UK Singles Chart
Encyclopedia
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom
based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 (such as the BBC) or the Top 75 (such as Music Week
Magazine) of this list. Around 6,500 British retail outlets contribute sales data, as well as most UK online digital download stores. Unlike charts in the United States
, no airplay statistics are used for the official UK Singles Chart. The chart week runs from 00:01 Sunday to midnight Saturday, with most UK digital singles
being released on Sundays, followed by physical releases on Monday.
The Top 40 chart is first revealed on Sunday afternoons by BBC Radio 1
, prior even to posting on the OCC's own website, with the top 75 being printed in Music Week
magazine on the following Monday, and the top 200 appearing in independent newsletter UKChartsPlus on Wednesdays. It is also published online in various locations. Radio 1 broadcasts the Top 40, in reverse order, on Sundays from 16:00 to 19:00. The show had various presenters over the years including Mark Goodier
and Bruno Brookes
, and Alan Freeman
whose Pick Of The Pops formed the chart show throughout the 1960s and into the early 70s. Since October 2007, Reggie Yates
has presented the chart show and, until September 2009, with Fearne Cotton
. Cotton was the first ever permanent female presenter of the Official Chart Show. A rival chart called The Big Top 40 Show
, is based on downloads and commercial radio airplay, which is broadcast on 140 commercial local radio stations.
According to the canon of The Official Charts Company, the official British singles chart is the New Musical Express chart from 1952 to 1960; the Record Retailer
chart from 1960 to 1969; and the Official UK Singles Chart from 1969 on.
According to the Official Charts Company's statistics, as of 30 October 2011, 1,179 singles have topped the UK singles chart. The precise number of chart-toppers is debatable due to the profusion of different competing charts from the 1950s to the 1980s, but the usual list used is that endorsed by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles
and subsequently adopted by The Official UK Charts Company. There was no official chart before Tuesday 11 February 1969. Prior to this the BBC compiled their own chart based on an average of music papers of the time, meaning that many of the songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops
prior to 1969 are not listed as chart toppers according to the above canon.
. The idea to compile a chart based on sales originated in America where the music trade paper, Billboard
, compiled the first chart incorporating sales figures on 20 July 1940. Record charts in the UK began life in 1952 when Percy Dickins from New Musical Express (NME)
gathered a pool of 52 stores willing to return data sales figures. For the first British chart, Dickins telephoned a sample of around 20 shops asking for a list the 10 best-selling songs. These results were then aggregated to give a Top 12 chart which was published in NME on 14 November 1952 with Al Martino
's "Here in My Heart
" awarded the number-one position. The chart became of successful feature of the periodical; it was expanded to a Top 20 for 1 October 1954, and rival publications began compiling their own charts starting in 1955. Record Mirror
compiled its own Top 10 chart for 22 January 1955 and was based on the postal returns from record stores that were financed by the newspaper—NME, was based on a telephone poll. Both charts expand in size with Mirrors becoming a Top 20 in October 1955 and NMEs becoming a Top 30 in April 1956. Another rival publication, Melody Maker
, began compiling its own chart and telephoned 19 stores to produce a Top 20 for 7 April 1956; it was also the first chart to include Northern Ireland
in its sample.
Record Mirror began running a Top 5 album chart in July 1956 and from November 1958 this was run by NME. In March 1960, Record Retailer
began compiling an EP
(album) chart and had a Top 50 singles chart. Although NME had the biggest circulation of charts in the 1960s and was more widely followed, In March 1962, Record Mirror stopped compiling their own chart and published Record Retailers instead. Retailer became independently audited from January 1963 and is used by UK Singles Chart the source for number ones from the week ending 12 March 1960. The choice of Record Retailer as the canonical source has been criticised, however the chart was unique in listing close to fifty positions for the whole decade. With available lists of which record shops were sampled for to compile the charts, some shops were subjected to "hyping
" but, with Record Retailer being less widely followed than some charts, it was subject to less hyping. Additionally, Retailer was set up by independent record shops and had no funding or affiliation with record companies. However, it had a significantly smaller sample size than some of the rival charts. Before February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)
chart was established, there was no official chart or universally accepted source. People followed charts in various periodicals and, during this time, the BBC
used aggregated results of charts from the NME, Melody Maker, Disc and, later, Record Mirror to compile the Pick of the Pops
chart. However, according to The Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums, the canonical sources for the unofficial period are NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer until 1969.
jointly commissioned the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) to compile the charts starting from 15 February 1969. The BMRB compiled its first chart from postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops. The sampling cost approximately £
52,000 and shops were randomly chosen from a pool of around 6,000 and they submitted figures for sales taken up to the close of trade on Saturday. The sales diaries were translated into punch cards
so the data could be interpreted by a computer. A computer then compiled the chart on Monday and the BBC were informed of the Top 50 on Tuesday ready for it to be announced on Johnnie Walker's afternoon show. The charts were also published in Record Retailer (rebranded Record & Tape Retailer in 1971 and then Music Week
in 1972) and Record Mirror
. However, the BMRB often struggled to have the full sample of sales figures returned by post. The 1971 postal strike
meant that data had to be collected by telephone but this was deemed inadequate for a national chart, and by 1973 the BMRB was using motorcycle courier
s to collect sales figures. In May 1978, the singles chart was expanded from a Top 50 to a Top 75. A World in Action
documentary exposé in 1980 revealed corruption within the industry and the stores' chart returns dealer could frequently be offered bribes to falsify the sales logs.
(38 percent) and the BBC (12 percent). On 4 January 1983, the chart compilation was taken over by Gallup
who expanded the chart with a "Next 25" in addition to the Top 75 and began the introduction of computerised tills which automated the data collection process. In July 1987, Gallup signed a new contract with BPI increasing the sample size to around 500 stores and introducing barcode scanners to read data. The chart was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets and announced on Tuesday until October 1987, when the Top 40 was revealed each Sunday, due to the new automated process. The 1980s also saw the introduction of the cassette single
(or "cassingle") alongside the 7-inch and 12-inch
record formats and in 1987 major record labels developed a common format for the Compact Disc single. In May 1989, chart regulations kept Kylie Minogue
's song "Hand on Your Heart
" from number one because sales from cassette singles were not included as they had been sold for £1.99 – cheaper than was allowed at the time. Following this the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
reduced the minimum price for cassette singles to become eligible towards sales figures. In September 1989, W H Smith
began to send sales data to Gallup directly through electronic point of sale (EPoS)
terminals.
In January 1990, the BPI gave notice to Gallup, BBC, and Music Week and on 30 June 1990 terminated its contract with them because it "could no longer afford the £600,000 a year cost". From 1 July 1990, the Chart Information Network (CIN) was formed by Spotlight Publications, publisher of Music Week
, in cooperation with the BBC and the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD) – representing many retailers including W H Smith, Woolworths
, HMV
, and Virgin – who agreed to exclusively supply sales data to the CIN. A Chart Supervisory Committee (CSC) to represent the BBC, CIN and retailers. The BPI were reluctant to join and "consider[ed] the option of launching a rival chart" but, in September, and agreement was reached and they joined the CSC. For this brief period the chart was produced by Gallup but owned by CIN and Music Week who would then sell it on to the BBC and BPI. Then, in January 1991, the CIN became a joint venture between Link House Magazines (formerly Spotlight Publications, later Miller Freeman
) and the BPI who shared the revenue and costs which were said to be around £750,000 or £1 million. During this time other major retailers such as Woolworths and John Menzies
started submitting data using EpOS terminals. Towards the end of 1991, the sample consisted of 500 stores scanning barcodes of all record sales into a Epson PX-4
computer and 650 other stores that gave sales data through their own EPoS computerised tills. These computers were be telephoned six times a week to provide the data to Gallup. In June 1991, the BPI reduced the number of eligible formats
from five to four.
In November 1990, the "Next 25" section of the UK singles chart, i.e., positions 76–100 with specially applied rules, ceased to be printed in the official trade magazine Music Week
. In April 1991 the publication Record Mirror was discontinued. From this date the "Next 25", which had been published by Record Mirror, was no longer printed. Virgin installed JDA
EPoS terminals in September 1993 and began providing sales data to Gallup for the first time.
In February 1993, the research contract for the chart was put out to tender with a new four-year contract beginning 1 February 1994. Millward Brown
, Research International
, Nielsen Market Research were approaced, and Gallup were invited to re-apply. In May, it was announced that Millward Brown had been formally accepted as the next chart compilers signing a £1-million-a-year contract. Millward Brown took over compiling the charts on 1 February 1994 and increased the sample size; by the end of the month, each shop sampled used a barcode scanner that linked via an Epson terminal with a modem
to a central computer (called "Eric") which logged the data of more than 2,500 stores. Gallup tried to block Millward Brown's new chart by complaining to the Office of Fair Trading
about the contractual clause where BARD retailers exclusively supplied sales data to the CIN but the interim order
was rejected. In June 1995, the case was dropped after the clause was deleted allowing BARD retailers to supply sales information to other chart compilers; however, because CIN retained the copyright other compilers could not use or sell the information.
