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- The UK Singles Chart is the official chart for the United Kingdom of singles. The chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company and the beginning of an "official" singles chart is generally regarded as February 1969 when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) was formed to compile the chart in a joint venture between the BBC and Record Retailer. Charts were used to measure the popularity of music and, initially, were based on sheet music. In 1952, NME imitated an American idea from Billboard magazine and began compiling a chart based on physical sales of the release. Rival publications such as Record Mirror, Melody Maker, Disc began to compile their own charts in the mid-to-late 1960s. Trade paper Record Retailer compiled its first chart in March 1960. This list covers the period from the start-up of the BMRB in February 1969 to the last independently compiled charts of NME and Melody Maker in May 1988 (after which both published the Market Research Information Bureau chart). This period includes the point at which compilation of the UK Singles Chart was taken over by Gallup in January 1983. During these 19 years, there were a total of 343 canonical number-ones, plus an additional 149 that are not recognised by the Official Charts Company. From 1969 to 1971, the figure also included additional number-ones from Top Pops (which changed its name to Music Now in 1970); in 1969, six of the non-canonical number-ones only reached the top of their charts, a figure that would never be repeated. 36 non-canonical number-ones only made the top of NME's charts, while Melody Maker had 44 stand-alone number-ones. Eleven of the number-ones in the Official Charts' canon did not make the top of any of the other charts. Notable differences between the canonical and non-canonical charts include the Christmas 1980 season, when NME and Melody Maker had Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry at number-one while the canonical seasonal number-one was "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St Winifred's School Choir. One of the more controversial instances of the BMRB era involved the Sex Pistols' anti-monarchy single "God Save the Queen," which NME had at number-one during the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The single, released by Virgin Records, was the highest-selling single of the week but had been banned by the BBC and some major retailers. To prevent it from reaching the top of the BMRB chart, for one-week compilers "decreed that shops which sold their own records could not have those records represented in the chart", thus sales from Virgin Megastores were not counted. Despite reaching number-two on the official chart, it is sometimes referred to as reaching number one. However, "God Save the Queen" reached no higher than number five on the Melody Maker chart. (en)
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