The Ultimate Averaged Chart - The BBC Chart Re-Imagined

[Robbie]

A great new entry at number 30. 'Soul Limbo' will be remembered by many as the theme tune to the BBC's cricket coverage.

[Metalweb]

A great new entry at number 30. 'Soul Limbo' will be remembered by many as the theme tune to the BBC's cricket coverage.

Absolutely - the soundtrack to lazy teenage summer holidays....

[MrTibbs]

A great new entry at number 30. 'Soul Limbo' will be remembered by many as the theme tune to the BBC's cricket coverage.

Yeah this record should have done much better but they will at least go Top 5 with Time Is Tight in a few months.

[MrTibbs]

Greetings Pop Pickers !

3 early 1969 gems debut this week and I loved all 3, Amen Corner, The Supremes and Temptations, and The Tymes' take on People. Wonderful Stuff !

There are are 12 differences this week in chart positions between the BBC Chart and The Ultimate Averaged Chart.

Here is the next Ultimate Averaged Chart for Week Ending February 1st 1969.

The Ultimate Averaged Chart - Week Ending February 1st 1969								NME	MM	RR	Total
Last	This		The Sound Survey				Stores	200	250	85	Points
Week	Week		The Top 30 Singles Chart				BBC		TOP	30	Scored
2	1	Albatross - Fleetwood Mac					1	1	1	1	16050
1	2	Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da - The Marmalade					2	2	2	4	15345
3	3	For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder					3	3	3	3	14980
8	4	Blackberry Way - The Move					4	4	4	2	14615
4	5	Something's Happening - Herman's Hermits					5	5	5	6	13825
7	6	Private Number - William Bell and Judy Clay					7	6	6	8	13205
11	7	Fox On The Run - Manfred Mann					6	7	7	5	13010
5	8	Lily The Pink - The Scaffold					8	9	8	7	12190
14	9	You Got Soul - Johnny Nash					9	8	9	9	11970
6	10	Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations					10	10	10	10	11235
13	11	Stop Her On Sight (SOS) - Edwin Starr					11	11	12	11	10450
9	12	Sabre Dance - Love Sculpture					13	14	11	15	9760
22	13	Dancing In The Street - Martha Reeves and The Vandellas					12	12	15	12	9415
27	14	To Love Somebody - Nina Simone					14	13	16	14	8795
10	15	I'm The Urban Spaceman - The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band					15	18	13	13	8630
16	16	Love Child - Diana Ross and The Supremes					16=	17	14	18	8155
19	17	Please Don't Go - Donald Peers					16=	16	17	16	7775
24	18	I Guess I'll Always Love You - The Isley Brothers					18	15	21	17	6890
12	19	Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield					19	23	18	21	5700
15	20	Ain't Got No..I Got Life - Nina Simone					21	25	19	20	5135
26	21	Quick Joey Small - The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus					20	21	23	19	5020
NEW	22	People - The Tymes					22	19	27	24	3995
17	23	A Minute Of Your Time - Tom Jones					23	27	20	26	3975
18	24	One Two Three O'Leary - Des O'Connor					24		22	22	3015
21	25	Hey Jude - Wilson Pickett					25		24	23	2430
29	26	Going Up The Country - Canned Heat					26	28	26	25	2360
NEW	27	(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice - Amen Corner					28	20			2200
NEW	28	I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose - Marv Johnson					27	22		28	2055
23	29	I'm A Tiger - Lulu							25		1500
NEW	30	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations					29=	24			1400
		Love Story - Jethro Tull					29=	26		29	1170
		Mrs. Robinson (EP) - Simon and Garfunkel							29	27	840
		The Good The Bad And The Ugly - Hugo Montenegro							28		750
		Soul Sister Brown Sugar - Sam and Dave						29			400
		Race With The Devil - The Gun							30		250
		Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da - The Bedrocks						30			200
		White Room - Cream								30	85

[Robbie]

Yeah this record should have done much better but they will at least go Top 5 with Time Is Tight in a few months.