From 2 April 1995, the number of eligible formats was reduced from four to three. The decision came after nine months of negotiations with BARD who objected that it would adversely affect the vinyl record industry. Although record labels were not prohibited from releasing singles in more than three formats they had to identify the three eligible formats. This resulted in a large reduction to the number of singles released as a 7-inch format; the most common three formats were 12-inch single
, cassette
and CD, or a cassette and two CD versions. Curiously, the ruling caused Oasis
single "Some Might Say
" to chart twice in one week – once (at number 2) with sales from the three eligible formats and again (at number 71) from sales in a fourth, 12-inch format.
Subsequently CIN sought to open new marketing opportunities and sponsorship deals; these included premium-rate fax and telephone services and chart newsletters, Charts+Plus (published from May 1991 to November 1994) and HitMusic (published from September 1992 to May 2001).
HitMusic, sister publication of Music Week listed the top full 200 positions for the singles and albums charts. However, it ceased publication in May 2001.
From May 1991, the newly established newsletter "Charts+Plus" featured the singles charts with positions 76–200 (plus artist albums positions 76–150, Top 50 compilations, and several genre and format charts). In September 1992, a second newsletter was created: "Hit Music
" features, among other charts, the singles Top 75 plus a revived "Next 25".
In November 1994, Charts+Plus ceased publication, and Hit Music
expanded its chart coverage to an uncompressed (in other words, not applying any special rules) Top 200 Singles, Top 150 Artists Albums and Top 50 Compilations. In November 1996 the Artist Albums chart extended to a Top 200.
In February 1997, CIN and BARD agreed a new 18-month deal for the charts. In 1998 the CSC agreed a set of new rules reducing the number of tracks on a single from four to three, the playing time from 25 minutes to 20 minutes, and the CD minimum single dealer price to £1.79.
On 1 July 1998, BARD and BPI took over the running and managing of the chart from the CIN (a Miller Freeman and BPI venture) with new company Music Industry Chart Services (Mics), but in August they decided to reverted to compiling the charts under the name CIN.
In 1999, Millward Brown began "re-chipping" some retailers machines in anticipation of the millennium bug. However, some independent retailers lost access to the record-label-funded Electronic Record Ordering System (Eros) and it was "too costly to make it Year 2000 compliant". Towards the end of the 1990s, companies looked to distribute singles over the Internet
following the example of Beggars Banquet
and Liquid Audio
who made 2,000 tracks available for digital download in America.
In November 2001 Chart Information Network (CIN) changed its name to "The Official UK Charts Company
".
With its edition no.439 in May 2001, Hit Music
ceased publication. By September 2001, chart enthusiast Herman Verkade entered a licensing agreement with CIN and created an independent new chart publication: ChartsPlus, covering the Top 75 Singles chart plus compressed positions 76–200, as well as the Top 200 artist albums chart, Top 50 compilations, and many other format and genre charts.
launched as the "first significant download retailer". Legal downloading was initially small with MyCokeMusic selling over 100,000 downloads in its first three months. In June, the iTunes Store
was launched in the UK and more than 450,000 were downloaded in the first week. In early September the UK Official Download Chart
was launched and Westlife
's "Flying Without Wings
" was the first number one.
In 2005 Wes Butters
presented the last ever UK Top 40 concluding his time at Radio 1. The chart show was then radically re branded for the chart week ending 16 April, the first singles chart combining physical release sales with legal downloads began. Several test charts, and finally an actual download sales chart on its own, were published in 2004, but this combination within the official singles chart reflected a changing era, where sales of the physical single were falling while download sales were rising. On 17 April 2005, hosts JK and Joel commented during the broadcast on BBC Radio 1 that the incorporation of download sales had resulted in an approximate doubling of singles sales on the week. For the first week's combined chart, however, the impact of this doubling was not readily apparent at the top of the chart, although a few singles in the middle positions benefited.
Initially, the British Association of Record Dealers were worried about the popularity of downloading taking away business from the high street. They also complained that including singles that were not available physically would confuse customers and create gaps in stores' sale racks. But they did agree to the new rules provided that digital sales were only included to a single's sales tally so long as there was a physical equivalent sold in shops at the time. However, as there was no rule for the minimum number of pressings, Gorillaz
got round this by releasing just 300 vinyl copies of their single "Feel Good Inc.
" on 12 April 2005, a month before its general release. This allowed it to debut in the chart at number 22 (eventually reaching number 2) and remain in the Top 40 for a longer period.
After pressure from elsewhere in the music industry, a second compromise was reached in 2006, which now allowed singles to chart on downloads the week before their physical release. The Black Eyed Peas
and Ne-Yo
charted early as a result, and on 2 April 2006, "Crazy
" by Gnarls Barkley
became the first song to top the charts on music download sales alone. As part of the revised rules, singles would now be removed from the chart two weeks after the deletion of the physical formats, which meant "Crazy" fell out of the chart 11 weeks later from number 5, and a subsequent chart-topper, Nelly Furtado
's "Maneater
", disappeared from number 10. This was in addition to the already in-force rule that in order to be eligible for the chart, the physical single had to have been released within the last twelve months. This was a very unpopular decision with chart followers, as it made a mockery of the charts apparently fairly representing the biggest selling singles. It meant a song could sell enough to be number one, but because it had been deleted 2 weeks earlier it would not even be in the Top 200.
Over the coming months digital sales continued to increase whilst physical sales continued to fall, which saw more and more artists entering the top 40 early, and fewer and fewer singles entering the chart directly at number 1. Whilst initially the proportion of digital sales to physical sales in the combined tally was relatively low, a majority of singles are now seeing more than 50% of their sales coming from online. Sales through mobile phones are now also counted. , but it is no longer expected that sales data of ringtones will ever be included.
On 1 January 2007 the integration of downloaded music into the charts became complete when all downloads - with or without a physical equivalent - became eligible to chart effectively bringing an end to the UK singles chart, by turning it into a "songs" chart. This saw a few singles gain publicity: the aforementioned "Crazy" and "Maneater", still selling strongly on downloads some time after their physical equivalents had been deleted, both returned to the chart along with several others that had been removed in the preceding months. "Chasing Cars
" by Snow Patrol
surged back in at a Top 10 position (number 9, just three places below the peak it had reached the previous September), while "Honey to the Bee
" by Billie Piper
, following a tongue-in-cheek promotional push by Radio 1
DJ Chris Moyles
to test out the new chart rules, reappeared at number 17, almost eight years after its original chart run.
The second song to return to the Top 40 several years after its first hit run was "I'll Be Missing You
" by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans
, which reappeared at number 32 a full decade after it originally topped the chart. The impetus this time was Puff Daddy's recent performance of a new version of the track at the Princess Diana Memorial Concert at Wembley
. Two months later Luciano Pavarotti
's "Nessun Dorma
" returned to the chart at number 24 in the week following his death, 17 years after it was first a hit, climbing subsequently to number 12, while a drumming gorilla in a Dairy Milk
television advert helped "In the Air Tonight
" by Phil Collins
to climb to number 14, 26 years after it was first a hit and 19 years since its last chart appearance as a re-mix. None of these songs had been officially re-issued.
"Blag, Steal and Borrow
" by Koopa
became the first song to chart without ever being released physically (and the first by an unsigned band to do so). Later in the year they would do it again twice, with "One Off Song for the Summer" and "The Crash" reaching #21 and #16 respectively, while the band remained unsigned until the following year.
Following the cancellation of its physical release "Say It Right
" by Nelly Furtado
was the first Top 10 hit to get through its entire chart career without a single copy ever appearing in any shop. "Lord Don't Slow Me Down
" by Oasis
became the second, "Violet Hill
" by Coldplay
the third, and "Disturbia
" by Rihanna
the fourth, while "Candyman
" by Christina Aguilera
had a chart run that took it into the Top 20 (number 17) entirely on downloads.
However, it was only a matter of time before there was a number 1 hit never released physically. This honour went to Run
by Leona Lewis
, the 11th song in total to reach number 1 on downloads alone, but unlike the previous ten, it did not go on to receive a physical release in subsequent weeks (it should be pointed out though that it has been released physically overseas, for example in Germany
).
The second time this happened was on 20 December 2009 when "Killing in the Name
" by Rage Against the Machine
got the Christmas No. 1 single as a result of a Facebook
campaign group urging people to download the song in a bid to prevent The X Factor
winning song from gaining the Christmas No. 1 single again after four consecutive years. It is also the first time that a song has reached No. 1 on downloads alone without being a new release, as the song was originally released in 1992 and was a No. 25 hit at that time, but reached the No. 1 spot 17 years later.
New rules were added to the chart on 16 September 2007 to include one track CD singles with a limit of 15 minutes and to retail at a minimum of 40p per one track CD single.
