# What is the best selling song in British history?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/what-is-the-best-selling-song-in-british-history/
- Published: 2026-10-24T15:29:03+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T16:26:42+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/what-is-the-best-selling-song-in-british-history/
- Topics: UK, World

## Key points

- Elton John’s Diana tribute became Britain’s best-selling song.
- The 1997 release sold more than 4.9 million copies.
- The charity single drew criticism over its rewritten lyrics.

## Summary

Elton John’s reworked “Candle in the Wind” became the best-selling song in British history after he performed it at Princess Diana’s 1997 funeral. The charity release brought people together in national mourning and was bought in large numbers, despite criticism that changing the lyrics displaced the song’s original tribute to Marilyn Monroe.

The 1974 original reached number 11 in the UK; the 1997 version changed “Goodbye Norma Jean” to “Goodbye England’s Rose” and was released as a double A-side with “Something About the Way You Look Tonight”. It has sold more than 4.9 million copies in the UK, over a million more than Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, and raised money for charities supported by Diana.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.