Robbie

It's a good song but it's not really a rip-off though as it was co-written and co-produced by and is sung by Neil Tennant.

It should have just turned up Paul, about half an hour ago! I contacted Chris a short while ago as my copy hadn't arrived either and he explained that there had been a technical problem outside of his control which caused some posters to not receive their copy. He's now re-sent a copy to all subscribers so some subscribers may now have received a duplicate copy.

The point is though, to calculate sales to compile a chart which was counted down from number 40 it would be impossible to place a record at number 40 without having placed 39 records above it...

Tom Browne: First presenter I can recall. He always sounded half asleep to me though I must say he certainly had a distinctive voice. He also usually had very little to say during the chart countdown given the fact that he had to fit in up to 20 records in just under an hour so it was usually a case of announcing the next record. I didn't realise Tom had Scandanavian connections, perhaps it explains why when Abba visited Radio 1 in 1977 it was he who got to meet them and interview them. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/944x531_b/p018k8z4.jpg Simon Bates: Like Tom another presenter with a distinctive voice. Though unlike Tom's which was rich and smooth I've always thought Simon Bates' voice was rough as sandpaper. Despite that he did do a professional job counting down the chart but his voice was always a hindrance to me fully enjoying the countdown. Tony Blackburn: Very enthusiastic and keen but very cheesy sounding. In many ways the choice of TB to present the top 40 in 1979 was a strange one because he already felt out of place on the station. But overall his time on the show was OK even if he didn't seem to know who half the acts were and worse still struggled to pronounce their names - especially the week Duran Duran made their chart debut! Tommy Vance: Captain calamity, the cock up kid of the countdown! He seemed very keen and often would give a little potted history about acts who were new to the charts but he really was in the wrong programme. His passion was for rock music, not playing Bucks Fizz. On the other hand he liked to drink a lot of Bucks Fizz (or something even stronger!) before doing the show and later admitted he was sometimes drunk when he did it. Not helped by the fact that he drank in a local boozer just around the corner from the BBC that stayed open for lock-ins beyond the then closing time on a Sunday for pubs of 2pm (those were the days!) so would often be having to try and sober up as 5pm approached. He got easily tongue twisted and on one memorable occasion while playing 'I Love Rock n Roll' by Joan Jett, which was inside the top 10, accidentally knocked over and sent a pile of records flying which then crashed onto the turntable, knocking the needle which skated across the record! He then proceeded to say he didn't know what happened and then played part of the record again. After he stepped aside Simon Bates returned as present the show for a while. Richard Skinner I didn't mind Richard Skinner. For me the best presenter up to this point. Bruno Brookes: He was full of it, was brash and loved to exaggerate everything but he did make the show interesting and once the announcement of the new chart moved to a Sunday from a Tuesday he really was in his element. Like Dave says he would pretend that the chart was still being compiled and coming through from Gallup headquarters as he was counting it down (we all knew he was making this bit up) but he did then get to bring in "there are just two records to go so who is at... (cue jingle of 'Number Two' playing)". Or maybe he did this before then I don't know but I associate it with his time on the top 40 post September 1987. After Mark Goodier did a spell of the top 40 Bruno returned for a while and this is certainly when his SHOUTING was at its peak! But I didn't mind it, it brought some excitement to the show. If someone was to compare the presentation styles of Tom Browne and Bruno Brookes it would be hard to believe they were both presenting the same programme. Mark Goodier: He didn't get off to the best of starts - I have a recording of the top 10 part of the top 40 from August 1989, one of the first top 40 shows he did and this was as a stand-in for Bruno and he has to miss out the number 2 record ('Ride On Time' by Black Box) because he messed up the timings is running late. Nevertheless when he took over initially from Bruno in September 1990 he provided an interesting contrast to the brashness of Bruno. Whereas Bruno came over as being all mouth and excitement Mark came over as being more cultured and calm and I enjoyed the time he presented the show until Bruno returned some 18 months later. The returning Bruno arrived even more excitable than ever and again made the show enjoyable to listen to but I have to admit I was happy to see Mark return in March 1995. At around the same time Alan Jones began to provide Radio 1 with chart facts and sometimes sales and this made the programme good from a chart fan point of view. Mark was in good form for about 4 or 5 years but then he started to sound bored - the last year or two he presented the show he really did sound like he was just going through the motions and the chart forum at Dotmusic was often speculating on whether and when he would leave. And when he finally did we found we were listening to... Wes Butters: .... and his strange ways of saying the name "Busted" - "Boosted" anyone? He was poor though to be fair the bosses at Radio 1 gave him an uphill struggle by changing the format of the programme to one that just wasn't popular. He was lambasted at the usual Chart forums and when it was announced he was leaving there was much joy. That said, on his last show he explained why the programme format had been changed to what it was and explained that it wasn't how he would have presented it by choice and how he was a genuine chart fan. I genuinely felt sorry for him and I'm not exaggerating when I say he sounded genuinely sad, he was obviously well aware of the comments people were making about him and about his presentation style as well as the format of the show in general. But he was just the wrong person for the job, in hindsight Scott Mills should have taken over from Mark Goodier instead but Wes made it clear the bosses wanted a new direction to try and arrest the falling listening figures and to try and make the show sound more modern. JK: Joel: So up stepped these two jokers. Like Dave I couldn't tell them apart. The BBC may as well have used one of them one week and the other the next and saved some money as no-one would have been the wiser who was who. After a while they did actually get a little better but it was too little too late so next up we had... Fearne Cotton: Reggie Yates: Oh my goodness, the gruesome twosome. They really were dreadful. Yet strangely, while both were still regular presenters when one was on holiday and the other was presenting alone it wasn't too bad. It was like one was lost without the other and just got on with the programme in a straightforward fashion. However once Fearne left and Reggie was permanently presenting the show on its own he managed to drag it to depths never seen before. So it was cheers all around when it was announced he was leaving. Jameela Jamil: Hmmm... strange one this. I only get a chance most weeks to listen to the top 10 and I'm not keen on this live video streaming thing as it just encourages too much talking and not enough playing the top 10. So that gets a thumb down from me. But from what I've heard of the first two hours of the weekly show (which admittedly is not a great deal over the year) she just gets on with the countdown which is what I prefer. So the jury is still out on this one.

