VH1 - Up-dated Top 40 Best Selling UK Singles Acts

[zeus555]

The Top 50 UK Singles Acts were originally revealed
on Channel 4, on Sunday 22nd February 2004.

Here is VH1's up-date - shown today - Saturday 27th March 2010.

Courtesy of Shireblogger at Haven:,

Just broadcast on VH1, the All-Time Top 40 Best Selling Singles Acts in the UK.

key:
2010 rank [2004 rank] :: artist -- total sales ä change since 2004 {rank in best sellers of the 00s}

1 [1] :: Cliff Richard -- 21,350k ä +381k
2 [3] :: Elvis Presley -- 20,840k ä +1,547k {27}
3 [2] :: Beatles -- 20,800k ä +0k
4 [4] :: Madonna -- 17,000k ä +2,437k {6}
5 [5] :: Elton John -- 14,725k ä +1,250k
6 [6] :: Michael Jackson -- 14,030k ä +2,719k {17}
7 [7] :: Queen -- 11,900k ä +1,565k
8 [8] :: ABBA -- 10,040k ä +36k
9 [9] :: Paul McCartney / Wings -- 9,910k ä +128k
10 [10] :: David Bowie -- 9,910k ä +518k
11 [11] :: Rod Stewart -- 9,500k ä +454k
12 [13] :: Kylie Minogue -- 9,200k ä +1,206k {14}
13 [12] :: Rolling Stones -- 8,990k ä +642k
14 [14] :: Stevie Wonder -- 8,290k ä +676k
15 [17] :: Whitney Houston -- 7,800k ä +807k
16 [15] :: Spice Girls -- 7,780k ä +273k
17 [26] :: Oasis -- 7,645k ä +1,419k {18}
18 [19] :: George Michael -- 7,475k ä +656k
19 [16] :: Shakin' Stevens -- 7,260k ä +152k
20 [18] :: Bee Gees -- 7,200k ä +256k
21 [20] :: Status Quo -- 7,000k ä +272k
22 [25] :: Boyzone -- 6,750k ä +314k
23 [24] :: Blondie -- 6,745k ä +288k
24 [22] :: Slade -- 6,720k ä +200k
26 [23] :: Olivia Newton-John -- 6,630k ä +137k
25 [21] :: Boney M -- 6,560k ä -27k
27 [37] :: Robbie Williams -- 6,560k ä +1,587k {12}
29 new :: Britney Spears -- 6,420k ä {3}
30 [28] :: Tom Jones -- 6,375k ä +483k
28 [47] :: U2 -- 6,345k ä +1,682k {34}
31 [27] :: UB40 -- 6,345k ä +348k
32 [44] :: Westlife -- 6,320k ä +1,594k {2}
33 [29] :: Celine Dion -- 6,140k ä +457k
34 new :: Mariah Carey -- 6,140k ä {31}
35 [30] :: Police -- 5,940k ä +323k
36 [31] :: Madness -- 5,850k ä +286k
37 [32] :: Diana Ross -- 5,675k ä +348k
38 [33] :: Wham! -- 5,660k ä +362k
39 new :: Prince -- 5,620k ä >+1,100k
40 new :: Eminem -- 5,540k ä {1}

Shireblogger's Observations:

Only one change in the Top 11, with Elvis moving above the Beatles. The Beatles have 0 singles sales since 2004, which is obviously correct as they haven't been available digitally, and haven't released any new physicals.

Michael Jackson shows as +2,719k since 2004. Given that he sold 2,798k in 2009 alone, there is either an error in the latest list, or his pre-2004 sales have been downgraded.

Abba shows as +36k since 2004. Given that they sold 289k in 2008 alone, there is either an error here, or their pre-2004 sales have also been downgraded.

Boney M's sales have been reduced since 2004. Given that "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" has sold at least 35k over that period, their other singles must have been reduced by over 50k.

