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On 12 March 2024, it was proposed that this article be moved from UK Singles Chart records and statistics to UK singles chart records and statistics. The result of the discussion was moved. |
Where are all the links to sources for all of the information given in the article? Due to their absence the article unfortunately falls well below Wikipedia standards, which is a shame as the topic is an interesting one. 89.234.101.199 12:11, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
This is about the UK charts, yet specifies facts on worldwide sales throughout. Not appropriate. Asmentioned above, it specifies many facts and references none. This requires major cleanup work Maggott2000 23:53, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
Agreed - article needs a top to bottom reworking. Too much of it is written in a breathless "Nobody thought this record could be beaten, until it was!" style of copywriting that is best left to Teen Beat magazine. RoyBatty42 ( talk) 19:34, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
What about another sub-section for Artists with the most singles competing with each other on the Top 5 (or on the Top 10). Wouldn't that be another to feature The Beatles prominently at the top? -- Tlatosmd 22:13, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
The above list clearly existed at one point, being linked to in the 'Biggest selling single' section, but it's now been deleted and i can't find it. If it's been moved can someone update the link from this article, if not, why was it deleted?! The only similar list is the List of best-selling singles by year (UK) which isn't quite the same (for my purposes...). extraordinary ( talk) 14:25, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
This section is becoming less significant now since that's the way singles are going anyway, perhaps it could just have the first single to achieve it rather than an ever growing list.-- Tuzapicabit ( talk) 22:36, 18 February 2009 (UTC)
Someone should provide the most #1 albums list for artists that have achieved 5 or more #1 albums. —Preceding unsigned comment added by AJS2050 ( talk • contribs) 12:04, 28 June 2010 (UTC)
In this article, it says that Gloria Estefan has had the most top 75 hits without having a top 5 hit. However, in 2003, Mylo vs. Miami Sound Machine took Doctor Pressure to number 3. Here is a source: http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=847 . I am unsure whether this affects the achievement or not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.92.187.109 ( talk) 19:25, 15 January 2011 (UTC)
"and with single sales declining year-on-year, things will probably never go back the way things were in the charts for singles to still clock up such high sales." This seems akin to being in the midst of a recession and claiming that "things will probably never be as good as they once were". It may prove to be true, but this statement seems exactly the kind that will end up being referred to in hindsight over how silly it was. Just because there is a downward trend for several years does not mean that trend will continue ad infinitum. It's likely that in somewhere between here and the end of the universe (unless that end was remarkably soon), sales will recover enough to be able to be able to beat these records. - Nichlemn
Someone out there got Elvis's death month wrong. He died in August 1977. Who could make such a stupid mistake?
Even though reissues have helped bring Elvis' total to 21, should reissues really be included in this list (as the Guinness World Records credits him with 18 number ones)? - Dbone828
OK, obviously Guinness have changed their policy, because it used to be that, but having checked the Official Charts company, they do concur he's had 21 No.1s. So fair enough, although I fail to see how the same recording can be counted as 2 different No.1s, but I bow to the official sources - although these do need to be put as references to avoid further confusion. -- Tuzapicabit ( talk) 22:02, 16 February 2009 (UTC)
It occurs to me that the term "foreign language" should not be used in this context. There is no official language of the United Kingdom. English is only the de facto language of the United Kingdom, and, as such, the term "Foreign language" is wrong.
I have no idea what should be done about it, just putting it out there, really. Adamjhepton ( talk) 14:30, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
Can I ask how Most weeks on UK Singles Chart by decade is calculated because I don't see how someone can be in the charts for over 600 weeks, in a 520 week period. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.171.94.86 ( talk) 13:42, 5 January 2012 (UTC)
==Most successful debuts==
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.
Gerry & the Pacemakers remained the only act to have achieved this until 1984, when Frankie Goes to Hollywood's first single " Relax" (which coincidentally had Gerry Marsden's "Ferry Cross the Mersey" as one of its B-sides) 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 an act having their first 3 singles reaching No. 1 (and, in May 1998, Aqua also achieved the feat).