One noticeable effect that the new chart rules have had, has been to show up the staying power of many downloads, especially if a physical copy is no longer (or never has been) available. Despite a seven-week gap in its chart run in late 2006 while ineligible under the old rules, Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars", mentioned earlier, has now clocked up 105 weeks on the chart, an amount bettered by only one other single in the whole of chart history ("My Way
" by Frank Sinatra
with 124 weeks); "Sex on Fire
" by Kings of Leon
has made it to 87 weeks, putting it in 3rd place in the all-time list; "I Gotta Feeling
" by The Black Eyed Peas
is on 76 weeks (4th); "Rule the World
" by Take That
is on 73 (5th); "Poker Face
" by Lady Gaga
is on 66 (7th); "Use Somebody
" by Kings of Leon is on 65 (8th); "Don't Stop Believin'
" by Journey
is on 63 (9th); "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
is on 59 (joint 10th), having re-charted in the wake of her recent death; "Pass Out" by Tinie Tempah
is on 57 (joint 12th); "I'm Yours
" by Jason Mraz
is on 56 (15th); "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele
is on 55 (joint 16th); "Low
" by Flo Rida
featuring T-Pain
is on 53 (joint 20th); "Umbrella
" by Rihanna
featuring Jay-Z
is on 51 (joint 22nd); "Rockstar
" by Nickelback
is on 50 (24th); two other Take That songs ("Patience
" and "Shine
"), are on 40 and 42 weeks respectively, while many hits by other people have passed the 30-mark. These include two more Amy Winehouse titles: her guest vocal appearance on Mark Ronson
's version of the Zutons' "Valerie" on 40 weeks, and "Back to Black
", which has made it to 37 weeks whilst improving on its peak position from #25 to #8, also in the wake of her death. Meanwhile, "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado (also mentioned earlier), despite never being released physically, clocked up 31 weeks purely as a download.
Leonard Cohen
's "Hallelujah", as covered by Jeff Buckley
in 1994 charted at number 2 on 21 December 2008 on downloads alone, following the formation of a 110,000-strong protest group on Facebook
to get it above (winner of The X Factor
2008) Alexandra Burke
's version for Christmas number one.
Another consequence of the new chart rules that was widely expected but which has not so far materialised to any great extent, is that in the event of a high-profile new album release by a major act, all or most of its tracks could appear on the singles chart due to people downloading individual songs (known as "cherry-picking"), rather than the complete album. However, there was no significant example of this happening until early October 2007, with the cast of High School Musical 2 placing six of its songs simultaneously in the Top 75 (although these were credited to their individual performers), with a further four just outside. A month later Leona Lewis
placed five tracks from her album Spirit
simultaneously on the singles chart. A more pronounced example was heavily anticipated with the long-awaited arrival of the Beatles' catalogue online, with the most optimistic forecasters predicting the entire top 10 being taken up by Beatles songs, though in the event (in November 2010), this chart domination never happened; just four Beatles songs re-entered the Top 75, the highest placed being "Let It Be
" at number 38.
One effect of the new rules that was expected and did materialise, was the reappearance in the chart of a number of seasonal favourites in the run-up to Christmas 2007, in what looks set to become an annual event. In 2007 a total of 19 achieved this, without any being officially re-issued, and so reappeared on downloads alone. Two of these (by Mariah Carey
and The Pogues
), reached the Top 5. Two more old yuletide songs, never previously hits in the UK, also charted, by Andy Williams
and Perry Como
. In the run-up to Christmas 2008, 11 Christmas titles returned to the Top 75; these included the Mariah Carey and Pogues songs, which both climbed as high as number 12 this time. In the run-up to Christmas 2009 nine titles reappeared, with the Mariah Carey and Pogues songs leading the pack yet again, reaching nos. 18 and 12 respectively. Both were among the eight to reappear again in 2010, the Pogues faring best at number 17.
The death of Michael Jackson
on 25 June 2009 triggered a surge in sales of his recordings that was as massive as it was anticipated, but this was the first time in the download era that the effect of a major star's death on the chart could be observed. In the week beginning 28 June a total of 16 of his solo hits plus 4 more by the Jackson 5 or Jacksons re-entered the chart, the biggest simultaneous invasion by an artist in history. The following week the momentum continued. 27 Jackson titles charted in the Top 75 (21 solo, 1 with his sister Janet
, and 5 by the Jackson 5/Jacksons), with "Man In The Mirror
" charting the highest at Number 2.
The second chart invasion in the download era resulting from the death of a major artist has been observed in late July 2011 following the death of Amy Winehouse, with 7 former singles charting and 1 other song appearing for the first time.
's Pick of the Pops
, were:
The full chart regulations also place limits on how chart singles can be packaged and what free gifts can be offered to purchasers. The full regulations can be downloaded from the Official UK Charts Company website.
aired Pick of the Pops
on its Light Programme
radio station on 4 October 1955. Initially airing popular songs, it developed an aggregated chart in March 1958. Using the NME, Melody Maker, Disc and Record Mirror charts the BBC averaged them by totalling points gained in the four charts (1 point for a number one, 2 for a number two, etc.) to give a form of chart average – however, this method was prone to tied positions. Record Retailer was included in the average from 31 March 1962 after Record Mirror had ceased compiling their chart. David Jacobs
and Alan Freeman
both had stints presenting the Pick of the Pops chart. Freeman took Pick of the Pops to its regular Sunday afternoon slot in early 1962. Freeman, along with Pete Murray, David Jacobs
and Jimmy Savile
was one of the four original presenters on Top of the Pops
which first aired 1 January 1964 on BBC One
(then known as BBC TV). Top of the Pops, like Pick of the Pops, used a combination of the predominant periodicals until the formation of the BMRB chart in 1969.
From 30 September 1967, BBC Radio 1
was launched along with BBC Radio 2
, succeeding the Light Programme, and the Top 20 Pick of the Pops chart was simulcast on both stations. Freeman continued to present the show until 1972 and was succeeded by Tom Browne
. Simon Bates
took over from Browne, and under Bates it became a Top 40 show in 1978. Bates was succeeded by Tony Blackburn
who presented the show for two-and-a-half years, Tommy Vance
who presented for two years, and then Richard Skinner
. Bruno Brookes
took over in 1986 and, in October 1987, automated data collection allowed the countdown to first be revealed on the Sunday chart show (instead of Tuesdays). In 1990, Brookes was replaced as presenter by Mark Goodier
, but returned 18 months later. Goodier took over from Brookes once more in 1995 and continued presenting the show until 2002. In February 2003, Wes Butters
hosted the chart show but two years later his contract was not renewed and he was replaced by JK and Joel
. The duo were made redundant by Radio 1 in September 2007, and Fearne Cotton
and Reggie Yates
replaced them at the helm of the chart show. Cotton left in September 2009 and the chart show is currently hosted by Yates.
From March 2010, Greg James
hosted a half-hour show at 3:30 pm on Wednesdays announcing a chart update based on midweek sales figures
that were previously only available to the industry. The chairman of The Official Charts Company said it would provide "insight into how the race for number one is shaping up".
. The BBC accepted and the chart became sponsored by worldpop.com with the company receiving name checks during the chart show. However, the deal ended when the website went out of business in late 2001. As part of an agreement with Billboard
to publish the UK chart in section of their magazine, Billboard required the chart to carry a sponsor. In 2003 it was announced that Coca-Cola
had signed a two-year contract with The Official Charts Company starting from 1 January 2004. Although the amount was not officially disclosed it was believed to be between £
1.5 million and £2 million. As advertising on the BBC is prohibited under the BBC Charter
, and at a time when the government were looking to reduce childhood obesity
the decision was widely criticised. Coca-Cola was restricted to two on air mentions during the chart show, with the BBC justifying the deal as they did not negotiate it nor benefit financially. A few days into the contract the BBC came to an agreement to drop on-air mentions of the brand.
Note: Songs denoted with an asterisk [*] had non-consecutive durations at number one
Chart magazines
Rival charts
Chart books
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 (such as the BBC) or the Top 75 (such as Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
Magazine) of this list. Around 6,500 British retail outlets contribute sales data, as well as most UK online digital download stores. Unlike charts in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, no airplay statistics are used for the official UK Singles Chart. The chart week runs from 00:01 Sunday to midnight Saturday, with most UK digital singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
being released on Sundays, followed by physical releases on Monday.
The Top 40 chart is first revealed on Sunday afternoons by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, prior even to posting on the OCC's own website, with the top 75 being printed in Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
magazine on the following Monday, and the top 200 appearing in independent newsletter UKChartsPlus on Wednesdays. It is also published online in various locations. Radio 1 broadcasts the Top 40, in reverse order, on Sundays from 16:00 to 19:00. The show had various presenters over the years including Mark Goodier
Mark Goodier
-Early career:Mark Goodier was born in Rhodesia . His family moved to the UK when he was a child, eventually settling in Scotland. He was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. He became a mobile DJ in Edinburgh and then joined local station Radio Forth at the age of 19...
and Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes is a British radio presenter who became prominent in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
, and Alan Freeman
Alan Freeman
Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, MBE was a British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years.-Career:...
whose Pick Of The Pops formed the chart show throughout the 1960s and into the early 70s. Since October 2007, Reggie Yates
Reggie Yates
Reginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...
has presented the chart show and, until September 2009, with Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
. Cotton was the first ever permanent female presenter of the Official Chart Show. A rival chart called The Big Top 40 Show
The Big Top 40 Show
The Vodafone Big Top 40 is a chart show broadcast on 140 radio stations in the UK. The chart is based on music download figures provided by iTunes.-Format:...
, is based on downloads and commercial radio airplay, which is broadcast on 140 commercial local radio stations.
According to the canon of The Official Charts Company, the official British singles chart is the New Musical Express chart from 1952 to 1960; the Record Retailer
Record Retailer
Record Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
chart from 1960 to 1969; and the Official UK Singles Chart from 1969 on.
