Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have made chart history after their duet Rein Me In became the longest-running number one single of all time by a British act, spending 16 weeks at the top of the UK charts. The pop-rock ballad surpassed Wet Wet Wet's Love is All Around from 1994 and equalled Canadian singer Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
Fender, who originally released the track on his third solo album more than a year ago, said watching the song break chart records has "been ridiculous" and "an excuse to party". He credited Grammy winner Dean, saying: "Olivia putting the alternative narrative on it made the song really universal – that opened the floodgates. There's two sides to the story. And, it's a toe tapper! It's officially a banger!"
“Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's duet Rein Me In becomes longest-running UK number one by a British act, with 16 weeks at top.”
The duet was released in June last year as a remix of Fender's solo album track, and is a two-way conversation about the end of a relationship – Fender noted previously that the song is "all the better" for Dean's input. They debuted the collaboration in early June during one of Fender's London Stadium shows, with the video of their performance going viral on social media.
Rein Me In is Fender's first number one, while Dean's second chart-topper after the success of her single Man I Need. The pair also broke more records on Friday, achieving the longest consecutive run in the UK top 40 and the most weeks in the UK top 10 for any non-Christmas single. There is one record left for the pair to break: the longest running number one by any artist, currently held by American Frankie Laine, whose song I Believe spent 18 weeks at the top in 1953.
