Robbie

45 years ago this very week! The first of two occasions where a chart compilation error by then chart compilers BMRB led to the wrong record being placed at number 1 (the second was in November 1979) . Manuel (a.k.a musician Geoff Love) actually got to number 3 the following week. On the revised chart of 17 February 1976 he ended up relegated to number 4. The erroneous top 50 from that week has seldom been seen, I think the top 20 may have been published in one of the early editions of the Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles. Here is that incorrect top 50 with the revised chart positions in square brackets: 1 (8) Manuel & His Music Of The Mountains [4] 2 (23) Tina Charles [3] 3 (3) Four Seasons [1] 4 (1) Slik [2] 5 (21) Yvonne Fair [14] 6 (7) Walker Bros [11] 7 (25) Slade [18] 8 (41) CW McCall [7] 9 (6) R&J Stone [9] 10 (29) Pluto [10] 11 (17) Glenn Miller [13] 12 (2) Abba [5] 13 (19) The Who [15] 14 (10) David Ruffin [16] 15 (36) Status Quo [17] 16 (4) Miracles [8] 17 (11) Wing & A Prayer [19] 18 (30) O'Jays [20] 19 (27) Smokie [21] 20 (44) Stylistics [22] 21 (15) War [12] 22 (31) Manhatten Transfer [24] 23 (9) Barbara Dickson [25] 24 (32) Evelyn Thomas [26] 25 (33) LJ Johnson [27] 26 (11) ELO [28] 27 (28) Donny And Marie [29] 28 (20) Billy Howard [30] 29 (45) Cliff Richard [31] 30 (16) Queen [32] 31 (34) The Captain & Tennille [33] 32 (-) Billy Ocean [34] 33 (24) Mike Oldfield [36] 34 (22) Sailor [37] 35 (14) Small Faces [38] 36 (-) Fatback Band [39] 37 (50) St Andrew's Chorale [40] 38 (48) Amen Corner [41] 39 (37) George McCrae [-] 40 (42) Juggy Jones [42] 41 (18) Osibisa [43] 42 (5) Donna Summer [6] 43 (40) Faith Hope And Charity [44] 44 (-) Guys And Dolls [45] 45 (-) Be Bop Deluxe [46] 46 (47) Bob Dylan [47] 47 (-) Marmalade [48] 48 (46) Sound 9418 [49] 49 (43) Ethna Campbell [50] 50 (-) Randy Edleman [-] For anyone who wants to know the titles of the singles, here is the correct chart https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singl.../19760215/7501/ The second occasion an incorrect record was placed at number 1 was in November 1979 when 'When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman' by Dr Hook was announced as the new number 1 on 06/11/79 (chart dated 10/11/79) with 'One Day At A Time' by Lena Martell down to number 2. Lena's record label, Pye Records, somehow noticed a discrepancy in the figures and registered a complaint. BMRB realised some of her sales had been added to Dr Hook's sales and the top 2 sales were recalculated with Lena being placed back at number 1 the following day. On this occasion Dr Hook did get to number 1 the following Tuesday.

Polyhex and Everyhit don't replicate the weekly chart listings which is what the OCC seem to have found contentious about chartstats. It's not so much a loophole (as mentioned about polyhex) but more to do with how the information is presented. I had thought that the OCC had purchased the chart database from the owner of chartstats and had used this as the source for their own pre-February 1994 data in the OCC Chart Archive database. Reading kingofskiffle's comments in a post he made earlier in this thread I'm now not so sure. The original source material is probably the same though, Record Mirror and Music Week for the pre February 1994 charts. The owner of everyhit.com did intend to update his website a few years ago but has seemingly changed his mind. Replying to an email a poster from ukmix sent him a few years ago he did say he was too busy at present to update the site but his long term plan was to do so. It looks like it's not going to happen any time soon, if ever.

