2 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 CD, DVD, Vinyl, Cassette and flexidisc. Digital Compact Cassette and Minidisc formats are not eligible.
• 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.
• Each format must have no more than three different tracks on it, though each song may appear in any number of different versions.
• The maximum running time for any format is 20 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 a 5" 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.

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 Chart Compnay website or obtained by post from them.

3 Charts and the music industry

The record industry place a fair amount of importance on the UK singles chart. Music singles are mostly sold as a way of promoting the artist's album - the singles themselves usually make a loss. A single that charts in a high position, or makes it to number 1, is therefore good advertising for the album. Sometimes stickers are even placed on the album mentioning the popular singles.

Because the record industry is mostly interested in the highest position which a single reaches, there is usually a wave of promotion of the single before it comes out, in the hope that people rush out to buy the single in its first week of release. This means that most singles enter the charts at a certain position, and then fall down the chart in subsequent weeks. Singles that climb the charts and spend a number of weeks at a high position are rare, and usually denote 'super' singles, which manage to enter the public consciousness and appeal to a wide range of people.

An effect of this competition for high chart positions is that a number of high-profile "battles" have taken place in which singles released on the same day have become the focus of media attention concerning which will sell the most copies in their first week and therefore enter the chart higher. The first and most famous example was in August 1995 when the Britpop groups Oasis and Blur released their respective singles "Roll With It" and "Country House" on the same day. The outcome was that "Country House" entered the chart at number one, and "Roll With It" at number 2, and the rivalry was widely reported in the mainstream news media. Another high-profile battle occurred exactly 5 years later in August 2000, when "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor beat "Out Of Your Mind" by Truesteppers featuring Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham to the number one position. On this occasion the main media interest was in the supposed rivalry between the featured female vocalists on the two records. On both occasions, the press and TV coverage is generally believed to have increased sales for all parties.

4 Sponsorship

There has been much controversy over the fact that the UK Singles Chart has, for many years, been sponsored by various companies. This in itself would be umremarkable were it not for the fact that the chart is broadcast exclusively on BBC Radio 1, a public owned radio station which cannot sell advertising or sponsorship. The singles chart sponsorship is, however, sold by the Official UK Charts Company, and so the BBC does not receive any money from the deal. They have, in the past, mentioned the name of the sponsors when doing the chart rundown and this has in effect allowed the sponsors to do indirect advertising on a publicly owned radio station.

For many years the chart was sponsored by worldpop.com , a music website. However, in 2004, Coca Cola became the sponsors of the chart instead. For a while, the BBC continued the practise of mentioning the sponsoring company during the chart show, however there was a huge backlash against this - partly caused by controversy elsewhere over allowing sugary/fatty foods and drinks to be advertised to children.

The BBC initially stuck to its guns, but eventually came to an agreement whereby the name would be dropped from its on-air broadcast. The name is still mentioned, however, in small print on their Top 40 chart webpage.

5 Records

5.1 Most number ones

One of the most important records over the years has been which act could obtain the most UK Chart toppers. A lot of the people who have obtained 5 or more chart toppers have actually been originally from the US, proving how easy it is for US acts to find fame in the UK. The record is held by a US act. However, many UK acts do dominate this list. Here is a list of all the acts to gain 5 or more UK chart toppers:-

Most number ones:

• 18 - Elvis Presley (including " A Little Less Conversation" in 2002)
• 17 - The Beatles
• 14 - Cliff Richard
• 12 - Westlife
• 10 - Madonna
• 9 - Spice Girls
• 9 - ABBA
• 8 - Take That
• 8 - Rolling Stones
• 7 - Kylie Minogue
• 7 - Michael Jackson
• 7 - George Michael
• 6 - Robbie Williams
• 6 - Elton John
• 6 - Oasis
• 6 - Queen
• 6 - Boyzone
• 6 - Blondie
• 6 - Slade
• 6 - Rod Stewart
• 5 - Eminem
• 5 - Britney Spears
• 5 - All Saints
• 5 - The Bee Gees
• 5 - David Bowie
• 5 - The Police
• 5 - The Shadows

5.2 Longest run at number one

Another equally important record is how many weeks a record can stay at the top of the UK charts in a consecutive run (records that go back to the top are excluded from this section). This record hasnt changed much over the years. In 1952, the first Number 1, "Here In My Heart" by Al Martino, topped the UK charts for 9 weeks. This set quite a difficult record to beat, however in the summer of 1954 David Whitfield broke the record when "Cara Mia" held on for 10 weeks. It seemed difficult for a song to stay on longer than Cara Mia, but during the 1950's, songs did manage to stay at the top of the charts for very lengthy periods of time. Therefore, the following year, US country singer, Slim Whitman held on to the top for 11 weeks with his only No.1 single, "Rose Marie". This record remained for 36 years and seemed impossible to beat, but in 1991, Bryan Adams spent 16 weeks at the top with his hit single, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", the theme song from the movie .

