Official Charts bingo: Acts who have peaked at every position in the Top 10

Only a handful of acts have managed this Official Chart quirk...
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Hitting the Top 10 of the UK's Official Singles Chart is a big deal. In the competitive streaming era, a top tier single is a mark of genuine popularity; that a song has well and truly wormed its way into the ears and hearts of the general public. Back in the early 00s, anything lower than a Top 10 single for a popstar and, to borrow a line from Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, you in danger girl.  

While acts like The Beatles, Spice Girls and Westlife were more about topping the charts in their day, there are a small number of acts that have managed to peak at every position inside the Top 10. A bit like bingo. Forget a single line (stay with us), we're going to highlight the legends who have delivered a Top 10 full house.

Here's the Official rundown on the 11 acts who have impacted every slot in the Official Singles Chart's top flight. We're also going to list the artists that have a sweat on, holding out for one more hit to complete their board. Eyes down...

Lonnie Donegan

Scottish star Lonnie Donegan, a pioneer of the revival of Skiffle music in the 1950s, was the first artist to cross off all the numbers in the Official Singles Chart's Top 10. Not only was Lonnie the first, he did it the fastest.

The King of Skiffle's debut hit Rock Island Line peaked at Number 8, while his second release fared even better - Lost John/Stewball hit Number 2. Bring A Little Water Sylvie/Dead or Alive (7) and Don't You Rock Me Daddy-o (4) followed, before Cumberland Gap become Lonnie's first of two chart toppers.

My Dixie Darling (10), The Grand Coolie Dam (6), Tom Dooley (3) and I Wanna Go Home (5) occupied different positions across the next three years, before the Number 9 Donnie needed to complete the set arrived in 1962, the aptly named The Party's Over. All in all, it took Donnie six years, three months and seven days.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 CUMBERLAND GAP 1957
2 LOST JOHN/STEWBALL 1956
3 TOM DOOLEY 1958
4 DON'T YOU ROCK ME DADDY-O 1957
5 I WANNA GO HOME 1960
6 THE GRAND COOLIE DAM 1958
7 BRING A LITTLE WATER SYLVIE/DEAD OR ALIVE 1956
8 ROCK ISLAND LINE 1956
9 THE PARTY'S OVER 1962
10 MY DIXIE DARLING 1957

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Elvis Presley

If you thought The King would be in this elite club, well, you would be right. With 76 Top 10 singles, Elvis Presley has had plenty of chances, and he achieved the feat in 15 years, nine months and 25 days.

Elvis' debut single Heartbreak Hotel reached Number 2, and he has of course had a multitude of hits since. He was all shook up waiting for a Number 5 to come along, but it finally did in April 1972 with Until It's Time For You To Go.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 ALL SHOOK UP 1957
2 HEARTBREAK HOTEL 1956
3 (LET ME BE YOUR) TEDDY BEAR 1957
4 A BIG HUNK O' LOVE 1959
5 UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO 1972
6 TOO MUCH 1957
7 SANTA BRING MY BABY BACK TO ME 1957
8 PARALYSED 1957
9 BLUE SUEDE SHOES 1956
10 KISSIN' COUSINS 1964

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Madonna

With an impressive 63 UK Top 10 hits, you would think Madonna had paid a visit to every Top 10 placing at least three times over, but in fact, she waited 11 years for a Number 8 hit (1995's Human Nature) and she's not had one since.

In addition to having more Number 1s than any other female and more Number 2s than ANY other artist, Madonna has popped up at every Top 10 position, managing it in 11 years, six months and eight days.

MORE: 60 incredible chart facts about the Queen of Pop

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 INTO THE GROOVE 1985
2 CRAZY FOR YOU 1985
3 LIKE A VIRGIN 1984
4 GAMBLER 1985
5 ANGEL 1985
6 FEVER 1993
7 RAIN 1993
8 HUMAN NATURE 1995
9 THE LOOK OF LOVE 1987
10 BAD GIRL 1993

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Mariah Carey

Madonna was the first female to shout BINGO!, but Mariah Carey can say she is the woman to claim a full house in the shortest space of time. 

It took Mariah nine years, five months and 25 days to put her dabber to all of the boxes, with Thank God I Found You being her only Number 10 single in March 2000. Thank God indeed.

Bonus trivia: In the 1990s, Mariah has one Number 1, two Number 2s, three Number 3s and four Number 4s. Spooky!

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 WITHOUT YOU 1994
2 I'LL BE THERE 1992
3 ENDLESS LOVE 1994
4 FANTASY 1995
5 HEARTBREAKER 1999
6 ONE SWEET DAY 1995
7 HERO 1993
8 ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND 1994
9 VISION OF LOVE 1990
10 THANK GOD I FOUND YOU 2000

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Tom Jones

Sex Bomb led to a climax for Tom Jones! Over three decades after his first hit, (1965 Number 1 It's Not Unusual) the Welsh legend's 2000 smash was the missing piece to the puzzle he was looking for, a Number 3. Sir Tom completed his collection of every Top 10 place two months after Mariah, notching up a time of 35 years, two months and three days. 

