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BuzzJack Music Forum _ UK Charts _ Longest time from chart debut to first top ten hit
Posted by: danG 5th March 2019, 08:06 PM
Jonas Brothers had their chart debut in June 2008 with #13 hit 'S.O.S' , over ten years later they're set to get their first top ten hit (ignoring the top 10s from solo projects).
What other acts took this long to get a first top ten smash?
The longest I can think of is AC/DC (35 years, 6 months) - they had their chart debut in June 1978 but only made the top 10 in December 2013 when fans tried to push 'Highway To Hell' to Christmas #1 (it made #4).
Posted by: WhoOdyssey 5th March 2019, 08:11 PM
Gigi D'Agostino:
Bla Bla Bla (1999, #87)
In My Mind (2018, #5)
Posted by: danG 5th March 2019, 08:14 PM
'Bla Bla Bla' didn't impact until 2002 actually so that's 'only' a(n almost) 16 year gap between (and impressively he had no other hits in-between those two).
Posted by: King Rollo 5th March 2019, 08:23 PM
Boris Gardiner got to no.14 in 1970 with Elizabethan Reggae. He had no other hits until he reached no.1 in 1986 with I Want To Wake Up With You.
Posted by: Bré 5th March 2019, 08:25 PM
John Otway's only top 10 hit 'Bunsen Burner' was in 2002, nearly 25 years after his first chart hit. That one sticks in my mind for some reason. Just checked Lou Monte but sadly 'Dominick The Donkey (The Italian Christmas Donkey)' was his first chart appearance, and the same with The Trashmen's 'Surfin' Bird' 
I'd actually forgotten that AC/DC never had a top 10 single until the 'Highway To Hell' campaign!
Posted by: dobbo 5th March 2019, 08:28 PM
Ozzy Osborne (solo) first charted in 1980 then didn't get a top 10 until 'Changes' in 2003. That's cheating a bit I know.
Posted by: King Rollo 5th March 2019, 08:34 PM
Andy Stewart made his chart debut in 1960 but didn't have a top 10 hit until 1989 with 'Donald Where's Your Troosers'.
Still not as long as AC/DC. It's going to be tough thinking of anyone who can beat them.
Posted by: King Rollo 5th March 2019, 08:49 PM
Just opening my book of hit singles at random pages,I've found 21 years for James Brown and 19 years for the Doobie Brothers.
Posted by: Suedehead2 5th March 2019, 09:10 PM
I'd actually forgotten that AC/DC never had a top 10 single until the 'Highway To Hell' campaign!
Surely John Otway's greatest triumph was to get to a BJSC final (even if it was as an auto-qualifier and he came last).
Posted by: Doctor Blind 5th March 2019, 09:11 PM
Bobby Vinton made his chart debut in July 1962 with “Roses Are Red (My Love)” but didn't have a Top 10 hit until October 1990, 28 years later, when “Blue Velvet” went to #2.
Posted by: Bré 5th March 2019, 09:13 PM
2nd from last even! (that may be the reason I still remember that he even exists)
Posted by: fiesta 5th March 2019, 10:35 PM
Clash 1977-1991, Doobie Bros 1974-1993
Posted by: DalekTurret32 5th March 2019, 10:43 PM
Delirious? (the question mark is in the band's name for those that don't know):
White Ribbon Day (#41, 1997)
History Makers (#4, 2010 [1997 track, then called 'History Maker', that charted following a campaign on Facebook])
Ice Cube:
AmeriKKKa's Most (#76, 1990)
You Can Do It (#2, 2004)
Posted by: Klaus 5th March 2019, 10:55 PM
Marina
ha time will come
Posted by: King Rollo 5th March 2019, 11:28 PM
Ben E King first charted in 1961 with First Taste Of Love. Stand By Me was his first top ten hit 26 years later. It only got to no.27 when it was originally released.
Posted by: danG 6th March 2019, 08:13 PM
Thanks to Bray pointing out on plug.dj
Armin van Buuren (15 years, 3 months)
February 1998: Blue Fear (#45)
May 2013: This Is What It Feels Like (#6)
Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 6th March 2019, 08:19 PM
Along those lines, Tiesto (14 years, 8 months):
July 1999: Theme From Norejfell (#97)
March 2014: Red Lights (#6)
Posted by: zenon 6th March 2019, 09:39 PM
July 1999: Theme From Norejfell (#97)
March 2014: Red Lights (#6)
He lost his soul long before Red Lights though!
Posted by: cantthinkofaname 7th March 2019, 01:16 PM
Wait, Red Lights was Tiesto's first top 10?! Whaaaaaat
Posted by: jimwatts 7th March 2019, 09:44 PM
A few that spring to mind:
B-52's - 1979-1990 (11 years)
Chris Rea - 1978-1989 (11 years)*
Inner Circle - 1979-1993 (14 years)
Journey - 1982-2009 (27 years) with the same song!
MK - 1995-2017 (22 years) under that name, he may have had a hand in a few top 10s before '17'
Oliver Cheatham - 1983-2003 (20 years) the latter as featured artist on a reworking of his former hit
* if The Road To Hell (#10, 1989) had peaked a place lower and Driving Home For Christmas (#11, 2018) a place higher, it would have been 40 years.
Posted by: danG 7th March 2019, 09:48 PM
Posted by: Rob 8th March 2019, 11:12 AM
I thought 17 was his debut single, whoops!
