Haven't seen much on here about Double-A sides, but I've recently been looking at them. Any amendments/additions to the below will be gratefully received

 

 

In the age of downloads, Double-A sides are a thing of the past. However, in the days

when music was sold in physical form, they were an occasional feature of the charts, and

used by major artists such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Abba. Some acts made a habit of

them; UB-40's first four singles were all Double-A sides. A tactic used around Christmas time

on several occasations was to have a Christmas song as the first A-side, which could be

played on the radio on the run-up to December 25th, and a non-Christmas song on the other

side which would get exposure after the festive season. Wham's "Last Christmas"/"Everything

She Wants" being probably the most successful example of this being a million seller,

but very little of the success can be attributed to the second side!

 

I've been looking at the charts from early January 1981 when there were as many as five in the top 75

at the same time, e.g. chart of 3/1/81

 

12 Status Quo "Lies"/"Don't Drive My Car"

24 Specials featuring Rico "Do Nothing"/"Maggie's Farm"

38 UB40 "The Earth Dies Screaming"/"Dream A Lie"

52 Jim Davidson "White Christmas"/"Too Risky"

59 Darts "Sh-Boom"/"White Christmas"

(for a time it appeared that there was a 6th, Matchbox's "Over The Rainbow/You Belong To Me",

but it turns out this was a medley rather than a Double-A side)

 

Does anyone know of a chart with more than 5 Double-A sides?

 

 

 

List of Number 1 Double-A Sides (based on "Virgin Official Hit Singles Volume 2", pp12-23)

1957 Lonnie Donegan - "Puttin On The Style"/"Gamblin' Man"

1958 Everly Brothers - "All I Have To Do Is Dream"/"Claudette"

1958 Connie Francis - "Carolina Moon"/"Cupid Stupid"

1959 & 2005 Elvis Presley - "One Night"/"I Got Stung"

1959 Elvis Presley - "A Fool Such As I"/"I Need Your Love Tonight"

1961 Shirley Bassey - "Reach For The Stars"/"Climb Ev'ry Mountain"

1962 Elvis Presley - "Can't Help Falling In Love"/"Rock-a-Hula Baby"

1963 Cliff Richard - "The Next Time"/"Bachelor Boy"

1965 Beatles - "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out"

1966 Beatles - "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby"

1968 Louis Armstrong - "What A Wonderful World"/"Cabaret"

1973 David Cassidy - "Daydreamer"/"The Puppy Song"

1977 Rod Stewart - "I Don't Want To Talk About It"/"The First Cut Is The Deepest"

1977 Wings - "Mull Of Kintyre"/"Girls School"

1980 Jam - "Going Underground"/"Dreams Of Children"

1982 Kraftwerk - "Computer Love"/"The Model"

1982 Jam - "A Town Called Malice"/"Precious"

1987 MARRS - "Pump Up The Volume"/"Antina (The First Time I See She Dance)"

1988 Wet Wet Wet/Billy Bragg with Cara Tivey - "With A Little Help From My Friends"/"She's Leaving Home"

1990 Elton John - "Sacrifice"/"Healing Hands"

1991 Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"/"These Are The Days Of Our Lives"

1992 KWS - "Please Don't Go"/"Game Boy"

1995 Robson Green & Jerome Flynn - "Unchained Melody"/"White Cliffs Of Dover"

1995 Robson & Jerome - "I Believe"/"Up On The Roof"

1996 Robson & Jerome - "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted"/"Saturday Night At The Movies"/"You'll Never Walk Alone"

1996 Dunblane - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"/"Throw Those Guns Away"

1997 Spice Girls - "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are"

1997 Elton John - "Candle In The Wind 97"/"Something About The Way You Look Tonight"

1998 All Saints - "Under The Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade"

1999 Steps - "Heartbeat"/"Tragedy"

1999 Robbie Williams - "She's The One"/"It's Only Us"

1999 Westlife - "I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun"

2000 Spice Girls - "Holler"/"Let Love Lead The Way"

2001 Robbie Williams - "Eternity"/"The Road To Mandalay"

2002 Will Young - "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen"

2002 Will Young & Gareth Gates - "The Long & Winding Road"/"Suspicious Minds"

2004 Sam & Mark - "With A Little Help From My Friends"/"Measure Of A Man" - I don't think I've seen this one referenced as such before

2004 Busted - "Thunderbirds"/"3AM"

2004 Nelly - "My Place"/"Flap Your Wings"

2005 McFly - "All About You"/"You've Got A Friend"

2006 McFly - "Please Please"/"Don't Stop Me Now"

2007 McFly - "Baby's Coming Back"/"Transylvania"

 

 

Boney M's "Rivers of Babylon" reached no. 1 as a "normal" single, but was later turned into a

double A-side with "Brown Girl In The Ring" with the latter eventually become the primary side.