4 artists in the Top 40, who weren't in the Top 50 in 2004:- Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Prince and Eminem. Prince is a surprise, because it suggests that he has sold over 1,100k in the last 6 years. This seems implausible, suggesting his pre-2004 sales have been recalculated upwards.

2 artists climb into the Top 40 - U2 [from 47] and Westlife [44].

6 artists drop out of the Top 40 - Adam & Ants [34], the Jam [35], Frankie Goes To Hollywood [36], Pet Shop Boys [38], Phil Collins [39] and Wet Wet Wet [40].

There is one obvious error - the complete omission of Take That. Music Week put them on 6,250k on 1/12/08. They sold 834k in 2009. So they should be around 7,250k now, and about number 20 on the list, up from 52 in 2004.

My observations:,

The OCC simply may not have added Downloads in for some Acts.
They told me that 'Waterloo' had sold over 11,000 in 2004, (No.20),
& that ABBA's 289,000 Download Sales in 2008, were really 300,000
- as they'd missed some Sales out.

So, that's 311,000 Sales since 2004 - and that is not even counting
any Download Sales from 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2009.

Despite it all, they are shown with only 36,000 extra Sales since 2004.....

Or - The OCC may simply have removed about 500,000
Sales from ABBA's 2004 Total, & then added in the 2005
to 2009 Downloads.

They are not infallible - as someone has pointed out -
Take That ought to be in the List, (No.20), & The OCC
has not put them in it.

Zeus555

[LostAvenger]

Get that all time placing, Britney!

Pleased for Madge, ABBA, & Mariah increasing too.

Would be interested to see how Kate Bush did on this - while she didn't have the massive sales singles-wise sans a few tracks, she has longevity on her side as well.

[ZiggyStardust]

So Elvis needs 510k to surpass Sir Cliff Richard.

The Fab Four can easily sell more than 600k if EMI decides to release their singles digitally.

[HUR]

I would like to believe that Queen sold over 1,500,000 digital tracs since 2004, but that isn't realistic, no?

[LostAvenger]

I would like to belive that Queen sold over 1,500,000 digital tracs since 2004, but that isn't realistic, no?

Why not? "Don't Stop Me Now" almost always makes a top 100 appearance each year.

[HUR]

I would like to belive that Queen sold over 1,500,000 digital tracs since 2004, but that isn't realistic, no?

Why not? "Don't Stop Me Now" almost always makes a top 100 appearance each year.

Yes, you are right in that regard. I remember a list from last year, where Queen were on about 11,400,000. I find it hard to believe they actually sold a further 500,000 units since that time, although there was a bit of a surge after their song were sued on X-Factor. I don't know.

[Hafo]

Thanks for the updated Madonna numbers. OCC revealed sales of 16,793,000 by September 2009, and I had estimated 16,915,000 by the end of the year. Recent digital sales of her catalog must be quite significant!

[JSparksFan]

Go Britney!

[AJS2050]

Good to see Em in the top 40

[remiell]

Get that all time placing, Britney!

She's the only artist under the age 30 and she's the 5th best selling female.

[ZiggyStardust]

Boney M's sales have been reduced since 2004. Given that "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" has sold at least 35k over that period, their other singles must have been reduced by over 50k.


Zeus555

[oasisbobo]

Great sales for Oasis

[nelson]

Cool Celine.

[britneyfan09]

So proud of Britney being the 5th best selling female UK singles artist of all-time. Even higher then Mariah

[ranjeet]

So proud of Britney being the 5th best selling female UK singles artist of all-time. Even higher then Mariah

now THAT's an achievement.

Definitely,she'll go higher than Olivia with her next release

[TiagoRodrigues]

lol @ Madonna...she's already the 4th best selling single act in the UK and still she was the 6th act that sold more last decade

20 million this decade for sure

[zeus555]

Regarding the up-dated Top 40 Singles Acts
Chart - The OCC tell me that:,

1) They now realise that they'd missed Take That
out - who should be about No.20, or No.21, in the
List. (Over 7,000,000 UK Singles Sales).

