REVEALED: The most-streamed songs of last 70 years

Paint It Black by Rolling Stones, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Mr Brightside by The Killers are among the most-streamed songs to have been released since the creation of the Official Singles Chart.

To mark its 70th anniversary, the Official Charts Company has created a list for BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 featuring the most-streamed song of each year since its inception in 1952.

While the songs may date back seven decades, the chart takes into account the total number of streams on services such as Spotify and Apple Music that have become popular in the last 15 years.

The most streamed song released in 1952 was Singin’ In The Rain by Gene Kelly, while 1956 went to I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash and 1957 to Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley.

Rolling Stones’ classic track Paint It Black was the most streamed song in 1966 with the Beatles claiming the title to close out the decade in 1969 with Here Comes The Sun.

Sir Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and Queen all had two years each in the 1970s where their track was the most streamed.

Veteran musician Sir Elton took 1970 with Your Song and 1972 for Tiny Dancer, while Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way was most streamed in 1976 and Dreams in 1977.

Queen takes the title in 1975 with Bohemian Rhapsody, in 1979 for Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen and later into the next decade in 1980 with Another One Bites The Dust.

Later in the decade, Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi was the most streamed in 1986 and I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston claimed 1987.

The early 1990s sees rock bands dominate with Thunderstruck by AC/DC as the most streamed song in 1990, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana in 1991 and Creep by Radiohead in 1992.

Meanwhile, Iris by Goo Goo Dolls claims the title in 1998 and No Scrubs by TLC in 1999.

The dawn of a new century in 2000 was marked with Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader as the most streamed song with Mr Brightside by The Killers topping the list in 2003 and 2005 going to I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by the Arctic Monkeys, the lead single off their debut album.

In more recent years, Someone Like You by Adele was the most streamed song in 2011, 2017 went to Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You and Harry Styles closes out the list in 2022 with his smash hit As It Was.