I bought 'Time Is Tight' when it was re-released in 1980. 'Soul Limbo' was the B side. 'Time Is Tight' is also fondly remembered by many as a theme or, in this case, a bed. This time it's from when Johnnie Walker on Radio 1 used to count down the new top 30 chart just prior to playing the number 1 record on a Tuesday lunchtime (and Wednesday after a Bank Holiday of course).

[Gambo]

Booker T must've made a mint out of his back catalogue being used as themes or soundbeds for later TV/radio programmes and adverts. Besides 'Soul Limbo' and 'Time Is Tight', we don't go too long before 'Green Onions' is used in the background to something on telly - most usually on a food-related broadcast, of which there are many every single day in the UK!. And it's all fine because all these songs are indeed excellent and it's hard to tire of them.

[MrTibbs]

Greetings Pop Pickers !

There is something very wrong with this last points based RR chart before the BMRB take over next week causing a huge 23 differences this week in chart positions between the BBC Chart and The Ultimate Averaged Chart the most it has ever had.

Here is the next Ultimate Averaged Chart for Week Ending February 8th 1969.

The Ultimate Averaged Chart - Week Ending February 8th 1969								NME	MM	RR	Total
Last	This		The Sound Survey				Stores	200	250	85	Points
Week	Week		The Top 30 Singles Chart				BBC		TOP	30	Scored
1	1	Albatross - Fleetwood Mac					1	1	1	2	15965
4	2	Blackberry Way - The Move					2	2	2	1	15600
3	3	For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder					3	3	3	3	14980
2	4	Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da - The Marmalade					4=	4	4	10	13935
9	5	You Got Soul - Johnny Nash					4=	7	5	6	13425
7	6	Fox On The Run - Manfred Mann					7	5	6	11	13150
13	7	Dancing In The Street - Martha Reeves and The Vandellas					6	9	7	4	12695
5	8	Something's Happening - Herman's Hermits					9	6	8	14	12195
6	9	Private Number - William Bell and Judy Clay					10	8	8	13	11880
14	10	To Love Somebody - Nina Simone					8	10	11	5	11410
17	11	Please Don't Go - Donald Peers					11	12	10	8	11005
30	12	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations					12	13	12	7	10390
11	13	Stop Her On Sight (SOS) - Edwin Starr					13=	14	15	15	8760
27	14	(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice - Amen Corner					15	11	17	19	8520
18	15	I Guess I'll Always Love You - The Isley Brothers					13=	16	16	12	8365
8	16	Lily The Pink - The Scaffold					18	15	13		7700
10	17	Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations					19=	17	14		7050
28	18	I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose - Marv Johnson					16	18	19	17	6790
22	19	People - The Tymes					17	19	23	16	5675
16	20	Love Child - Diana Ross and The Supremes					22	25	20	23	4630
21	21	Quick Joey Small - The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus					23=	21	21	30	4585
NEW	22	Where Do You Go To My Lovely - Peter Sarstedt					21	20	26	18	4555
12	23	Sabre Dance - Love Sculpture					25	27	18		4050
NEW	24	Mrs. Robinson (EP) - Simon and Garfunkel					19=	26	27	9	3870
25	25	Hey Jude - Wilson Pickett					23=	27	24	21	3400
15	26	I'm The Urban Spaceman - The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band					30=		22		2250
NEW	27	Move In A Little Closer Baby - Harmony Grass					26=	23		25	2110
26	28	Going Up The Country - Canned Heat					29		25	26	1925
NEW	29	Love Story - Jethro Tull					30=	22			1800
NEW	30	The Way It Used To Be - Engelbert Humperdinck						23			1600
		Soul Sister Brown Sugar - Sam and Dave					26=	29	30	20	1585
		You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin' - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell					28		28	22	1515
		Ain't Got No..I Got Life - Nina Simone							29	27	840
		Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell						30		24	795
		I Put A Spell On You - Nina Simone								28	255
		Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield							30		250
		You're All I Need To Get By - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell								29	170

[MrTibbs]

So here we are, Phase 1 of history completed to give you a comprehensive, accurate Top 30 averaged chart, along with all the contributing charts side by side for the first time anywhere allowing you a detailed overview of a timeline gone but certainly not forgotten.

