The Killers' Mr Brightside becomes the UK’s biggest single to never reach number 1
The track has usurped Oasis and their iconic song, Wonderwall.
2000s indie-rock anthem track Mr Brightside by the Killers has dethroned Wonderwall by Oasis to become the UK's biggest-selling single to never actually reach number one.
According to the Official Charts Company, Mr Brightside’s 5.57 million combined sales and streams makes it the UK’s third biggest song of all time, even surpassing sales and streams by Wham!’s festive classic, Last Christmas.
This is calculated from a total of 530.3 million streams – 100 paid streams or 600 free streams equal one 'sale' – and 1.1 million copies sold since the track was first released in 2003.
The enduring track has spent a whopping 408 weeks – seven years – in the UK top 100. Its closest competitor is Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved, which has spent 234 weeks in the top 100 at the time of writing.
"Thank you so much to all our fans for making Mr Brightside the third biggest song of all time in the UK, and the biggest ever not to have reached Number One; not yet at least," the band told the Official Charts Company.
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"This Top 10 Award means a lot to us, Mr Brightside has been completely embraced by the British public and we can’t wait to celebrate with you all on the road. Thank you for supporting us. See you soon!"
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive of the Official Charts added: "The success of Mr Brightside is a triumph of extraordinary longevity, it is a song which has lived with so many of us throughout the recent decades of our lives – and, for some, an entire lifetime.
"Ed Sheeran is absolutely right to describe it as the UK's alternative national anthem. And for this reason, among many others, it is a huge honour for us to have been able to present Brandon Flowers [frontman] with one of our brand-new Top 10 Awards in tribute to its legacy and impact.
"20 years on from its first Official Singles Chart appearance, it is now the Top 10 hit that all other Top 10s can only aspire to be."
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Mr Brightside is still being streamed 1.8 million times per week on average in the UK.
Reflecting on its enduring popularity, Brandon Flowers, who wrote Mr Brightside with bandmate Dave Keuning, told the Official Charts Company admitted that he feels removed from it now.
"It’s funny. I don’t feel so much of it anymore. It just exists in the world," Flowers said.
"It’s amazing that I had something to do with it, but I almost feel a little bit removed from it because it’s so big."
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