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hardcat1970 · Jan 16, 2005, 02:50 PM

no offense to the UK people, but Elvis got 2 number one in a row and pulling him 3 songs ahead of the great Beatles?

When I first started listen to music in the 80's, I thought the British have great musical taste, from the new wave 80's to the British Rock 90's, but lately even their own BBC radio 1 promotes all the US Hip Hop s**t and teenage pop. And with all the old singles keep popping up on the chart, where's the new talent for the British?

The singles chart used to be a great way to study the British Music but now when you miss a single week, you don't even know what's going on.

Krypton · Jan 16, 2005, 03:24 PM

I agree.

It's a mystery who buys singles these days, even to the music industry. Recently 'Call On Me' achieved the feet of being a number one with the least singles sold ever (21000 in a week).

Sherwin · Jan 16, 2005, 05:13 PM

Originally posted by Krypton:
Recently 'Call On Me' achieved the feet of being a number one with the least singles sold ever (21000 in a week).

All of which were the video version.

Mediaman_12 · Jan 16, 2005, 06:17 PM

There are a few reasons behind Elvis being No.1 this week.
1. Single sales are generally getting lower as a general trend.
2. It's early January, this is always a very week time for sales anyway.
3. The people who own the single rights to all Elvis's tracks have decided to re-release one a week, until they run out, Last weeks No.1 was an Elvis single too. They have decided to do this because the UK charts where coming up to the 1000 No.1 and as Elvis was the first, they wanted him to be No 1000 as well.

Elvis was in fact in a dead tie with the Beatles for years and years. Elvis only beat them a year or two back when the Remix Elvis track (a little Satisfaction?) from Oceans 11 was released, He is now 2 ahead (and will probably end up a lot more) thanks to the record label re-releasing his entire back catalogue and the Elvis lovers lapping them up.

It could have been worse, the 1000th No.1 could have been this guy. Who won X Factor (a Pop Idol Rip off) Singing a Phil Collins song badly.

willed · Jan 16, 2005, 06:49 PM

Meh. No one buys singles anymore anyway. Except through iTMS

You're right about Radio 1 though - it goes through phases; it was into rock until a couple of years ago. Now all they play is ghetto music, since which I've stopped listening to them.

hardcat1970 · Jan 16, 2005, 08:25 PM

i know Britain is known for re-releasing oldies. I remember back in the 80's and 90's, there were so many old 60's songs topped the chart because they were featured in the TV commercials.

So i assume TV exposures and radio plays did contribute for people's buying habit. I just find it hard to believe when there are so many talented british bands but medias chose to pick Elvis's oldies...

kenazo · Jan 17, 2005, 05:16 AM

Most of the reasons are as Mediaman_12 writes. Because so few people are actually buying singles it takes a very small trend to influence charts (hence the Elvis thing). Personally I think at this point the singles chart is pretty much meaningless and should be dropped (at least from the relevance accorded to it now).

Thorin · Jan 17, 2005, 05:48 AM

Yeah the singles chart is rubbish.

The album chart is probably a better indicator of tastes now. The top 10 at the moment are the Killers, Scissor Sisters, Green Day, Kasabian, Franz Ferdinand, Maroon 5, Keane, Eminem, and the Zutons. Sure there's some crap in there as well, but there's also some great stuff.

philm · Jan 17, 2005, 06:42 AM

BBC Radio 1 is for kids. Check out BBC 6 Music and especially Jane Gazzo's dream ticket every night.

Krypton · Jan 17, 2005, 06:43 AM

Originally posted by philm:
BBC Radio 1 is for kids. Check out BBC 6 Music and especially Jane Gazzo's dream ticket every night.

hardcat1970 · Jan 17, 2005, 07:19 AM

Originally posted by Krypton:

thanks for the link. Finally a way to discover great british music.

badidea · Jan 17, 2005, 07:19 AM

Originally posted by Mediaman_12:

It could have been worse, the 1000th No.1 could have been this guy. Who won X Factor (a Pop Idol Rip off) Singing a Phil Collins song badly.

He can't be worse than this guy (german pop idol winner)!

wiffmaster · Jan 17, 2005, 11:45 AM

You do realise why it's crap though?

The UK music chart is controlled entirely by the age range 7-12.

Do you know any adult who buys singles still?

The album chart is still an OK indicator though, as adults do buy albums.

I for one normally detest anything in the Top 40, it's all manufactured crap.

hardcat1970 · Jan 17, 2005, 12:05 PM

Originally posted by wiffmaster:
You do realise why it's crap though?

The UK music chart is controlled entirely by the age range 7-12.

Do you know any adult who buys singles still?

The album chart is still an OK indicator though, as adults do buy albums.

I for one normally detest anything in the Top 40, it's all manufactured crap.

I used to buy singles from amazon.co.uk because back then the artists usually included 2 to 3 unreleased songs. And then I read about this chart regulations which it limited how many songs included on a single, what a stupid idea.

btw, it cost me �3.99 a cd, like $8-$9, very expensive.

kenazo · Jan 17, 2005, 03:58 PM

Originally posted by wiffmaster:
You do realise why it's crap though?

The UK music chart is controlled entirely by the age range 7-12.

Do you know any adult who buys singles still?

The album chart is still an OK indicator though, as adults do buy albums.

I for one normally detest anything in the Top 40, it's all manufactured crap.

Do you really think it is controlled by 7-12 yr olds? Every kid I know downloads their "singles".