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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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.

Related artists

Velvet Android

18th May 2021

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.

Greg McFarnon

17th May 2021

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

Velvet Android

18th May 2021

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.

Greg McFarnon

19th May 2021

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.

Matthew Clegg

12th May 2021

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.

MrDannyDoodah

14th September 2020

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.

Gary Feld

7th May 2021

Madonna, a Top 11

Matthew Clegg

12th May 2021

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

James Cook

11th September 2020

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

MrDannyDoodah

14th September 2020

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.