howiet1971

The new Harry Styles track is really credible (can't believe I'm saying that), was dreading it would be Ed Sheeran-esque, but no, it's good.....

Goldfrapp

This really is the era of the banal - where's the trailblazers, the renegades? (Thankgod for Stormzy). Please give me anything other than MOR and formulaic R&B.

Um, I think I just did....

I'm sure this may prove contentious, but I don't recognise many of the chart achievements from Sunday, March 1 2015, when streaming was counted within the supposed 'Official' UK Singles Chart. The methodology is flawed, and now the rules of what constitues a single are flawed and of course the OCC is fatally flawed. Why? Let's take Drake for example. Last week he added 23 supposed hit singles to his tally in just one week - 23! Overtaking in one silly move, hundreds of artists whom have spent decades getting to that number of hit singles - hit singles that really were hit singles. Drake's supposed 'hit singles' were of course NOT singles. The goalposts have been moved unfairly, this isn't a level playing field any more so you cannot compare nor count most chart achievements after 2015 onwards to those that happened before. Just imagine how many 'hits' Madonna, Elvis, Beatles and Jackson would have had if these rules had been allowed then? Thousands....(of course one couldn't count album streams etc when they were at their peaks but still) it's a farce, and by allowing these non-singles to chart it kinda cancels out the many chart achievements of those who went before. And worse of all, Drake and Sheeran are not as big as those aforementioned artists were. In 1985 Madonna placed a record EIGHT Top 10 singles in the UK charts in a calendar year, testamount to the fact that she was THE major singles artist of the 1980's - all proper singles. She would likely have been able to place treble that if these current stupid rules applied then. It's like someone being the 100 metre sprint world record holder, and then the next day, it's decided athletes can compete in the same event, but in a sports car - you can't compare the result nor the record!!!! :-) In the scheme of life's rich tapestry this isn't a big deal, but it is if you're a chart-watcher, and if you care about the UK charts then you despair at how stupid things have now become.

Which is kinda cool, it doesn't reek of the desperation that Sheeran seems to have to dominate the world and outsell Adele....

First Stormzy, then the dreadful Ed Sheeran and now Drake (mildly better), but multiple chart entries denying other acts from charting or reaching their peaks ... the charts are broken.

Exactly!!! what don't people get??!!!!!!!!!

Hahahaha Beyonce? Nope. The old girl hasn't placed a No.1 single in the UK in 9 years!!!! It's all hype. From her last album she charted 5 singles, NONE made the top ten and they charted 60 / 40 / 11 / 33 / 31 - granted Lemonade got to #1 in the album chart, but as a solo singles artist now? - nah!

I pray for a time when Westlife-wannabe Ed Sheeran fades into obscurity; I'm sure he's an OK human being, but the music I'm hearing bores me to tears..... :cry:

p.s Moloko were only half Irish - the other half are English, so shouldn't really count....

Ireland has a lot to answer for: Boyzone, Ronan, Bewitched and the chart abominations that were Westlife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

Uh yep! Please read what he said..... it would go into an album tracks chart.

Finally.... someone with a great idea!!!!! :cheer:

Change will come or Martin Talbot will have to go; it's being picked up everywhere now that the UK charts are in trouble: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/...drastic-rethink Jon Webster, president of the music managers group MMF, said the singles chart needed as “drastic rethink”. “You should be looking at two different things: what’s happening in streaming, and what’s happening in sales. You can’t mix them. It ends up in two different metrics and that’s the problem,” Webster said. “When you were a kid and you bought a single, if you played it 500 times over five weeks it was still only one sale. But now we’re having that 500 times over five weeks in the chart. We live in a different world, and we need a different chart for a different world.” Jeremy Pritchard, the bassist in Manchester indie rock band Everything Everything, said the charts company could introduce new rules about what counts as a single. “Something needs to happen,” he said. “There should be some rules concerning what is and isn’t a single. If we’re still calling it the singles chart, should we be letting in stuff which hasn’t been identified as a single.

http://news.sky.com/story/has-ed-sheeran-k...charts-10800420 SKY NEWS - Has Ed Sheeran killed the charts? Interesting article...... :cheer:

And your point (which you keep banging on about) is 'Anything is a single these days technically' - I think WE get your point, but it does't mean I agree.

Banning non-singles is the only way forward.

The OCC are putting their heads in the sand; they f**ked up royally and they've killed the UK singles chart. This will happen time and time again now and any special achievement will now become the norm. I remember in 1985 when Madonna held the Number 1 and 2 position and it was a massive deal (I can only imagine how she would have dominated in 1986 if this stupid current system had been in play then). The fact is Ed is popular right now, but this chart success is a total joke and I don't recognise it, it's album tracks that shouldn't be counted. End of. Official singles only should chart.

The worst Top 20 ever! Why? Aside from the fact that album tracks should not be included until they are officially singles, Ed Sheeran is a heady mix of Simply Red, Phil Collins and Westlife all rolled into one beige (slightly ginger) MOR, mum-friendly artist - Listen to Galway Girl and Perfect and you'll see what I mean. Dire. RIP The singles chart. RIP The OCC

So what? It's not difficult at all. Until it's an official single its sales should count towards the album only.... The singles chart is dead. Bailing out on this now, first world problems and all :lol:

Boom... times have changed, but this isn't a change for the better; it's being brought up now because this is the first major instance when album tracks have so dominated the official singles chart, thus creating great initial press, but will lead to stagnation and the demise and interest in the singles chart long term, so I think you've missed the point. New artists will find it even harder to secure a Top 40 placing. I love having streaming and downloads, it's a true representation afterall, but ONLY if it's an official single - if it's not then it's an album track UNTIL the record company chose to release it as single, then it's sales can appear on the singles chart - until then it's streams/downloads etc count, but towards the album chart only; not rocket science really is it?????

Oh dear oh dear... then lets not call it the SINGLES chart, lets just call it the SONGS chart, and get rid of the old fashioned idea of an OFFICIAL singles chart. It really isn't the end of the world, but it really is the end of the SINGLES chart, it's lost it's uniqueness. You'll see.

Agree totally!

If an album track is genuinely popular (like in the old days when fans or radio picked it up) then the record company can release it, until then it's sales/streams should ONLY count towards album sales because it's not an official single. Including album tracks in a singles chart makes more of a mockery of the chart imo.