Number One

The UK charts are 60 years old this week! Much as I hate to act in an age appropriate fashion, it is true that at 39 I rarely know what the number one single is these days. And if I do know the title, I won't necessarily have ever heard the song. I still buy new music but my days of radio 1 are mostly in the past!

But in my youth I sat down every Sunday, with my trusty ghetto blaster by my side, and my fingers hovering over play/record ready to pounce if a song I liked came up next.

What was Number 1 truly meant something, to me and the bands. I had my passions, as most young people do, and depending who I loved that week, it was vital that the new song by Adam Ant or Duran Duran went in at number one. Or at least top 5.

And the most important chart of the year was Christmas. These days that particular chart has been ruled to a large extent by the X-Factor. What a shame. I loved the chart battles as that years biggest artists all wanted the coveted slot, and despite my normally impecable taste (!?) in music I do love a good christmas single.

Once I reached mid-teens I was too cool for just the pop charts, I moved on to the independent charts in my beloved music papers- Sounds, Melody Maker and the only survivor- NME. I still wanted my favourites to be number one, but as this was rare in the mainstream charts I looked to these lists for signs of their success. Record shops displayed charts too, this one records the proud moment when my other halves band had their moment in the top spot!

Of course the other prize for being Number 1 on the Sunday night was the guaranteed best slot on 'Top of the Pops' . I LOVED this show and still hugely mourn its demise. It always played a range of music styles plucked from the top 40 and I often discovered new bands that way in my youth, some of them went on to be lifelong favourites thanks to watching telly in my PJs on a school night. In these days of a million music channels, each aimed at a specific taste you just don't get exposed to different genres in the same way. A case of too much choice leading to too little.

Back in the day TOTP was watched by 15 million people, after its demise the charts moved their TV presence to MTV, where over the course of a week 1.2 million people watch it. Do people care about the charts less or is it just that the Internet provides freedom to create your own video programming with your favourites streaming uninterrupted by a band you don't like?

Do the charts still mean the same to people today? In these days of downloads it isn't limited to what's on the shelves of Woolworths this week, old songs can make a sudden leap due to feature in a popular film or TV show. Is what video is most popular on YouTube each week a better judgement of popularity than the purchase of a single these days?

It may be immediate, but I find it far less satisfying purchasing a song online than popping down to the record shop and coming away with a 7inch single, with its artwork and B-side. But that probably just sounds like an old person yearning for the good old days. My teenager was genuinely amazed recently that I had colour telly as a kid. How old does she think I am??

Anyway. I will leave you with this fascinating piece of information. My first single was 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' by Adam and the Ants. I was 6. I still love it now. I would love to hear what yours was!

Love Miss Cisco XXX

P.s. if you enjoyed my nonsense about the Charts then I highly recommend a read of this far more eloquent post on the same subject by the Adequate Parent - Music and Charts