MADONNA

Madonna, real name Madonna Louise Ciccone, was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, and is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, icon and Queen of Pop. Madonna headed to New York City in 1978 to make a career in modern dance, but soon became a shape-shifting music legend, harnessing the power of video and able to work with some of the most ground-breaking designers, producers and musicians.

Madonna's first UK chart entry was in January 1984, courtesy of Holiday which peaked at Number 6, and signalled the beginning of a string of Top 10 hits that followed over the next two years including Like A Virgin, Material Girl and Crazy For You. 

Into The Groove was Madonna's first taste of Number 1 success on The Official Chart, and went on to become Madonna’s best-selling single in the UK, helped in part by featuring in hit movie Desperately Seeking Susan, in which Madonna starred – plus the fact that it wasn’t available on any Madonna album, but it was added to a reissue of Like A Virgin that year.

Madonna holds the Official Chart record for the female with the most UK Number 1 hit songs -13, as well as the artist with the most UK Number 2 singles also - 12, plus a further 12 Number 1s on the Official Albums Chart - a female record matched by Taylor Swift in 2024.

Madonna's UK Number 1 singles include Into The Groove, 1986's Papa Don't Preach and True Blue, 1987's La Isla Bonita and Who's That Girl and Like A Prayer in 1989. Madonna kicked off the 1990s with a further Number 1 with the iconic Vogue, but it would be another eight years to wait until her next chart topper - 1998's Frozen. As the millennium arrived so did more chart accolades for the Queen of Pop, Madonna clinched two consecutive Number 1s in the year 2000, the first was American Pie in March, and another with Music in September. However, proving that she'd far from hung up her chart boots, five years later Madonna shimmied her way to yet another Number 1 with the release of the Abba-sampling Hung Up (2005), followed by Sorry the following year, and a team-up with Justin Timberlake in 2008 nabbed Madonna her (unlucky for some) 13th and last UK Number 1 single.