160-759: Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as The Hit Factory ) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock , Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman . The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through to the early-1990s. SAW is considered one of the most successful songwriting and producing partnerships of all time by the Guinness World Records , scoring more than 100 UK Top 40 hits (many of which were also worldwide successes) and earning an estimated £60 million in royalties. The trio had thirteen UK No. 1 singles including three consecutive UK No. 1's and three US No. 1 singles. They also had at least one record in
320-469: A "Next 25" in addition to the Top 75), with the full Top 200 being available to people within the industry. Gallup also began the introduction of computerised compilers, automating the data-collection process. Later in the year, the rules about the kind of free gifts that could come with singles were tightened, as the chart compilers came to the conclusion that a lot of consumers were buying certain releases for
480-486: A CD single. On 1 July 1998, BARD and BPI took over management of the chart from CIN (a Miller Freeman and BPI venture) with new company Music Industry Chart Services (Mics); in August they decided to return to compiling the charts under the name CIN. In the late 1990s, the singles chart became more "frontloaded", with many releases peaking in the first couple of weeks on chart. This helped Irish girl group B*Witched become
640-623: A Christmas release. Donovan returned to the studio to record the song " Too Many Broken Hearts ", which went to No. 1 in March 1989. His debut album Ten Good Reasons also held to the top spot for three weeks, selling 1.5 million copies. Donovan went on to have numerous successful singles with SAW, including the No. 1 hit " Sealed with a Kiss ", " Every Day (I Love You More) " (No. 2), and the Christmas No. 2 record " When You Come Back to Me ", kept off
800-402: A Rumour " (UK No. 14). The act were one of only a few who were given co-writing credits with the producers, with Stock describing the creative relationship as challenging; explaining he was obliged to collaborate with them due to a deal with their management. "It's very difficult to be creative if someone's just going to mock you, or laugh at you," he said. "With Bananarama it was just awkward, all
960-552: A Thing ", " Tears on My Pillow ", " Better the Devil You Know " and " Shocked ", among many others. Soon after, Jason Donovan 's first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us", became a top-five hit. Donovan's next single, " Especially for You ", a duet with Kylie Minogue, went to number 1 in January 1989. A duet had not initially been planned by SAW until retailer Woolworth's had taken huge orders for hundreds of thousands before
1120-558: A Top 20 in October 1955 and NME ' s becoming a Top 30 in April 1956. Another rival publication, Melody Maker , began compiling its own chart; it telephoned 19 stores to produce a Top 20 for 7 April 1956. It was also the first chart to include Northern Ireland in its sample. Record Mirror began running a Top 5 album chart in July 1956; from November 1958 onward Melody Maker printed
1280-619: A Top 200. Hit Music ceased publication in May 2001 with issue number 439. In February 1997, CIN and BARD agreed to a new 18-month deal for the charts. In 1998 the CSC agreed to new rules reducing the number of tracks on a single from four to three, playing time from 25 minutes to 20 and the compact disc single minimum dealer price to £1.79. This particularly affected the dance music industry which had previously released CDs full of remixes, with some labels editing or fading out remixes early to fit them on
1440-464: A Top 5 hit in both England and Australia. Donovan's next single, " Especially for You ", a duet with Kylie Minogue, went to No. 1 in January 1989. A duet had not initially been planned by SAW until retailer Woolworth's had taken huge orders for hundreds of thousands before the song had even been written. Stock wrote " Especially for You ", sang the demo with a SAW backing singer and Aitken flew to Australia to record Minogue and Donovan's vocals in time for
1600-410: A Top-40 show in 1978. Bates was succeeded by Tony Blackburn , who presented the show for two-and-a-half years; Tommy Vance , who presented for two years, Bates returned in January 1984 and presented the show until September that year, then Richard Skinner for eighteen months. Bruno Brookes took over in 1986 and, in October 1987, automated data collection allowed the countdown to be announced on
1760-654: A brand new multimillion-pound recording studio in London . The first record released with 'Love This Records' was a dance cover of the track " Total Eclipse of the Heart ". It was a worldwide hit for Nicki French , reaching No. 2 in America and No. 1 in seven countries selling over 2 million copies. In 1994 Simon Cowell asked Stock to produce the record for the popular kid's TV show ' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ' which
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#17327802039801920-798: A budding songwriter, although no one had suggested a full-time career in the music world was a possibility. In 1970 Stock earned a placement at the University of Hull to study Drama and Theology and formed a band with a fellow student, the future film director, Anthony Minghella . Whilst at Hull, Stock met his wife Bobbie and left university when she graduated to concentrate his efforts in making it in music. In 1975 they married and soon after, sold their house in Bury, Lancashire to move back south Stock played his first paid, solo gig at Aveley Working Men's Club in Essex in 1976, earning twenty five pounds. By
2080-568: A cartoon character called The Retrobot, which was an 80's robot who was fed up with modern culture. That Christmas, the character released a song called "Christmas Robot" which went viral, but did not compete for the Christmas chart. The Retrobot did parody covers, a Radio 1 Live Lounge version of "Christmas Robot", and, a short time afterwards, a short lived comedy news channel. In 2014, Stock worked with Shayne Ward on his comeback album Closer . Stock co-wrote and produced all 14 tracks on
2240-484: A fertile collaboration with legendary hitmaker Mike Stock". Commenting on the songs, it said that "All We Ever Can Do" and "Boomerang" illustrate the group's "extraordinary resilience", while "The World We Left Behind" sees them "laying to rest a few old ghosts". UK Singles Chart The UK singles chart (currently titled the Official Singles Chart , with the upper section more commonly known as
2400-460: A follow-up single " Got to Be Certain ", which reached No. 2 in the UK charts. When her debut album Kylie was released in August 1988 it sold 2.8 million copies and she spent more weeks on the singles chart than any other artist. Minogue went on to record three more studio albums with SAW, scoring 15 successive top 10 hits including " Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi ", " Hand on Your Heart ", " Wouldn't Change
2560-461: A follow-up single, Minogue was not keen on returning to England to work with SAW again after the rushed treatment she had received. Stock flew to Australia to meet Minogue and her parents at her Melbourne home to apologise and successfully convinced her to record a follow-up single " Got to Be Certain ", which reached No. 2 on the UK charts. When her debut album Kylie was released in August 1988 it sold 2.8 million copies. Minogue spent more weeks on
2720-588: A group. On 21 March 2023, it was announced that a musical entitled I Should Be So Lucky , making use of SAW songs, would premiere at the Manchester Opera House before embarking on a UK tour. The musical is written and directed by the creator of the Nativity! franchise, Debbie Isitt , and choreographed by Jason Gilkison , the creative director of Strictly Come Dancing . Mike Stock (musician) Michael Stock (born 3 December 1951)
2880-521: A lead artist eligible for entry in the top 100 would be limited to three. The streams-to-sales ratio for tracks whose sales (including streams) have declined for three consecutive weeks and have charted for at least ten weeks is changed to 300:1 to accelerate removal of older songs. The BBC aired Pick of the Pops on its Light Programme radio station on 4 October 1955. Initially airing popular songs, it developed an aggregated chart in March 1958. Using
3040-438: A lead artist eligible for entry limited to three. Also the idea of Standard Chart Ratios (SCR) and Accelerated Chart Ratios (ACR) were introduced, with ACR halving streaming points for records that have been in the charts for a while (which includes most catalogue tracks, excepting certain cases), the effect being that a number of hits have plummeted out of the top ten with drops of around 20 places one week only to level off again
3200-492: A minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, with digital downloads being incorporated in 2005 and streaming in July 2014. The OCC website contains the Top 100 chart. Some media outlets only list the Top 40 (such as the BBC, with their Radio 1 show following the lead of Casey Kasem 's American Top 40 in the 1970s) or the Top 75 (such as Music Week magazine, with all records in
