Which song held the number one spot for the longest in the inaugural year of the charts?
From the pop-rock explosion of the swinging sixties to the Britpop chart battles of the 1990s, the UK Singles Chart has always been at the epicentre of pop culture in the United Kingdom; so much so that it is difficult to imagine a time before it ever existed.
In the gloomy haze of post-war Britain, with rationing still in full swing and city streets still lined with rubble, Percy Dickins – one of the founders of the New Musical Express – decided to try and breathe some excitement into the nation by establishing the first official singles chart.
Back in those days, the operation was far more modest than it eventually became, with Dickins gathering his data from a measly 20 record shops by telephoning them and asking what was selling the best at that time.
Eventually, of course, the data collection of the singles charts became far more nuanced, although it still largely relied on record stores until the mid-2000s, when digital downloads were finally included in the figures. Inevitably, then, record labels started tapping certain record stores to push their records over others, thus artificially skewing the singles charts in their favour. Back in the pre-Top of the Pops days of 1952, though, labels had yet to realise the power of the charts.
Still, there had to be a number-one on Dickins’ top 20 list, even if the nature of that particular accolade had yet to dawn upon either artists or labels. It wasn’t until the dawn of rock and roll, after all, that the hit parade began to truly matter, particularly to the younger generation of music fans. Which is perhaps why the very first number-one in the UK charts didn’t exactly come from a household name.
It was the Italian-American crooner Al Martino who boasted the first number-one, with his recording of ‘Here In My Heart’, and that achievement was bolstered by the fact that it was the only number-one single of 1952. Rather inconveniently, Dickins chose to introduce the charts in November, rather than waiting until the new year, which meant Martino’s nine-week run at the top of the charts lasted the remainder of the year.
That nine-week record can be explained away in a multitude of ways. The chart was, after all, based on the sales of only a select few record stores, none of which were particularly obligated to keep accurate records of what was selling. What’s more, the music industry was still in a period of post-war recovery, so there was a lot less choice in general. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until 1954 that Martino’s record was broken, when David Whitfield’s ‘Cara Mia’ lasted for ten weeks.
Looking back, ‘Here In My Heart’ was very of its time, and despite the undeniable quality of Martino’s crooning style, it is probably among the most obscure of UK number-ones, at least in terms of modern audiences. Regardless, though, it certainly earned its place in the musical history of the United Kingdom by becoming its very first number-one, as well as the longest-running number-one of 1952.
Meanwhile, in the USA, where the singles chart had existed in one form or another since 1940, it was the sweetheart of the British Forces, Vera Lynn, who had the longest unbroken run at the top of the Billboard charts with the Storch-penned classic ‘Auf Wiederseh’n, Sweetheart’, which also spent nine weeks at number-one.