The BPI press release (much of which was repeated in the Music Week article in the first post) BPI Sales Awards Launch Automatic Certification BPI’s official recognition of artist achievement in respect of UK sales of albums, singles and music DVDs/Blu-rays – its Certified Awards Scheme, and the basis on which the Industry’s iconic Silver, Gold and Platinum/Multi-Platinum discs are presented, is to include auto-updated sales data for the first time. Normally BPI waits for official notification from its label members of a title’s sales performance based on shipment deliveries, but from Friday 19th July the awards will automatically recognise the popularity of artist releases as soon as they go past relevant sales thresholds in line with Official Charts Company data. This new approach from BPI will improve the integrity of the awards scheme – making it instantly more up to date and accurate across all formats. BPI members will, however, retain the option of notifying the trade body’s Rob Crutchley of their new release shipment deliveries, thus ensuring the scheme remains a flexible one that enables the success of titles to be recognised at the earliest possible opportunity if required. Sales thresholds for the awards will remain the same (see Notes to Editors). As part of this ‘auto-updating’ process, which is based on data stretching back to 1994 when the Official Charts Company first came into being, sales certifications for a number of titles have been retrospectively updated: Included in the list of newly-certified albums are the likes of Ellie Goulding’s Halcyon, Rita Ora’s Rita Ora and Little Mix’s DNA – which are recognised for achieving over 300,000 sales to attain Platinum status, while Susan Boyle’s 2010 smash The Gift is acknowledged as going Double Platinum for its 600,000-plus sales. A number of albums, such as Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox and Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, have been given an updated category certification – moving from Gold (100,000 copies) to Double Platinum (600,000 copies) status. On the singles front, releases that are certified for the first time include the world’s best-selling title of 2012 – Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe – which has its Double Platinum status (1.2m-plus sales) confirmed. Among the Music DVDs/Blu-rays being acknowledged with a certification is the record-breaking 2009 video release Take That Presents: The Circus Live, which is recognised for going xEleven Platinum (550,000-plus sales). Non-BPI members will now be able to participate in the Awards Scheme for the first time. These changes form part of a wider and ongoing review of how artist achievements in sales should be acknowledged and celebrated going forward, and further announcements will made in due course. Notes to Editors From 19th July 2013, any album, single and music DVD that has passed a qualifying threshold for a Silver, Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum certification will now be automatically updated on the Official Charts Company’s database. These titles will also be updated in Music Week’s charts pages and be added to the BPI’s consumer-facing searchable database at www.bpi.co.uk. The ‘auto-update’ will be based on sales as registered by the Official Charts Company (from 1994 onwards, when their records begin) and only applies to titles that have (a) not been previously certified or (b) are eligible for a certification upgrade based purely on sales from 1994 onwards. A retrospective ‘drop’ of missing titles has been conducted and a weekly sweep will occur going forward to maintain the integrity of the scheme. From Paul McCartney to Madonna, the BPI’s iconic Platinum, Gold & Silver Certified Awards have long been presented to artists by their label management by way of acknowledging and celebrating major milestones in sales of recorded music. Originally introduced in 1973, more than 9,000 awards have been issued to date during their illustrious 40 year history. Every BPI certified award disc now boasts an individually-numbered and unique BPI hologram to authenticate each certified award and enhance the look of the framed presentation disc itself. The highly coveted Awards are the ultimate way of commemorating UK sales success for the artists and the teams that support them. http://www.bpi.co.uk/home/bpi-sales-awards...tification.aspx

