Straight in at Number One
From the late 50s until the end of the 80s, it was quite a spectacular occurrence for a single to go straight in at Number One on the UK charts. To sell enough in a single week to secure the top spot made all these twenty artists record-breakers.
1958 Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley
From the film of the same name, the song was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Already in Movie Star Elvis phase ‘Jailhouse Rock’ was his third feature film, (Elvis made 31 feature films). The sixty-five previous chart-toppers had all spent at least a week – often much longer – climbing to the top. Elvis went in at number 1.
1960 It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley
Its British release was delayed for some time because of rights issues, allowing the song to build up massive advance orders and to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one. It spent eight weeks at the top and in numerous other countries, selling over 20 million physical copies worldwide, Elvis Presley‘s biggest international single ever.
1962 The Young Ones – Cliff Richard and the Shadows
The title song to the 1961 film The Young Ones and its soundtrack album. With advance orders of over 500,000, it was released in January 1962 and held the number one position for six weeks and spent 20 weeks in the chart. It sold 1.06 million copies in the UK and 2.6m worldwide. His 1958 hit single “Move It” is often described as Britain’s first authentic rock and roll song. In the early 1960s, he had a successful screen career with films including The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life.
1969 Get Back – The Beatles with Billy Preston
The only Beatles single that credited another artist. “Get Back” was the Beatles’ first single released in true stereo in the US. “Get Back” became the band’s 17th number-one song in the US, matching Elvis Presley’s previous record of 17 number-ones and topped the charts in 12 other countries.
1973 Cum On Feel The Noize – Slade
Produced by the band’s manager Chas Chandler (who had previously managed Jimi Hendrix), this became Slade’s fourth number-one single. British group Oasis covered the song which was released as a B-side on their 1996 hit single “Don’t Look Back in Anger”.
1973 Skweeze Me Pleeze Me – Slade
“Skweeze Me Pleeze Me” also reached the top spot in its first week, making Slade the first artist to enter at number one with consecutive singles. It remained at No. 1 for three consecutive weeks and sold 300,000 copies in its first week of release. Slade rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number-ones on the UK Singles Chart.
1973 I Love You Love Me Love – Gary Glitter
Glitter’s second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks at the top of the chart in November 1973. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts recorded it in 1984 for the studio album Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth. Glitter’s career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography in 1999, and was later convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006 and a series of sexual offences, including attempted rape, in 2015.
1973 Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade
Released at the peak of the band’s popularity, “Merry Xmas Everybody” sold over a million copies upon its first release. It is Slade’s last number-one single and by far their best-selling single. It has been re-released during every decade since 1973. The song was recorded in the late summer of 1973, partway through Slade’s east coast US tour, at the Record Plant in New York, where John Lennon had just finished working on his album Mind Games.
1980 Going Underground / Dreams Of Children – The Jam
“Going Underground” was the first of four number-one singles the band were to achieve throughout their career. At the time the single reached number one, the band were touring in the US and on hearing the news flew back to the UK on Concorde to record an appearance on Top of the Pops.
1980 Don’t Stand So Close To Me – The Police
The third No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for The Police, it was also the best-selling single of 1980 in the UK selling 808,000 copies in 1980 alone. The Police won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for this song.
1981 Stand And Deliver – Adam And The Ants
The band’s first No. 1 hit in the UK. The phrase “stand and deliver — your money or your life”, used in the lyrics, is commonly associated with highwaymen in 18th-century England. The general plot of the video shows a strong influence from the 1973 Monty Python sketch “Dennis Moore”.
1982 A Town Called Malice / Precious – The Jam
The title is inspired by the 1950 Nevil Shute novel A Town Like Alice, although Paul Weller said in 2012 that he had not read the book at the time. It was The Jam’s sole entry on any mainstream American chart when it hit No. 31 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1982.
1982 Beat Surrender – The Jam
“Beat Surrender” was the Jam’s final single and became the band’s fourth and last No. 1 hit in the UK. Paul Weller wrote the song to mark the end of the group, which he disbanded shortly after the single’s release. The Jam released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982.
1983 Is There Something I Should Know? – Duran Duran
The eighth single by English new wave band Duran Duran was recorded at Tony Visconti’s Good Earth Studios in Soho, London. The single also had great success in America, where it reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies. Emerging as members of the New Romantic scene, Duran Duran were innovators of the music video and a leading band in the MTV second British Invasion of the US in the 1980s.
1984 Two Tribes – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
The anti-war song was a phenomenal success in the UK, helped by a wide range of remixes and supported by an advertising campaign depicting the band as members of the Red Army. It stayed at the top of the charts for nine consecutive weeks, during which time the group’s previous single “Relax” climbed back up the charts to number two. The group took their name from an advertisement announcing Frank Sinatra‘s film debut.
1984 Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
This charity song was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It sold a million copies in the first week, making it the fastest-selling single in UK chart history until Elton John‘s “Candle in the Wind 1997”. The song had advance orders of 250,000 within a week of its recording, and orders from record dealers had topped one million by 8 December. In order to meet demand, Phonogram had all five of their European factories put to work pressing the single.
1985 Dancing In The Street – David Bowie and Mick Jagger
A cover version of “Dancing in the Street” was recorded by Mick Jagger and David Bowie to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause. The original plan was to perform a track together live, with Bowie performing at Wembley Stadium and Jagger at John F. Kennedy Stadium, until it was realized that the satellite link-up would cause a half-second delay that would make this impossible. The song first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha and the Vandellas. Since then many artists have covered the song including Van Halen, Grateful Dead, The Kinks and Mamas and the Papas.
1987 Let It Be – Ferry Aid
Ferry Aid a British-American charity supergroup, brought together to record “Let It Be” following the Zeebrugge Disaster; on 6 March 1987 the ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise had capsized, killing 193 passengers and crew.
1989 Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey – The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman
First recorded by Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 a charity version was released in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, which had claimed the lives of 95 Liverpool fans the previous month. The song was recorded by Liverpool artists The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney and Gerry Marsden.
1989 Sealed With A Kiss – Jason Donovan
It first became a hit in 1962 for Brian Hyland. Australian actor and singer Donovan later had an international number-one hit with the song in 1989. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap Neighbours alongside Kylie Minogue playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records.
