Frankie Goes To Hollywood have outstripped THE BEATLES to become the biggest chart stars in the UK.
According to an ‘All-Time Top 40’ chart compiled by the Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles calculated on the number of weeks that a record has spent in the British charts, Frankie‘s ‘Relax’ pipped The Beatles‘ ‘She Loves You’ into second place. In the Number Three spot was Frank Sinatra with ‘My Way’.
Current stars such as Madonna, U2, Spice Girls, All Saints, Oasis and U2 are left standing and don’t even make an appearance in the Top 20.
The chart has been calculated on the basis that every song released since the launch of ‘Top Of The Pops’ in 1964 is given a number of points depending on the number of weeks it has spent in the chart – with a record getting one point for one week at Number 40, up to 40 points for a week at Number One.
When added up, the results show that Frankie Goes To Hollywood‘s 1984 single ‘Relax’ – which was banned from ‘Top Of The Pops’ and Radio One – has spent the most time in the chart.
The rest of the chart is dominated by artists from the ’60s and ’70s. Jim Reeves and Engelbert Humperdinck get three and two entries respectively, while more recent acts struggle to make an impression. Out of the ’90s singles, Bryan Adams‘ ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ reached the highest chart position at Number 6, while the highest most recent chart hit is All Saints‘ ‘Never Ever’, which reached Number 28. New Order‘s classic ‘Blue Monday’ just misses the Top 20, placed at Number 22.
This survey further highlights the disposable nature of the current singles market. Of the UK Number One singles this year, the vast majority have only remained at the top spot for just one week.
The ‘Top 20’ runs: 1 ‘Relax’ – Frankie Goes To Hollywood 2 ‘She Loves You’ – The Beatles 3 ‘My Way’ – Frank Sinatra 4 ‘I Love You Because’ – Jim Reeves 5 ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – Queen 6 ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ – Bryan Adams 7 ‘Love Is All Around’ – Wet Wet Wet 8 ‘Rivers Of Babylon/Brown Girl In The Ring’ – Boney M 9 ‘Albatross’ – Fleetwood Mac 10 ‘Think Twice’ – Celine Dion 11 ‘Release Me’ – Engelbert Humperdinck 12 ‘The Last Waltz’ – Engelbert Humperdinck 13 ‘Tears’ – Ken Dodd 14 ‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round The Old Oak Tree’ – Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando 15 ‘All Right Now’ – Free 16 ‘Imagine’ – John Lennon 17 ‘Amazing Grace’ – Judy Collins 18 ‘Young Girl’ – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap 19 ‘I Will Always Love You’ – Whitney Houston 20 ‘You’re The One That I Want’ – John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
The poll was conducted to mark the launch of the new ‘Top Of The Pops’ show ‘Top Of The Pops+Plus’, which is presented by Josie D’Arby and Vernon Kay, and airs at midday this coming Sunday (October 8) on BBC2.