The Charts All Over The World page at your link was a good resource 10 or 15 years ago but it's long since been out of date, containing links to websites that closed many years ago. One of the sites linked to, worldcharts.co.uk, was also a good chart site. That site has also closed and in mysterious circumstances! The site owner was Paul Hart, he used to post at both here and UKMix plus Dotmusic back in the day, under the poster names Charter, Euromusic and poppet15 http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showuser=285 . He had ran the website since 2002, updating it weekly, then without any notice stopped updating it in November 2016. The registration for the site expired in May 2017 and as it wasn't renewed the site went offline. He also stopped posting at both BuzzJack and UKMix around the end of 2016 which makes me think something must have happened to him. He last visted BuzzJack (at least while logged in) on the day he last updated his website. https://web.archive.org/web/20161207212752/...co.uk/index.htm

^ top 3 sales 27/04/02 1. The Hindu Times - Oasis 116k 2. Girlfriend - 'N-Sync & Nelly 53k 3. There Goes The Fear - Doves 41k

It was very close all week. These two BBC articles from the time have day 1 (Monday) sales as True Steppers: 51,675 and Spiller: 49,379 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/881810.stm with the lead being just 500 on the Friday midweeks http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/886316.stm and of course the final outcome http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/888516.stm

I voted for 'Moves Like Jagger' too. The week the chart day moved from a Sunday to a Friday didn't just have the chart sales week curtailed to 5 days for that week, the chart was also compiled without any streaming data from Spotify. As Years & Years were ahead on what streaming data there was in the chart (David Zowie 1,706 streams, Years & Years 2,238) it's not inconceivable that they may have been able to make up the overall sales gap of 912 had Spotify data been included.

This was the week in 1991 when singles sales fell by a massive 23% due to the arctic conditions that had hit the UK. I remember the whole country being blanketed in snow and temperatures being below freezing for the first two weeks of the month. It was also when British Rail blamed the trains not being able to run on "the wrong type of snow" falling on the tracks.

Their 'Greatest Hits' album has sold 1.4m. (edit: I've just noticed it's mentioned in the article).

^ It's not possible to buy Music Week these days as it's no longer published! Well, the weekly edition is no longer published, a monthly edition is supposed to be going to be published starting from this month but no details have yet been announced (edit: I'm not sure if AcerBen is referring to Music Week or ChartsPlus).

Interesting that the charts are limited to the top 75 and not the full top 100 that is published each week on the OCC website.

From the OCC: The Official Charts and Hits: 2020 book released Official Charts Company launches its first chart review of the year, covering 2020. The Official Charts Company is extending its data book publishing ventures with the launch of its first chart review of the year, covering 2020. The new book, The Official Charts & Hits: 2020, is available from this week and includes every Official Singles Chart and Official Albums Chart Top 75, plus Top 20 Official Compilations Chart of 2020. In addition, the book features a digest of all of the artists who reached the charts during the year, including brief biographical information, plus details of awards and honours. https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/t...eleased__32345/

By 2005 I had long given up on Top Of The Pops but I did manage to catch the episode which featured 'Wires' by Athlete. It must have been the first time I'd seen the programme for quite a while and I don't think I watched it much more after that either. Looking at the line-up there were only 4 charting records featured on the show (list taken from Popscene website) 28-1-2005: Presenters: Fearne Cotton & Reggie Yates (Live) (5) STONEBRIDGE feat. THERESE – Take Me Away (NEW) DOVES – Black And White Town (3) THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS – Galvanize (video) (and charts) (NEW) GIRLS ALOUD – Wake Me Up (4) ATHLETE – Wires (NEW) JENNIFER LOPEZ – Get Right (from New York) (1) CIARA feat PETEY PABLO – Goodies

Nice to see a bit of consistency from the OCC. The sales figure Liam quoted is taken from the OCC's own sales database yet it is 700k less than the sales figure in the article (which is from April 2020). It must be a typo or the OCC have their sales figures all mixed up.

An interesting little factoid: when riots broke out in London in August 2011, the Sony DADC distribution centre in Enfield was set on fire and completely destroyed. Among the many CDs that were destroyed were 500,000 copies of '21'. Those 500,000 albums were certified by the BPI as having been shipped (there was no automatic certification scheme at the time, the label had to apply for an award). When those copies were replaced by new stock the label were unable to claim an additional certification award on the grounds that the albums would technically have been shipped twice.

Although the Bee Gees started to record the track in early 1977 they never got around to finish recording it until September 1977, just in time for the deadline for the completion of the 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack. By then Tavares had recorded the track and it had been agreed that their version would be released as a single.

Same here.

'Nights On Broadway' almost made the top 50 (the chart size at the time) in November 1975 with the record peaking at number 5 on the Breakers Chart which was the next 10 records below the top 50 which had previously not charted (it would be good to see these charts in the OCC archive). Its chart run on the Breakers Chart was 5-9-7-7.

Music Week have the label as Atlantic while UKChartsPlus have listed Hitco as the label.

