1992 UK Eurovision representative, Michael Ball, has scored his first UK Number 1 single alongside British Army veteran, Captain Tom Moore. The duo reached Number 1 in the UK today (24 April) with a cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Ball & Capt. Moore knocked Canadian popstar, The Weeknd, from the number one spot. He had previously held the number one spot for eight weeks with “Blinding Lights”. Michael Ball has also become the first Eurovision act since Blue, in 2002, to score a UK Number One single.
“We’re in this together”
Speaking to Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1’s Official Charts show, Captain Moore said that:
My grandchildren can’t believe I’m a chart-topper. We’re in this together, and I am forever grateful for your support. And this just proves ‘you’ll never walk alone’.
– Captain Tom Moore, speaking on BBC Radio 1
Captain Tom Moore shot to public attention in the UK a few weeks ago after he revealed he was aiming to raise £1,000 for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden by his 100th birthday. Capt. Moore, who will celebrate his birthday next Thursday, has currently raised over £28 million for NHS Charities Together. This smashes his original target, with more than 1.3 million people donating.
“It’s about Captain Tom”
Michael Ball, who is known to Eurovision fans as the 1992 runner-up, told the Official Charts Company that:
This is the most extraordinary thing, one of the most proudest moments of my career… But it’s not about me, it’s about Captain Tom. Thank you for giving him a Number 1 on his 100th birthday. You are the best, God bless ya.
– Michael Ball, speaking to OfficialCharts.com
The “One Step Out of Time” singer scores his first UK Number One tonight. This comes 31 years after his debut single, “Love Changes Everything”, in 1989. Only two artists – Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Christie – have waited longer for their first chart-topping single.
A multitude of records for the Captain!
Apart from being the oldest-ever person to have a UK Number One, Capt. Moore also scores a range of other chart records tonight. These include:
- Becoming the first centenarian to score an Official UK Number 1 single
- The second act in history to go straight in at Number 1 with a debut single (the first was Whigfield with Saturday Night in 1994)
- The fastest selling single of 2020, racking up 80,000 downloads
- “You’ll Never Walk Alone” becomes the third single to have four different versions go to Number One
The whole team at ESCXTRA.com send our congratulations to Captain Tom Moore, along with Michael Ball, on their UK Number One single!
Would you like to see Captain Tom & Michael score a second week at number one? All proceeds from sales and streams of the song go to NHS Charities Together in the UK.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