3360-457: A mixture of hi-NRG -influenced sound, romantic Motown lyrics and Italo disco melodies with singles from Rick Astley , Bananarama , Mel and Kim , Donna Summer , Sinitta , Dead or Alive , Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue . During 1984–1989, their musical style was labelled Eurobeat . They also put swing shuffle elements into their songs. The producers' legacy has been increasingly positively reassessed, with contemporary analysts praising
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#17327802039803520-492: A more mainstream synthpop , typically performed by attractive singers. Their usual method for creating the music was to write the songs themselves, although some of their early artists wrote or co-wrote their own material. Next they would record the music with extensive use of synthesizers, drum machines (drums were often credited to "A Linn", a reference to the Linn brand of drum machine ) and sequencers ; and then finally bring in
3680-519: A number of his records' sales had been disqualified from the UK singles chart with Love This Records having been seen as a company involved in chart hyping/chart rigging by the BPI (in regards to the Top 40 hit "Santa Maria" by Tatjana Šimić ). In 1998 Stock and Aitken teamed up with Steve Crosby who had created the group Steps , to form the band Scooch . Their first single "When My Baby" reached No. 29 and their follow up, " More Than I Needed to Know ",
3840-485: A poll commissioned to celebrate this Christmas Number 1 race. LadBaby secured their fifth Christmas No.1 in a row on 23 December 2022 with " Food Aid ", officially surpassing the Beatles when it came to overall Christmas Number 1s. On 7 January 2022, after it had returned to number one for an additional week, "Merry Christmas" became the first record with SCR streaming status (Standard Chart Ratio) to completely drop out of
4000-467: A recording desk and tape machine and formed his first record label. During the break of one of Mirage's sets on New Year's Eve 1983, Stock informed the band he would be leaving and was going into the studio to pursue his career as a songwriter and producer. Aitken agreed to join him and from January 1984 onwards the pair worked exclusively in recording studios. Stock had briefly worked with Pete Waterman in 1980 when John Milton, Mark Stock and Mike wrote
4160-657: A regional tour of theatres across the UK finishing at the Garrick Theatre , London in October. In summer 2012 The Go!Go!Go! Show debuted a new live show at the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square . It marked the first time in over 50 years that the famous venue has hosted live entertainment. Later that year The Go!Go!Go! Show was commissioned by Nickelodeon for television. It will air on UK channel Nick Jr from April 2013. In 2013, Stock worked on
4320-508: A row with " Sausage Rolls for Everyone ", a comedy version of the preceding number one " Merry Christmas " by Ed Sheeran and Elton John (as they were credited by the OCC on the LadBaby version, Sheeran and John happened to be in positions 1 and 2, with these singles acquiring sales of 226,953 between 17 and 23 December 2021). It was the fourth time since 1952 that the number one had been replaced at
4480-434: A rule introduced in 2017 to push down a number of long-running 'recent' hits but applied to all catalogue recordings over three years old, saw all totals for Bush's streaming data halved, so that she got one sale for every 200 plays from her 7,470,792 premium audio stream total and one sale from every 1,200 plays of her 1,029,666 ad-funded audio stream total. Added to premium video streams and digital downloads she ended up with
4640-507: A sample of 250 stores to provide a consistency with the charts of the early 1980s). In January 1991, the CIN became a joint venture between Link House Magazines (formerly Spotlight Publications, later Miller Freeman, Inc. ) and the BPI; they shared the revenue and costs (reportedly between £750,000 and £1 million). During this time, other retailers (such as Woolworths and John Menzies ) began submitting data using EPoS terminals. In late 1991,
4800-474: A second newsletter was created: Hit Music , a sister publication of Music Week featuring (among other charts) the singles Top 75 and a revived "Next 25". In November 1994, Charts Plus ceased publication; Hit Music expanded its chart coverage to an uncompressed (without special rules) Top 200 Singles, Top 150 Artists Albums and Top 50 Compilations. In November 1996, the Artist Albums chart extended to
4960-629: A singer solely to record the vocal track. Pete Burns would criticise SAW for their methods, describing that "they took our sound and just basically wheeled it off with a load of other imbeciles, and that makes me a bit sour." SAW's early work was recorded and mixed at Marquee Studios in Wardour Street , where Phil Harding and Rob Waldron worked with them on Youthquake . Waldron went to work as an assistant engineer to Harding when Waterman opened his new studio in Borough, London . Waldron became
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5120-505: A single vinyl 7 inch EP and all singles needing to be under 20 minutes in length, as releases longer than 20 minutes would be classed as an album (with most longer EPs falling into the budget albums category). In July 1987, Gallup signed a new agreement with the BPI, increasing the sample size to approximately 500 stores and introducing barcode scanners to read data. The chart was based entirely on sales of vinyl single records from retail outlets and announced on Tuesday until October 1987, when
5280-554: A song for Divine and they recorded " You Think You're a Man " at the Marquee Studio, which was released by Proto Records in July 1984 reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart . Soon after, the team recorded Hazell Dean 's " Whatever I Do, (Wherever I Go) ". The song became Stock Aitken Waterman 's first top 10 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK. In September 1984 they were approached by Dead or Alive to produce
5440-410: A song – "One Nine for a Lady Breaker" – for a CB radio club. A version of the track found its way to Pete Waterman who managed Peter Collins , then a successful producer with acts like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw . The track was re-recorded and produced by Collins; Stock sang on the track under the alias Chris Britton. In January 1984 Stock and Aitken arranged to meet Waterman at his office in
5600-559: A year cost". From 1 July 1990, the Chart Information Network (CIN) was formed by Spotlight Publications (publisher of Music Week ), in cooperation with the BBC and the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD) – representing retailers, including WHSmith, Woolworths , HMV and Virgin – who agreed to exclusively supply sales data to the CIN. A Chart Supervisory Committee (CSC) represented
5760-457: Is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman . He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 Number One's and is recognised as one of the most successful songwriters of all time by the Guinness World Records . As part of Stock Aitken Waterman in the 1980s and 90s, he holds the UK record of 11 number one records with different acts. In
5920-498: Is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the OCC as either a "single bundle" having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with
6080-805: The Pick of the Pops chart. The Official Charts Company and their various Hit Singles books (whether published by Guinness/HiT Entertainment or Virgin), use as sources for the unofficial period, the NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer until 1969. Until 1969 the Record Retailer chart was mainly seen by people working in the industry. The most widely circulated chart was the NME one, as used by Radio Luxembourg 's Sunday night Top 20 show, as well as by ABC TV's Thank Your Lucky Stars , which had an audience of up to six million on ITV . Before 1969 there
6240-615: The Fast Food Rockers including the top 10 "Smile Please". In 2005 Stock briefly teamed up with Pete Waterman to write and produce a single for The Sheilas , a novelty group created by the Sheilas' Wheels car insurance brand and again in 2010, collaborating on the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest , " That Sounds Good To Me ". Most recently Stock formed the company 'The Show 4 Kids'. Stock created
6400-595: The High Street . It also complained that including singles not available physically would confuse customers and create gaps in stores' sale racks. It agreed to the new rules provided that digital sales were only included to a single's sales tally if there was a physical equivalent sold in shops at the time. Since there was no rule governing a minimum number of pressings, Gorillaz released only 300 vinyl copies of their single " Feel Good Inc. " on 12 April 2005 (a month before its general release). This allowed it to debut in
6560-464: The Jubilee Line extension , and the damage forced Stock to pursue legal action against London Underground . As a result, Stock was forced to pull out of a joint deal with Cowell and BMG to produce several artists including the band Westlife in 1996. In 1997, Stock produced a version of "You Can Do Magic" (the biggest of three hit singles Limmie & Family Cookin' had in the UK charts in