Posted by: jimwatts 22nd February 2020, 04:35 PM
As this is on a similar theme to the artists without #1s thread, these are another couple I thought of to add here:
Martin Solveig - 2004-2015 (11 years)
Public Enemy - 1987-2012 (25 years)
Not sure if any acts have achieved the feat since Jonas Brothers though
Posted by: awardinary 22nd February 2020, 05:33 PM
I think I’ve found one that meets the criteria (I wasn’t paying attention to this thread at the time it started)
It’s a 20 year gap from debut to Top 10 hit (a UK #1 in fact!)
Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night (#38 debut hit in 1983)
Room 5 feat. Oliver Cheatham – Make Luv (#1 hit in 2003)
EDIT: This was already mentioned 
Posted by: awardinary 22nd February 2020, 05:42 PM
I thought for a moment I had redeemed myself with Billy Ray Cyrus after last years #1 smash but his debut in 1992 already was a Top 10 single of course! 
Posted by: dan.G 22nd February 2020, 08:38 PM
and Old Town Road doesn’t even technically count as a hit for him in the uk cos of the occ’s rules regarding crediting remixes.
Posted by: jimwatts 8th January 2022, 07:10 PM
A couple more I can think of since this was last updated, including a new one yesterday:
Paul Woolford - 2003-2020 (17 years)
Cherish - 2006-2022 (16 years)
Posted by: chartjack2 9th January 2022, 02:03 AM
Tyga (2002-2014)
Bon Iver (2009-2020)
Posted by: Danuary 9th January 2022, 08:27 AM
you’ve mixed up Tyga with Tiga there. the rapper’s first top 75 hit was in 2010.
Posted by: chartjack2 9th January 2022, 09:59 AM
Oops sorry!!
Posted by: Eric_Blob 9th January 2022, 10:52 PM
Easy mistake. Tiga had a song called Bugatti (his best song) and Tyga actually has a Bugatti!
Posted by: chartjack2 9th January 2022, 11:39 PM
The only other person I think of was Terry Wogan - but he’s credited as “Bandaged” in 2008
Posted by: chartjack2 9th January 2022, 11:48 PM
This is a really cheeky one, but Arsenal released Good Old Arsenal in 1971 and it reached #16. They then didn’t reach the Top 10 until 1998 with Hot Stuff (#9)
Posted by: Dot Going Under 10th January 2022, 01:27 AM
My first thought was "didn't the other Tyga have a song called Bugatti too" but apparently the one I was thinking of is by someone called Ace Hood.
Posted by: TomJ1991 10th January 2022, 05:17 AM
Kunt and the Gang had a #66 hit in 2010, before finally going top 5 with his anti-Boris song in 2020 with The Kunts.
Posted by: Mangø 10th January 2022, 09:56 AM
Yeah, you can't really count that. Aside from having a different credit (The Arsenal 1st Team Squad in 1971 and Arsenal FC in 1998) it would have been a completely different squad on each song.
Posted by: Mangø 10th January 2022, 10:12 AM
Paul Woolford - 2003-2020 (17 years)
Cherish - 2006-2022 (16 years)
What did Paul Woolford chart with in 2003??
Posted by: jimwatts 10th January 2022, 10:31 AM
Out Of My Life - reached #84, can't say I've ever heard it.
Posted by: jimwatts 11th January 2022, 08:54 PM
A couple more:
Brian Kennedy (16 years): Captured (#77, 1990) -> George Best - A Tribute (#4, 2006)
Goo Goo Dolls (13 years): Iris (#50, 1998 -> #3, 2011)
Posted by: WhoOdyssey 11th January 2022, 09:02 PM
I suppose it’s technically a different artist credited though! The Kunts are 4 people, not just him.
Posted by: jimwatts 29th January 2022, 06:28 PM
Thought of another two:
Elbow (11 years): Red (#36, 2001) -> One Day Like This (#4, 2012)
Joni Mitchell (27 years): Big Yellow Taxi (#11, 1970) -> Got 'Til It's Gone (#6, 1997) [samples the former]
Posted by: jimwatts 27th March 2022, 12:48 PM
Following the discussion in the #4s thread of whether Aerosmith's first officially credited Top 10 hit was Walk This Way or I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (I'd say the former; the latter could see them included here), I've thought of another two:
Clubhouse (11 years): Do It Again - Billie Jean (Medley) (#11, 1983) -> Light My Fire (#7, 1994)
Nine Inch Nails (14 years): Head Like A Hole (#45, 1991) -> The Hand That Feeds (#7, 2005)
Posted by: jimwatts 2nd September 2022, 04:54 PM
We can now add to this list:
Mattafix (17 years): Big City Life (#15, 2005) -> Big City Life [Luude & Mattafix] (#10 so far, 2022)
and another older one not mentioned yet:
Santana (26 years): Samba Pa Ti (#27, 1974) -> Smooth (#3, 2000)
Posted by: jimwatts 30th December 2022, 07:09 PM
AC/DC's record (35 years) has been smashed!
Bobby Helms (65 years): My Special Angel (#22, 1957) -> Jingle Bell Rock (#7, 2022)
Posted by: A Roba New Year 30th December 2022, 07:55 PM
I guess one good thing American Playlists have done is giving 50's artists like Bobby a record like this!
Posted by: Brer 31st December 2022, 12:52 AM
Casually beating that record by 30 years, that'll take some beating
Posted by: jimwatts 14th March 2023, 10:58 PM
A couple more I've thought of - nowhere near the new record for Bobby Helms, but still over 10 years:
Scorpions (12 years): Is There Anybody There / Another Piece Of Meat (#39, 1979) -> Wind Of Change (#2, 1991)
Sting (12 years as a solo artist): Spread A Little Happiness (#16, 1982) -> All For Love (#2, 1994) [with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart] -> When We Dance (#9, 1994) [first fully solo Top 10 hit]
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