No the chart period remained Sunday to Saturday (although with shops closed on Sunday in reality it was Monday to Saturday). So the Jam just utilised the whole week rather than just 2 or 3 days in its first week. Quite why singles were released at the end of the week back then I don't know- perhaps Robbie can expand on that.

 

There were occasions when the chart week was altered (early 1982 for example) when BMRB wanted to save on courier costs so altered the week from Saturday to Friday but with that exception the chart week was always Sunday to Saturday between 1980 and the current change in 2015.

 

I think the order of things pre 1983 was:

 

Chart week Sunday to Saturday

sales logs sent to BMRB on Monday by courier and information double checked

Tuesday- new chart revealed

Thursday- used on TOTP.

 

repeat.

 

Gallup continued with this system of unveiling on a Tuesday as they computerised the process until by 1987 it was all revealed on the Sunday.

I think releasing singles later in the week was just how things were done back then. The distribution network was a lot slower and labels concentrated on pressing up more stock of current and still selling releases early in the week (to ensure stock was in shops for the weekend) ahead of pressing up new releases. A Thursday or Friday release date meant new releases would be widely available to buy from the start of the new week. In addition there was no real emphasis on release dates at one time. Released simply meant shipped from the pressing plant to shops. In the 1990s release dates were promoted in advance and meant "street date". Shops usually received stock ahead of the actual date and were told to hold back selling a single until the Monday. Up to the move to Monday release dates, shops could decide whether to sell stock from when it arrived or hold it back until the following Monday. In 1980 Polydor Records decided to set a Monday release date for 'Going Underground' by The Jam as a way of promoting the band as a priority act and aiming for a number 1 by getting more first week sales. It worked.

Thanks Robbie

So there wasn’t a Radio 1 show when they released the brand new chart on a Sunday till 87 and furthermore the show that there was happened on a Tuesday lunchtime where most people couldn’t listen live? I always thought the Sunday new chart reveal was a lot older.

Yes the first Sunday chart which was a "live" reveal so to speak was on October 4th 1987.

So there wasn’t a Radio 1 show when they released the brand new chart on a Sunday till 87 and furthermore the show that there was happened on a Tuesday lunchtime where most people couldn’t listen live? I always thought the Sunday new chart reveal was a lot older.

In my day people used to take a radio to school to listen to the new chart on a Tuesday lunchtime. In May 1986 Radio 1 began to play some of the new entries on the Breakfast Show on a Tuesday morning as the chart started being published to the industry at 8am from then. I believe the chart was actually compiled on a Sunday from this point with the Monday being reserved for security checks. Once the amount of shops providing sales information was increased in mid 1987 Gallup, the chart compiler, decided to publish the chart on a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the info. Guess that could be one of the (many) reasons that Top of the Pops declined in the late 80s as the chart was already several days old.

All For You is my favourite so far.

 

Didn’t realise how close Clean Bandit and it and Anne-Marie were to Jess.

Thank goodness Milli Vanilli missed out to the much better Enya!!

 

Thanks for the info on the distribution back in the 80s, the real reason why songs began being held back by the 90s!

Can't stand either '2002' or 'I'll Be There' so 'Solo' saving an otherwise terrible top 3 :kink: glad that still got to #1 anyway.

The Saturdays- Missing You (93.6%)

 

 

W/E 21/8/2010

 

1- CLUB CAN’T HANDLE ME- Flo Rida Ft David Guetta (61,027)

2- LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE- Eminem Ft Rihanna (58,126)

3- MISSING YOU- Saturdays (57,157)

 

Who can forget this week- The Saturdays led the race even as late as Friday but in the end they had a long wait of another 2.5 years until they got that chart topper. It wasn’t their first midweek chart topper nor the first time they lost out to Flo Rida in that situation.

 

Godley & Crème- Under Your Thumb (94%)

 

 

W/E 10/10/1981

 

1- PRINCE CHARMING- Adam & The Ants (84,000)

2- THE BIRDIE SONG (THE BIRDIE DANCE)- The Tweets (84,000)

3- INVISIBLE SUN- The Police (80,000)

4- UNDER YOUR THUMB- Godley & Creme (79,000)

 

Fancy a tale of a ghost haunting a commuter on a train? Look no further than “Under Your Thumb” which was just 5k away from No 1. Early purveyors of the promo video, the duo had left 10CC in the late 70s and this was their first and biggest hit.

 

I remember being relieved Missing You ended up missing #1, would've been a very lacklustre chart topper and clearly it's not a song that's been very remembered in the long run compared to the week's actual top 2. Thankfully they'd end up getting a #1 with a much better song.

Rick Astley- Whenever You Need Somebody (94.2%)

 

 

W/ E 14/11/1987

 

1- CHINA IN YOUR HAND- T’Pau (70,000)

2- GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU- George Harrison (69,000)

3- YOU WIN AGAIN- Bee Gees (67,000)

4- WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEBODY- Rick Astley (66,000)

 

Poor Rick, all of his first three singles were midweek No 1’s but only one held on! This was his second single and title track to his debut album and what did it for him was he was the only act not featured on the previous week’s TOTP and so was leapfrogged by three singles for the honour of the 600th number one single!

 

Also yikes at how close The Birdie Song was to #1, 80s chart watchers must have been very thankful for Adam & The Ants being big as they were.

'Prince Charming' :wub: I knew that had blocked 'The Birdie Song' but didn't realise it was that close between them :o the latter actually ended up in the top 10 best sellers of the year *_* (at #9, 'Prince Charming' #3)

 

That entire 1987 top 3 :wub: don't think I'm familiar with the Rick song!

 

'Missing You' isn't really a Sats highlight, I do prefer 'What About Us' so I'm glad that's the one that got them to the top in the end.

Never realised George Harrison came so close to a second solo #1 in his lifetime!

poor Rick, but the top 4 was incredibly close, George Harrison only 1k behind T'Pau!

That entire 1987 top 3 :wub: don't think I'm familiar with the Rick song!

 

 

I really think we were related in a past life. :wub:

Never realised George Harrison came so close to a second solo #1 in his lifetime!

 

 

That was the second best selling number 2 of 1987 and 15th best seller over all.

Under Your Thumb is a great song. I think I was the only person to vote for it in the Ultimate number 3 poll.

 

Invisible Sun has just cropped up on today's Pointless on a question where they had to name the missing word in The Police song titles. .......... Sun was the lowest scoring answer out of the five songs with 4 points.