According to the Official Charts Company's statistics, as of 30 October 2011, 1,179 singles have topped the UK singles chart. The precise number of chart-toppers is debatable due to the profusion of different competing charts from the 1950s to the 1980s, but the usual list used is that endorsed by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles
Guinness Book of British Hit Singles
British Hit Singles & Albums was a music reference book published in the United Kingdom by HiT Entertainment's "Guinness World Records". It listed all the singles and albums featured in the Top 75 Charts in UK, as compiled by the editors of British Hit Singles & Albums...
and subsequently adopted by The Official UK Charts Company. There was no official chart before Tuesday 11 February 1969. Prior to this the BBC compiled their own chart based on an average of music papers of the time, meaning that many of the songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
prior to 1969 are not listed as chart toppers according to the above canon.
Early charts
Before sales of records were recorded a song's popularity was measured by the sales of sheet musicSheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
. The idea to compile a chart based on sales originated in America where the music trade paper, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, compiled the first chart incorporating sales figures on 20 July 1940. Record charts in the UK began life in 1952 when Percy Dickins from New Musical Express (NME)
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gathered a pool of 52 stores willing to return data sales figures. For the first British chart, Dickins telephoned a sample of around 20 shops asking for a list the 10 best-selling songs. These results were then aggregated to give a Top 12 chart which was published in NME on 14 November 1952 with Al Martino
Al Martino
Al Martino was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid 1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The...
's "Here in My Heart
Here in My Heart
"Here in My Heart" is a popular song, written by Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson, and Bill Borrelli, and published in 1952.A recording of the song by Al Martino was a #1 hit single on the United States pop chart. The Martino version also made history as the first number one on the UK Singles Chart, on 14...
" awarded the number-one position. The chart became of successful feature of the periodical; it was expanded to a Top 20 for 1 October 1954, and rival publications began compiling their own charts starting in 1955. Record Mirror
Record Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
compiled its own Top 10 chart for 22 January 1955 and was based on the postal returns from record stores that were financed by the newspaper—NME, was based on a telephone poll. Both charts expand in size with Mirrors becoming a Top 20 in October 1955 and NMEs becoming a Top 30 in April 1956. Another rival publication, Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, began compiling its own chart and telephoned 19 stores to produce a Top 20 for 7 April 1956; it was also the first chart to include Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in its sample.
Record Mirror began running a Top 5 album chart in July 1956 and from November 1958 this was run by NME. In March 1960, Record Retailer
Record Retailer
Record Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
began compiling an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(album) chart and had a Top 50 singles chart. Although NME had the biggest circulation of charts in the 1960s and was more widely followed, In March 1962, Record Mirror stopped compiling their own chart and published Record Retailers instead. Retailer became independently audited from January 1963 and is used by UK Singles Chart the source for number ones from the week ending 12 March 1960. The choice of Record Retailer as the canonical source has been criticised, however the chart was unique in listing close to fifty positions for the whole decade. With available lists of which record shops were sampled for to compile the charts, some shops were subjected to "hyping
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
" but, with Record Retailer being less widely followed than some charts, it was subject to less hyping. Additionally, Retailer was set up by independent record shops and had no funding or affiliation with record companies. However, it had a significantly smaller sample size than some of the rival charts. Before February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)
BMRB Ltd
BMRB Ltd is the longest established market research agency in Britain, dating from 1933. The company conducts the following types of research: media, social and public policy, customer, employee and omnibus....
chart was established, there was no official chart or universally accepted source. People followed charts in various periodicals and, during this time, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
used aggregated results of charts from the NME, Melody Maker, Disc and, later, Record Mirror to compile the Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops is a BBC Radio programme, originally based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967...
chart. However, according to The Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums, the canonical sources for the unofficial period are NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer until 1969.
The official chart
Prior to 1969 there had been no official singles chart. Record Retailer and the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
jointly commissioned the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) to compile the charts starting from 15 February 1969. The BMRB compiled its first chart from postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops. The sampling cost approximately £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
52,000 and shops were randomly chosen from a pool of around 6,000 and they submitted figures for sales taken up to the close of trade on Saturday. The sales diaries were translated into punch cards
Punched card
A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
so the data could be interpreted by a computer. A computer then compiled the chart on Monday and the BBC were informed of the Top 50 on Tuesday ready for it to be announced on Johnnie Walker's afternoon show. The charts were also published in Record Retailer (rebranded Record & Tape Retailer in 1971 and then Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
in 1972) and Record Mirror
Record Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
. However, the BMRB often struggled to have the full sample of sales figures returned by post. The 1971 postal strike
1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike
The 1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike was a strike in the United Kingdom staged by postal workers between January and March 1971.-Details:...
meant that data had to be collected by telephone but this was deemed inadequate for a national chart, and by 1973 the BMRB was using motorcycle courier
Motorcycle courier
A motorcycle courier is a courier operating via a motorcycle or motor scooter. Motorcycle couriers are common in major urban centres, primarily in Europe, South America and Asia, but increasingly in North America.- History :...
s to collect sales figures. In May 1978, the singles chart was expanded from a Top 50 to a Top 75. A World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
documentary exposé in 1980 revealed corruption within the industry and the stores' chart returns dealer could frequently be offered bribes to falsify the sales logs.
Electronic age
From 1983 until 1990 the chart was financed by BPI (50 percent), Music WeekMusic Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
(38 percent) and the BBC (12 percent). On 4 January 1983, the chart compilation was taken over by Gallup
The Gallup Organization
The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational...
who expanded the chart with a "Next 25" in addition to the Top 75 and began the introduction of computerised tills which automated the data collection process. In July 1987, Gallup signed a new contract with BPI increasing the sample size to around 500 stores and introducing barcode scanners to read data. The chart was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets and announced on Tuesday until October 1987, when the Top 40 was revealed each Sunday, due to the new automated process. The 1980s also saw the introduction of the cassette single
Cassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
(or "cassingle") alongside the 7-inch and 12-inch
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
record formats and in 1987 major record labels developed a common format for the Compact Disc single. In May 1989, chart regulations kept Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
's song "Hand on Your Heart
Hand on Your Heart
"Hand on Your Heart" is a dance-pop song performed by Australian singer Kylie Minogue and written by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman...
" from number one because sales from cassette singles were not included as they had been sold for £1.99 – cheaper than was allowed at the time. Following this the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
reduced the minimum price for cassette singles to become eligible towards sales figures. In September 1989, W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
began to send sales data to Gallup directly through electronic point of sale (EPoS)
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
terminals.
In January 1990, the BPI gave notice to Gallup, BBC, and Music Week and on 30 June 1990 terminated its contract with them because it "could no longer afford the £600,000 a year cost". From 1 July 1990, the Chart Information Network (CIN) was formed by Spotlight Publications, publisher of Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
, in cooperation with the BBC and the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD) – representing many retailers including W H Smith, Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
, HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
, and Virgin – who agreed to exclusively supply sales data to the CIN. A Chart Supervisory Committee (CSC) to represent the BBC, CIN and retailers. The BPI were reluctant to join and "consider[ed] the option of launching a rival chart" but, in September, and agreement was reached and they joined the CSC. For this brief period the chart was produced by Gallup but owned by CIN and Music Week who would then sell it on to the BBC and BPI. Then, in January 1991, the CIN became a joint venture between Link House Magazines (formerly Spotlight Publications, later Miller Freeman
Miller Freeman
Miller Freeman Inc. was a San Francisco based publisher of trade books and business magazines, as well as a manager of trade and industry expositions...
) and the BPI who shared the revenue and costs which were said to be around £750,000 or £1 million. During this time other major retailers such as Woolworths and John Menzies
John Menzies
John Menzies plc is a Scottish business established in 1833. It has two main divisions: Menzies Distribution and Menzies Aviation. Menzies Distribution is a major distributor of newspapers and magazines throughout the United Kingdom...
started submitting data using EpOS terminals. Towards the end of 1991, the sample consisted of 500 stores scanning barcodes of all record sales into a Epson PX-4
Epson PX-4
The Epson PX-4 is a portable CP/M based computer introduced in 1985. The screen was 40×8 characters physical, but 80×25 or 40×50 virtual, making it almost compatible with the Epson PX-8 Geneva...
computer and 650 other stores that gave sales data through their own EPoS computerised tills. These computers were be telephoned six times a week to provide the data to Gallup. In June 1991, the BPI reduced the number of eligible formats
Audio format
An audio format is a medium for storing sound and music. The term is applied to both the physical recording media and the recording formats of the audio content – in computer science it is often limited to the audio file format, but its wider use usually refers to the physical method used to...
from five to four.
In November 1990, the "Next 25" section of the UK singles chart, i.e., positions 76–100 with specially applied rules, ceased to be printed in the official trade magazine Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
. In April 1991 the publication Record Mirror was discontinued. From this date the "Next 25", which had been published by Record Mirror, was no longer printed. Virgin installed JDA
JDA Software
JDA Software Group, Inc. is a leading global provider of supply chain management, merchandising and pricing solutions. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, JDA empowers more than 6,000 companies of all sizes to make optimal decisions that improve profitability and achieve real results in the discrete...
EPoS terminals in September 1993 and began providing sales data to Gallup for the first time.
