18-01-2017, 09:13
I do know why singles didn't debut at #1 in the UK as a rule of thumb,
because singles back in the 50s-80s were generally released on a Wednesday then and the charts appeared on the Friday or Saturday,
thus only a couple of days of sales prior to the counting of sales for the week, so in the case of Beatles (for example), and remember records were
actually expensive back then and not a priority for most people to purchase immediately, they would generally wait to hear them prior to purchasing them.
when The Jam debuted at #1 on the UK charts in 1982 with Town Called Malice they also released a 12" of the single which included a bonus live version of Malice,
fans bought both versions, obviously doubling up on sales for the period which sent it to #1 on debut (would have got to #1 anyway I suspect),
the Stranglers were held at #2 with Golden Brown, they lodged an official complaint with the BPI over 12" singles, they obviously lost and 12" singles became big
business after that.
and nowadays its different again, streaming plays a big part in the charts nowadays, so when a new single comes out fans will play and replay over and over again, thus boosting up the count for chart success, thus sales of 30,000 and streams totalling 1 million can now score you a #1 hit in a day or two,
and in the old days 30,000 sales wouldn't score you a top30 hit in the UK.
its interesting because an older artist whose fans don't usually use the internet will often outsell the songs in the top but without their fans streaming the song it doesn't
get as high as it deserves...
that is why the charts IMO are not a true reflection of sales in many cases and why when I post the charts I include links to the oicial charts which allows streaming figures,
total sales including digital sales, physical sales and sales of vinyl, and quite often in those four chart counts there can be two or three different #1s with vinyl and physical charts totally different from the official chart lists...
back tot he "core fans" comment bob_32,
after 1979 until their demise at the end of 1982 The Jam singles ALL debuted in the top 4 of the charts because their 'cult' of loyal fans bought their releases usually the day o release,
so if they sold 500,000 copies in the first week(if they got to #1 that is) is was common place for the single to drop out of the charts after eight or nine weeks because their loyal fans got it immediately and casual fans bought it in dribs and drabs over the preceding weeks as they heard it...
as for top 40 in the UK....
from the inception of music charts in 1952 in the UK until around 1955 there was only a top10, then it moved to a top20 chart, then around 1960 they moved to a top40,
later a top50, then top75 followed by a top100 and now a top200...
the apparent reason for this was the increased volume of releases over the years, which when you think about it makes perfect sense.
im assuming our chart here in Australia would have run along the same lines at times also?!?
because singles back in the 50s-80s were generally released on a Wednesday then and the charts appeared on the Friday or Saturday,
thus only a couple of days of sales prior to the counting of sales for the week, so in the case of Beatles (for example), and remember records were
actually expensive back then and not a priority for most people to purchase immediately, they would generally wait to hear them prior to purchasing them.
when The Jam debuted at #1 on the UK charts in 1982 with Town Called Malice they also released a 12" of the single which included a bonus live version of Malice,
fans bought both versions, obviously doubling up on sales for the period which sent it to #1 on debut (would have got to #1 anyway I suspect),
the Stranglers were held at #2 with Golden Brown, they lodged an official complaint with the BPI over 12" singles, they obviously lost and 12" singles became big
business after that.
and nowadays its different again, streaming plays a big part in the charts nowadays, so when a new single comes out fans will play and replay over and over again, thus boosting up the count for chart success, thus sales of 30,000 and streams totalling 1 million can now score you a #1 hit in a day or two,
and in the old days 30,000 sales wouldn't score you a top30 hit in the UK.
its interesting because an older artist whose fans don't usually use the internet will often outsell the songs in the top but without their fans streaming the song it doesn't
get as high as it deserves...
that is why the charts IMO are not a true reflection of sales in many cases and why when I post the charts I include links to the oicial charts which allows streaming figures,
total sales including digital sales, physical sales and sales of vinyl, and quite often in those four chart counts there can be two or three different #1s with vinyl and physical charts totally different from the official chart lists...
back tot he "core fans" comment bob_32,
after 1979 until their demise at the end of 1982 The Jam singles ALL debuted in the top 4 of the charts because their 'cult' of loyal fans bought their releases usually the day o release,
so if they sold 500,000 copies in the first week(if they got to #1 that is) is was common place for the single to drop out of the charts after eight or nine weeks because their loyal fans got it immediately and casual fans bought it in dribs and drabs over the preceding weeks as they heard it...
as for top 40 in the UK....
from the inception of music charts in 1952 in the UK until around 1955 there was only a top10, then it moved to a top20 chart, then around 1960 they moved to a top40,
later a top50, then top75 followed by a top100 and now a top200...
the apparent reason for this was the increased volume of releases over the years, which when you think about it makes perfect sense.
im assuming our chart here in Australia would have run along the same lines at times also?!?
"BTO....Bachman,Turner,Overweight
They were big in the 70s....for five minutes,on a Saturday,after lunch..." - Me 2014.
They were big in the 70s....for five minutes,on a Saturday,after lunch..." - Me 2014.