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 IT'S NOT UNUSUAL 1965
2 I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN 1967
3 SEX BOMB 2000
4 MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME 2000
5 HELP YOURSELF 1968
6 YOUNG NEW MEXICAN PUPPETEER 1962
7 FUNNY FAMILIAR FORGOTTEN FEELINGS 1967
8 DETROIT CITY 1967
9 LOVE ME TONIGHT 1969
10 WITHOUT LOVE (THERE IS NOTHING) 1969

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Elton John

From one Knight of the Realm to another, Elton John adopted Tom Jones' slow and steady approach; why perform a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sprint when you can take in the good times at a leisurely pace?

Number 9 evaded Sir Elton for 29 years, four months and 2 days, but his only one finally came to him in April 2001 courtesy of I Want Love. Thanks for finally showing up!

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART 1976
2 ROCKET MAN 1972
3 NIKITA 1985
4 DANIEL 1973
5 CROCODILE ROCK 1972
6 GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD 1973
7 SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING 1973
8 BLUE EYES 1982
9 I WANT LOVE 2001
10 LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS 1974

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

(While Elton's Your Song was originally released in January 1971, it wasn't until July 2002 it reached its Number 4 peak, so we began his span of hits from the 1972 Number 2 hit Rocket Man.)

U2

You wait 19 years, nine months and 25 days for a Number 5 single... and two come back-to-back! With an almost complete tally for nearly two decades, U2 completed their bingo board in December 2001 with Walk On. And for good measure, their next single Electrical Storm did the same. Bonus points as they are the only group to achieve this distinction.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 DESIRE 1988
2 HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME, KILL ME 1995
3 PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) 1984
4 WITH OR WITHOUT YOU 1987
5 WALK ON 2001
6 THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE 1985
7 ONE 1992
8 EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING (REMIX) 1992
9 ANGEL OF HARLEM 1988
10 NEW YEAR'S DAY 1983

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Cliff Richard

Of all the ten acts to peak at every Top 10 position, three of them are Sirs, and three of them were all holding out for a Number 5. The third in each of those categories is Sir Cliff Richard.

Forgotten among Mistletoe & Wine and Saviour's Day, Cliff's Xmas hit Santa's List became his only Number 5, which we're sure was exactly what the Bachelor Boy had asked from St. Nick in Christmas 2003. In total, Cliff took the longest to pay a peak visit to every Top 10 position, taking a whopping 45 years, one month and 20 days. That Millennium Prayer paid off.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 LIVING DOLL 1959
2 MOVE IT 1958
3 NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN 1960
4 GEE WHIZ IT'S YOU 1961
5 SANTA'S LIST 2003
6 I COULD EASILY FALL 1964
7 HIGH CLASS BABY 1958
8 I'M THE LONELY ONE 1964
9 IT'S ALL OVER 1967
10 MEAN STREAK 1959

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

P!nk

Raise your glass to this! P!nk has had a feel good time (pun very much intended) on the Official Singles Chart over the years, collecting 20 Top 10 singles so far. Much like Madonna, Pink needed a Number 8 to complete her set, and the criminally-underrated Try did just that. Who Knew (we'll stop with the puns now) it would take P!nk 12 years, six months and five days?

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 LADY MARMALADE 2001
2 GET THE PARTY STARTED 2002
3 FEEL GOOD TIME 2003
4 STUPID GIRLS 2006
5 MOST GIRLS 2000
6 THERE YOU GO 2000
7 TROUBLE 2003
8 TRY 2012
9 YOU MAKE ME SICK 2001
10 U & UR HAND 2006

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Usher

The latest male artist to finish his full set of Top 10 peaks is Usher. Holding out for a Number 8 for 17 years, one month and 18 days, Mr. Raymond finally scored one in March 2015 with I Don't Mind ft. Juicy J.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 YOU MAKE ME WANNA 1998
2 POP YA COLLAR 2001
3 U REMIND ME 2001
4 I NEED A GIRL (PART ONE) 2002
5 U GOT IT BAD 2001
6 I NEED A GIRL/U DON'T HAVE TO CALL 2002
7 DJ GOT US FALLING IN LOVE 2010
8 I DON'T MIND 2015
9 CAUGHT UP 2005
10 GOOD KISSER 2014

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Taylor Swift

The most recent completist is Taylor Swift, who achieved all three of her missing Top 10 peaks in the same week! Taylor's breakthrough hit Love Story reached Number 2 back in March 2009, and in July 2020, Cardigan, Exile (with Bon Iver) and The 1 peaked at 6, 8 and 10 respectively, the exact numbers she needed to dab all of her boxes. In total, it took Taylor 11 years, 4 months and 30 days.