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6720-429: The NME , Melody Maker , Disc and Record Mirror charts, the BBC averaged them by totalling points gained on the four charts (one point for a number one, two for a number two, etc.) to give a chart average; this method was prone to tied positions. Record Retailer was included in the average on 31 March 1962, after Record Mirror ceased compiling its chart. David Jacobs and Alan Freeman both had stints presenting
6880-467: The Pick of the Pops chart. Freeman took Pick of the Pops to its regular Sunday afternoon slot in early 1962. Freeman (along with Pete Murray , David Jacobs and Jimmy Savile ) was one of the four original presenters on Top of the Pops , which first aired 1 January 1964 on BBC One (then known as BBC TV). Top of the Pops , like Pick of the Pops , used a combination of predominant periodicals until
7040-697: The Stiff Records building, Camden Town . Waterman was seeking a new partnership and in February 1984 they went into the Marquee Studio in Wardour Street Soho to record the song "The Upstroke" for 'Agents Aren't Aeroplanes'- a front for their concept of a female Frankie Goes To Hollywood . The record was released on Proto Records run by Barry Evangeli and Nick East and distributed by RCA . "The Upstroke" achieved popularity in
7200-528: The UK Singles Chart he has written 54 top-ten hits including 7 number ones. Stock was born in Margate , Kent, England in 1951 and grew up in Swanley, Kent. He attended White Oak primary school and Swanley comprehensive school. At Swanley school he was involved in several school variety productions. He was self-taught in playing the piano and guitar and began writing songs at the age of seven. Inspired by
7360-556: The United Kingdom since 1979, reaching No. 3, and becoming Summer's final Top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 . In January 1990, SAW had their last UK No. 1 single, Minogue's cover of " Tears on My Pillow ". SAW also produced Cliff Richard 's No. 3 single " I Just Don't Have the Heart " and gave 18-year-old singer Sonia a debut No. 1 with " You'll Never Stop Me Loving You ". Despite continued success in
7520-712: The Wayne Rooney Foundation supporting NSPCC and ChildLine. The music video "For Me" premiered on Rose's VEVO channel on 15 August. In 2017 Stock worked with The Fizz (formerly Bucks Fizz). Stock co-wrote and produced the album The F-Z of Pop - the group's first studio album in over 33 years. It was released in September 2017 and charted at #25 in the UK charts and #6 in the UK independent Charts. Stock has subsequently produced two further albums with The Fizz including Christmas With The Fizz in 2018 and Smoke & Mirrors in 2020. On 6 March 2020
7680-462: The interim order was rejected. In June 1995 the case was dropped, after the clause allowing BARD retailers to supply sales information to other chart compilers was deleted; because CIN retained the copyright, other compilers could not use (or sell) the information. On 2 April 1995, the number of eligible formats was reduced from four to three. The decision came after nine months of negotiations with BARD, which objected that it would adversely affect
7840-491: The "first significant download retailer". Legal downloading was initially small, with MyCokeMusic selling over 100,000 downloads during its first three months. In June the iTunes Store was launched in the UK, and more than 450,000 songs were downloaded during the first week. In early September the UK Official Download Chart was launched, and a new live recording of Westlife 's " Flying Without Wings "
8000-518: The 1970s with " This Time I Know It's for Real " and Cliff Richard 's No. 3 " I Just Don't Have the Heart ". SAW also gave 18-year-old singer Sonia a debut No. 1 with " You'll Never Stop Me Loving You ". Stock became the first person to receive the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year three times in a row between 1988 and 1990. In 1990 SAW picked up three "Ivors": for Songwriter of
8160-421: The 1970s) under the name The Mojams, for an investigation on ITV programme The Cook Report into chart rigging. Fronted by Edwina Currie's daughter Debbie (then a trainee journalist for the production company Central Television), the single, credited to The Mojams featuring Debbie Currie, was released by Gotham Records and peaked at number 86 in the UK singles chart. Stock got involved in the investigation after
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#17327802039808320-487: The 1982 chart record set by Captain Sensible's "Happy Talk" for biggest Top 40 jump to number one, when "So What" vaulted from 38 to 1 (a statistic which was matched in 2022 by Adele). The first number-one song never released physically was " Run " by Leona Lewis , the 11th song in total to reach number one on downloads alone. Unlike the previous 10, it did not receive a physical release in subsequent weeks (although it
8480-522: The BBC compiled its own chart based on an average of the music papers of the time; many songs announced as having reached number one on BBC Radio and Top of the Pops before 1969 are not listed as chart-toppers according to the legacy criteria of the Charts Company. The first number one on the UK singles chart was " Here in My Heart " by Al Martino for the week ending 14 November 1952. As of
8640-421: The BBC, CIN and retailers. The BPI were reluctant to join and "consider[ed] the option of launching a rival chart" but in September, an agreement was reached, and it joined the CSC. For this period, the chart was produced by Gallup and owned by CIN and Music Week (who later sold it to the BBC and BPI), with around 900 shops providing the data from point of sale machines (though the data was distilled back down to
8800-671: The BMRB singles chart was expanded from a Top 50 to a Top 75, while abolishing the system where some falling records were excluded from the 41-50 section, as well as abandoning the additional list of 10 "Breakers". Earlier that year, the Daily Mirror and the BBC's Nationwide television programme both investigated chart hyping, where record company representatives allegedly purchased records from chart return shops. A World in Action documentary exposé in 1980 also revealed corruption within
8960-412: The Beatles , he soon became fixated with pop music and put together his first band at age 13, playing bass guitar and singing. Fascinated by the popular songwriting styles of Rodgers and Hammerstein , and writers such as Irving Berlin and the energy and freshness of the Beatles, he established a deep love of pop music. Stock signed a publishing contract when he was nineteen after earning a reputation as
9120-510: The Beatles , who had four Christmas number ones over five years between 1963 - 1967, with the Liverpudlian group missing out in 1966 (The Spice Girls also had three consecutively in the 1990s). " Sausage Rolls for Everyone " was also credited as the 70th Official Christmas Number 1 by the OCC, who had also announced that "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine had been named as the 'UK's Favourite Christmas Number 1 of All Time' in
9280-605: The Internet, following the example of Beggars Banquet and Liquid Audio (who made 2,000 tracks available for digital download in the US). On the Official Singles Chart for 22 September 2001, DJ Otzi's " Hey Baby " became the first single ever to jump to number one from outside the Top 40 when it went from number 45 to number one. "Hey Baby" had charted for seven weeks outside the Top 40 due to imported copies from
9440-607: The Official Charts Company website is still missing much of the data on regards to records in positions 76 to 100 from 13 April 1991 to 5 February 1994.) The growth of dance music culture in the late 1980s had resulted in records with many remixes, though with a single only officially running to 20 minutes this meant that many of the European-style maxi-singles could not be included. Therefore, in June 1991,
9600-620: The Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry , listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom , based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming . The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and formerly MTV (Official UK Top 40), is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it
9760-639: The Republic of Ireland being available in UK chart shops and the fact that the officially released UK single had the same catalogue number as the Irish import, meaning that the CIN (Chart Information Network) did not list the two versions as separate versions, as they had done with ATB's " 9 PM (Till I Come) ", which had charted as five separate entries before the official release reached number one. In November 2001, CIN changed its name to " The Official UK Charts Company ". In January 2004, MyCoke Music launched as
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#17327802039809920-466: The Sales Chart that week, "Thinking Out Loud" was streamed 1.6 million times in the same week, resulting in an overall lead of 13,000 chart sales. On 10 March 2017, Ed Sheeran claimed 9 of the top 10 positions in the chart when his album ÷ was released. The large number of tracks from the album on the singles chart, 16 in the top 20, led to a change in how the chart is compiled with tracks from
