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| The UK charts are the most exciting in the
world |
The UK charts are the most exciting in the world
Have you
ever heard of Al Martino? Not many people know his name nowadays but back in
1952 he made history by becoming the first recording artist to
have a number one record with his song ‘Here In My Heart’.
For more than fifty years sales of
singles have been measured on a weekly basis and
ranked in a chart. The week’s best-selling
single takes the number one position for that week.
So who has had the most number ones? For 25 years The Beatles
and Elvis Presley matched each other with 18 number one records apiece. However,
in 2005 Elvis earned a posthumous number one when his 1957
hit ‘Jailhouse Rock was re-released . Since
then two more Elvis singles have gone to the top of the charts bringing his
total to 21 number ones!
Over the years many artists have enjoyed incredible success in
the charts. Bryan Adams held the number one position for 16 weeks in 1991 with
the ballad ‘Everything I Do I Do It For You’ whilst Elton
John’s tribute to Princess Diana, ‘Candle In The Wind 97’, sold 4.86 million
copies in the UK.
However, there are concerns over the future of the music
industry as sales have fallen in recent years. This was illustrated in 2004 when
Eric Prydz had a number one record despite having sold less than 24,000 copies.
One reason for the fall in CD sales could be the increase in
music downloads. Many computer users illegally download MP3
files through peer-to-peer , file-sharing networks.
The music industry has responded to this new threat by offering
the possibility to buy downloads from approved web sites. These digital
downloads were integrated into the UK chart for the first time
in April 2005. Ironically, the first number one of the digital age was a
reissue of Tony Christie’s ‘Amarillo’, a song first released in
1971.
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