I hope studying them day by day recreating a much loved era gave you as much pleasure reading them as it did me compiling them.

Tomorrow posting of Phase 2 of The Ultimate Averaged Chart from 1960 to 1963 will commence for your further pleasure.
Compilation is already well progressed and 1960 is an entirely different beast as you will see. If you thought differences in chart positions between the music papers from 1964 onwards was wild at times, the earlier ones will raise your eyebrows, especially RR.

There are also two firsts for you in this phase. Firstly, At this time The BBC only compiled a Top 20, but I'm going to give you a Top 30.
The BBC never included RR from its inception on 10th March 1960 until March 1962, and also didn't include RM from May 21st 1960 onwards.
Secondly, I have therefore included both RR and RM for all the missing dates in The Ultimate Averaged Chart to give an all encompassing chart that includes all 5 major music papers.

Phase 2 is a bit slower to compile than Phase 1 as there are way more split sides in NME for these early years that have to be considered and fixed as per the original rule to ensure consistency with the later years, eg, The Yardbirds in 65.

But, I hope you enjoy this step further back in time, to a time of innocence and frivolity of song taking us to the birth of The Beatles.

Please also note the difference in record store numbers used at this time as per Alan Smith's research

Interesting times ahead !

Brian

[Graham76man]

Looking forward to the new charts.
And great work so far

[Splodj]

with all the contributing charts side by side for the first time anywhere

That in itself has been a revelation, and I appreciate the care you have taken to do this accurately.

One thing that has struck me following them week-by-week is how often they are unpredictable. For example, when Juliet goes up to 5 from 9 it seems like the momentum is slowing - but it makes number one the following week. Similar with others that sneak up. Then on the other hand there are records that look like dead certs for the top but never make it.

[MrTibbs]

Looking forward to the new charts.
And great work so far

Thanks Graham, that support is very much appreciated

[Robbie]

Thanks MrTibbs for this thread and all the hard work you have put into making it a very interesting and informative read. I'm looking forward to the 1960 - 63 thread.

Back to the last chart you have posted. The Record Retailer chart is all over the place. I don't know what has caused such wild chart movement. Fewer returns? Some repoting shops ignored? A shorter chart week? Whatever it is, the outcome has been a chart that saw off the old RR chart era in style and which brings this thread to an interesting end.

[RokinRobinOfLocksley]

Thanks for all your efforts, Brian! It's been a wild ride, looking forward to another helter skelter: duh na na na na na na...

[Metalweb]

Yes, many thanks....

[Borobear]

Many thanks from me too. It has been a very entertaining thread. Looking forward to 1960-63

[BrainDamageII]

MrTibbs

Congratulations on a fantastic achievement, so far!!! Really looking forward to the next phase; well done

[MrTibbs]

Wow, little did I know when I started this just how popular it would become. I knew a few had expressed interest but I'm frankly amazed at its popularity, the number of likes the thread has, and how many views it is getting.

It's this and you guys' comments that keep me motivated and hungry for this and I again thank you all sincerely for your continuing interest and comments and advice you frequently offer.

As for the RR chart above, the last before BMRB took over, I seem to remember reading somewhere that this chart had acknowledged errors due to RR working simultaneously on both this chart and the new rollout process the following week. But, good riddance to it I say

[braindeadpj]

Congratulations on completing the 1st phase ('64-'69). I look forward to seeing and discussing phase 2 ('60-'63).

[ACA]

Lots of credit to your work! It's a great achievement you have made and I really wonder how you have got the time to go to work as well.
And you're not resting on your laurels. I look forward to watching the early sixties progress, indeed the period when I started my interest in music and charts.

A few days ago you did a list of 'hits that should have been' and one of the songs were 'Rainbow Chaser'. Apart from Britain the only European country where it charted was Denmark. Actually it charted somewhat belated, as it reached # 7 in the Danish top 20 in April 1969.
Another two Nirvana tracks were small radio-hits in Denmark in the summer of 1969.

[kingofskiffle]

Congratulations. Lovely thread and excellent work.

[brian05]

And many thanks MrTibbs from me. It has been a very interesting thread to read. Really looking forward to the 1960-63 years.