In February 1993, the research contract for the chart was put out to tender with a new four-year contract beginning 1 February 1994. Millward Brown
Millward Brown
Millward Brown is a global company focused on brands, media and communications. It is part of Kantar Group, the insights arm of WPP plc, and the world’s second largest market research organization after Nielsen Company.-Leadership:...
, Research International
Research International
Research International is a market research company, founded in 1962 By Eileen Cole and part of the Kantar Group, the parent company for WPP's worldwide information and consultancy interests. Research International has offices in 50 countries and employs approximately 2,500 people across the...
, Nielsen Market Research were approaced, and Gallup were invited to re-apply. In May, it was announced that Millward Brown had been formally accepted as the next chart compilers signing a £1-million-a-year contract. Millward Brown took over compiling the charts on 1 February 1994 and increased the sample size; by the end of the month, each shop sampled used a barcode scanner that linked via an Epson terminal with a modem
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
to a central computer (called "Eric") which logged the data of more than 2,500 stores. Gallup tried to block Millward Brown's new chart by complaining to the Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
about the contractual clause where BARD retailers exclusively supplied sales data to the CIN but the interim order
Interim order
The term interim order refers to an order passed by a court during the pendency of the litigation. It is generally passed by the Court to ensure Status quo. The rationale for such orders to be passed by the Courts lie are best explained by Latin legal maxim "Actus curiae neminem gravabit" which...
was rejected. In June 1995, the case was dropped after the clause was deleted allowing BARD retailers to supply sales information to other chart compilers; however, because CIN retained the copyright other compilers could not use or sell the information.
From 2 April 1995, the number of eligible formats was reduced from four to three. The decision came after nine months of negotiations with BARD who objected that it would adversely affect the vinyl record industry. Although record labels were not prohibited from releasing singles in more than three formats they had to identify the three eligible formats. This resulted in a large reduction to the number of singles released as a 7-inch format; the most common three formats were 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
, cassette
Cassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
and CD, or a cassette and two CD versions. Curiously, the ruling caused Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
single "Some Might Say
Some Might Say
"Some Might Say" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was the first single later included in their second album Morning Glory? in 1995, and provided the band with their first number one in the UK Singles Chart .The single...
" to chart twice in one week – once (at number 2) with sales from the three eligible formats and again (at number 71) from sales in a fourth, 12-inch format.
Subsequently CIN sought to open new marketing opportunities and sponsorship deals; these included premium-rate fax and telephone services and chart newsletters, Charts+Plus (published from May 1991 to November 1994) and HitMusic (published from September 1992 to May 2001).
HitMusic, sister publication of Music Week listed the top full 200 positions for the singles and albums charts. However, it ceased publication in May 2001.
From May 1991, the newly established newsletter "Charts+Plus" featured the singles charts with positions 76–200 (plus artist albums positions 76–150, Top 50 compilations, and several genre and format charts). In September 1992, a second newsletter was created: "Hit Music
Hit Music
Hit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the officil UK music charts . The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published 5.09.1992 , the last issue 5.05.2001 Hit Music...
" features, among other charts, the singles Top 75 plus a revived "Next 25".
In November 1994, Charts+Plus ceased publication, and Hit Music
Hit Music
Hit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the officil UK music charts . The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published 5.09.1992 , the last issue 5.05.2001 Hit Music...
expanded its chart coverage to an uncompressed (in other words, not applying any special rules) Top 200 Singles, Top 150 Artists Albums and Top 50 Compilations. In November 1996 the Artist Albums chart extended to a Top 200.
In February 1997, CIN and BARD agreed a new 18-month deal for the charts. In 1998 the CSC agreed a set of new rules reducing the number of tracks on a single from four to three, the playing time from 25 minutes to 20 minutes, and the CD minimum single dealer price to £1.79.
On 1 July 1998, BARD and BPI took over the running and managing of the chart from the CIN (a Miller Freeman and BPI venture) with new company Music Industry Chart Services (Mics), but in August they decided to reverted to compiling the charts under the name CIN.
In 1999, Millward Brown began "re-chipping" some retailers machines in anticipation of the millennium bug. However, some independent retailers lost access to the record-label-funded Electronic Record Ordering System (Eros) and it was "too costly to make it Year 2000 compliant". Towards the end of the 1990s, companies looked to distribute singles over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
following the example of Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
and Liquid Audio
Liquid Audio
Liquid Audio Inc was a US software company based in Redwood City, California.Formed in 1996, Liquid Audio developed a major standard, multiple software clients, and a client/server media distribution system for streaming and downloading audio on the Internet...
who made 2,000 tracks available for digital download in America.
In November 2001 Chart Information Network (CIN) changed its name to "The Official UK Charts Company
The Official UK Charts Company
The Official Charts Company , previously called the Chart Information Network and then The Official UK Charts Company, compiles various "official" UK record charts, including the UK Singles Chart, the UK Albums Chart, and the UK Official Download Chart, as well as genre-specific and music video...
".
With its edition no.439 in May 2001, Hit Music
Hit Music
Hit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the officil UK music charts . The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published 5.09.1992 , the last issue 5.05.2001 Hit Music...
ceased publication. By September 2001, chart enthusiast Herman Verkade entered a licensing agreement with CIN and created an independent new chart publication: ChartsPlus, covering the Top 75 Singles chart plus compressed positions 76–200, as well as the Top 200 artist albums chart, Top 50 compilations, and many other format and genre charts.
Internet age
In January 2004, MyCokeMusicMyCoke
MyCoke was an online chat game used for marketing the Coca-Cola brand and products. It was created in January 2002 by Studiocom an Atlanta based digital agency using core technology from Sulake Corporation, the company responsible for a similar popular online game called Habbo Hotel...
launched as the "first significant download retailer". Legal downloading was initially small with MyCokeMusic selling over 100,000 downloads in its first three months. In June, the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
was launched in the UK and more than 450,000 were downloaded in the first week. In early September the UK Official Download Chart
UK Official Download Chart
The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...
was launched and Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
's "Flying Without Wings
Flying Without Wings
"Flying Without Wings" is a song released by Irish boyband Westlife from their self-titled debut album.-Background:The song became an instant hit in the United Kingdom and many parts of the world. The song became the group's third UK number 1 single, spending 13 weeks on charts. It is also one of...
" was the first number one.
In 2005 Wes Butters
Wes Butters
Wes Butters , is a radio broadcaster, formerly of BBC Radio 1, and writer.-Early life:...
presented the last ever UK Top 40 concluding his time at Radio 1. The chart show was then radically re branded for the chart week ending 16 April, the first singles chart combining physical release sales with legal downloads began. Several test charts, and finally an actual download sales chart on its own, were published in 2004, but this combination within the official singles chart reflected a changing era, where sales of the physical single were falling while download sales were rising. On 17 April 2005, hosts JK and Joel commented during the broadcast on BBC Radio 1 that the incorporation of download sales had resulted in an approximate doubling of singles sales on the week. For the first week's combined chart, however, the impact of this doubling was not readily apparent at the top of the chart, although a few singles in the middle positions benefited.
Initially, the British Association of Record Dealers were worried about the popularity of downloading taking away business from the high street. They also complained that including singles that were not available physically would confuse customers and create gaps in stores' sale racks. But they did agree to the new rules provided that digital sales were only included to a single's sales tally so long as there was a physical equivalent sold in shops at the time. However, as there was no rule for the minimum number of pressings, Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
got round this by releasing just 300 vinyl copies of their single "Feel Good Inc.
Feel Good Inc.
"Feel Good Inc." is a song by Gorillaz, on their album Demon Days, featuring De La Soul. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 9 May 2005 in the United Kingdom . "Feel Good Inc." peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and #14 in the United States, at the time the band's highest...
" on 12 April 2005, a month before its general release. This allowed it to debut in the chart at number 22 (eventually reaching number 2) and remain in the Top 40 for a longer period.
After pressure from elsewhere in the music industry, a second compromise was reached in 2006, which now allowed singles to chart on downloads the week before their physical release. The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
and Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
charted early as a result, and on 2 April 2006, "Crazy
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song)
"Crazy" is the debut single from Gnarls Barkley, a musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green, and is taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere...
" by Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo comprising Danger Mouse and Cee Lo Green. Their first studio album St. Elsewhere was released in 2006; along with its first single "Crazy". Both single and album were a major commercial success and have been noted for their large sales by download...
became the first song to top the charts on music download sales alone. As part of the revised rules, singles would now be removed from the chart two weeks after the deletion of the physical formats, which meant "Crazy" fell out of the chart 11 weeks later from number 5, and a subsequent chart-topper, Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
's "Maneater
Maneater (Nelly Furtado song)
"Maneater" is a song written by Nelly Furtado, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jim Beanz and Nate "Danja" Hills for Furtado's third album, Loose . It was co-produced by Timbaland and Danja and includes influences of 1980s music by artists such as Eurythmics and Hall & Oates...
", disappeared from number 10. This was in addition to the already in-force rule that in order to be eligible for the chart, the physical single had to have been released within the last twelve months. This was a very unpopular decision with chart followers, as it made a mockery of the charts apparently fairly representing the biggest selling singles. It meant a song could sell enough to be number one, but because it had been deleted 2 weeks earlier it would not even be in the Top 200.
