List of NME number-one singles of the 1960s


UK singles chart number ones
UK singles chart
Other charts
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The Beatles had eighteen number-one singles on the NME chart, only one of which never topped the Record Retailer chart.

The NME (or New Musical Express) was a British weekly popular music newspaper. Record charts in the United Kingdom began on 14 November 1952 when NME imitated an idea started in American Billboard magazine compiled their own hit parade. Until 15 February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) chart was established, many periodicals compiled their own charts.[1] During this time the BBC used aggregated results of the prominent NME, Melody Maker, Disc, Record Mirror and, later, Record Retailer charts to compile their Pick of the Pops chart. Prior to 1969 there was no universally accepted source or "official" singles chart;[2][3][4] however, the Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums regard the canonical sources for this period as NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer from then until the BMRB took over in 1969.[5] Although Record Retailer is now the most predominantly used source for charting music in the 1960s, NME had the biggest circulation of charts in the decade and was more widely followed.[2][3] After the BMRB was formed, the NME continued compiling its own chart up until 14 May 1988.[1]

The Allisons' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, entitled "Are You Sure?", was the first single to be number one on the NME chart but not to reach the top spot on Record Retailer's chart.[3] In total, sixteen songs failed to reach number one with Record Retailer but topped the NME chart.[3][6][7] In 1969, after the BMRB chart was introduced, four songs topped the NME but not the BMRB chart. Notable discrepancies include "19th Nervous Breakdown", which reached number one for the Rolling Stones on the NME, Disc, and Melody Maker charts, topped the BBC's Pick of the Pops aggregated chart and was announced as number one on Top of the Pops; however, because it did not reach number one on the Record Retailer chart, it is omitted from the Official Charts Company's canon.[2] The Beatles' "Please Please Me" suffered the same fate so, arguably, should be considered the Beatles' first number-one single.[3] Conversely, Elvis Presley's double A-side, "Rock-A-Hula Baby"/"Can't Help Falling in Love", reached number one on all charts except NME because the entries were split by NME according to which song was requested when the shop returned its figures.[2][3]

  1. ^ a b Smith, Alan. "Every No.1 in the 1960s is listed from all the nine different magazine charts!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Smith, Alan. "50s & 60s UK Charts – The Truth!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Leigh, Spencer (20 February 1998). "Music: Charting the number ones that somehow got away". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  4. ^ Warwick, 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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Featured Artists: Elvis Presley". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Artist Chart History: Bobby Vee". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.