10080-545: The Stream" with Rob Brydon , Ruth Jones and Robin Gibb. She also replaced Cher at the top of the list of oldest female artist chart-toppers at 63 years and 11 months, compared to the 52 years that Cher was when "Believe" topped the chart in 1998. Jones and Bush are also on the Top 10 list of oldest artists to score a UK Number 1 single with Bush placed fifth. The last record Bush broke was the one held by Wham!'s "Last Christmas", for
10240-541: The Sunday chart show (instead of on Tuesdays). In 1990, Brookes was replaced as presenter by Mark Goodier , but returned 18 months later. Goodier took over from Brookes once more in 1995 and continued presenting the show until 2002. In February 2003 Wes Butters hosted the chart show; two years later his contract was not renewed, and he was replaced by JK and Joel . The duo were made redundant by Radio 1 in September 2007; Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates replaced them at
10400-485: The T-shirts that came with them and not the actual record (stickers were also banned). Bands like Frankie Goes to Hollywood were still able to release their singles over a wide range of formats, including picture discs and various remixes, with ZTT Records putting out " Two Tribes " over eight formats in 1984. In June 1987, double pack singles were banned as a format with four-track singles having to be released as
10560-400: The Top 10 albums. In March 1960, Record Retailer began compiling an EP chart and had a Top 50 singles chart. Although NME had the largest circulation of charts in the 1960s and was widely followed, in March 1962, Record Mirror stopped compiling its own chart and published Record Retailer ' s instead. Retailer began independent auditing in January 1963, and is now used by
10720-571: The Top 100 from number one, exiting at the same time as "Sausage Rolls For Everyone". The chart published on 7 January 2022 also saw the first instance when the entire previous week's Top 10 singles (actually the Top 13 singles) had exited the chart. It was not only the Top 10 singles that had disappeared from the chart, but a record breaking 54 singles which had disappeared from the UK Top 75 (including 52 Christmas-themed tracks). This week's chart saw those songs replaced by 12 new entries and 42 re-entries,
10880-572: The Top 40 was revealed each Sunday (due to the new, automated process). The 1980s also saw the introduction of the cassette single (or "cassingle") alongside the 7-inch and 12-inch record formats; in 1987, major record labels developed a common format for the compact disc single, which was allowed to count as a chart format from December 1987. In May 1989, chart regulations kept Kylie Minogue 's song " Hand on Your Heart " from entering at number one because sales from cassette singles were not included (they were sold for £1.99 – cheaper than allowed at
11040-449: The Top 75 described as 'hits') of this list. The chart week runs from 00:01 Friday to midnight Thursday. The Top 40 chart is first issued on Fridays by BBC Radio 1 as The Official Chart from 16:00 to 17:45, before the full Official Singles Chart Top 100 is posted on the Official Charts Company's website. A rival chart show, The Official Big Top 40 , is broadcast on Sundays from 16:00 to 19:00 on Capital and Heart stations across
11200-564: The UK Top 100 Singles Chart every week between March 1986 and October 1990. The group have sold 400 million units globally, and they also received a Brit Award for Best British Producer in 1987 along with nine Ivor Novello Awards between 1988 and 1990. In 1990 SAW picked up three Ivor Novello Awards for Songwriter of the Year, Most Performed Work for Donna Summer 's "This Time I Know It's for Real" and Best Selling A-Side for Jason Donovan's " Too Many Broken Hearts ". SAW started producing underground club hits, but earned worldwide success with
11360-487: The UK singles chart (positions 76–100, with special rules) ceased to be printed in the trade magazine Music Week , who decided to focus on records in the charts described as hits. In April 1991, Record Mirror ceased publication, along with the "Next 25". At this point, Gallup was compiling a Top 200 singles chart and Top 150 albums chart for industry insiders, with the data accessed by subscribing to Music Week 's spin-off newsletter Charts Plus . (Note: As of June 2024,
11520-440: The UK singles chart as the source for number-ones from the week ending 12 March 1960 onward. The choice of Record Retailer as the source has been criticised, but the chart was unique in listing close to 50 positions for the whole decade. With available lists of which record shops were sampled to compile the charts, some shops were subjected to " hyping " but, with Record Retailer being less widely followed than some charts, it
11680-507: The UK under her stage name ' Princess '. Towards the end of 1985 the group Bananarama approached SAW to record a cover of Shocking Blue 's " Venus ". The track became a huge hit in the UK and went to No. 1 in America in July 1986. Bananarama would continue to enjoy success with SAW with hits such as " Love in the First Degree ", " I Heard a Rumour " and " I Want You Back ". In 1986 Mel and Kim 's first single " Showing Out (Get Fresh at
11840-691: The UK where it became the biggest selling record of 1987. Astley's fourth single, " Together Forever " also topped the Billboard Hot 100 . That year SAW produced " Let It Be " in aid of the victims involved in the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster , and Stock got the chance to work with his musical inspiration Paul McCartney whose original recordings of the Beatles classic were sent to the production team by producer George Martin . " Let It Be " went straight to No. 1 where it stayed for three weeks, knocking Stock's own "Respectable" by Mel and Kim off
12000-532: The UK. A reunion concert event called Hit Factory Live took place ion 21 December 2012 at London's O2 Arena featuring many of the acts associated with Waterman's record labels. In December 2015, SAW made a return producing a remix of the Chris Martin -written Minogue song " Every Day's Like Christmas ". Stock and Waterman collaborated on the UK Eurovision 2010 entry " That Sounds Good to Me ". It
12160-503: The US). Later that year, Stock ended his relationship with Waterman following a disagreement over their finances; by the end of their partnership, SAW had written and/or produced over 300 Top 75 hits and 30 platinum albums. In 2005, the three producers reunited again and released a CD+DVD album, Stock Aitken Waterman Gold , with some of their best-known and most successful singles. In 2007, SAW released The Sheilas ' single " (I'm So) Happy Happy (You're Mine) ", which reached No. 91 in
12320-543: The United Kingdom. The final number one on the UK Singles Chart to be based on sales alone was " Gecko (Overdrive) " by Oliver Heldens featuring Becky Hill . On Sunday 6 July 2014, the Official Charts Company announced that Ariana Grande had earned a place in UK chart history when her single " Problem " featuring Iggy Azalea became the first number-one single based on sales and streaming data. On
12480-469: The United Kingdom. The Official Big Top 40 is based on Apple data only, (Apple Music streams and iTunes downloads) plus commercial radio airplay across the Global radio network. The UK singles chart began to be compiled in 1952. According to the Official Charts Company's statistics, as of 1 July 2012, 1,200 singles had topped the Official Singles Chart. The precise number of chart-toppers is debatable due to
12640-503: The Weekend) " went to number 3 in the UK charts and their follow-up " Respectable " reached number 1. 1 In 1987, Rick Astley recorded what would arguably be the team's biggest hit - " Never Gonna Give You Up ", though initially Stock and Aitken were unsure of its appeal with Astley's strong but unorthodox voice. When it was released by RCA , "Never Gonna Give You Up" went straight to No. 1 in 17 different countries including America and
12800-571: The Year, Most Performed Work for Donna Summer 's "This Time I Know It's for Real" and Best Selling A-Side for Jason Donovan's " Too Many Broken Hearts ". They received the Brit Award for Best Producers in 1987, eight ' Ivor Novellos ' many Music Week awards and more. Despite continued success in the '90s with the likes of Minogue's " Better the Devil You Know ", " Step Back in Time " and " Shocked ", and Lonnie Gordon 's " Happenin' All Over Again ",
12960-696: The album was released and entered the overall Official Albums Chart at No.29, the UK Sales Chart at No.6, the UK Vinyl Chart at No.5 and the Independent Chart at No.3. The album also scored the No.6 position on the Official Scottish Album Charts. Of the album Classic Pop Magazine said "The Fizz are back firing on all cylinders with Smoke & Mirrors – an album of shiny new pop bangers, the latest fruit of