Over the coming months digital sales continued to increase whilst physical sales continued to fall, which saw more and more artists entering the top 40 early, and fewer and fewer singles entering the chart directly at number 1. Whilst initially the proportion of digital sales to physical sales in the combined tally was relatively low, a majority of singles are now seeing more than 50% of their sales coming from online. Sales through mobile phones are now also counted. , but it is no longer expected that sales data of ringtones will ever be included.
On 1 January 2007 the integration of downloaded music into the charts became complete when all downloads - with or without a physical equivalent - became eligible to chart effectively bringing an end to the UK singles chart, by turning it into a "songs" chart. This saw a few singles gain publicity: the aforementioned "Crazy" and "Maneater", still selling strongly on downloads some time after their physical equivalents had been deleted, both returned to the chart along with several others that had been removed in the preceding months. "Chasing Cars
Chasing Cars
"Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single....
" by Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
surged back in at a Top 10 position (number 9, just three places below the peak it had reached the previous September), while "Honey to the Bee
Honey to the Bee
"Honey to the Bee" is a song from Billie Piper released in 1999. It peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart and was released on March 15, 1999. In January 2007, the song was championed by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as part of an experiment to test out the new UK Singles Chart rules that came into effect...
" by Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
, following a tongue-in-cheek promotional push by Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
to test out the new chart rules, reappeared at number 17, almost eight years after its original chart run.
The second song to return to the Top 40 several years after its first hit run was "I'll Be Missing You
I'll Be Missing You
"I'll Be Missing You" is a Grammy Award-winning song and hit single recorded by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist Christopher "Notorious B.I.G" Wallace who was murdered on March 9, 1997...
" by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
, which reappeared at number 32 a full decade after it originally topped the chart. The impetus this time was Puff Daddy's recent performance of a new version of the track at the Princess Diana Memorial Concert at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. Two months later Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
's "Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
" returned to the chart at number 24 in the week following his death, 17 years after it was first a hit, climbing subsequently to number 12, while a drumming gorilla in a Dairy Milk
Dairy Milk
Dairy Milk is a brand of milk chocolate currently manufactured by Cadbury; except in the United States where it is made by The Hershey Company. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1905 and now consists of a number of products...
television advert helped "In the Air Tonight
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The...
" by Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
to climb to number 14, 26 years after it was first a hit and 19 years since its last chart appearance as a re-mix. None of these songs had been officially re-issued.
"Blag, Steal and Borrow
Blag, Steal and Borrow (song)
"Blag, Steal and Borrow" is the fourth single by English punk band Koopa. It was released as a download only single on January 8, 2007. It became the first single released by Koopa to reach the UK top 40, charting at number 31....
" by Koopa
Koopa (band)
Koopa are a pop punk band from Sible Hedingham, near Colchester, Essex, England. The band formed in 2000 by the brothers Stuart Cooper and Oliver "Ollie" Cooper , plus Joe Murphy...
became the first song to chart without ever being released physically (and the first by an unsigned band to do so). Later in the year they would do it again twice, with "One Off Song for the Summer" and "The Crash" reaching #21 and #16 respectively, while the band remained unsigned until the following year.
Following the cancellation of its physical release "Say It Right
Say It Right
"Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from her third studio album, Loose . Written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills, the song was inspired by, as Furtado described it, the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics,...
" by Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
was the first Top 10 hit to get through its entire chart career without a single copy ever appearing in any shop. "Lord Don't Slow Me Down
Lord Don't Slow Me Down
Lord Don't Slow Me Down is a rockumentary film, looking back on British rock band Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth world tour which took place from May 2005 to March 2006. The film is directed by Baillie Walsh...
" by Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
became the second, "Violet Hill
Violet Hill (song)
"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
" by Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
the third, and "Disturbia
Disturbia (song)
"Disturbia" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from the re-release, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded , of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad . The song was released as the third single from the reloaded edition of the album, and seventh overall...
" by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
the fourth, while "Candyman
Candyman (Christina Aguilera song)
"Candyman" is a swing jazz song written by Christina Aguilera and Linda Perry for Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics. It was released as the album's third and final American single in early 2007. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at 2008 Grammy...
" by Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
had a chart run that took it into the Top 20 (number 17) entirely on downloads.
However, it was only a matter of time before there was a number 1 hit never released physically. This honour went to Run
Run (Snow Patrol song)
"Run" is a cover of the Snow Patrol song by Leona Lewis on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 31 October 2007. She later released the song as a single from Spirit: The Deluxe Edition in November 2008. At the time, "Run" was the UK's fastest-selling digital only release ever, selling 69,244 copies in just...
by Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
, the 11th song in total to reach number 1 on downloads alone, but unlike the previous ten, it did not go on to receive a physical release in subsequent weeks (it should be pointed out though that it has been released physically overseas, for example in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
).
The second time this happened was on 20 December 2009 when "Killing in the Name
Killing in the Name
"Killing in the Name" is a song by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, featured on their self-titled debut album, and was released as the lead single from the album in November 1992...
" by Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
got the Christmas No. 1 single as a result of a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
campaign group urging people to download the song in a bid to prevent The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
winning song from gaining the Christmas No. 1 single again after four consecutive years. It is also the first time that a song has reached No. 1 on downloads alone without being a new release, as the song was originally released in 1992 and was a No. 25 hit at that time, but reached the No. 1 spot 17 years later.
New rules were added to the chart on 16 September 2007 to include one track CD singles with a limit of 15 minutes and to retail at a minimum of 40p per one track CD single.
One noticeable effect that the new chart rules have had, has been to show up the staying power of many downloads, especially if a physical copy is no longer (or never has been) available. Despite a seven-week gap in its chart run in late 2006 while ineligible under the old rules, Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars", mentioned earlier, has now clocked up 105 weeks on the chart, an amount bettered by only one other single in the whole of chart history ("My Way
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
" by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
with 124 weeks); "Sex on Fire
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single to be taken from Kings of Leon's fourth studio album Only by the Night and as of September 2009, the second most-downloaded digital single ever in the United Kingdom...
" by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
has made it to 87 weeks, putting it in 3rd place in the all-time list; "I Gotta Feeling
I Gotta Feeling
"I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom...
" by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
is on 76 weeks (4th); "Rule the World
Rule the World
"Rule the World" is the fifth single from Take That's fourth studio album Beautiful World. It was released in the UK on 21 October 2007 and as a CD single the following day.-Song information:...
" by Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
is on 73 (5th); "Poker Face
Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)
"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world...
" by Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
is on 66 (7th); "Use Somebody
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song by the American alternative rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night , released on December 8, 2008....
" by Kings of Leon is on 65 (8th); "Don't Stop Believin'
Don't Stop Believin'
"Don't Stop Believin is a popular song by the American rock band Journey, originally released as a single from their 1981 album Escape, which became a #9 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on its original release. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2009 as a result of increased prominence of digital...
" by Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
is on 63 (9th); "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
is on 59 (joint 10th), having re-charted in the wake of her recent death; "Pass Out" by Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
is on 57 (joint 12th); "I'm Yours
I'm Yours (Jason Mraz song)
"I'm Yours" is the first single released by Jason Mraz from his third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The song was originally released on a limited edition EP called Extra Credit as a demo in 2005 to promote his second studio album Mr. A–Z. It was performed in his 2004 and 2005...
" by Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
is on 56 (15th); "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
is on 55 (joint 16th); "Low
Low (Flo Rida song)
"Low" is the debut single by American rapper Flo Rida, featured on his debut album Mail On Sunday and also featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 film Step Up 2: The Streets. The song features T-Pain and was co-written with T-Pain. There is also a remix in which the hook is sung by Flo Rida rather...
" by Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
featuring T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
is on 53 (joint 20th); "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...
" by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
featuring Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
is on 51 (joint 22nd); "Rockstar
Rockstar (Nickelback song)
"Rockstar" is the fifth U.S. single by the Canadian rock band Nickelback from their 2005 fifth studio album All the Right Reasons. It was only released in the U.S. and Canada, and has since been re-released worldwide...
" by Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
is on 50 (24th); two other Take That songs ("Patience
Patience (Take That song)
"Patience" is a song by British boy band Take That. It was released on 13 November 2006 as the first single from their comeback album Beautiful World...
" and "Shine
Shine (Take That song)
"Shine" is the second single taken from Take That's comeback album Beautiful World.-Song information:"Shine" was released on 26 February 2007 and features lead vocals by Mark Owen....
"), are on 40 and 42 weeks respectively, while many hits by other people have passed the 30-mark. These include two more Amy Winehouse titles: her guest vocal appearance on Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
's version of the Zutons' "Valerie" on 40 weeks, and "Back to Black
Back to Black (song)
"Back to Black" is a song by English recording artist Amy Winehouse. It was released on April 30, 2007 as the third single from her second studio album, Back to Black. It was written by Winehouse and Mark Ronson...
", which has made it to 37 weeks whilst improving on its peak position from #25 to #8, also in the wake of her death. Meanwhile, "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado (also mentioned earlier), despite never being released physically, clocked up 31 weeks purely as a download.
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's "Hallelujah", as covered by Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
in 1994 charted at number 2 on 21 December 2008 on downloads alone, following the formation of a 110,000-strong protest group on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
to get it above (winner of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
2008) Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is a British R&B and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008...
