Who holds the record for the longest song to chart on the UK top 40?
Can you believe it, a staggering 39 minutes and 58 seconds!
That is the full version of The Orb’s “Blue Room”, which reached No.8 in 1992!
The longest Top 40 song not to have a shortened version on sale is also the No.1 with the longest running-time; Oasis’ “All Around The World”, No.1 in January 1998. It has a duration of 9 minutes 38 seconds.
The longest 7″ A-side was “Inside Looking Out” by Grand Funk Railroad. It is 9 mins 31 secs long and just scraped into the Top 40 at No.40 in February 1971.
The first Number 1 to have a playing time of more than four minutes was Harry Belafonte’s “Mary’s Boy Child” (1957 at 4 mins 25 secs).