A follow up to my original answer: the BPI press release has made it clear that the 'auto-update' will be based on sales as registered by the OCC from 1994 onwards and only applies to titles that have not been previously certified or are eligible for a certification upgrade based purely on sales from 1994 onwards. This would definitely prevent 'Greatest Hits' from having its certification levels automatically upgraded since its sales since February 1994 will be less than the level at which is its currently certified.

It would depend on what data the OCC/Millward Brown hold about 'Greatest Hits' by Queen. I can only see it working properly for singles, albums and videos that were released from February 1994 onwards which is when Millward Brown took over chart compilation duties from Gallup since the OCC/MB product database is only complete back to that date. All data from prior to February 1994 has had to be manually input from various sources including the weekly Gallup sales booklets and won't be as complete.

BPI sales certification to be automated by Tina Hart Friday July 19 2013 The BPI’s Certified Awards Scheme is to include auto-updated sales data for the first time. The scheme forms the official recognition of artist achievement in respect of UK sales of albums, singles and music DVDs/Blu-rays, and the basis on which the industry’s Silver, Gold and Platinum/Multi-Platinum discs are presented. Previously, BPI waited for official notification from its label members of a title’s sales performance based on shipment deliveries, but from today (Friday, July 19) the awards will automatically recognise the popularity of artist releases as soon as they go past relevant sales thresholds, in-line with Official Charts Company data. This new approach aims to improve the integrity of the awards scheme, making it instantly more up-to-date and accurate across all formats. BPI members will, however, retain the option of notifying the trade body’s Rob Crutchley of their new release shipment deliveries, thus ensuring the scheme remains a flexible one that enables the success of titles to be recognised at the earliest possible opportunity if required. Also, Non-BPI members will now be able to participate in the Awards Scheme for the first time. As part of this ‘auto-updating’ process, which is based on data stretching back to 1994 when the Official Charts Company was established, sales certifications for a number of titles have been retrospectively updated: Included in the list of newly-certified albums are the likes of Ellie Goulding’s Halcyon, Rita Ora’s Rita Ora and Little Mix’s DNA – which are recognised for achieving over 300,000 sales to attain Platinum status, while Susan Boyle’s 2010 smash The Gift is acknowledged as going Double Platinum for its 600,000-plus sales. A number of albums, such as Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox and Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, have been given an updated category certification – moving from Gold (100,000 copies) to Double Platinum (600,000 copies) status. In relation to singles, releases that are certified for the first time include the world’s best-selling title of 2012 – Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, which has its Double Platinum status (1.2 million-plus sales) confirmed. Among the Music DVDs/Blu-rays being acknowledged with a certification is the record-breaking 2009 video release Take That Presents: The Circus Live, which is recognised for going x11 Platinum (550,000-plus sales). These changes form part of a wider and ongoing review of how artist achievements in sales should be acknowledged and celebrated going forward, and further announcements will made in due course. from musicweek.com

and not only do amazon.co.uk physical album sales count towards the UK charts but they have done for several years.

It's very legitimate Paul, and even better it allows you to download all physical music purchases* that you have made on your account since 1 January 1999. * purchases where amazon has an mp3 equivalent. I downloaded mp3s for almost 200 CD albums I'd purchased from amazon since December 2004 to my new laptop. It saved me having to copy them over from my (slowly dying) old laptop. Though I totally forgot I'd bought an Englebert Humperdinck album as a Christmas present in December 2006 for my mother - what an mp3 album to end up with on my new laptop! :o Posters at other boards have reported that autorip also includes CDs that were bought but where the purchase was subsequently cancelled prior to delivery - the mp3 equivalent is apparently available for download.

It sold 416,000 copies in 1996 and was the 28th best seller of the year. I don't know how much it has sold since then

They were featured on two editions of Top Of The Pops, the 15/06/78 edition where the song was the playout song over the credits and then on 29/06/78 when a video was played. Unfortunately the 15/06/78 edition was hosted by Jimmy Savile and the 29/06/78 edition was hosted by DLT...

