 14 `` Everything I Do ) I Do It for You ! ( Everything I Do ) I Do It for You '' Adams, Bryan Bryan Adams A&M 000000001991 - 06 - 01 - 0000 June 1991 1,848,154 15 `` Barbie Girl '' Aqua Universal 000000001997 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1997 1,844,310 16 `` Believe '' Cher WEA 000000001998 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1998 1,826,573 17 `` Last Christmas '' / `` Everything She Wants '' Wham ! Epic 000000001984 - 12 - 01 - 0000 December 1984 1,825,115 18 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' Beatles, The The Beatles Parlophone 000000001963 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1963 1,810,829 19 `` Anything Is Possible '' / `` Evergreen '' Young, Will Will Young 000000002002 - 02 - 01 - 0000 February 2002 1,795,213 20 `` Imagine '' Lennon, John John Lennon Apple 000000001975 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1975 1,714,351 21 `` Blurred Lines '' Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams Interscope 000000002013 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 2013 1,667,615 22 `` I 'll Be Missing You '' Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans Bad Boy 000000001997 - 06 - 01 - 0000 June 1997 1,663,303 23 `` Eye of the Tiger '' Survivor Scotti Brothers 000000001982 - 07 - 01 - 0000 July 1982 1,650,293 24 `` Uptown Funk '' Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars RCA 000000002014 - 12 - 01 - 0000 December 2014 1,647,310 25 `` Someone like You '' Adele XL 000000002011 - 01 - 01 - 0000 January 2011 1,644,597 26 `` I Will Always Love You '' Houston, Whitney Whitney Houston Arista 000000001992 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1992 1,642,360 27 `` Summer Nights '' Travolta, John John Travolta and Olivia Newton - John RSO 000000001978 - 09 - 01 - 0000 September 1978 1,640,672 28 `` Do n't You Want Me '' Human League, The The Human League Virgin 000000001981 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1981 1,637,503 29 `` Two Tribes '' Frankie Goes to Hollywood ZTT 000000001984 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1984 1,629,287 30 `` Gangsta 's Paradise '' Coolio featuring L.V. Tommy Boy 000000001995 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1995 1,585,504 31 `` My Heart Will Go On '' Dion, Celine Celine Dion Epic 000000001998 - 02 - 01 - 0000 February 1998 1,583,276 32 `` Three Lions '' `` 3 Lions ' 98 '' Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds ! Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds Epic 000000001996 - 06 - 01 - 0000 June 1996 1,577,260 33 `` Baby One More Time !... Baby One More Time '' Spears, Britney Britney Spears Jive 000000001999 - 02 - 01 - 0000 February 1999 1,558,054 34 `` Perfect Day '' Various Artists Chrysalis 000000001997 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1997 1,550,017 35 `` Ca n't Buy Me Love '' Beatles, The The Beatles Parlophone 000000001964 - 03 - 01 - 0000 March 1964 1,547,454 36 `` Moves Like Jagger '' Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera A&M / Octone 000000002011 - 08 - 01 - 0000 August 2011 1,536,041 37 `` Karma Chameleon '' Culture Club Virgin 000000001983 - 09 - 01 - 0000 September 1983 1,528,498 38 `` Careless Whisper '' Michael, George George Michael Epic 000000001984 - 07 - 01 - 0000 July 1984 1,523,852 39 `` Tears '' Dodd, Ken Ken Dodd Columbia 000000001965 - 08 - 01 - 0000 August 1965 1,523,690 40 `` Somebody That I Used to Know '' Gotye featuring Kimbra Island 000000002012 - 01 - 01 - 0000 January 2012 1,515,527 41 `` Y.M.C.A. '' Village People Mercury 000000001978 - 11 - 01 - 0000 November 1978 1,513,677 42 `` Wonderwall '' Oasis Creation 000000001995 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1995 1,502,270 43 `` Wake Me Up '' Avicii Positiva / PRMD 000000002013 - 06 - 01 - 0000 June 2013 1,483,346 44 `` I Gotta Feeling '' Black Eyed Peas, The The Black Eyed Peas Interscope 000000002009 - 09 - 01 - 0000 September 2009 1,477,778 45 `` Get Lucky '' Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams Columbia 000000002013 - 04 - 01 - 0000 April 2013 1,471,356 46 `` Killing Me Softly Fugees Ruffhouse 000000001996 - 06 - 01 - 0000 June 1996 1,457,641 47 `` The Power of Love '' Jennifer Rush CBS 000000001985 - 05 - 01 - 0000 May 1985 1,456,087 48 `` ( We 're Gonna ) Rock Around the Clock '' Haley & His Comets, Bill Bill Haley & His Comets Decca 000000001954 - 12 - 01 - 0000 December 1954 1,439,196 49 `` It Was n't Me '' Shaggy MCA 000000002001 - 02 - 01 - 0000 February 2001 1,428,204 50 `` The Carnival Is Over '' Seekers, The The Seekers Columbia 000000001965 - 10 - 01 - 0000 