13120-487: The album. Closer was released on 12 April 2015 reaching number 17 in the UK charts and hit Number 2 on the UK Independent Album Charts. Summer 2015 also showed renewed work with Nicki French with the single "This Love". In December 2015 Stock Aitken Waterman teamed up to produce a remix of Kylie Minogue's Every Day's Like Christmas in the style of Minogue's earlier hits with the trio. It
13280-402: The band Brilliant , Stock wrote a song for their backing singer Desiree Heslop called " Say I'm Your Number One ", which peaked at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart . These chart successes and the trio's sound attracted the attention of girl group Bananarama towards the end of 1985. Group member Siobhan Fahey wanted to record a cover version of Shocking Blue 's hit song " Venus ". The result
13440-427: The band members and producers Stock and Aitken during mixing, that it almost escalated to violence. Stock has disputed the seriousness of studio tensions, alleging that Burns, Harding and Waterman have all "exaggerated" what happened in their recounting of events. In 1985, the trio built a new studio at The Vineyard recording studio complex, The Borough, which would later be dubbed "The Hit Factory". Whilst working with
13600-545: The chart at number 22 (eventually reaching number 2), and remain in the Top 40 for a longer period. After pressure from elsewhere in the music industry a second compromise was reached in 2006, which now allowed singles to chart on downloads the week before their physical release. The first song to make the Top 40 on downloads alone was " Pump It " by the Black Eyed Peas , which charted at number 16 on 12 March 2006. Three weeks later, " Crazy " by Gnarls Barkley became
13760-425: The chart of 16 August 2014, Nico & Vinz's "Am I Wrong" jumped from number 52 to number 1 in its sixth week, after the streaming hit (the first single ever to chart in the Top 75 on streams alone) became available to purchase. On 7 December 2014, Ed Sheeran 's " Thinking Out Loud " became the first single to reach number one as a direct result of streaming inclusion. Despite Union J 's " You Got It All " topping
13920-507: The charts on 1 February 1994, increasing the sample size; by the end of the month, each shop sampled used a barcode scanner linking via an Epson terminal with a modem to a central computer (called "Eric"), which logged data from more than 2,500 stores. Gallup attempted to block Millward Brown's new chart by complaining to the Office of Fair Trading about the contractual clause in which BARD retailers exclusively supplied sales data to CIN, but
14080-491: The chief recording engineer and Linn 9000 programmer (A Linn) and Harding was the mixer/remixer. The tendency toward interchanging artists and repertoire was well established when Rick Astley 's breakout album Whenever You Need Somebody got its name and title track from a minor hit the trio had produced a year earlier for O'Chi Brown . Similarly, many of their songs were tried out and recorded by multiple artists; Mel and Kim , Pepsi and Shirlie and Sinitta all recorded
14240-484: The close of trade on Saturday. The sales diaries were translated into punch cards so the data could be interpreted by a computer. A computer then compiled the chart on Monday, and the BBC were informed of the Top 50 on Tuesday in time for it to be announced on Johnnie Walker's afternoon show . The charts were also published in Record Retailer (rebranded Record & Tape Retailer in 1971 and Music Week in 1972) and Record Mirror . The BMRB often struggled to have
14400-627: The early-1990s with Minogue's singles and Lonnie Gordon 's " Happenin' All Over Again " (No. 4), the partnership began to disband. The week of 13 October 1990 became the first with no SAW-produced singles in the UK Top 75 in over two years. In mid-1991, Aitken left the team due to stress and deep dissatisfaction with business and creative decisions made by Waterman. Stock stayed with Waterman to write and produce Minogue's fourth album, Let's Get to It , Sybil's 1993 hits, " The Love I Lost " (No. 3) and " When I'm Good and Ready " (No. 5), and Boy Krazy 's " That's What Love Can Do " (which made it to No. 18 in
14560-543: The fifth time in a row. Influenced by John Otway's 50th birthday hit single fan campaign, which saw Otway's " Disco Inferno "-sampling single "Bunsen Burner" reach number 9 in 2002 without being stocked by Entertainment UK-associated retailers like Woolworths , the Morters encouraged people on Facebook to download the song the week before Christmas. When "Killing in the Name" hit the top spot on 20 December 2009, it became
14720-604: The first act to get their first three hits at number one, an achievement not matched for another twenty years. Before February 1969 – when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) chart was established – there was no official chart or universally accepted source. Readers followed the charts in various periodicals and, during this time, the BBC used aggregated results of charts from the NME , Melody Maker , Disc and (later) Record Mirror to compile
14880-554: The first chart incorporating sales figures on 20 July 1940. Record charts in the UK began in 1952, when Percy Dickins of the New Musical Express ( NME ) gathered a pool of 52 stores willing to report sales figures. For the first British chart Dickins telephoned approximately 20 shops, asking for a list of the 10 best-selling songs. These results were then aggregated into a Top 12 chart published in NME on 14 November 1952, with Al Martino 's " Here in My Heart " awarded
15040-528: The first download-only single to become the UK Christmas number one and received a Guinness World Record for "Fastest-selling digital track in the UK" after selling 502,672 units in its first week. It was announced in June 2014 that as of Sunday, 29 June, audio streams from services such as Spotify , Deezer , Napster , O2 Tracks, Xbox Music , Sony Unlimited, and rara would count for the Official Singles Chart, to reflect changing music consumption in
15200-478: The first pop band to debut at the top with each of their first four releases (with the group's singles found at number one in the period between June 1998 to March 1999). Between 1963 and the 1990s, only a few acts had reached number one with their first three chart hits. In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls and current record holders Westlife also outperformed this feat, with the former getting six and
15360-401: The first song to top the charts on download sales alone. As part of the revised rules, singles would be removed from the chart two weeks after the deletion of their physical formats; "Crazy" left the chart 11 weeks later from number 5. This was in addition to the existing rule that to be eligible for the chart, the physical single had to have been released within the last twelve months, supporting
15520-584: The formation of the BMRB chart in 1969. From 30 September 1967 BBC Radio 1 was launched along with BBC Radio 2 , succeeding the Light Programme, and the Top-20 Pick of the Pops chart was simulcast on both stations. Freeman continued to present the show until September 1972, and was succeeded by Tom Browne who presented the chart, also on Sundays, from October 1972 to March 1978. Simon Bates took over from Browne, and under Bates it became
15680-491: The full sample of sales figures returned by post. The 1971 postal strike meant data had to be collected by telephone (and that the chart was reduced to a Top 40 during this period), but this was deemed inadequate for a national chart; by 1973, the BMRB was using motorcycle couriers to collect sales figures. In March 1978, two record industry publications, Radio & Record News and Record Business both started publishing Top 100 singles charts, so in response, in May 1978,
15840-537: The gay clubs and discos where many new records were being found and subsequently promoted into the mainstream as Hi-NRG . In 1983 Stock had been approached by Andy Paul , a Greek Cypriot, to write a song for Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest . " Anna Maria Lena " was voted by the Cypriot public to represent their country in the competition and the re-recorded version would be Stock and Aitken's second collaboration with Waterman. The team were then asked to produce
16000-421: The general view that the chart reflected the top-selling "current" releases. On 1 January 2007, the integration of downloaded music into the charts became complete when all downloads – with or without a physical equivalent – became eligible to chart, redefining the UK singles chart by turning it into a "songs" chart. " Chasing Cars " by Snow Patrol returned at a Top 10 position (number 9, just three places below
16160-509: The helm of the chart show. Cotton left in September 2009, and until 2012 the chart show was hosted by Yates. Yates left Radio 1 at the end of 2012, because he wanted to spend more time with his family, as well as focusing more on television. Jameela Jamil took over from him in January 2013, becoming the first woman to host, alone, the BBC Chart show before being replaced by Clara Amfo . On 10 July 2015, Greg James took over from Amfo, when
16320-414: The highest selling non-charity single of the decade, remaining at No. 1 for 7 weeks in 1995 selling 2.5 million copies. Stock produced a further two No. 1 singles with Robson and Jerome and two No. 1 albums. After several years producing hits for Stock's own label 'Love This Records' and with Simon Cowell for BMG / RCA , the structural integrity of Stock's studio became compromised by the tunnelling of
