This month marks 50 years since the release of Beatles' Abbey Road album; the last album they recorded together – though not the last one they released.
To mark the occasion, we've teamed up with BBC Radio 2 to reveal which of The Beatles' songs are being listened to most in the digital era of downloads and streaming.
The Fab Four's Official UK Chart history takes in 38 Top 40 hits, of which 28 went Top 10, with 17 of those going to Number 1. Six of their songs are million-sellers, but when it comes to the digital age, how do those hits hold up? Brilliantly, there's a HUGE shock at the top.
MORE: Look back at every hit Beatles song and album in their Official Chart archive
The most popular Beatles' song on streaming services is not your typical Fab Four track – Paul McCartney isn't on lead vocals, John Lennon doesn't appear on the track at all, neither of them wrote it, and it wasn't even a hit! The honour goes to the uplifting Here Comes The Sun, written and sung by George Harrison, and a staple of any summer playlist.
It's amassed 50.3 million streams, way ahead of its nearest rival, plus 164,000 downloads. Here Comes The Sun is an album track – featuring on Abbey Road – and was never an official single, but it did finally get to chart in 2010, when the Beatles' back catalogue was finally made available to download, peaking at 58.
In second is the band's last single from their main period of success, Let it Be, with 26 million plays and 159,000 downloads.
Placing third is singalong classic Hey Jude, one of the band's later Number 1s, spending two weeks at the top in September 1968. Fourth is another Beatles song to miss the top, the much-covered Come Together, originally released as a double-A side with fellow Abbey Road track Something (15th place), which, like Here Comes the Sun, was penned by George Harrison. It peaked at Number 4 in November 1969.
MORE: Artists with the most Number 1 singles
Taking fifth place is Twist and Shout, a cover that appeared on their first album Please Please Me that was first made chart hit as a single by the Isley Brothers.
Elsewhere, Yesterday makes it into the Top 10 at Number 9, boosted by the release of Beatles-themed film Yesterday earlier this year. I Want to Hold Your hand just misses out on the Top 10 in 11th place and, perhaps surprisingly, the band's first ever Number 1 – From Me To You – falls close to the bottom of the Top 60 in 54th place. View the bestselling singles of all time on the UK chart.
The Beatles' Official Top 40 most streamed songs:
POS | TITLE | ARTIST |
1 | HERE COMES THE SUN | BEATLES |
2 | LET IT BE | BEATLES |
3 | HEY JUDE | BEATLES |
4 | COME TOGETHER | BEATLES |
5 | TWIST AND SHOUT | BEATLES |
6 | HELP | BEATLES |
7 | BLACKBIRD | BEATLES |
8 | IN MY LIFE | BEATLES |
9 | YESTERDAY | BEATLES |
10 | ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE | BEATLES |
11 | I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND | BEATLES |
12 | ELEANOR RIGBY | BEATLES |
13 | WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS | BEATLES |
14 | LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS | BEATLES |
15 | SOMETHING | BEATLES |
16 | SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND | BEATLES |
17 | LOVE ME DO | BEATLES |
18 | YELLOW SUBMARINE | BEATLES |
19 | PENNY LANE | BEATLES |
20 | WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS | BEATLES |
21 | A HARD DAYS NIGHT | BEATLES |
22 | STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER | BEATLES |
23 | A DAY IN THE LIFE | BEATLES |
24 | SHE LOVES YOU | BEATLES |
25 | I SAW HER STANDING THERE | BEATLES |
26 | TICKET TO RIDE | BEATLES |
27 | NORWEGIAN WOOD (THIS BIRD HAS FLOWN) | BEATLES |
28 | CAN'T BUY ME LOVE | BEATLES |
29 | GET BACK | BEATLES |
30 | DAY TRIPPER | BEATLES |
31 | I AM THE WALRUS | BEATLES |
32 | EIGHT DAYS A WEEK | BEATLES |
33 | BACK IN THE USSR | BEATLES |
34 | OB LA DI OB LA DA | BEATLES |
35 | HELLO GOODBYE | BEATLES |
36 | WHEN IM SIXTY FOUR | BEATLES |
37 | THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD | BEATLES |
38 | REVOLUTION | BEATLES |
39 | WE CAN WORK IT OUT | BEATLES |
40 | AND I LOVE HER | BEATLES |
41 | ACROSS THE UNIVERSE | BEATLES |
42 | DRIVE MY CAR | BEATLES |
43 | I FEEL FINE | BEATLES |
44 | PAPERBACK WRITER | BEATLES |
45 | OCTOPUSS GARDEN | BEATLES |
46 | YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY | BEATLES |
47 | GOLDEN SLUMBERS | BEATLES |
48 | ALL MY LOVING | BEATLES |
49 | SHES LEAVING HOME | BEATLES |
50 | MICHELLE | BEATLES |
51 | LADY MADONNA | BEATLES |
52 | HERE THERE AND EVERYWHERE | BEATLES |
53 | DONT LET ME DOWN | BEATLES WITH BILLY PRESTON |
54 | FROM ME TO YOU | BEATLES |
55 | NOWHERE MAN | BEATLES |
56 | HELTER SKELTER | BEATLES |
57 | DEAR PRUDENCE | BEATLES |
58 | THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO | BEATLES |
59 | THE FOOL ON THE HILL | BEATLES |
60 | OH DARLING | BEATLES |
©2019 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
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