Fastest selling single?
Gets you a nice car, though |
Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose by Elton John is the fastest ever selling single in the UK o date. Released on the 13 September 1997, a week after the funeral of Princess Diana, it sold 658,000 in a single day. Over the week this figure rose to 1.55 million, but then fell rapidly.
Profits for Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose were donated to charity. It was not a commercial release in this respect - and has been treated as a memorial subsequently.
Can't Buy Me Love
In terms of worldwide sales, Can't Buy Me Love holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest selling single. The first new release following The Beatles visit to America in February 1964, its advanced sales were an unprecedented 2.7 million.
Released on March 21, 1964, it was No. 1 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for a further 10 weeks.