To date, no-one has beaten this record, but during the 90's there were some close contenders. In 1992, Whitney Houston spent 10 weeks at the top with the hit single from her movie, The Bodyguard, I Will Always Love You . In 1994, the closest contender for most weeks at the top came from Wet Wet Wet's recording of " Love Is All Around " featured in the movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral. The charts started transforming from the mid 90s and songs began spending less time at the top. In 1998, Cher's "Believe" spent 7 weeks at the top becoming the last single to spend more than 6 weeks at the top to date. In 2003, the Black Eyed Peas spent 6 weeks at the top with their smash hit, "Where Is The Love", and it became the first single to top the UK charts for more than 4 weeks in the 21st Century. The longest stay at the top since then has been Eamon's "(**** It) I Don't Want You Back", which managed 4 weeks in the spring of 2004. By looking at the charts recently, it is highly unlikely the record will be broken anytime soon.

5.3 Most successful debut

The most successful debut is also considered to be an important record. Obviously Al Martino scored the first No.1 hit, meaning he was the first act to have his first single reach No.1 (although it was not the first single he ever released, it was the first single to chart). Eddie Calvert took "Oh Mein Papa" to the top in 1954 and "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" the following year. Eddie Calvert became the first act to have his first two singles reach No.1. Over 8 years later, in 1963, Gerry & The Pacemakers became the first act to have their first 3 singles reach No.1 when "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" & " You'll Never Walk Alone" all hit the top spot. In 1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's first single " Relax" climbed up to No.1 after being banned by the BBC and a frenzy followed. It dropped out of the charts only to return to No.2 six months later. Through all of this, the single managed to sell 1.91 million copies. The band's second single, " Two Tribes" sold in excess of 1.5 million copies and spent 9 weeks at No.1, 4 weeks longer than their first single. Their third single, "The Power Of Love" did not quite manage to equal the success of its predecessors, but spent a week at the top and was only knocked off by Band Aid, which went on to sell over 3.5 million copies. Their next release stalled at No.2, ending their consecutive run making their record the same as Gerry & The Pacemakers, but it would be fair to say that Frankie Goes To Hollywood were a more "successful" debut, because of incredibly high sales. 5 years later, Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers equalled the record of first 3 singles reaching No.1, however these were not as successful as either Gerry & The Pacemakers' or Frankie Goes To Hollywood's.

In 1997, 34 years after Gerry & The Pacemakers achieved their 3rd No.1, the Spice Girls took their first 4 singles to No.1. Promoting girl power and carrying music onto new levels, they were hugely successful and proved so by extending this record to having their first 6 singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" & "Too Much") reaching No.1. Their run was eventually broken by "Stop", their seventh single stalling at No.2.

By this time it had become more common for singles to enter at No.1. "Wannabe" did not enter at No.1, so the Spice Girls could not claim the record for the first act to achieve their first six singles entering at No.1. This was a new record. B*witched became the first act to have their first four singles ("C'est La Vie", "Rollercoaster", "To You I Belong" & "Blame It On The Weatherman") all entered at No.1. Westlife, became the most successful boyband in Britain and became the first act to have their first seven singles ("Swear It Again", "If I Let You Go", "Flying Without Wings", "I Have A Dream", "Fool Again", "Against All Odds" & "My Love") all entered at No.1. This record achieved in 2000, is fairly unlikely to be broken in the future, but remains possible, because most acts achieve massive success for a short period of time these days. However, it is becoming difficult with increasing amounts of new releases each week.

6 See also

• List of Number 1 singles (UK)
• One-hit wonders in the UK
• UK topics

7 External links

• The Official UK Charts Company
• everyHit.com
• ChartStats.com

Record charts

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