Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s ‘Rein Me In’ makes history as longest-running British Number One of all time

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean‘s ‘Rein Me In’ has made history by becoming the longest-running British Number One single of all time.

The two artists officially released the collaborative version of the ‘People Watching’ track last summer, after they performed it live together at Fender’s shows in London and Newcastle.

• READ MORE: Olivia Dean live in Glasgow: a new popstar’s victory lap

In May, the pair celebrated nine non-consecutive weeks at the top spot on the UK singles chart by delivering a joint rendition during Dean’s headline concert at London’s O2. The collab earned Fender his first UK Number One single, and gave Dean her second following ‘Man I Need’.

Its 35-week climb broke the previous record of 19 weeks in the UK top 40, set by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ in 2014. Fender and Dean’s team-up bagged them the Song Of The Year award at the BRITs 2026, too.

Now, it’s been revealed that the track has spent a record-breaking 16th week at Number One in the UK. The feat sees ‘Rein Me In’ overtake Wet Wet Wet’s ‘Love Is All Around’, which held the British record for more than 30 years after spending 15 weeks at the top spot in 1994. Fender and Dean had tied with the Scottish group last week.

The single now also equals Bryan Adams’ ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ (1991) as the joint second-longest-running Number One single of all time, behind Frankie Laine’s ‘I Believe’ from 1958.

Ben Mortimer, President, Polydor Label Group, said: “From the beginning, we knew that ‘Rein Me In’ had a rare quality, so it was important to give it the space and support needed to grow.

“Watching it build has been incredibly rewarding – that kind of sustained success doesn’t happen by accident, it takes brilliant artists and a dedicated team.”

He added: “Breaking a record that has stood for more than 30 years is a remarkable achievement for Sam and Olivia, and we are incredibly proud to have played a part.”

Jo Charrington, President, Capitol UK, commented: “This is the duet of the decade. What Olivia and Sam have achieved with ‘Rein Me In’ is incredibly special.

“To see Olivia’s voice and artistry connect with people on this scale, alongside an artist as brilliant as Sam, has been wonderful to watch.”

Sam Fender performing at Reading 2023. Credit: Andy Ford for NME

Fender and Dean’s duet took 35 weeks from its first UK chart entry to reach Number One, breaking the record for the longest climb to the top when it first hit the summit this February.

At the time, Dean occupied three of the top four spots on the UK singles chart, with ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’ rising to Number Two and her previous chart-topper ‘Man I Need’ coming in at Number Four.

‘Rein Me In’ is the longest-running UK Number One of the 2020s, and the only single in UK chart history to climb back to the top position four times during the same chart run.

Olivia Dean. CREDIT: Press

As well as its 16 weeks at Number One, the track has now spent 55 consecutive weeks in the UK top 40, 28 consecutive weeks in the UK top 10, and 38 weeks in total inside the UK top 10.

These figures make it the longest consecutive top 40 run in history, the longest top 10 run in 73 years, the second-longest consecutive top 10 run ever, and the outright record-holder for the most weeks in the UK top 10 for any non-Christmas single.

The collab is also only the second single in history to spend a full calendar year in the UK top 40.

Earlier this year, Fender was the recipient of the Songwriter Of The Year award at the Ivor Novellos. Elton John presented the artist with the prize, describing him as “one of the greatest lyricists Britain has ever produced”.

Nodding to the ongoing success of ‘Rein Me In’, John joked: “The only thing I’ll say is, for Christ’s sake, you’ve been at Number One for 12 weeks now, bugger off!”

Meanwhile, Olivia Dean won the Best New Artist statue at the BET Awards last month. She cleared up at this year’s BRITs in February, with her wins including Album Of The Year for ‘The Art Of Loving’.

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