16480-555: The industry; stores' chart-returns dealers would frequently be offered bribes to falsify sales logs. From 1983 to 1990, the chart was financed by the British Phonographic Industry (50 percent), Music Week (38 percent) and the BBC (12 percent). On 4 January 1983, the chart compilation was assumed by the Gallup Organization , which expanded the public/ Music Week chart to a Top 100 (with
16640-576: The largest amount in chart history. In June 2022, the Netflix show Stranger Things used " Running Up That Hill " by Kate Bush in their fourth season, which resulted in the record (which had previously charted in 1985 via EMI and in 2012 via Kate Bush's Fish People record label) re-enter the charts at number 8. On the Official Singles Chart Top 100 of 10 June 2022 to 16 June 2022, the record climbed to number two, even though it
16800-767: The late 1970s Stock, now living in Blackheath , South London, was performing up and down the country. Performing solo, in a duo or with bands Mirage and Nightwork, Stock gained a good reputation for his live performances and was regularly booked for venues like the Hilton Hotel , Grosvenor House and the Dorchester in Mayfair . Throughout 1979 to 1981 Stock was gigging every night of the week in various bands embracing pop, dance, old standards, rock or funk. Stock's band had gone through several guitar players before he
16960-414: The latter seven number ones from the start of their careers. In 1999, Millward Brown began "re-chipping" some retailers' machines, in anticipation of the millennium bug . Some independent retailers lost access to the record-label-funded Electronic Record Ordering System (Eros); it was "too costly to make it Year 2000 compliant ". Toward the end of the 1990s companies anticipated distributing singles over
17120-728: The next. Due to these factors, on 20 July 2018, " Three Lions " by the Lightning Seeds , Frank Skinner , and David Baddiel beat the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir record for number one chart fall and got the Guinness World Records' award for "largest chart drop from number one on the UK singles chart" by going from number one to number 97. In 2018, Future (publisher of "Louder Sound" publications such as Metal Hammer and Classic Rock magazine ) acquired Music Week publisher NewBay Media. Future ran
17280-758: The number-one hit " Sealed with a Kiss ", " Every Day (I Love You More) ", and the Christmas number-two record " When You Come Back to Me ", kept off the top spot by the Band Aid II record – " Do They Know It's Christmas? ", also produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman. 1989 became Stock Aitken and Waterman's most successful year having helmed seven UK number ones (a feat equalled only by George Martin in 1963) and 15 top 5s. During 1989 Stock wrote and produced over seven albums' worth of material for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Donna Summer , Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney . The team supplied Donna Summer with her most successful hit single since
17440-469: The number-one position. The chart became a successful feature of the periodical; it expanded into a Top 20 format on 1 October 1954, and rival publications began compiling their own charts in 1955. Record Mirror compiled its own Top 10 chart for 22 January 1955; it was based on postal returns from record stores (which were financed by the newspaper). The NME chart was based on a telephone poll. Both charts expanded in size, with Mirror ' s becoming
17600-598: The partnership began to disband. When Aitken left in 1991 Stock stayed with Waterman to write and produce Minogue's fourth album, Let's Get to It , Sybil's 1993 hits, " The Love I Lost " and " When I'm Good and Ready ", and Boy Krazy 's " That's What Love Can Do " went top 20 in the US. Later that year, Stock ended his relationship with Waterman; by the end of their partnership, Stock had written and/or produced over three hundred top 75 hits and over thirty platinum-selling albums. In 1993 Stock formed 'Love This Records', and built
17760-501: The peak it had reached the previous September), while " Honey to the Bee " by Billie Piper (following a tongue-in-cheek promotional push by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles to test the new chart rules) reappeared at number 17 (nearly eight years after its original appearance on the charts). . This date also saw the reintroduction of maxi physical formats being allowed to have 4 unique tracks and 25 minute running times. In October 2008, P!nk broke
17920-481: The pop musical- The Go!Go!Go! Show with Steve Crosby to popular and critical acclaim, featuring new songs written and produced by Stock and Crosby. The Go!Go!Go! Show debuted at the Leicester Square Theatre , London in July 2010 and was performed daily at Alton Towers through the entirety of their 2011 season as their resident attraction. During the summer of 2011 The Go!Go!Go! Show began
18080-973: The production team by producer George Martin . " Let It Be " went to No. 1 in the UK where it stayed for three weeks. In 1989, SAW would have another No. 1 with McCartney on the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit – " Ferry Cross the Mersey " – recorded to raise funds for the victims and their families of the Hillsborough Disaster . They'd say, 'We're just making records for people to have a good time to.' They are utterly and totally Thatcherite and their records are utterly and totally Thatcherite records. In which sense they are perfect pop because they are totally records of their time. Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys discussing Stock Aitken Waterman in 1989 Following their early success, SAW's style evolved into
18240-626: The profusion of competing charts from the 1950s to the 1980s, but the usual list used is that endorsed by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and subsequently adopted by the Official Charts Company. The company regards a select period of the New Musical Express chart (only from 1952 to 1960) and the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969 as predecessors for the period up to 11 February 1969, where multiples of competing charts (none official) coexisted side by side. For example,
18400-507: The publication monthly from March 2021, so a bespoke monthly Official Singles Chart Top 75 started to be published from this date alongside monthly albums charts and specialist/genre charts. On 1 January 2021, "Don't Stop Me Eatin'" by LadBaby dropped down the Official Chart Company's singles chart to number 78 and so became the first new track to drop out of the Top 75 ("hit parade") from number one. In doing so it broke
18560-450: The quality and enduring impact of their music. Musician Mike Stock had briefly worked with DJ Pete Waterman in 1980 when John Milton, Mark Stock and Mike wrote a song – "One Nine for a Lady Breaker" – for a CB radio club. A version of the track found its way to Waterman who managed Peter Collins , then a successful producer with acts like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw . The track was re-recorded and produced by Collins; Stock sang on
18720-655: The record for shortest stay in the hit parade for a number one single (as in The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles list of Top 75 singles chart records) with only one week in the Top 75. A week later, "Last Christmas" by Wham! became the first record to disappear completely from number one spot, exiting the Official Charts Company Top 100 chart with no placing on the chart (week ending 14 January 2021). As "Last Christmas" replaced "Don't Stop Me Eatin'" by LadBaby , which had dropped down
18880-526: The research contract for the chart was put out to tender , with a new four-year contract beginning 1 February 1994 offered. Millward Brown, Research International and Nielsen Market Research were approached, and Gallup were invited to re-apply. In May 1993, it was announced that Millward Brown had been accepted as the next chart compilers, signing a £1-million-a-year contract. Virgin installed JDA EPoS terminals in September 1993, and began providing sales data to Gallup. Millward Brown took over compiling
19040-430: The rights holders). On 17 June 2022, "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" reached number one on the UK chart and not only did Bush get a second number one, but also the OCC revealed that she had broken three of their chart records. With the gap of 44 years she eclipses Tom Jones's 42-year gap between " Green Green Grass of Home " going to number one and Jones being one of the acts on Comic Relief's "(Barry) Islands in
19200-455: The rules were amended to include maxi-singles with versions/remixes of one song lasting 40 minutes, standard four track/four song releases getting an extra five minutes playing time, and now four formats contributing to the chart position. Due to this ruling, ambient duo the Orb were able to have a Top Ten hit with "Blue Room" , a song that was three seconds short of 40 minutes. In February 1993,
