On November 14, the Official Singles Chart will be clocking up another No.1 when it celebrates its 70th birthday. It has seen artists like Elvis and the Beatles hold record positions.
The chart, which began in 1952, was the brainchild of Percy Dickins, who co-founded the NME that same year.
He could never have predicted that his chart of weekly record sales would still be going strong, 70 years later.
But what started as a snapshot of the favourite sounds of the time has changed dramatically over the years.
While the chart was first published in the NME, the launch of Top of the Pops on BBC1 in 1964 and Radio 1 in 1967 saw popular music consumed in new ways.
Then, the digital age and streaming launched another muscial bonanza.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, says: “There’s more access to more music in different ways than there’s ever been.
“In the past, you’d hear a record you liked on the radio, then you’d go into your local record shop, ask if they had it and if they didn’t, you’d order it.
“The level of consumption we see now in a streaming environment is off the scale – and continues to grow.”
Martin says that today, the average No.1 single is streamed 7.4 million times in a week. To make the Top 10, you have to achieve around 2.9 million streams.
But Martin recalls: “Some of the biggest years for single sales were in 1978 and 1979. Then, there were 78 million singles sold in the UK, partly because of the growth of punk and disco coming together and because it was just a massive time for music.
“Then came the digital era. In 2012, 180 million singles were sold in the UK.
“We saw a doubling in the size of the singles market with the advent of downloading and that made accessing and buying music so easy. The digital revolution meant people could listen 24/7.”
But many older pop fans remember huddling around the radio to listen to the singles chart being counted down and long for the nostalgia of the past.
Martin says: “In the early 70s, people would say, buy a Slade record and then the following week, they’d see them on Top of the Pops if it went into the chart.
“The power of the charts and their social significance at this time can’t be underestimated.”
But while Top of the Pops ended in 2006 and the music lovers of today listen to the hits in many different ways, the Official Singles Chart – which is still broadcast on Radio 1 – lives on.
And the annual race for the Christmas No.1 is still just as exciting as it has always been.
Martin believes the singles chart will always be relevant.
He says: “Everyone involved in the creation of music is incredibly competitive. They want to be the biggest and the best. What better way to reflect that then through a weekly race?”
Here, we look at some of the No.1 highlights of the Official Singles Chart…
Five children who made it to No.1
1. Long Haired Lover From Liverpool by Jimmy Osmond was at No.1 for nine weeks in 1972.
2. You Don’t Know by Helen Shapiro was No.1 for 14 weeks in 1961.
3. Because We Want To by Billie Piper was at No.1 for 15 weeks in 1998 and made her the youngest act to debut at No.1 at the age of 15.
4. Royals by Lorde was at No.1 for 16 weeks in 2013.
5. Teletubbies Say Eh Oh! with Jessica Smith (uncredited) was at No.1 for 2 weeks in 1997. Jessica was just seven months old when her uncredited vocals in the form of her laugh were heard at the start of the hit song.
Longest running No.1 movie songs
1. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves spent 16 weeks at No.1 in 1991. Kevin Costner played the lead role.
2. Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet from Four Weddings and a Funeral spent 15 weeks at No.1 in 1994. It starred Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.
3. I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston fron The Bodyguard spent 10 weeks at No.1 in 1992.
4. You’re The One That I Want by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John from Grease spent nine weeks at No.1 in 1978.
5. Secret Love by Doris Day from Calamity Jane spent nine weeks at No.1 in 1954.
Five of the top novelty No.1s
1. Axel F by Crazy Frog was No.1 for four weeks in 2005.
2. Ernie The Fastest Milkman in the West by Benny Hill
was No.1 for four weeks in 1971 and 1972.
3. The Chicken Song by Spitting Image was at No.1 for three weeks in 1986.
4. Mr Blobby by Mr Blobby was at No. 1 for three weeks back in 1993.
5. Can We Fix It? by Bob the Builder was No.1 for three weeks in 2000 to 2001.
The longest running ever No.1s
1. I Believe by Frankie Laine spent 18 weeks at No.1 in 1953.
2. Everything I Do (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams spent 16
weeks at No.1 in 1991.
3. Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet spent a total of 15 weeks at No.1 in 1994.
4. One Dance by Drake spent 15 weeks at No.1 in 2016.
5. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen spent 14 weeks at No.1 in both 1975-76 and 1991.
Bands with the most No.1s
1. The Beatles 17
2. Westlife 14
3. Take That 12
4. ABBA 9
5. Spice Girls 9
Solo artists with the most No.1s
1. Elvis Presley 21
2. Cliff Richard 14
3. Madonna 13
4. Ed Sheeran 13
5. Elton John 10