In 1997, 34 years after Gerry & The Pacemakers achieved their 3rd No.1, the Spice Girls took their first 6 singles to No.1. Promoting " Girl Power" 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 the ironically named song "Stop", their seventh single stalling at No.2, although the group then went on to have another 3 consecutive #1 hits following this.
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 enter 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 / Seasons In The Sun", "Fool Again", "Against All Odds" & "My Love") all enter at No.1. This record was achieved in 2000.
As an example of the sort of clean up this article needs. I've pruned this section back by about half the length. Several issues (aside from the fact that it's entirely unreferenced), mainly as regards the flowery language:
As I say it's all unreferenced, it also smacks of WP:OR and several instances of style issues as well. The cleanup tag doesn't give a reason, but as seen here - there are a lot of issues.
Please also note the capitalisation of song titles is in all cases wrong as well. Phew!-- Tuzapicabit ( talk) 11:13, 11 June 2012 (UTC)
The article states Chris Rea (32). However, the Pet Shop Boys have 40 hits that charted between positions 6 and 75.
The article states Gloria Estefan (27). However, the Pet Shop Boys have placed 38 hits between positions 6 and 40.
The article states Gloria Estefan (5). However, the Pet Shop Boys have placed 12 hits between positions 6 and 10.
The article states Super Furry Animals (20). However, the Pet Shop Boys have also placed 20 hits between positions 11 and 40.
The article states The Levellers and Super Furry Animals (8). However, the Pet Shop Boys have placed 17 hits between positions 11 and 20.
No flags please. The artists aren't representing their countries and it's not NPOV. Also what do you do with groups who come from more than one country like Boney M? Just not necessary. Btljs ( talk) 13:28, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
This record, previously held by Tom Jones was broken by John Craven (aged 74)- appearing as part of Gareth Malone's All Star choir when they reached number one with their version of "Wake Me Up" on 16th November 2014. 90.204.152.97 ( talk) 15:53, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
It's now Captain Tom at 100 years old he achieved this earlier this year not like there is a section for this on the article that i can see. User:DanTheMusicMan2 ( talk) 11:53, 26 July 2020 (UTC)
The improve hat has been on this article since 2009. It has got a lot better over the years and I think that it really needs a last push to get it over the line. Here are my proposals:
There are probably other things which will occur as we go through it, but that's a start. Btljs ( talk) 09:29, 10 October 2015 (UTC)
According to a database compiled by a friend who has timed every UK Number 1, there are actually 15 with a playing time exceeding that of Bohemian Rhapsody, rather than the 10 listed, but I don't see the point in extending the list that much. Personally, I think only the record holder needs listing here - " All Around the World" by Oasis running 9:38. I won't take the liberty of removing the others unless anyone else agrees with this.
I will add the 'Shortest playing' statistic, but just the title holder, and not the 16 which are less than 2 minutes long! (I suppose that would be considered 'short' - perhaps the average human attention span and the nature of pop records means the 'longest' statistic has had more notice paid to it!) -- TrottieTrue ( talk) 14:37, 23 February 2016 (UTC)
Addendum: This statistic assumes that the A-side version on the 7" single, or track 1 on the CD single (etc) was the "main" version of a chart-topping song. That was probably the best-selling format of most chart-toppers, I'd wager, but the lead version on 12" releases was often much longer than an edit for 7" or CD singles. The first 12" number one hit was Float On by The Floaters, and the version on that format was 11:49! That would easily beat all the songs on the current list, but the 7" version probably sold more, and at any rate would have been the one played on the radio. However, Jack Your Body by Steve "Silk" Hurley was "the first UK number one single to achieve the majority of its sales on the 12" format", according to its Wiki entry. Apparently the 12" single actually exceeded the maximum playing time for a chart entry at the time, so its sales should have been excluded, but the rule wasn't enforced. The lead track on the 12" single - "Jack Your Body (Club Your Body)" has a time of 6:50. As that version is cited as having sold more, it could legitimately be added to the list for this article as the "main version" of the song, but that might open the door for a multitude of 6 minute-plus 12" versions to be included too. It's a slightly odd statistic given that multiple versions of most chart-toppers were available on different formats from the late '70s onwards, so listeners could pick and choose the version they wanted to hear, although in most cases it was probably the radio-friendly track 1 on a CD or 7" A-side they were interested in. "Float On" was possibly the first chart-topper with more than one version of the song available at the time of release. Bit of a ramble here, but chart enthusiasts might find it of interest. TrottieTrue ( talk) 19:43, 31 December 2016 (UTC)