2) ABBA - They ignored most of ABBA's Download
Sales. Only around 32,000 - 33,000 Downloads of
'Mamma Mia' were added in. It is the only ABBA
Download to reach the Top 75, since 2004. (No.56 in
2008). The vast bulk of ABBA's 2005 - 2009 Downloads
were not added to ABBA's Total.

3) QUEEN - However - clearly - ALL of Queen's Post
2004 Downloads have been added in. Otherwise, you
would not see their Total rise by a massive 1,565,000.
Since 2004, they've only had 5 'Singles' in the Top
75, & they Peaked at:,

No.31, No.47, No.33, No.63, & No.32.

Even if we give each one 50,000 Sales, (whilst
they were in the Top 75), you only get 250,000.
And it is very unlikely that they all sold as
many as 50,000. (Whilst in the Top 75).

The OCC have clearly added every Queen Download
in - whether they were in the Top 75 or not.

Odd, that ABBA were not treated the same.....

Zeus555

[blackcat]

Regarding the up-dated Top 40 Singles Acts
Chart - The OCC tell me that:,

1) They now realise that they'd missed Take That
out - who should be about No.20, or No.21, in the
List. (Over 7,000,000 UK Singles Sales).

2) ABBA - They ignored most of ABBA's Download
Sales. Only around 32,000 - 33,000 Downloads of
'Mamma Mia' were added in. It is the only ABBA
Download to reach the Top 75, since 2004. (No.56 in
2008). The vast bulk of ABBA's 2005 - 2009 Downloads
were not added to ABBA's Total.

3) QUEEN - However - clearly - ALL of Queen's Post
2004 Downloads have been added in. Otherwise, you
would not see their Total rise by a massive 1,565,000.
Since 2004, they've only had 5 'Singles' in the Top
75, & they Peaked at:,

No.31, No.47, No.33, No.63, & No.32.

Even if we give each one 50,000 Sales, (whilst
they were in the Top 75), you only get 250,000.
And it is very unlikely that they all sold as
many as 50,000. (Whilst in the Top 75).

The OCC have clearly added every Queen Download
in - whether they were in the Top 75 or not.

Odd, that ABBA were not treated the same.....

Zeus555

All in all, not the most reliable of lists! That's what annoys me about these things - the public will be sucked into thinking that lists like this are genuine, and really reflect the best selling singles artists, but such lists are full of mistakes.

Fancy missing out a whole act!!

[HUR]

Regarding the up-dated Top 40 Singles Acts
Chart - The OCC tell me that:,

1) They now realise that they'd missed Take That
out - who should be about No.20, or No.21, in the
List. (Over 7,000,000 UK Singles Sales).

2) ABBA - They ignored most of ABBA's Download
Sales. Only around 32,000 - 33,000 Downloads of
'Mamma Mia' were added in. It is the only ABBA
Download to reach the Top 75, since 2004. (No.56 in
2008). The vast bulk of ABBA's 2005 - 2009 Downloads
were not added to ABBA's Total.

3) QUEEN - However - clearly - ALL of Queen's Post
2004 Downloads have been added in. Otherwise, you
would not see their Total rise by a massive 1,565,000.
Since 2004, they've only had 5 'Singles' in the Top
75, & they Peaked at:,

No.31, No.47, No.33, No.63, & No.32.

Even if we give each one 50,000 Sales, (whilst
they were in the Top 75), you only get 250,000.
And it is very unlikely that they all sold as
many as 50,000. (Whilst in the Top 75).

The OCC have clearly added every Queen Download
in - whether they were in the Top 75 or not.

Odd, that ABBA were not treated the same.....

Zeus555

Why are you making it look as if Queen had received a kind of special treat from OCC or something like that. Not just Queen but most acts have had digital sale added in, I think.