 

The 1982 number ones from Kraftwerk & Jam were consecutive number ones

 

All 3 of Robson & Jerome's hits appear on this list, the final one being uniquely a triple-A side number one

 

"I Got Stung"/"One Night" and "Under The Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade" are the only Double-A sides

to have two separate periods at Number 1

 

 

Sales

The best selling single ever in the UK was of course a Double-A side, with two more selling over

2 million and six more over the million mark. This means that Double-As are dispropotionately

represented in the million sellers list.

 

Double-A sides - million sellers (source - listing within the "Sales Vault" section of this site):

 

"Candle In The Wind 97"/"Something About The Way You Look Tonight" - Elton John 4,880,000

"Mull Of Kintyre"/"Girls School" - Wings 2,060,000

"Rivers Of Babylon"/"Brown Girl In The Ring" - Boney M 2,020,000

"Unchained Melody"/"White Cliffs Of Dover" - Robson Green & Jerome Flynn 1,850,000

"Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen" - Will Young 1,792,000

"Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" - Wham! 1,601,000

"Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" - Beatles 1,387,000

"Heartbeat"/"Tragedy" - Steps 1,155,000

"I Believe"/"Up On The Roof" - Robson & Jerome 1,109,000

 

 

In more recent Decades, I should imagine that Steps released the most UK Double 'A' Sides.

I think some of those were listed a week later for example KWS, Game Boy was added a week later.

 

edit

so "Baby's Coming Back"/"Transylvania" was the last double-A side single to top the charts? I can see why they ditched them :lol:

There has been the occasional double a-side featuring different acts. For example, in 1999 a single was released in advance of a collection of covers of Jam songs. It featured Buffalo Tom performing Going Underground and Liam Gallagher and Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) performing Carnation. Most of the radio airplay went to the well known performers doing a less well known song rather than a little-known band performing a very well known song even though Buffalo Tom were listed first. It made the top ten which has always prevented me entering a Buffalo Tom song for Unknown Pleasures :(

Sophie ellis-bextor released Get over you/Move this mountain in 2002, but only one charted..

There has been the occasional double a-side featuring different acts. For example, in 1999 a single was released in advance of a collection of covers of Jam songs. It featured Buffalo Tom performing Going Underground and Liam Gallagher and Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) performing Carnation. Most of the radio airplay went to the well known performers doing a less well known song rather than a little-known band performing a very well known song even though Buffalo Tom were listed first. It made the top ten which has always prevented me entering a Buffalo Tom song for Unknown Pleasures :(

There was also double A-Side single that included Usher's track a P. Diddy track featuring Usher.

IIRC the last song to chart which was credited as a double A-Side by the OCC was Bombay Bicycle Club's Ivy & Gold (#56 50 weeks ago), which was listed as Ivy & Gold / Flaws. I personally ignore the second A-Side when crediting songs, just to be consistent.

Edited July 7, 201113 yr by Bré

IIRC the last song to chart which was credited as a double A-Side by the OCC was Bombay Bicycle Club's Ivy & Gold (#56 50 weeks ago), which was listed as Ivy & Gold / Flaws. I personally ignore the second A-Side when crediting songs, just to be consistent.

 

don't forget the last double A side to make the T40 was Paul Weller's 'No Tears To Cry'/'Wake Up The Nation' ;)

Nothing to do with charts, but I heard Jennifer Lopez is thinking of releasing a double A-Side of Papi/Hypnotico :o If she does that, she could bring double A-sides back to the top 20!

Nothing to do with charts, but I heard Jennifer Lopez is thinking of releasing a double A-Side of Papi/Hypnotico :o If she does that, she could bring double A-sides back to the top 20!

 

That wouldn't work in the download era, as one single will get all the promotion and end up being its own single - the death of the A-side happened long ago. Good luck to her for trying, it could possibly do well but the public will decide what part of the A-side they'll buy instead of having to buy both

don't forget the last double A side to make the T40 was Paul Weller's 'No Tears To Cry'/'Wake Up The Nation' ;)

 

Which was 13 weeks before Ivy & Gold.

