About the UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart, formally called the Official Singles Chart is a list of top selling singles in the UK that is compiled by the Official Charts Company. In its current form (albeit modified over time), the UK Singles Chart tracks the best selling singles since 1969. After the emergence of online music vendors in 2004, the singles chart is compiled on the basis of both physical single sales and downloads via the Internet.

The Official Charts Company also compiles singles charts according to genre. Thus we also have Indie, Rock, R&B, Classical, etc. singles charts. However, these don’t have as much value as the Official Singles Chart.

The UK Singles Chart Before 1969

The Official Singles Chart dates only to 1969. According to the Official Charts Company, two pre-1969 charts can be considered as official British singles charts:

Other (Not Recognised) Singles Charts in the UK Before 1969

Besides the NME and Record Retailer, singles charts were also compiled:

These singles charts in the UK are no longer issued. In 1975, Disc merged with the Record Mirror which, however, ceased to publish in 1991, while the last edition of Melody Maker was issued in December 2000.

Where and When Top 200 Best Selling Singles in the UK Are Revealed

The Official Charts Company weekly compiles Top 200 best selling singles in the UK. The Chart is first released by BBC Radio 1 on Sunday, while the Official Charts Company publishes the Chart later during Sunday afternoon. The readers of the Music Week magazine can see the new Chart every Monday. But neither reveals all Top 200 singles. BBC Radio 1 reveals only Top 40, the Official Charts Company website publishes Top 100, while the Music Week issues Top 75. All Top 200 singles are published only by the independent weekly newsletter UKChartsPlus.