[zeus555]

HUR - I like Queen too. I was only using them as
an example. I'm aware that most - if not all - other
Acts have had their Downloads added in, too.

I was not 'picking on' Queen. (Honest ).

As regards Michael Jackson - someone at Haven
has pointed out to me that his Total, (since 2004),
has risen by 2,719,000. But, that he sold 2,798,000
'Singles' in 2009 alone. That's not counting his
2005 - 2008 Downloads. So - his Total - in the up-
dated List - seems to be too low.

The same person also points out that Prince's
Total seems to be too high. He was not in the
Top 50 in the February 2004 List. In the up-dated
List he's a New Entry at No.40 - 5,620,000 'Singles'
Sales. That's an increase of 1,100,000.

However - he's only had 3, (tiny), Hits since
February 2004, so his new Total seems to be far
higher, than it ought to be. Unless he sells far
more on Download, (across all his old 'Singles'),
than we'd think would be the case.

His Hits - since February 2004:,

'Cinnamon Girl' - No.43 (1 Chart Week) (November 2004)

'Black Sweat' - No.43 (1 Chart Week) (April 2006)

'Fury' - No.60 (1 Chart Week) (June 2006)

So, (since early 2004), Michael Jackson's Total
does not seem to have risen enough, & Prince's
seems to have risen too much.....

Zeus555

[johnnyboy]

I hope they have a new list with the correct Abba totals. Pretty sloppy missing out Take That altogether!

As for Queen, is there a bias in their favour? In their All Time album chart they seem to include some sales from the Platinum Collection to Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits Vol 2.

[HUR]

HUR - I like Queen too. I was only using them as
an example. I'm aware that most - if not all - other
Acts have had their Downloads added in, too.

I was not 'picking on' Queen. (Honest ).

As regards Michael Jackson - someone at Haven
has pointed out to me that his Total, (since 2004),
has risen by 2,719,000. But, that he sold 2,798,000
'Singles' in 2009 alone. That's not counting his
2005 - 2008 Downloads. So - his Total - in the up-
dated List - seems to be too low.

The same person also points out that Prince's
Total seems to be too high. He was not in the
Top 50 in the February 2004 List. In the up-dated
List he's a New Entry at No.40 - 5,620,000 'Singles'
Sales. That's an increase of 1,100,000.

However - he's only had 3, (tiny), Hits since
February 2004, so his new Total seems to be far
higher, than it ought to be. Unless he sells far
more on Download, (across all his old 'Singles'),
than we'd think would be the case.

His Hits - since February 2004:,

'Cinnamon Girl' - No.43 (1 Chart Week) (November 2004)

'Black Sweat' - No.43 (1 Chart Week) (April 2006)

'Fury' - No.60 (1 Chart Week) (June 2006)

So, (since early 2004), Michael Jackson's Total
does not seem to have risen enough, & Prince's
seems to have risen too much.....

Zeus555

Sorry for what I said, Colin. You are right.

[brian05]

There are obvious discrepancies between this 'updated' list and the sales figures given in Music Week 50th anniversary supplement.

Top Singles Artists of all-time (Music Week September 2009)

1.Cliff Richard (21,328,000)
2.Elvis Presley (20,918,000)
3.The Beatles (20,821,000)
4.Madonna (16,793,000)
5.Elton John (14,099,000)
6.Michael Jackson (13,808,000)
7.Queen (11,493,000)
8.ABBA (10,812,000)
9.Paul McCartney (10,034,000)
10.David Bowie (10,012,000)

Gremlins in the OCC computer?

[MFR]

I would think its more likely that these differences are due to different interpretations of past data (i.e. pre-DUS) rather than errors with current / recent data.

[johnnyboy]

Brian05 and MFR - the figure of 10.8m for Abba probably includes downloads. The recent 'updated' list didn't include them. Abba sold almost 300,000 downloads in 2008, and 800,000 in total is plausible.