19360-524: The same..." In 2016 Stock confirmed that he was working with young singer Chloe Rose on a single for NSPCC 's ChildLine 30 year anniversary. Stock agreed to produce the single as he had also written and produced the very first Childline single " You've Got A Friend " by Big Fun & Sonia . The song "For Me" was performed first at England Captain Wayne Rooney 's testimonial match at Old Trafford on 3 August and released on 9 September in aid of
19520-405: The sample consisted of 500 stores scanning barcodes of all record sales into an Epson PX-4 computer, and 650 other stores providing sales data through their own EPoS computerised tills . These computers were to be telephoned six times a week, providing the data to Gallup. In June 1991, the BPI reduced the number of eligible formats from five to four. In November 1990, the "Next 25" section of
19680-442: The singles chart that year than any other artist. Minogue went on to record three more studio albums with SAW, scoring fifteen successive Top 10 UK hits including " Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi " (No. 2), " Hand on Your Heart " (No. 1), " Wouldn't Change a Thing " (No. 2), " Tears on My Pillow " (No. 1), " Better the Devil You Know " (No. 2) and " Shocked " (No. 6). Soon after, Jason Donovan 's first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us", became
19840-473: The singles chart to number 78 on 1 January, it was the first time in chart history that two back-to-back number ones had disappeared not only from the BBC Radio 1 Top 40, but the Top 75 as well (though as "Last Christmas" didn't have a chart placing, "Three Lions" is still credited with the record-breaking fall at Guinness World Records ). On 24 December 2021, LadBaby secured their fourth Christmas No.1 in
20000-484: The song " You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) ", which became SAW's first UK No. 1 in March 1985. Although a massive commercial success, the trio were still in dire financial straits and the record set the scene for SAW's often fractious creative relationship with those bands and artists who demanded creative involvement in their records. Engineer Phil Harding , who mixed the track, said tensions were running so high between
20160-400: The song " You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) ", which became SAW's first UK number 1 in March 1985. In 1985 the trio built a new studio at 'The Vineyard' recording studio complex, The Borough, that would later be dubbed 'The Hit Factory'. Whilst working with the band Brilliant , Stock wrote a song for their backing singer Desiree Heslop called "Say I'm Your Number One", which became a hit in
20320-438: The song "Who's Gonna Catch You", both Kylie Minogue and Mandy Smith recorded "Got To Be Certain", whilst Mel and Kim , Carol Hitchcock and Hazell Dean gave vocals for "More Than Words Can Say". Their prodigious, production line -like output and similar song structures led to them being referred to as "The Hit Factory" and attracted criticism from many quarters, including The Guardian newspaper, who unflatteringly dubbed
20480-494: The song had even been written. Stock wrote " Especially for You ", sang the demo with a SAW backing singer and Aitken flew to Australia to record Minogue and Donovan's vocals in time for a Christmas release. Donovan returned to the studio to record the song " Too Many Broken Hearts ", which went to number 1 in March 1989. His debut album Ten Good Reasons also held to the top spot for three weeks, selling 1.5 million copies. Donovan went on to have numerous hits with SAW, including
20640-495: The team recorded Hazell Dean 's " Whatever I Do, (Wherever I Go) ". The song became Stock Aitken Waterman's first Top 10 hit, reaching No. 4 in the UK. This period saw a rapid refining of the core production team and their roles, with a fourth collaborator, Pete Ware, who was co-credited on the team's earliest records, leaving after Stock and Aitken objected to him taking a job touring with Dean. In September 1984, SAW were approached by Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns to produce
20800-410: The team, "Schlock, Aimless and Waterdown". In 1987, Waterman formed PWL (the in-house label of SAW) and one of the first artists to be released on the label was Australian soap star, Kylie Minogue . Stock was informed by Minogue's manager, Terry Blamey, that she had been in London for ten days waiting to work with SAW though Waterman had not informed Stock. By the time Minogue entered the studio, she
20960-576: The three eligible formats, and at number 71 from sales in a fourth (12-inch) format. Subsequently, CIN sought to develop new marketing opportunities and sponsorship deals; these included premium-rate fax and telephone services and the chart newsletters Charts Plus (published from May 1991 to November 1994) and Hit Music (published from September 1992 to May 2001). Beginning in May 1991 Charts Plus featured singles charts with positions 76–200 (plus artist albums positions 76–150, Top 50 compilations, and several genre and format charts). In September 1992,
21120-435: The time very awkward, and I didn't feel comfortable writing with them." In 1986, Mel and Kim 's first single " Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend) " went to No. 3 on the UK charts and their follow-up " Respectable " reached No. 1. In 1987, Rick Astley recorded the team's biggest hit – " Never Gonna Give You Up " – though initially Stock and Aitken were unsure of its appeal with Astley's strong but unorthodox voice. When it
21280-411: The time). Following this, the BPI reduced the minimum price for cassette singles to influence sales figures. In September 1989, WHSmith began to send sales data to Gallup directly through electronic point of sale (EPoS) terminals. In January 1990, the BPI gave notice to Gallup, BBC and Music Week ; on 30 June 1990, it terminated its contract with them because it "could no longer afford the £600,000
21440-498: The top by another version of the same song, with two versions of "Answer Me" in 1953, two versions of "Singing The Blues" alternating at the top in 1957, and one-hit wonder Frankee having an answer record to the number one by Eamon in 2004. " Sausage Rolls for Everyone " made LadBaby join B*Witched as an act who managed to get their first four singles at number one (with LadBaby having no other hits in their discography), and beat
21600-586: The top spot by the Band Aid II SAW record " Do They Know It's Christmas? ". In 1989, SAW had their most successful year with seven UK No. 1's (a feat equalled only by George Martin in 1963) and fifteen Top 5 hits. During that year, SAW wrote and produced over seven albums' worth of material for artists such as Kylie Minogue , Jason Donovan , Bananarama , Donna Summer , Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney . The team supplied Summer with her " This Time I Know It's for Real ", which became her biggest hit in
21760-399: The top spot. Two years later Stock would again collaborate with McCartney on the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit - " Ferry Cross the Mersey ", recorded to raise funds for the victims and their families of the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 which also went straight to No. 1. In 1987 Pete Waterman formed PWL the in-house label of SAW and one of the first artists to be released on the label
21920-604: The total of 44,739 sales rather than the 83,613 she would have done with an SCR listing. On 14 June 2022, it was revealed that the Chart Supervisory Committee (CSC) had given the record an exemption from the ACR accelerated decline rule, with the record now on an SCR listing, giving Kate Bush the chance to get another number one, more than 44 years after "Wuthering Heights" and the first number one for her own record label, Fish People (as EMI-Universal are no longer
22080-755: The track that has taken the longest time to reach Number 1 with "Running Up That Hill" first entering the chart in August 1985 and getting to the top 37 years later, beating Wham! by a year. The full regulations may be downloaded from the Official Charts Company website. To qualify for inclusion in the UK singles chart, a single must be available in one or more of the following eligible formats: There are minimum sales prices for all formats apart from on demand digital streams which may be from subscription or advertising funded providers. The streams were initially counted at 100 streams equivalent to one paid download or physical sale, but changed to 150 to 1 in January 2017. Starting with charts published 7 July 2017, tracks by
22240-439: The track under the alias Chris Britton. In January 1984, Stock and songwriter Matt Aitken arranged to meet Waterman at his office in the Stiff Records building, Camden Town . Waterman was seeking a new partnership and in February they went into the Marquee Studio in Wardour Street Soho to record the song "The Upstroke" for Agents Aren't Aeroplanes - a front for their concept of a female Frankie Goes To Hollywood . The record
22400-543: The vinyl record industry. Although record labels were not prohibited from releasing singles in more than three formats, they were required to identify the three eligible formats. This resulted in a reduction in the number of singles released in 7-inch format; the most common three formats were 12-inch single , cassette and CD , or a cassette and two CD versions. The ruling resulted in the Oasis single " Some Might Say " charting twice in one week – at number 1 with sales from