's version for Christmas number one.
Another consequence of the new chart rules that was widely expected but which has not so far materialised to any great extent, is that in the event of a high-profile new album release by a major act, all or most of its tracks could appear on the singles chart due to people downloading individual songs (known as "cherry-picking"), rather than the complete album. However, there was no significant example of this happening until early October 2007, with the cast of High School Musical 2 placing six of its songs simultaneously in the Top 75 (although these were credited to their individual performers), with a further four just outside. A month later Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
placed five tracks from her album Spirit
Spirit (Leona Lewis album)
Spirit is the debut album by British singer Leona Lewis, released by Syco Music in November 2007 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, followed by a worldwide release during early 2008...
simultaneously on the singles chart. A more pronounced example was heavily anticipated with the long-awaited arrival of the Beatles' catalogue online, with the most optimistic forecasters predicting the entire top 10 being taken up by Beatles songs, though in the event (in November 2010), this chart domination never happened; just four Beatles songs re-entered the Top 75, the highest placed being "Let It Be
Let It Be (song)
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...
" at number 38.
One effect of the new rules that was expected and did materialise, was the reappearance in the chart of a number of seasonal favourites in the run-up to Christmas 2007, in what looks set to become an annual event. In 2007 a total of 19 achieved this, without any being officially re-issued, and so reappeared on downloads alone. Two of these (by Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
), reached the Top 5. Two more old yuletide songs, never previously hits in the UK, also charted, by Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
and Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
. In the run-up to Christmas 2008, 11 Christmas titles returned to the Top 75; these included the Mariah Carey and Pogues songs, which both climbed as high as number 12 this time. In the run-up to Christmas 2009 nine titles reappeared, with the Mariah Carey and Pogues songs leading the pack yet again, reaching nos. 18 and 12 respectively. Both were among the eight to reappear again in 2010, the Pogues faring best at number 17.
The death of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
on 25 June 2009 triggered a surge in sales of his recordings that was as massive as it was anticipated, but this was the first time in the download era that the effect of a major star's death on the chart could be observed. In the week beginning 28 June a total of 16 of his solo hits plus 4 more by the Jackson 5 or Jacksons re-entered the chart, the biggest simultaneous invasion by an artist in history. The following week the momentum continued. 27 Jackson titles charted in the Top 75 (21 solo, 1 with his sister Janet
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
, and 5 by the Jackson 5/Jacksons), with "Man In The Mirror
Man in the Mirror
"Man in the Mirror" is a song recorded by Michael Jackson and written and composed by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett. It peaked at number one in the United States when released as a single in January 1988 off his seventh solo album, Bad. It is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs and...
" charting the highest at Number 2.
The second chart invasion in the download era resulting from the death of a major artist has been observed in late July 2011 following the death of Amy Winehouse, with 7 former singles charting and 1 other song appearing for the first time.
Comparison of singles charts (1952–1969)
With no official chart before 1969 multiple periodicals compiled their own charts in the 1950s and 1960s. The five main charts, as used by BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops is a BBC Radio programme, originally based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967...
, were:
- New Musical Express (NME)NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: 1952–1988, the first singles chart, canonical source until March 1960, widely followed throughout 1960s
- Record MirrorRecord MirrorRecord Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
: 1955–1962, the second singles chart, compiled the first album chart, published Record Retailer chart from 1962. The Pick Of The Pops average stopped using Record Mirror from 21st May 1960, due to the paper changing publication days
- Melody MakerMelody MakerMelody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
: 1956–1988, the third singles chart, canonical source for album chart from 1958
- DiscDisc (magazine)Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into Record Mirror. It was also known for periods as Disc Weekly and Disc and Music Echo ....
: 1958–1967, the fourth singles chart.
- Record RetailerRecord RetailerRecord Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
: 1960–1969, the fifth singles chart, a trade paper, regarded as canoncial source from inception, jointly formed official BMRB chart in 1969
Criteria for inclusion
In order to qualify for inclusion in the UK singles chart, a single must meet the following criteria:- It must be available on one or more eligible formats. Eligible formats are CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Vinyl, Cassette, digital downloadMusic downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, MiniDiscMiniDiscThe disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
and flexi discFlexi discThe flexi disc is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable...
. - All formats must contain the featured track or a version/remix of it.
- Only three formats can be included in a single's sales. Sales of any additional formats are disregarded when calculating a single's chart position.
- The single must meet a minimum dealer price requirement, to prevent record companies from making cut-price deals with retailers. (Currently 40p for "Digital Audio Track")
- Each format must have no more than four different tracks on it, though each song may appear in any number of different versions.
- The maximum running time for any format is 25 minutes if more than one different song is featured, or 40 minutes if only one song is featured in multiple versions/mixes.
- A "mini CD" format is now recognised for chart purposes. It can have a running time of up to ten minutes and can feature no more than two tracks. It must be an 8 cm CD and sold in a single jewelcase. Its minimum price requirement is lower than the regular CD single. This cheaper alternative was first recognised in October 2003 as part of a drive to make singles more attractive to buyers in the face of widespread music downloading, despite this size of CD being used in many other countries (such as Japan) for single releases for many years.
The full chart regulations also place limits on how chart singles can be packaged and what free gifts can be offered to purchasers. The full regulations can be downloaded from the Official UK Charts Company website.
Broadcasting the charts
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
aired Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops is a BBC Radio programme, originally based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967...
on its Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
radio station on 4 October 1955. Initially airing popular songs, it developed an aggregated chart in March 1958. Using the NME, Melody Maker, Disc and Record Mirror charts the BBC averaged them by totalling points gained in the four charts (1 point for a number one, 2 for a number two, etc.) to give a form of chart average – however, this method was prone to tied positions. Record Retailer was included in the average from 31 March 1962 after Record Mirror had ceased compiling their chart. David Jacobs
David Jacobs
David William Jacobs , was a Welsh athlete.- Olympic Gold Medal 1912, Stockholm :...
and Alan Freeman
Alan Freeman
Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, MBE was a British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years.-Career:...
both had stints presenting the Pick of the Pops chart. Freeman took Pick of the Pops to its regular Sunday afternoon slot in early 1962. Freeman, along with Pete Murray, David Jacobs
David Jacobs (disc jockey)
David Lewis Jacobs CBE is a British actor and broadcaster who gained prominence as presenter of the peak-time BBC Television show Juke Box Jury and the BBC Radio 4 political forum, Any Questions?-Early career:...
and Jimmy Savile
Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops...
was one of the four original presenters on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
which first aired 1 January 1964 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
(then known as BBC TV). Top of the Pops, like Pick of the Pops, used a combination of the predominant periodicals until the formation of the BMRB chart in 1969.
From 30 September 1967, BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
was launched along with BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, succeeding the Light Programme, and the Top 20 Pick of the Pops chart was simulcast on both stations. Freeman continued to present the show until 1972 and was succeeded by Tom Browne
Tom Browne (broadcaster and actor)
Tom Browne is a British broadcaster and actor, born in Lymington, Hampshire, and educated at King's College School, Wimbledon.-Radio and acting career:As an actor, he graduated from RADA...
. Simon Bates
Simon Bates
Simon Bates is a UK disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular presenter on Classic FM...
took over from Browne, and under Bates it became a Top 40 show in 1978. Bates was succeeded by Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
who presented the show for two-and-a-half years, Tommy Vance
Tommy Vance
Tommy Vance was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. He was one of the few music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans...
who presented for two years, and then Richard Skinner
Richard Skinner (broadcaster)
Richard Skinner is a British radio and television broadcaster.He is the only presenter to have fronted the three BBC 'flagship' pop music programmes Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Top 40 show. -Early career:...
. Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes
Bruno Brookes is a British radio presenter who became prominent in the 1980s.-Early life and career:...
took over in 1986 and, in October 1987, automated data collection allowed the countdown to first be revealed on the Sunday chart show (instead of Tuesdays). In 1990, Brookes was replaced as presenter by Mark Goodier
Mark Goodier
-Early career:Mark Goodier was born in Rhodesia . His family moved to the UK when he was a child, eventually settling in Scotland. He was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. He became a mobile DJ in Edinburgh and then joined local station Radio Forth at the age of 19...
, but returned 18 months later. Goodier took over from Brookes once more in 1995 and continued presenting the show until 2002. In February 2003, Wes Butters
Wes Butters
Wes Butters , is a radio broadcaster, formerly of BBC Radio 1, and writer.-Early life:...
hosted the chart show but two years later his contract was not renewed and he was replaced by JK and Joel
JK and Joel
Jason King and Joel Ross , known professionally as JK and Joel, are a radio show presenters and are best known for hosting the official UK chart on BBC Radio 1 between 2004 and 2007 and then presented on Virgin Radio UK, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at weekends and covering the breakfast and...
. The duo were made redundant by Radio 1 in September 2007, and Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
and Reggie Yates
Reggie Yates
Reginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...
replaced them at the helm of the chart show. Cotton left in September 2009 and the chart show is currently hosted by Yates.
From March 2010, Greg James
Greg James
Greg James may refer to:*Greg James , BBC Radio 1 DJ and broadcaster*Greg James , Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales...
hosted a half-hour show at 3:30 pm on Wednesdays announcing a chart update based on midweek sales figures
Midweeks
Midweeks are lists of sales figures for music albums and singles in the United Kingdom during the period between the weekly chart publication on Sundays...
that were previously only available to the industry. The chairman of The Official Charts Company said it would provide "insight into how the race for number one is shaping up".