October 1965 1,426,218 Best - selling songs based on combined sales From 2014 streaming has counted towards sales ( sometimes called `` combined sales '' or `` chart sales '' ) at the rate of 100 streams equal to one download or physical purchase, although the singles chart no longer uses this ratio. In September 2017, the OCC changed their definition of a ' million seller ' to include streaming. These are the 50 biggest selling songs based on combined physical, download and streaming sales. No. Single Artist Record label Chart peak Released Sales Streaming equivalent Combined sales `` Something About the Way You Look Tonight '' / `` Candle in the Wind 1997 '' John, Elton Elton John Rocket 1997 4,935,936 15,472 4,950,898 `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '' Band Aid Mercury 1984 3,802,066 140,993 3,943,060 `` Shape of You '' Ed Sheeran 2017 754,754 + 2,121,706 + 3,006,404 `` Bohemian Rhapsody '' Queen 2,540,604 254,430 2,795,034 5 `` Uptown Funk '' Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars 2014 1,647,310 1,076,160 2,723,470 6 `` Happy '' Pharrell Williams 2013 1,921,805 707,851 2,629,657 7 `` Thinking Out Loud '' Ed Sheeran 2014 1,219,184 1,302,119 2,521,302 8 `` One Dance '' Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla 2016 553,973 1,791,007 2,344,981 9 `` Rather Be '' Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne 2014 1,283,122 935,575 2,218,697 10 `` Sorry '' Justin Bieber 2015 724,188 1,443,719 2,167,907 11 `` All of Me '' John Legend 2014 1,259,708 896,418 2,156,126 12 `` You 're the One that I Want '' John Travolta & Olivia Newton - John 1978 2,072,035 82,897 2,154,932 13 `` Relax '' Frankie Goes to Hollywood 2,066,230 82,092 2,148,322 14 `` Mull of Kintyre '' / `` Girls ' School '' Wings 1977 2,086,183 1,066 2,087,249 15 `` Last Christmas '' / `` Everything She Wants '' Wham ! 1984 1,825,115 246,581 2,071,696 16 `` Love Yourself '' Justin Bieber 2015 718,549 1,340,666 2,059,215 17 `` Rivers of Babylon '' / `` Brown Girl in the Ring '' Boney M 1978 2,032,656 6,164 2,038,820 18 `` Someone Like You '' Adele 2011 1,644,597 351,772 1,996,369 19 `` Wonderwall '' Oasis 1995 1,502,270 493,671 1,995,940 20 `` Mary 's Boy Child -- Oh My Lord '' Boney M 1978 1,885,274 91,725 1,976,999 21 `` Wake Me Up ! '' Avicii 2013 1,483,346 484,035 1,967,381 22 `` She Loves You '' The Beatles 1963 1,922,275 31,099 1,953,374 23 `` Take Me to Church '' Hozier 2013 934,466 1,017,851 1,952,317 24 `` Blurred Lines '' Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams 2013 1,667,615 284,004 1,951,619 25 `` ( Everything I Do ) I Do It for You '' Bryan Adams 1991 1,848,154 90,382 1,938,536 26 `` Love Is All Around '' Wet Wet Wet 1,898,790 38,951 1,937,741 27 `` Believe '' Cher 1998 1,826,573 101,020 1,927,593 28 `` Cheerleader ( Felix Jaehn Remix ) '' Omi 2014 861,086 1,057,439 1,918,526 29 `` I Just Called to Say I Love You '' Stevie Wonder 1984 1,874,225 38,303 1,912,528 30 `` Despacito ( Remix ) '' Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber 2017 566,425 1,334,174 1,900,599 31 `` Barbie Girl '' Aqua 1997 1,844,310 52,936 1,897,247 32 `` Eye of the Tiger '' Survivor 1982 1,650,293 223,045 1,873,338 33 `` Unchained Melody '' / `` White Cliffs of Dover '' Robson Green & Jerome Flynn 1995 1,867,755 4,214 1,871,969 34 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' The Beatles 1963 1,810,829 47,899 1,858,728 35 `` Hello '' Adele 2015 948,618 906,431 1,855,050 36 `` What Do You Mean ? '' Justin Bieber 2015 533,581 1,320,256 1,853,837 37 `` Let Her Go '' Passenger 2012 1,243,336 589,019 1,832,354 38 `` Get Lucky '' Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams 2013 1,471,356 349,989 1,821,344 39 `` Anything Is Possible '' / `` Evergreen '' Will Young 2002 1,795,213 1,874 1,797,087 40 `` Imagine '' John Lennon 1,714,351 76,141 1,790,492 41 `` Gangsta 's Paradise '' Coolio featuring L.V. 1995 1,585,504 202,542 1,788,045 42 `` I Will Always Love You '' Whitney Houston 1,642,360 140,962 1,783,322 43 `` Do n't You Want Me ? '' Human League 1981 1,637,503 144,273 1,781,776 44 `` I 'll Be Missing You '' Puff Daddy & Faith Evans 1997 1,663,303 106,331 1,769,634 45 `` Cheap Thrills '' Sia 2015 517,082 1,247,640 1,764,721 46 `` Moves Like Jagger '' Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera 2011 1,536,041 207,813 1,743,854 47 `` Somebody That I Used to Know '' Gotye featuring Kimbra 2011 1,515,527 212,192 1,727,719 48 `` Mr. Brightside '' The Killers 10 967,180 750,991 1,718,170 49 `` Pompeii '' Bastille 2013 959,693 749,011 1,708,704 50 `` 7 Years '' Lukas Graham 2015 653,657 1,054,211 1,707,868 See also List of million - selling singles in the United Kingdom List of most downloaded songs in the United Kingdom List of most streamed songs in the United Kingdom List of Platinum singles in the United Kingdom awarded before 2000 List of Platinum singles in the United Kingdom awarded since 2000 Notes ^ Jump up to : The record labels, dates and chart peaks are those given by the OCC. Jump up ^ The sales are those given by the OCC as of 17 September 2017. Jump up ^ The record labels, dates and chart peaks are those given by the OCC. References Jump up ^ `` Rules for Chart Eligibility : Singles '' ( PDF ). London : Official Charts Company. April 2013. p. 4. Retrieved 1 June 2015. Jump up ^ Myers, Justin ( 9 February 2016 ). `` Elton John 's Official Top 20 most downloaded songs ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2016. Jump up ^ Williams, Mark ( 19 February 2002 ). `` Obituary : Percy Dickins ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2013. Jump up ^ Smith, Alan. `` 50s & 60s UK Charts -- The Truth ! ''. davemcaleer.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2013. Jump up ^ Copsey, Rob ( 24 October 2015 ). `` Quiz : Who sold more ? ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 October 2015. Jump up ^ Myers, Justin ( 17 October 2015 ). `` Ask Official Charts : Your questions on Demi, Selena, Britney and more answered ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Jump up ^ Moss, Liv ( 19 June 2015 ). `` Official Biggest Selling Singles of the decade so far revealed ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2015. Jump up ^ Copsey, Rob ( 11 June 2015 ). `` The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the Millennium so far revealed ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : Copsey, Rob ( 19 September 2017 ). `` The UK 's Official Chart ' millionaires ' revealed ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Jump up ^ Jones, Alan ( 14 October 2017 ). `` Official Charts Analysis : Post Malone secures second week atop singles chart ''. Music Week. Retrieved 14 October 2017. ( Subscription required ( help ) ). External links Official UK Singles Top 100 at the Official Charts Company UK Music Charts UK Singles Number ones 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Number one artists Most number ones Christmas Posthumous Scottish Instrumental Simultaneous UK and US Top 10 singles ( By artist ) Best - selling 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s ( decade ) 2010s 1900s 2000s ( century ) All time Yearly Most downloaded Most streamed Million - sellers Platinum singles ( pre-2000 ) Platinum singles ( post-2000 ) Most weeks on chart One - hit wonders Records UK Albums Number ones 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Most number ones Christmas Posthumous Simultaneous UK and US Best - selling 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s ( decade ) 2010s 2000s ( century ) All time Yearly Most weeks on chart One - hit wonders Genre charts Number ones Christian & Gospel Classical ( singles / albums / compilations ) Dance ( singles / albums ) Indie ( singles / albums ) Indie Breakers ( singles / albums ) Progressive R&B ( singles / albums ) Rock & Metal ( singles / albums ) Specialist Classical Other charts Current Album Downloads Albums Streaming Audio Streaming Compilations Midweeks Record Store Singles Downloads UKHot40 Vinyl Albums Vinyl Singles The Vodafone Big Top 40 Former 1952 -- 1969 1Xtra EPs Fab 40 Fresh 40 Hit40UK Mersey Beat The Net 40 The Network Chart Show NME Pepsi Chart Pick of the Pops Record Mirror Subscription Plays Top Pops Related Music Week Official Charts Company The Official Chart UK Video Charts The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles Lists of best - selling singles Asia Australia Japan South Korea Europe Finland France Germany Spain United Kingdom North America Canada United States Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_best-selling_singles_in_the_United_Kingdom&oldid=815327118 '' Categories : British music industry Lists of best - selling singles in the United Kingdom Hidden categories : Articles containing potentially dated statements from September 2017 All articles containing potentially dated statements Pages containing links to subscription - only content Articles with hCards Use British English from July 2013 Use dmy dates from July 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 14 December 2017, at 05 : 26. 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Question: what is the biggest selling single of all time in uk
Answer: Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/ Candle in the Wind 1997