POSITION FIRST SONG TO CHART YEAR
1 LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO 2017
2 LOVE STORY 2009
3 ME 2019
4 WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER 2012
5 I DON'T WANNA LIVE FOREVER 2016
6 CARDIGAN 2020
7 EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED 2012
8 EXILE 2020
9 22 2013
10 THE 1 2020

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

So who just misses out?

Cliff Richard took nearly five decades to score this chart quirk, but who else is one song away from clearing the board?

22 chart acts are waiting in the wings, with only one group waiting for a Kelly's eye - a Number 1. Bon Jovi have peaked at positions 2 - 10, but alas, they are missing a chart topper.

UB40, Cher and Celine Dion are all waiting for One Little Duck (a Number 2 peak), while Pet Shop Boys have yet to score a Number 3 single. David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Frankie Laine and Iron Maiden are all knocking at the door of Number 4, and George Michael was only missing a Number 5.

6 is the most common number causing a sweat, the missing link for Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Status Quo, Whitney Houston and The Saturdays. The former two can claim a Number 6 in their groups The Jackson 5 and Destiny's Child however with Can You Feel It and Bills, Bills, Bills respectively. Frankie Bridge and Rochelle Humes of the latter group did manage a Number 6 also with Puppy Love/Sleigh Ride in their first band S Club Juniors.

A not-so-lucky Number 7 awaits Eurythmics, Dua Lipa and Drake, while Diana Ross and Girls Aloud - with exception of Kimberley who nabbed one solo - are looking for Number 8. Following that, Rod Stewart, Madness, The Beach Boys and Craig David are seeking a Number 9 hit.

Finally, Ed Sheeran may have 44 Top 40 hits, but he still needs a Tony's den - a Number 10.

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avatar

Velvet Android

1

There's something fishy with the Usher one. Notice that his #4 is I Need A Girl (Part 1) and his #6 is... I Need A Girl/U Don't Have To Call.

Looking at his chart page, the former is listed as a no.4 new entry on 10.8.02 – allegedly its only week of chart action. Then on 17.8.02, i.e. the very next week, the same song 'enters' at no.6 but this time credited as a double A-side. This is apparently good enough to hand it both positions among his 'full house' of Top 10 placings in this article, but surely it's the same single, just wrongly listed on this site as two different chart entries.

Usher did still score a more or less 'legitimate' no.6 hit nine years later, as featured artist on David Guetta's Without You in September 2011, so he still gets to claim the clean sweep. As an added quirk, that would uniquely mean that (different) songs of that title contribute to two different artists' full sets of Top 10 placings, after Mariah's 1994 no.1 version of the Nilsson classic.

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Greg McFarnon

1

Madonna's Deeper and Deeper peaked at #6 before Fever did.

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Velvet Android

0

Good catch! And so, if we're being picky, did her very first single Holiday, 30-odd Top Ten hits earlier... at least in its original chart run. It only reached #2 in a reissue the following year – though since that was the same version of the song (unlike its subsequent third visit to the Top 10, in a 1991 remix) then I guess we can rule it out on a technicality by arguing it's the 'same' hit.

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Greg McFarnon

0

Yeah, you're correct. I wouldn't include re-issues/remixes etc so, yes, Holiday takes the #6 spot. Incidentally, Fever - along with the dire Hanky Panky(1990) - must rank as her worst single ever.

MC

Matthew Clegg

0

Can You Feel It was the number six hit which Michael Jackson had with the Jacksons, not I Want You Back. The latter actually made it to number two in 1970.

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MrDannyDoodah

3

I was curious to see how far these artists can extend their records. By my reckoning Mariah has a top 12, Pink a top 13, Cliff a top 17 and Elvis a top 19.

GF

Gary Feld

1

Madonna, a Top 11

MC

Matthew Clegg

0

For a Top 15 bingo, Celine Dion just needs 13 and 2. Chance would be a fine thing.

JC

James Cook

2

Cliff managed the feat also on the LP chart too. And if he had a #18 hit he could count the full top 20.

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MrDannyDoodah

2

Elvis only need a #20 to have a full top 25. Cliff would actually complete a top 27 if he got that #18, and would then only need #28, #33, #36 and #39 to complete the top 40.

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A Taste Of International Music

1

Awesome article! Funny and interesting! Thanks a lot!

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Nela Micandro

2

Westlife have 7/10, they have a number 1 2 3 4 5 8 and 10

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mildredfarts

4

great feature. If Eurythmics ever did get that number 7 hit they would've reached every position in the top 10 without repetition.