There's a follow up article in Music Week today. RadioMonitor is to extend its tracking service from just the UK to pan-European RadioMonitor launches pan-European airplay service by Tim Ingham Monday 3 June 2013 RadioMonitor has announced the launch of a pan-European music airplay tracking service - less than a week after rival Nielsen confirmed the closure of its equivalent. Details are thin on the ground, but the firm said in a statement to Music Week this afternoon: 'Based on RadioMonitor's existing international airplay service, which has been tracking international releases for companies such as Universal Music Group since 2010, the new service will provide data and analysis tailored to a national level with a focus on both historic and newly-released local repertoire. 'Data will be available through the RadioMonitor website, via daily emailed reports or via a custom data feed.' The service will initially be launched in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland in addition to the existing local service in the UK. RadioMonitor will also be launching national and pan-European Airplay charts. The latest station lists are available at http://www.radiomonitor.com/station-list/ Nielsen confirmed the closure of its EU airplay service on Friday, after telling partners that it had reached the decision after ‘business analysis and careful consideration’. Its Nielsen SoundScan International and USA and Canada services will continue to operate. No other Nielsen service is affected by the announcement. from musicweek.com

I assume this will mean that the UK Radio Airplay Top 50 / 100 will end. I wonder if Music Week and UKChartsPlus will carry the Radio Monitor charts?

Nielsen to close UK and EU airplay charts by Tim Ingham Friday 31 May 2013 Nielsen is to close its UK and European airplay monitoring service on August 31, bringing to an end its widely-read weekly music TV and radio charts in the territories. Music Week understands that Nielsen has told its partners that it reached the decision after in-depth ‘business analysis and careful consideration’. The company has faced stiff competition in the UK from rival service RadioMonitor in recent years. Its Nielsen SoundScan International and USA and Canada services will continue to operate. No other Nielsen service is affected by the announcement. A spokesperson for the company confirmed: "After careful consideration, Nielsen will no longer offer airplay monitoring services to clients in Europe. "This will have no effect on digital download sales data (SoundScan International). Businesses in the USA and Canada will continue as usual. No other services are affected. Ensuring a seamless transition for our clients is our top priority and we will be working with them closely in the coming weeks.” from musicweek.com

It's a good song, I like it but I can only see it going lower top 10 as SevenSeize has already posted. It's a little bit too derivative to make it stand out enough to make it go top 5.

On a Sunday it used to be by 2pm, though as the daily midweek charts are ready by 8am it is now possibly sooner. The charts used to be ready at a later time on a Sunday so additional checks could be performed before the full weekly charts were made available to the industry who I believe still get them at about 2pm.

Sales wise 1979 had higher sales than 1984 though there were more million sellers in 1984 (5, 6 if you include 'Last Christmas' which passed a million sales after the New Year, 1985) than in 1979 (2, 3 if you include 'YMCA' which had its sales split between 1978 and 1979 and now 'Another Brick In The Wall' has sold over 1 million though it took downloads to take it over the million mark). The years 1996 to 1998 were also years of high sales with 15 of the 25 million sellers in the 1990s decade being released in those years.

The Cilla Black song was absolutely awful so I'm not surprised it never made the charts. In fact I can't even remember the song so presumably I only ever got to hear it the once when it was featured on Top Of The Pops in May 1978. One song that she did record in 1978 was more successful in that it helped sell more bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Does anyone remember this advert? JDY8IXhHZEU

There was a top 100 compiled back then (from February 1969 to May 1978) but it was for the music industry only. I'd love to get my hands on those charts! Similarly there has been a top 200 compiled since May 1978 but again it's impossible to get a hold of them before January 1983. And even then, the top 200 charts before 1994 are now virtually impossible to get since the BPI closed its library to the public a few years ago.

I can't think of a quick way to download them all in one go. I clicked each link and saved them all to my computer, it took me ages though.

Number 11 in a chart that was dogged by controversy after a large number of sales were omitted from counting towards the chart due to computer problems at Virgin and Our Price - Blur's manager said up to 40% of sales of 'Coffee + TV' were lost. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/393073.stm The chart was eventually re-run two weeks later but only on condition that all parties kept the outcome confidential. As a result we'll never know if Blur (and 'Secret Smile' by Semisonic, which is also mentioned in the article) made the top 10.

Stevie Wonder He made his chart debut in February 1966 and 16 years later he reached number 1 with 'Ebony And Ivory', a duet with Paul McCartney. This was his 35th chart entry. Three hits later he had his first, and so far only, solo number 1 with 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'

^ I can never remember how to embed youtube videos!

Bryan Adams - Run To You An excellent song and it spent 4 consecutive weeks at number 11 back in 1985.