[MrTibbs]

I will be posting here as I want to keep all The UAE in the one place so the first 2 charts from 1960 will be posted tomorrow. The chart is generally slower back in 1960 and using a Top 30 defo shows a better profile for records climbing and leaving the chart as opposed to a Top 20. It gives the chart a much better definition in expanded form.

What makes it really interesting though is that because of the greater variance in chart positions between the papers on many occasions it is hard to predict at times on entering the data where the record will place after averaging so I love the moment when the computation provides the result showing where the records land like scattered seeds. No wonder it has me (and you) hooked.

[MrTibbs]

Ok .. so here comes Phase 2 of The Ultimate Averaged Chart 1960 - 1963, winners, losers, and inbetweeners

[MrTibbs]

Greetings Pop Pickers !

RM did not publish a chart for this week. The BBC only compiled a Top 20 at this time but I intend to continue compiling a full Top 30. There were no 'breakers' outside the Top 30 this week.

There are 17 differences this week in chart positions between the BBC Chart and The Ultimate Averaged Chart.

Here is the next Ultimate Averaged Chart for Week Ending January 2nd 1960. Enjoy !

The Ultimate Averaged Chart - Week Ending January 2nd 1960								NME	RM	MM	DISC	Total
Last	This		The Sound Survey				Stores	80	60	38	50	Points
Week	Week		The Top 30 Singles Chart				BBC			TOP	30	Scored
	1	What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For - Emile Ford and The Checkmates					1	1		1	1	5040
	2	What Do You Want - Adam Faith					2	2		2	2	4872
	3	Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat - The Avons					4	3		5	3	4628
	4	Oh Carol - Neil Sedaka					3	4		3	4	4574
	5	Travellin' Light - Cliff Richard					5	5		4	9	4206
	6	Jingle Bell Rock - Max Bygraves					7	7		8	6	4044
	7	Snow Coach - Russ Conway					6	8		6	8	3940
	8	Johnny Staccato Theme - Elmer Bernstein					9	8		15	7	3648
	9	Rawhide - Frankie Laine					11	6		14	11	3646
	10	More And More Party Pops - Russ Conway					8	11		13	5	3584
	11	Among My Souvenirs - Connie Francis					10	12		7	12	3382
	12	Little White Bull - Tommy Steele					14	10		10	18	3128
	13	Bad Boy - Marty Wilde					15	14		11	14	2970
	14	Some Kind-A Earthquake - Duane Eddy					12	13		12	15	2962
	15	Red River Rock - Johnny and The Hurricanes					13	19		9	10	2846
	16	Little Donkey - The Beverly Sisters					16	16		17	13	2632
	17	Put Your Head On My Shoulder - Paul Anka					19=	17		20	16	2288
	18	Piano Party - Winifred Atwell					17	15			17	1980
	19	Teen Beat - Sandy Nelson					19=	22		19	20	1726
	20	Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin						19		16		1530
	21	Reveille Rock - Johnny and The Hurricanes					18	19		18		1454
	22	Heartaches By The Number - Guy Mitchell						17				1120
	23	Be My Guest - Fats Domino						25			19	1080
	24	Deck Of Cards - Wink Martindale						23				640
	25	Way Down Yonder In New Orleans - Freddy Cannon						24				560
	26	We Got Love - Alma Cogan						26				400
	27	If You Were The Only Boy In The World - Stevie Marsh						27				320
	28	In The Mood - Ernie Fields						28				240
	28	Starry Eyed - Michael Holliday						28				240
	28	Living Doll - Cliff Richard						28				240
												0
		RM did not publish a chart for this week.										0
		The BBC only compiled a Top 20 at this time but I have compiled a Top 30.										0

[kjell]

I agree both on keeping the thread in one place and on continuing with 30. Amazing how many super weeklies you’ve done in such a limited time, enjoyable all the way. For me I expect the early sixties to be even more fascinating. I moved away from the mountains radio shade in August 62 to the town of Molde where I really could hear Lux better than the background noises. 62 and 63 has done the most when it comes to defining my musical taste. More than half a century has passed since these moments in time and you’re the only one to undertake this project. You really deserve your big following.