 

Double A-Sides aren't really that viable in the digital era. Ivy & Gold sold the vast majority of its sales through digital sales of the song I&G.

How to double A-sides even work in the digital era?

I remember Leona Lewis in 2008 with all the controversy that took place when Better in time was number two and Footprints in the sand was 20 something and she missed out on number one by a ridiculously small amount because she didnt include FITS?

How to double A-sides even work in the digital era?

I remember Leona Lewis in 2008 with all the controversy that took place when Better in time was number two and Footprints in the sand was 20 something and she missed out on number one by a ridiculously small amount because she didnt include FITS?

 

It would have been a mockery of the charts if they'd combined FITS.

That wouldn't work in the download era, as one single will get all the promotion and end up being its own single - the death of the A-side happened long ago. Good luck to her for trying, it could possibly do well but the public will decide what part of the A-side they'll buy instead of having to buy both

Afaik, if they're both downloaded together it's classed to the double a-side as well as the 'lead (first)' track. Then second track charts separately. Hence why Footprints In The Sand charted separately to the double A-Side when that was released.

 

Personally, I think that double a-sides should have half the sales each if downloaded separately, and a complete sale if downloaded together as it is a singles chart.

I.e 1x Better In Time = 0.5 sales. 1x FITS = 0.5 sales. 1x BIT/FITS = 1 sales.

If double a-sides are still allowed, that is the only way I believe the download option should be done, just to keep it fair.

Afaik, if they're both downloaded together it's classed to the double a-side as well as the 'lead (first)' track. Then second track charts separately. Hence why Footprints In The Sand charted separately to the double A-Side when that was released.

 

Personally, I think that double a-sides should have half the sales each if downloaded separately, and a complete sale if downloaded together as it is a singles chart.

I.e 1x Better In Time = 0.5 sales. 1x FITS = 0.5 sales. 1x BIT/FITS = 1 sales.

If double a-sides are still allowed, that is the only way I believe the download option should be done, just to keep it fair.

 

Sales of both the double A-Side itself and the first A-Side should be combined to that first song and individual downloads of the second A-Side should chart separately. As happened with BIT.

Sales of both the double A-Side itself and the first A-Side should be combined to that first song and individual downloads of the second A-Side should chart separately. As happened with BIT.

That's pretty much what I said happens in my top paragraph. I'm saying what I believe SHOULD happen in the second paragraph as the double a-side is a single so I don't think they should be charted separately. It looks messy and inconsistent imo.

 

EDIT: And yes, I would be perfectly happy to allow double a-sides to have .5 sales where appropriate. :P

Edited July 7, 201113 yr by Juranamo

Interesting how some songs were 'wasted' as the 2nd side of the double A Side.

 

Its Only Us and The Road To Mandalay would have been top 10's on their own for Robbie Williams and 3AM was one of Busted's better (and Rockier) efforts.

Could we look into the reasons behind some of these AA releases too? I know Elton had already planned the release of 'Something about the way you look tonight' and 'Candle ..' was merely added to it before release, as a tribute to Diana. I believe 3am became a AA with Thunderbirds because one of Busted's members (Charlie?) refused to be involved in the promo (I think?) if they had to release the rather cheesier Thunderbirds (for the movie tie-in) instead of 3am (as had been previously planned), the AA became the compromise I think.

Some early acts (Elvis, Everlys, Connie Francis etc) had diverse fanbases in the UK and the US and to make a single appeal to as many of them as possible (and therefore chart higher) they promoted two different styles of track at the same time on the same disc, usually one that was ballady and one that was rocky.

That's pretty much what I said happens in my top paragraph. I'm saying what I believe SHOULD happen in the second paragraph as the double a-side is a single so I don't think they should be charted separately. It looks messy and inconsistent imo.

 

EDIT: And yes, I would be perfectly happy to allow double a-sides to have .5 sales where appropriate. :P

 

Remember though that the 'singles chart' hasn't been a 'singles chart' for a long time - it's now a 'tracks chart' so I see no reason why sales of a B-Side or second A-Side should be combined to the main song, whether it's 1 sale or half a sale. The way the OCC treat double A-Sides now is perfect AFAIC. :P