Sponsorship
In 1999 the BPI offered the BBC an ultimatum that unless they accepted a sponsor they would take the chart over to ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. The BBC accepted and the chart became sponsored by worldpop.com with the company receiving name checks during the chart show. However, the deal ended when the website went out of business in late 2001. As part of an agreement with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
to publish the UK chart in section of their magazine, Billboard required the chart to carry a sponsor. In 2003 it was announced that Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
had signed a two-year contract with The Official Charts Company starting from 1 January 2004. Although the amount was not officially disclosed it was believed to be between £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1.5 million and £2 million. As advertising on the BBC is prohibited under the BBC Charter
BBC Charter
The BBC Charter established the BBC . An accompanying Agreement recognises its editorial independence and sets out its public obligations in detail....
, and at a time when the government were looking to reduce childhood obesity
Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects...
the decision was widely criticised. Coca-Cola was restricted to two on air mentions during the chart show, with the BBC justifying the deal as they did not negotiate it nor benefit financially. A few days into the contract the BBC came to an agreement to drop on-air mentions of the brand.
Most number-one singles
The artists credited with the most number-one singles are:- 21 – Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- 17 – The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
- 14 – Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
- 14 – WestlifeWestlifeWestlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
- 13 – MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
- 11 – Take ThatTake ThatTake That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
- 9 – Spice GirlsSpice GirlsThe Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
- 9 – ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
Most weeks at number one
The songs that spent the most weeks at number one are:- 18 – "I BelieveI Believe (1953 song)"I Believe" is the name of a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953.I Believe was commissioned and introduced by Jane Froman on her television show, and became the first hit song ever introduced on TV...
" by Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
* - 16 – "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" I Do It for You" is a power ballad performed by Bryan Adams and co-written with Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, featured on the soundtrack album from the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and on Adams' album Waking Up the Neighbours...
" by Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written... - 15 – "Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet WetWet Wet WetWet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
- 14 – "Bohemian RhapsodyBohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
" by QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
* - 11 – "Rose MarieRose Marie (song)"Rose Marie" is a popular song from the musical or operetta of the same name. In the original Broadway production in 1924 it was performed by Dennis King and Arthur Deagon as the characters Jim Kenyon and Sergeant Malone....
" by Slim WhitmanSlim WhitmanOttis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings... - 10 – "Cara MiaCara Mia"Cara Mia" is a popular song published in 1954 and became a hit for English singer David Whitfield in 1954 and a #4 hit by the American pop group Jay and the Americans in 1965. The title means "my beloved" in Italian....
" by David WhitfieldDavid WhitfieldDavid Whitfield was a popular British male tenor vocalist. This operatic-style tenor had a formidable and predominantly female fan base in the 1950s.-Life and career:... - 10 – "I Will Always Love YouI Will Always Love You"I Will Always Love You" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1973, who first released the song as a single in 1974.-Dolly Parton version:...
" by Whitney HoustonWhitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among... - 10 – "Umbrella" by RihannaRihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
feat. Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
Note: Songs denoted with an asterisk [*] had non-consecutive durations at number one
Best-selling singles
| Year | Song | Artist | Number sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Candle in the Wind 1997 Candle in the Wind 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.... " |
Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor... |
4,865,000 |
| 1984 | "Do They Know it's Christmas? Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984.... " |
Band Aid Band Aid (band) Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single... |
3,575,000 |
| 1975/ 1991 |
"Bohemian Rhapsody Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera... " |
Queen Queen (band) Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor... |
2,176,000 |
| 1977 | "Mull of Kintyre Mull of Kintyre (song) "Mull of Kintyre" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine and performed by Wings. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966, and its headland or Mull of Kintyre.The song was Wings' biggest hit... " / "Girls' School" |
Wings Wings (band) Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981.... |
2,050,000 |
| 1978 | "Rivers of Babylon Rivers of Babylon "Rivers of Babylon" is a rastafarian song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. The Melodians' original versions of the song appeared in the sound track to the 1972 movie The Harder They Come and the 1999 Nicolas Cage movie... " / "Brown Girl in the Ring Brown Girl in the Ring (song) "Brown Girl in the Ring" is a traditional children's song in the West Indies. It was originally featured in the game of the same name.Brown Girl in the Ring is a children's ring game thought to have originated in Jamaica.... " |
Boney M Boney M Boney M. is a Eurodisco group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Jamaicans Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell from Aruba... |
1,985,000 |
| 1978 | "You're The One That I Want You're the One That I Want "You're the One That I Want" is a song written by John Farrar for the 1978 film version of the musical Grease. It was performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.... " |
Olivia Newton-John Olivia Newton-John Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA... & John Travolta John Travolta John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease... |
1,975,000 |
| 1984 | "Relax Relax (song) "Relax" is the debut single by British dance group Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in 1983. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome .... " |
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and... |
1,910,000 |
| 1963 | "She Loves You She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States by being one of the... " |
The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr... |
1,890,000 |
| 1995 | "Unchained Melody Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.... " / "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover " The White Cliffs of Dover" is a popular World War II song made famous by Vera Lynn with her 1942 recording—one of her best known recordings. Written in 1941 by Walter Kent and Nat Burton, the song was also among the most popular Second World War tunes... " |
Robson and Jerome | 1,844,000 |
| 1978 | "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord" | Boney M Boney M Boney M. is a Eurodisco group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Jamaicans Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell from Aruba... |
1,800,000 |
See also
- UK Albums ChartUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
- UK Official Download ChartUK Official Download ChartThe UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...
- Official Subscription Plays ChartOfficial Subscription Plays ChartThe Official Subscription Plays Chart is a music chart based on the number of plays of songs on subscription-based services in the United Kingdom. It is compiled weekly by The Official Charts Company , and is believed by Martin Talbot, managing director of the OCC, to be the first of its kind in...
- UK Indie ChartUK Indie ChartThe UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
- UK R&B Chart
- MidweeksMidweeksMidweeks are lists of sales figures for music albums and singles in the United Kingdom during the period between the weekly chart publication on Sundays...
- List of number-one singles (UK)
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of best selling singles by year in UK
- List of top 10 singles (UK)
- One-hit wonders in the UKOne-hit wonders in the UKThis is a list of artists who have achieved one #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart and no other entry whatsoever on the chart. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles uses this definition of "one-hit wonder", which is a controversial term with various other proposed definitions.-Methodology:A hit is...
- Most weeks on UK Singles Chart
Chart magazines
- UK Charts PlusCharts PlusUKChartsPlus is an independent weekly newsletter about the UK music charts. It was first published in September 2001 as ChartsPlus in order to record authoritatively the official music chart information in the United Kingdom, as compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Its publication began...
- Music WeekMusic WeekMusic Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
- Record RetailerRecord RetailerRecord Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
- Hit MusicHit MusicHit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the officil UK music charts . The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published 5.09.1992 , the last issue 5.05.2001 Hit Music...
Rival charts
- The Network Chart ShowThe Network Chart ShowThe Network Chart Show was a radio programme launched across Independent Local Radio in the UK on 30 September 1984.-Background:The main presenter was David Jensen , however Pat Sharp would often provide holiday cover in its later years: in its earlier years Timmy Mallett and Alan Freeman also...
- Pepsi ChartPepsi Chart (UK)The Pepsi Chart was a networked Sunday afternoon Top 40 countdown on UK radio that started life on 1st August 1993 with Neil 'Doctor' Fox hosting the show live from the Capital Radio studios in London...
- Hit40ukHit40ukHit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It is now a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio and Somethin' Else...
- The Big Top 40 ShowThe Big Top 40 ShowThe Vodafone Big Top 40 is a chart show broadcast on 140 radio stations in the UK. The chart is based on music download figures provided by iTunes.-Format:...
- The eXpat ChartThe eXpat ChartThe eXpat Chart is a syndicated radio-based Top 40 chart show broadcast across the globle on English speaking radio stations. It is based on the UK Top 40 format, and is derived from airplay from subscriber English-language radio stations across Europe and the Middle East...
Chart books
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums
- Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2006Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2006The Complete UK Hit Singles is a book that lists every single to have made it into the UK Singles Chart since its inception in 1952. As well as providing chart data on each of the hits, the book also provides a brief biography on each and every hit maker, together with facts and trivia about each...
External links
- Latest Top 40 Chart
- UKChartsPlus Top 200 (subscription only)
- Music Week Top 75 (subscription only)
- UKTop40charts.com Magazine
- everyHit.com Top 40
- http://www.worldcharts.co.uk Current Top 100 and singles chart archives
- hit40uk (OCC "Hit 40" charts for ILR radio stations)
- Sunday Chart history
- British Chart Books Classified
- Chart Log UK 1994-2007 Top 200
- Search any British chart run on the singles chart Top 75
- UK Number Ones 1952–Present
- UK Top 40 Top 40 UK Singles, Albums and More!
- Nielsen Music Control UK Airplay Chart compiler
- UK Airplay Top 100 UK Airplay Chart Top 100 (rival chart to Nielsen)
- Chart Stats online search engine for UK chart results