Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have broken the record for the longest-running UK Number One single of all time with their hit track ‘Rein Me In’.
The milestone marks a huge win for the two singers and for Universal Music UK’s Polydor Label Group, as it has now hit 19 weeks at the top of the UK Official Singles Chart.
With the record-breaking accomplishment, the song overtakes Frankie Laine’s ‘I Believe’ for the title, which spent 18 weeks at the top spot on the charts across three separate runs in 1953. The record stood for 73 years.
Released over a year ago, ‘Rein Me In’ took 35 weeks to reach Number One after it first made its way onto the UK charts, only hitting the peak position in February 2026, becoming Fender’s first chart-topping single.
It is also the only song in UK chart history to climb back to the Number One spot four times during the same chart run, and has now spent 58 consecutive weeks in the UK Top 40.
Of those 58 weeks in the Top 40, 31 weeks have seen it be in the Top 10 consecutively – giving ‘Rein Me In’ the longest Top 10 run since charts began.
“This is a historic achievement,” said Ben Mortimer, President of Polydor Label Group. “The accolades have continued to grow throughout this incredible journey, but to surpass a benchmark set by the great Frankie Laine more than 70 years ago is almost unimaginable. Seeing Sam and Olivia, two homegrown stars, break the record is something we’re so proud of.”
Jo Charrington, President of Capitol UK, added: “There is something completely undeniable about Sam and Olivia together on this record. They created a song that people have continued to return to week after week. To see that connection translate into the longest Number One run in the history of the UK chart is a landmark achievement.”
As well as breaking records in the UK, ‘Rein Me In’ has also been Number One in Ireland for 13 non-consecutive weeks, and in Australia it has spent 36 weeks on the chart and is currently at Number Three.
In Canada it has spent 20 weeks on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100, in New Zealand it has been on the charts for 31-weeks, and in the US it has spent 18 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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.
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. While it is Fender’s first Number One, it is Dean’s second following ‘Man I Need’.
Earlier this year, the team-up bagged them the Song Of The Year award at the BRITs 2026, too.
Amid the success of the single, 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”.
For Dean, the singer won the Best New Artist statue at the BET Awards last month. She cleared up at this year’s BRITs in February too, with her wins including Album Of The Year for ‘The Art Of Loving’.
