Welcome to James Masterton's Chart Watch UK – your essential weekly deep dive into the Official UK Charts!
As the longest-running British music column online, we bring you the ultimate guide to this week's Top 40, unraveling the stories behind the biggest new singles and chart-topping hits. Plus, explore our extensive archives, a treasure trove of nearly 1800 articles documenting three and a half decades of popular music history and expert analysis.
This isn't a random flex for a photoshoot; poor Phoebe Bridgers celebrates her No.1 album by being laid low with appendicitis. That's not a spoiler though, and neither is the news that Rein Me In is still No.1. Come inside, there's a table.
Ella Langley studies Chart Watch with some care and discovers that just like back at home she now has two side by side hits to her name. Neither are making it to No.1 any time soon it seems. There's a certain duet still in the way. Further explanation as to why that is lies cheerfully within.
Sam and Olivia pose backstage at Lollapalooza in Chicago in a picture taken circa 1923 by the looks of things, as Rein Me In continues at the top. But last week's ensuing debate was fascinating - why were so many people startled that they'd never stumbled across the song?
The moment, long planned-for, has arrived. No longer can we blissfully mention a 1953 single as the longest-running No.1 hit in chart history. A new recording has taken over that crown. Will things ever be the same again?
