British artists claim top ten places in annual UK singles chart for first time ever

BRITISH artists have claimed the top ten places in the annual UK singles chart for the first time.

Harry Styles led the way in 2022 with his hit As It Was.

Harry Styles led the way in 2022 with his hit As It WasCredit: Getty

Ed Sheeran claimed three spots on the list, one for a collaboration with Fireboy DMLCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Ed Sheeran’s Bad Habits was at No 2 and his Peru collaboration with Fireboy DML claimed third spot, the Official Charts Company revealed.

It was the first all-Brits annual top ten since official charts began more than 50 years ago.

Leon Neville, of UK record labels association the BPI, hailed the feat at a time when “streaming has created un-precedented competition  from every corner of the globe”.

He added: “This outstanding achievement is a testament to the rich music talent that continues to emerge from the UK’s nations, fuelled by the passion, investment and skills of UK record labels.”

Kate Bush re-entered  the charts last year with Running Up That Hill — which was first released in 1985.

The track was streamed 124 million times last year after featuring in Netflix series Stranger Things. Styles also had 2022’s top selling album in the UK with Harry’s House, followed by Sheeran’s .

 Brits streamed or bought 166.1 million albums last year.

 Streaming accounted for 86.1 per cent of the market. 

Total audio streams topped 150 billion for the first time.

Kate Bush re-entered the charts last year with Running Up That Hill — which was first released in 1985Credit: Getty

It now takes, on average,  1.3 million audio streams to enter the  top 40 of the Official Singles Chart and a combined seven million audio and video streams to land a No 1.

Despite the shift to online listening, 11.6 million CDs and 5.5 million vinyl albums were bought as demand for LPs grew for a 15th year in a row.