List of UK singles chart number ones of the 1960s information
This article is about the chart compiled by Record Retailer. For other singles charts compiled in the 1960s, see List of UK charts and number-one singles (1952–1969).
UK singles chart number ones
UK singles chart
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Other charts
Melody Maker – 1956–1969
Melody Maker – 1970s
Melody Maker – 1980s
NME – 1960s
NME – 1970s
NME – 1980s
Record Mirror (1955–1962)
Miscellaneous charts 1952–1969
Miscellaneous charts 1969–1988
Related
Official Charts Company
Christmas number one
The UK Singles Chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. Prior to 1969 there was no official singles chart;[1][2][3] however, The Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums regard the canonical sources as New Musical Express (NME) before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer from then until 15 February 1969 when Retailer and the BBC jointly commissioned the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) to compile the charts.[1][4] The choice to use Record Retailer as the canonical source for the 1960s has been contentious because NME (which continued compiling charts beyond March 1960) had the biggest circulation of periodicals in the decade and was more widely followed.[1][2]
As well as the chart compilers mentioned previously, Melody Maker, Disc and Record Mirror all compiled their own charts during the decade. Due to the lack of any official chart the BBC aggregated results from all these charts to announce its own Pick of the Pops chart.[1] One source explains that the reason for using the Record Retailer chart for the 1960s was that it was "the only chart to have as many as 50 positions for almost the entire decade".[3] The sample size of Record Retailer in the early 1960s was around 30 stores whereas NME and Melody Maker were sampling over 100 stores.[1] In 1969, the first BMRB chart was compiled using postal returns of sales logs from 250 record shops.[4]
In terms of number-one singles, The Beatles were the most successful group of the decade having seventeen singles reach the top spot.[5] The longest duration of a single at number-one was eight weeks and this was achieved on three occasions: "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley in 1960; "Wonderful Land" by The Shadows in 1962 and "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies in 1969. The Beatles' song "She Loves You" became the best-selling single of all time in 1963, a record it held until 1977 when band member Paul McCartney's new band, Wings, surpassed it with "Mull of Kintyre".[6] "She Loves You" was the best-selling song of the decade and one of fourteen songs believed to have sold over one million copies in the 1960s.[7][8][9]
^ abcdeSmith, Alan. "50s & 60s UK Charts – The Truth!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
^ abLeigh, Spencer (20 February 1998). "Music: Charting the number ones that somehow got away". The Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
^ abWarwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book Of The British Charts: Singles and Albums (3rd ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. v. ISBN 1-84449-058-0. Until 15th February 1969, there was no officially compiled chart.
^ ab"Key Dates in the History of the Official UK Charts". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
^"Featured Artists: The Beatles". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
^Leadbetter, Russell (17 May 2010). "Macca proves he's no sellout". The Herald. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
^Cite error: The named reference Million was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference EveryHit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"BPI – Charts – 3. Top Twenty Chart Facts". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
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