Tweet
As I'm sure we are all aware, at the end of 1982 Gallup took over chart compilation duties from the British Market Research Bureau, bringing the compilation of the UK chart into the computer era. BMRB had compiled the singles and albums charts from diaries which had to be hand completed by the record shop assistant and then returned to the BMRB by either post or courier. Gallup set about changing the data collection process by introducing computer terminals (known as dataports) in which the sales assistant would type in the catalogue number of a record when it was sold (this method was later replaced by barcodes and barcode readers). The information would then be sent electronically to Gallup. One major improvement this brought was that Gallup were not only able to compile the charts much quicker but they were also able to produce better sales statistics and in a much quicker time frame.
One major improvement was the way in which sales data was able to be distributed to the music industry. BMRB did provide sales data to record companies but it was a time consuming process. Gallup were able to produce this information in a much quicker time frame and in much more depth.
Anyone who has followed the UK chart threads at UKMIx will know that Gallup produced a booklet each week which contained a number of charts with the sales index (or panel sales) for each title. These reports are held by the BPI for the entirety (1983 to 1994) of Gallup's tenure as chart compiler. Some UKMix posters had started to visit the BPI library in the mid to late 00s to copy sales information only to have the BPI pull the plug by closing the library to the public.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by a UKMIx member who informed me that he had also visited the library but had been able to obtain all the weekly sales information for the UK singles charts during the whole of this period. This was the full top 200 chart for each week too. The member suggested that I share the information with anyone who was interested in seeing the full top 200 charts with sales (along with the various titles that were starred out each week, some weeks this is quite a large amount) and agreed that I could post these charts on the forum. With a massive thanks to UKMix member kobyhadrian, who has literally provided a jaw-dropping amount of information that I had thought we would never be able to see, here are the Gallup charts from this era, along with the sales index for each title. These are better known as their chart panel sales, the hypothetical amount that each title was calculated to have sold in a 250 strong panel of record shops (a throwback to the early days of the BMRB chart when the chart panel was 250 shops). I would also like to thank kingofskiffle for his help too.
Hopefully everyone will enjoy seeing these charts. With the addition of panel sales I feel they really help flesh out the charts from that era. With the bonus of the full top 200 for each week they also reveal a part of the larger industry chart that has largely been hidden from most chart watchers and chart followers. I hope to be able to post at least one chart per day, hopefully more if time allows. So with no further delay here we go...
One major improvement was the way in which sales data was able to be distributed to the music industry. BMRB did provide sales data to record companies but it was a time consuming process. Gallup were able to produce this information in a much quicker time frame and in much more depth.
Anyone who has followed the UK chart threads at UKMIx will know that Gallup produced a booklet each week which contained a number of charts with the sales index (or panel sales) for each title. These reports are held by the BPI for the entirety (1983 to 1994) of Gallup's tenure as chart compiler. Some UKMix posters had started to visit the BPI library in the mid to late 00s to copy sales information only to have the BPI pull the plug by closing the library to the public.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by a UKMIx member who informed me that he had also visited the library but had been able to obtain all the weekly sales information for the UK singles charts during the whole of this period. This was the full top 200 chart for each week too. The member suggested that I share the information with anyone who was interested in seeing the full top 200 charts with sales (along with the various titles that were starred out each week, some weeks this is quite a large amount) and agreed that I could post these charts on the forum. With a massive thanks to UKMix member kobyhadrian, who has literally provided a jaw-dropping amount of information that I had thought we would never be able to see, here are the Gallup charts from this era, along with the sales index for each title. These are better known as their chart panel sales, the hypothetical amount that each title was calculated to have sold in a 250 strong panel of record shops (a throwback to the early days of the BMRB chart when the chart panel was 250 shops). I would also like to thank kingofskiffle for his help too.
Hopefully everyone will enjoy seeing these charts. With the addition of panel sales I feel they really help flesh out the charts from that era. With the bonus of the full top 200 for each week they also reveal a part of the larger industry chart that has largely been hidden from most chart watchers and chart followers. I hope to be able to post at least one chart per day, hopefully more if time allows. So with no further delay here we go...
You'll see when Robbie posts the next one. It's interesting how many have been starred out some weeks and which weeks have almost none 
Comment