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Best selling songs of each year - mixed information |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Best selling songs of each year - mixed information
Evening all
Looking at various sources the top selling songs for each year in the UK vary quite a lot For example 1981 One Wikipedia page 'human league - don't you want me' Another Wikipedia page 'soft cell - tainted love' http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info 'shakin Stevens - this ole house' Which list is the definitive most accurate? I understand some lists may include chart runs in other years while some lists base on sales in that year only, but none state how they are compiled. Most years show no variation from list to list but some do and in 1981 case quite a lot. Confused!! |
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#2 |
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1)... The Top-Source Site works out the UK Singles of each Year based on their
own Points System. It has nothing to do with which Singles actually sold the most copies that Year. 'This Ole House' by Shakin' Stevens was the UK's 4th Best Seller of 1981. It is only 1st, in the Top-Source Site 1981 List, based on Chart Points. 2)... The UK's Best Selling Singles for 1981 had a cut-off date of W/E 12th December. So the Year End Chart had 'Don't You Want Me' by Human League in 21st place. 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell was 1st. 3).... When the Sales for all of 1981 were added in, the Human League Single was the 6th Best Seller - but 'Tainted Love' was still the No.1 Best Seller. 4)... So 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell was the UK's Best Selling Single of 1981. 5)... Of the Singles that were released in 1981, the Best Seller was actually 'Don't You Want Me' by Human League. But that had its Sales split between 1981 & 1982, which is why it was 'only' the 6th Best Seller of 1981. 6)... The Human League Hit was the UK's 5th Best Selling Single of the 1980's. & 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell was 11th. Shakin' Steven's 'This Ole House' was the 40th UK Best Seller for that Decade..... |
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#3 |
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IIRC I read the Top 10 of music many years ago which had top ten lists for every year and had Don't you want me as the top seller of 1981.
Counting sales in the following year for the release year is only fair as otherwise November and December releases would be at a disadvantage. Box Office Mojo has the same system for films, so American Sniper is the biggest US Box Office hit of 2014 despite most of its money being made at the start of 2015. |
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#4 |
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Excellent responses both of you thanks
Regards to a typical music quiz that would ask 'What is the best selling single of 1981' what would be the best response? Similar issues with 1970, 1975 and 1996. |
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#5 |
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1970 -- It is contentious as to whether the UK's Best Selling Single of 1970 was
'The Wonder Of You' by Elvis Presley, or 'In The Summertime' by Mungo Jerry. At the end of the 1970's, the 'Official' UK Chart compilers of the time, (BMRB), compiled the Top 100 Singles of the Decade. They had the Mungo Jerry Hit in 39th place & the Elvis Hit in 52nd place. But another Chart Company - Record Business - produced their Top 100 of the 1970's, & they had the Elvis Hit at No.69 & Mungo Jerry was at No.70. The Top-Source Site's Points System has the Elvis Hit at No.1 for 1970, & the Mungo Jerry Hit in 2nd place, 1975 -- The biggest selling UK Single released in 1975 was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. But that was the Christmas No.1 & its Sales were split between 1975 & 1976. So, the UK's Best Selling Singles of 1975 only had the Queen Hit in 22nd place. This was due to the BMRB ending the Sales Year about 2 Weeks before the Year ended. When the final 2 Weeks Sales of 1975 were added in, the Queen Hit was 2nd for the Year. The UK's Best Selling Single of 1975, (for Sales within that Year), was Bye Bye Baby by the Bay City Rollers. But, the Queen Single was the only UK Single from 1975 to later become a Million seller. The Queen Hit was No.1 again between 1991 & 1992 & it sold over 940,000 then. With its 1975 to 1976 Sales, its 1991 to 1992 Sales, & its Download Sales, it has sold over 2,440,000 in the UK. That makes it the UK's 3rd Best Selling Single - ever. The Top-Source Site has the Bay City Rollers Hit in 1st place, for 1975. & Queen 4th. 1996 -- The UK's Best Selling Single of 1996 was Killing Me Softly by Fugees. It sold 1,269,000 in 1996. Wannabe by the Spice Girls was in 2nd place, with just 1,000 less copies sold - 1,268,000. (With Downloads added in, the Fugees Hit is now on over 1,380,000 UK Sales & Wannabe is on over 1,360,000). Via the Top-Source Site's Points System, Wannabe was 1st for 1996, & the Fugees Hit was 2nd. |
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#6 |
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Location: Underneath Tom Hiddleston
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Quote:
1)... The Top-Source Site works out the UK Singles of each Year based on their
own Points System. It has nothing to do with which Singles actually sold the most copies that Year. 'This Ole House' by Shakin' Stevens was the UK's 4th Best Seller of 1981. It is only 1st, in the Top-Source Site 1981 List, based on Chart Points. |
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