The Self-replacement at number one section says that "only five acts have replaced themselves at the top of the UK charts with exactly the same billing" (emphasis added), but the fifth record in the list is 'Ed Sheeran — "River" (Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran) replaced "Perfect" (25 January 2018)'. Clearly, Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran is not exactly the same billing as Ed Sheeran on his own. Above that, it correctly states 'Justin Bieber — "Love Yourself" replaced "Sorry" (10 December 2015)', but follows this with '"Despacito" (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber) replaced "I'm the One" (DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne) (18 May 2017)'. Again, clearly not the same billing. 2001:BB6:4703:4A58:759C:A6A9:98DF:199C ( talk) 16:11, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
Almost 3 years later, but I agree. I'm removing the faulty ones. Spike 'em ( talk) 18:43, 10 January 2021 (UTC)
This list is missing Frankie Goes To Hollywood, who held the top two with Two Tribes (#1) and Relax (#2) for two consecutive weeks in July 1984.
By the way the list of posthumous number ones also reads a bit strangely, as neither Elvis Presley nor John Lennon are included in the bulleted list, only being mentioned two paragraphs below. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.82.48.94 ( talk) 13:15, 13 July 2018 (UTC)
In your List of the Acts with the 'Most UK Singles Weeks at No.1' you have Westlife in last place, with 20 No.1 Weeks. You need to add Slade to the List. They also had 20 UK No.1 Singles Weeks. They did it with 6 No.1's. Westlife needed 14 No.1's to get their 20 No.1 Weeks... 86.2.61.136 ( talk) 12:25, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
You have Elvis Presley in 9th place, in the Acts with the Most UK Singles Sales. You only give him 12,205,000 UK Singles Sales. This is nonsense. In June 2012 The Official Charts Company gave him' 21,600,000 UK Singles Sales, and he was the 2nd Biggest Selling UK Singles Act' - after The Beatles, who had 21,900,000 UK Singles Sales. Clearly, your Elvis Total is far too low. Amazingly so... 86.2.61.136 ( talk) 12:53, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
Justin Bieber has 33 No.1 Weeks in the UK Singles Chart - not 32. Ed Sheeran has 27 No.1 Weeks - not 26. 17:44, 1 June 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.2.61.136 ( talk)
Ellie Goulding's single "River" was only released on Amazon music and she still managed to reach number one with streams alone this deserves to be mentioned somewhere thanks. DanTheMusicMan2 ( talk) 12:51, 29 April 2020 (UTC)
I just found out that amazon music were offering a download she just did not chart on the download chart which doesn't mean she did not sell any downloads at all however Justin Bieber's song "Sorry" is mentioned on this article because the ratio of streams was significant higher than the sales, as Ellie Goulding has beaten his record she should still be mentioned. DanTheMusicMan2 ( talk) 11:56, 3 May 2020 (UTC)
Actually "What Do You Mean" is mentioned in this article here UK Singles Chart records and statistics#Lowest selling number one In the week ending 24 September 2015, "What Do You Mean?" by Justin Bieber became the first number one with over half of its chart sales made up of streaming points, with sales of 30,000 and 36,000 points from 3.6 million streams. but this is not sourced plus the river is mentioned here River (Joni_Mitchell_song)#Ellie Goulding version under charts section about it got to number one due to streams this is sourced. All this however including Gnarls Barkleys record of number one download only should not be in the section Lowest selling number one so this should be moved. DanTheMusicMan2 ( talk) 12:24, 7 June 2020 (UTC)
So What's the biggest selling record to reach number two now that Last Christmas has topped the chart recently. DanTheMusicMan2 ( talk) 12:41, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:UK Singles Chart which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. — RMCD bot 19:17, 12 March 2024 (UTC)