22560-479: The week ending 28 November 2024, the UK singles chart has had 1,433 different number one hits. The current number one single is " That's So True " by Gracie Abrams . Before the compilation of sales of records, the music market measured a song's popularity by sales of sheet music . The idea of compiling a chart based on sales originated in the United States, where the music-trade paper Billboard compiled
22720-421: The youngest female solo artist to top the chart with her single "You Don't Know". As of 14 January 2022, she is one of nine female solo artists to have topped the chart before their 18th birthday (though none of these nine acts wrote their number one hit single-handedly, with that honour falling to 19-year-old Kate Bush with "Wuthering Heights" in 1978). In 1963, Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers became
22880-450: Was Australian soap star, Kylie Minogue . Stock was informed by Minogue's manager, Terry Blamey, that she had been in London for ten days waiting to work with SAW though Waterman had not informed Stock. By the time Minogue entered the studio she was due on a plane back to Australia later that day. In 40 minutes Stock and Aitken had written the song, " I Should Be So Lucky ", recorded a backing track and Minogue's vocals. "I Should Be So Lucky"
23040-502: Was a pop/hi-NRG reworking which became a worldwide chart hit, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1986 and reaching the Top 10 in the UK and many other countries. Bananarama went on to make Stock, Aitken and Waterman their main producers, and would collaborate with them on some of their biggest hits, including " Love in the First Degree " (UK No. 3), " I Can't Help It " (UK No. 20), and " I Heard
23200-645: Was a top 5 hit in the UK in 2000 and went to No. 1 in Japan. Scooch's album Four Sure spawned two more top 20 singles. Stock also scored a top 20 with "Airhead" by girl band Girls@Play , with EastEnders ' star Rita Simons that toured with Steps . In 2003 Stock formed the label Better the Devil Records and had a huge hit with the " Fast Food Song " reaching #2 in the UK Charts and selling 200,000 CD singles. Stock wrote and produced two further singles for
23360-612: Was a top 5 hit in the UK. Cowell had worked with Stock on previous occasions with artists such as Sinitta , for whom Stock wrote and produced various hits like " Toy Boy " in 1987. Stock again collaborated with Cowell in 1993 on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) album Wrestlemania which spawned the No. 4 hit "Slam Jam". In 1994 Stock produced several artists for Simon Cowell including Kym Mazelle , Jocelyn Brown and Robson and Jerome . Their cover of " Unchained Melody " produced by Stock and Aitken became
23520-404: Was alerted to Matt Aitken ; a guitarist who had been spotted by another member of his band working on a cruise ship. Stock contacted Aitken to offer him a role in the band. Playing on cruise ships and in various bands of his own, Aitken was an accomplished guitarist whose style could adapt to any type of music. In 1982 Stock moved to Abbey Wood , South London where, along with Aitken he acquired
23680-454: Was due on a plane back to Australia later that day. In forty-minutes Stock and Aitken had written the song, " I Should Be So Lucky ", recorded a backing track and Minogue's vocals. The single was released by PWL in February 1988 and climbed to the No. 1 spot in March where it stayed for five weeks, the joint longest running No. 1 of 1988. It also went to No. 1 in 25 other territories including Minogue's native country Australia . With demand for
23840-411: Was no official singles chart. Record Retailer and the BBC commissioned the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) to compile charts, beginning 15 February 1969. The BMRB compiled its first chart from postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops. The sampling cost approximately £ 52,000; shops were randomly chosen from a pool of approximately 6,000, and submitted figures for sales taken up to
24000-464: Was received very well by fans and critics. Rob Corpsey from The Official Chart Company stated "OK so this is pretty much the Christmas song to end all Christmas songs; a massive sugar rush of classic, candy-coated late 80s pop wrapped up in a big shiny red bow. Oh, and did we mention Kylie's singing on it?" He concluded "it's no wonder this latest offering is so good, because they've clearly got chemistry. We can't get enough of this and we reckon you'll feel
24160-500: Was released by RCA , "Never Gonna Give You Up" went straight to No. 1 in 17 different countries including America and the UK where it became the biggest selling record of 1987. Astley's fourth single, " Together Forever " also topped the Billboard Hot 100 . That year SAW produced " Let It Be " in aid of the victims involved in the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster , and Stock got the chance to work with his musical inspiration Paul McCartney whose original recordings of The Beatles were sent to
24320-509: Was released by PWL in February 1988 and climbed to the No. 1 spot in March where it stayed for five weeks, the joint longest running No. 1 of 1988. It also went to number 1 in 25 other territories including Minogue's native Australia. With demand for a follow-up single, Minogue was not keen on returning to England to work with SAW again after the rushed treatment she had received. Stock flew to Australia to meet Minogue and her parents at her home to apologise and successfully convinced her to record
24480-415: Was released on Proto Records run by Barry Evangeli and Nick East and distributed by RCA and was championed by Radio 1 's John Peel . It achieved popularity in the gay clubs and discos where many new records were promoted into the mainstream as Hi-NRG . In 1983, Stock had been approached by Andy Paul , a Greek Cypriot, to write a song for Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest . " Anna Maria Lena "
24640-638: Was released physically overseas, such as in Germany where the price of a record counted toward the chart position and not just number of units sold). In 2009, " Killing in the Name " by Rage Against the Machine became the Christmas Number One after English DJ Jon Morter and his wife Tracy launched a campaign to make sure that an act from the ITV talent show The X Factor was not number one for
24800-489: Was revealed in the final round of Eurovision: Your Country Needs You on BBC One , in which Josh Dubovie eventually earned the right to perform the song at the contest. He finished in 25th place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 , receiving 10 points in total. In 2023, the trio reunited for the filming of the Channel 5 documentary Legends of Pop: Stock Aitken Waterman , each giving interviews both individually and as
24960-400: Was revealed to be the most popular track of the week in the United Kingdom and even though all versions (regardless of it being an album track, live version or remix) now counted to its chart position. Sales for the week had the number one record, Harry Styles' "As It Was", on an SCR total of 55,768 sales, compared to Kate Bush's number two on an ACR sales total of 44,739. Encumbered with ACR,
25120-448: Was said (by BBC Radio 1 presenters JK and Joel on 17 April 2005) that the incorporation of download sales resulted in an approximate doubling of singles sales for this week, but the impact of this doubling was not readily apparent at the top of the chart, although a few singles in the middle positions benefited. Initially, the British Association of Record Dealers was concerned that the popularity of downloading would siphon business from
25280-576: Was subject to less hyping. Additionally, Retailer was set up by independent record shops and had no funding or affiliation with record companies, but it had a significantly smaller sample size than some rival charts and had all the EPs taken out the listings between March 1960 - December 1967 (the data for the now 'Official' 1960s EP chart can be found in The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles ). On 12 August 1961, 14-year-old Helen Shapiro became
25440-421: Was the first number-one. In 2005, the BBC Radio 1 chart show was rebranded for the chart week ending 16 April, with the first singles chart now combining physical-release sales with legal downloads. Several test charts (and a download-sales chart) were published in 2004; this combination (within the official singles chart) reflected a changing era in which sales of physical singles fell and download sales rose. It
25600-423: Was voted by the Cypriot public to represent their country in the competition and the re-recorded version would be Stock and Aitken's second collaboration with Waterman. The team were then asked to produce a song for drag performer Divine and they recorded " You Think You're a Man " at the Marquee Studio, which was released by Proto Records in July 1984. The song reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart . Soon after,
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