I'm not sure if there will be an Airplay year end chart in Music Week as the weekly magazine has now ceased publication. In its place will be a monthly "deluxe" version but the first issue isn't published until next month. The musicweek.com website is still being updated so perhaps the year end chart will appear on the website.

Published this morning on musicweek.com A message from Music Week New year, new Music Week. For more than six decades, Music Week has attracted the biggest artists and executives and provided the most trusted, agenda-setting coverage of the music business world. Last year our pages were filled with coverage of all sectors of the music industry adapting to the unprecedented challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021 the time has come for Music Week to establish our own new normal. As 2020 came to a close, the UK music industry lost some of its most respected music titles from news-stands. The tough economics of the marketplace during the pandemic – including reduced footfall in shops and a substantial hit in advertising revenue – affected us as it did so many others, making the cost of production of a weekly print title unsustainable. This, coupled with our having to pause our award-winning live events, has meant that the old ways of delivering our market leading coverage must now evolve. Crucially, however, while Covid-19 has hastened this decision, changes in both reading habits and expectations in the digital age mean that our brand was always going to have to reimagine itself in a new iteration. The recurring key message of the music industry in recent years has been that embracing change is essential for survival in a world of ever-shifting consumption habits – it is no different for us at Music Week. So it is that this year we are delighted to announce an all-new incarnation of Music Week. A NEW MONTHLY PRINT EDITION We are hugely excited to reveal that, starting this February, our print offering will now be brought to life in a deluxe 100-page monthly edition of Music Week magazine, comprising all the exclusive, forward-looking interviews with the biggest names in the business you are used to from our weekly format, bolstered with all-new and enhanced sections. Our presentation of the OCC charts will still be delivered weekly online via our digital chart pack and our new print edition will instead focus on presenting charts and analysis offering an overview of the preceding month in music. This ensures that Music Week gives you even greater perspective on the charts than ever before. ENHANCED ONLINE OFFERING Our change in print frequency will be coupled with an enhanced online offering for subscribers. In addition to our daily news updates, exclusive interviews and newsletters we will offer a weekly digital chart pack – containing all the main OCC charts and our own insightful analysis. Plus, starting in February we will be creating new weekly digital cover-features where you can expect to read interviews with the biggest movers and shakers in music. And there’s more in store… a brand new incarnation of Music Week’s website will launch later this year. Full details of the various subscription packages will be coming very soon. EVENTS Our acclaimed live events will continue and grow, either in person or virtually, with the Music Week Awards, Tech Summit and Women In Music ceremonies all in the works for 2021. You’ll see more webinars like our hugely successful The Art of Video Game Music too. While it will be business as usual online in January as we continue to deliver you exclusive news stories, analysis and coverage on a daily basis, all existing print subscriptions will be paused for the duration of one month while Music Week undertakes the necessary preparation to deliver its new digital and print offerings in February as outlined above. Alongside these developments is a change in our staff line-up. We say a huge thank you to our brilliant departing editor Mark Sutherland, who leaves us after leading Music Week for the last five years, and to our terrific senior staff writer James Hanley. Mark and James have made a tremendous contribution to the growth of Music Week and we wish them the very best. This is just the start of our evolution – we will be revealing more exciting developments over the coming months. At Music Week we have always believed that our voice is your voice. With the support of the industry we have served for over 60 years, we look forward to shining the spotlight ever brighter on the incredible stories and innovations driving the most exciting industry in the world.

Music Week also published a similar article and also included the current top 10 best selling cassette albums of 2020: 1. Lady Gaga – Chromatica 2. 5 Seconds Of Summer – Calm 3. Yungblud – Weird! 4. The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form 5. Blackpink – The Album 6. Selena Gomez – Rare 7. Kylie Minogue – Disco 8. Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia 9. Haim – Women In Music Pt III 10. The Streets – None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive

'Moving To New York' by The Wombats references Christmas but didn't enter the charts until January 2008... Edit: though of course the song isn't about Christmas. I've just read the title of the thread!

Plus 'Jet' and 'Listen To What The Man Said'. To me his peak period was 1974-1976 when all 5 of those tracks were released as singles and all made the top 10.

Wasn't 'Break My Stride' also used in a TV advert or was that before 2020? I just have a vague memory of hearing it during the advert break during the football on presumably Sky Sports.

Probably LadBaby on sales of about 70,000. I would like Mariah to be number 1 though. Wham! to be number 2 as I would like 'Last Christmas' to remain the biggest selling single to not reach number 1.