Click to go to the Sony/BMG UK site; or the Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart site on BBC Radio 1
Released 17th January 2005
- Ciara Knocks King Off Throne
By Luther Keith
(Detroit News, January 24, 2005)
There was a bit of a surprise at the top of the UK music chart this week, with Elvis NOT taking the top spot. Instead, Ciara took the honour with her single Goodies, meaning that the King didn't make history by scoring three different number one singles in as many weeks. Elvis had to make do with the second spot for the re-release of his A Fool Such As I - the third of his 18 original chart favourites which are being re-released to mark what would have been his 70th year. His number one from last week, One Night, slipped down to number 20 after just one week at the top. ...
- Teen Singer Keeps Elvis from Top of British Charts
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, January 23, 2005)
Elvis Presley has stumbled in his attempt to score a run of consecutive British No. 1's after his 1959 hit "A Fool Such As I" only reached second place, according to sales data from the Official UK Charts Company Sunday. The late King of Rock 'n' Roll was beaten to the top spot by an 18-year-old American R&B singer, Ciara Harris.
- R&B star halts Elvis chart reign: Ciara has already taken the song into the US Billboard top three
(BBC News, January 23, 2005)
R&B newcomer Ciara has prevented Elvis Presley from scoring a record three consecutive number one singles with three different songs. Her single Goodies went straight to number one while Presley's re-released A Fool Such As I entered at two. All 18 of Presley's UK chart-toppers are being re-released to mark what would have been his 70th year. ... Record company Sony BMG are reissuing Presley's hits as limited release singles, with fans eager to buy all 18 to fill a collector's box that went on sale in the first week. Last week Presley's One Night became the 1,000th number one single in UK chart history.
- Teen Singer Keeps Elvis from Top of British Charts
(Yahoo! News / Reuters, January 23, 2005)
Elvis Presley has stumbled in his attempt to score a run of consecutive British No. 1's after his 1959 hit "A Fool Such As I" only reached second place, according to sales data from the Official UK Charts Company Sunday. The late King of Rock 'n' Roll was beaten to the top spot by an 18-year-old American R&B singer, Ciara Harris.
Presley's record company is reissuing 18 former UK No. 1's over consecutive weeks to mark the 70th anniversary of his birth, and had topped the charts the previous two weeks with successive re-releases of "Jailhouse Rock" and "One Night." ...
- Elvis Presley Scores A Hat Trick
By Paul Cashmere
(Undercover, January 23, 2005)
Elvis Presley has clocked up his third number one single in as many weeks this week in the UK. Elvis' 'A Fool Such As I' will replace his 'One Night' at number one which replaced his 'Jailhouse Rock' just one week ago.
'A Fool Such As I' will then become the 1001st number one single in the UK since charts began in 1952. Elvis therefore has the 999th, 1000th and 1001st number one singles. The momentum is being driven by a Sony-BMG campaign to promote what would have been the 70th birthday of Elvis this month. The King's domination may not end here either. Sony-BMG will release all of Elvis' eighteen number one hits in the UK this year.
- TOTP books emergency impersonator for Elvis hit
By Daniel Farey-Jones
(Brand Republic, January 21, 2005)
LONDON - Unable to use video footage of Elvis Presley on tonight's 'Top of the Pops' (TOTP), BBC producers have booked an Elvis impersonator to sing the number one single 'One Night', the UK's 1,000th chart-topper. Producers scouted Mario Kombou, the star of Elvis musical 'Jailhouse Rock', to help with their problem. They were unable to secure the rights to use video footage of The King. A 'Top of the Pops' spokesman said: "It's a very special number one as it's the UK's 1,000th. We wanted to pay tribute to Elvis in the best way we know how, so we thought getting a professional would be the best way for 'Top of the Pops' to do that." Last week, 'Top of the Pops' used still pictures of Elvis to accompany his number one 'Jailhouse Rock'. 'Jailhouse Rock' and 'One Night' are the first two of 18 early Elvis UK number ones to be released by SonyBMG over the next few months. The copyright protection on his early songs is expiring, because copyright on sound recordings lasts 50 years after the recording was made. However, the two singles have set new lows for sales, with 'Jailhouse Rock' notching up only 21,262 copies to hit the top spot and 'One Night' just 20,463 copies The BBC said that Kombou is likely to appear on 'Top of the Pops' again next week because the next Presley re-release, 'A Fool Such as I', is on course to give him his third number one in three weeks.
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Released 10th January 2005
- Name Game: Elvis to Presley
By David McIntyre
(BBC, January 21, 2005)
This week's name game features the one and only Elvis Presley, whose song 'One Night' is at the top of the charts. We want you to come up with six steps between Fulham striker Elvis Hammond and basketball coach Jim Presley. Here is our effort. Can you do better? Send in your attempts using the form on the right. ...
- Elvis tops UK charts for 20th time
(Economic Times / Associated Press, January 20, 2005)
Elvis Presley's music lives on - and continues to set records in Britain - taking the No 1 position on the country's singles chart. The weekly singles hit parade - first started in Britain in 1952 - reached its 1,000th week Sunday with Presley's rereleased 1959 hit 'One Night' claiming the milestone No 1 position. The track, one of 18 Elvis hits being rereleased to commemorate what would have been his 70th year, was joined by another Elvis favourite 'Jailhouse Rock', also recently rereleased, which came in at No 10. By storming to No 1, 'One Night' became Presley's 20th No 1 hit on the British charts - a record in itself. The Beatles only managed 17 No 1 hits. Presley had his first No 1 hit on the British charts in 1957 with 'All Shook Up'.
His success Sunday surprised bookmakers, who were forced to shell out to bettors who had backed the King on long odds to claim the 1,000th No 1. "To our knowledge this is the first time that an Elvis bet has taken us to the cleaners, as the majority of Elvis bets we take are for him to be found alive," said Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill bookmakers.
- Elvis fans are no fools
(Edinburgh Evening News, January 19, 2005)
ELVIS PRESLEY is set to break another record this Sunday by scoring his third number one in as many weeks. The re-release of A Fool Such As I is outselling closest rival The Chemical Brothers by three to one. It would become the 1001st number one in chart history and give Presley his 21st chart-topper. Presley is currently holding the top spot with the 1000th number one, One Night. The week before he topped the chart with Jailhouse Rock. And Presley fans have been out in force since Monday buying up copies of One Night, which was originally released on April 24, in 1959. Each of the King's 18 chart-toppers is being re-released to mark what would have been his 70th year.
- Elvis 'set for chart hat-trick': Elvis Presley's 18 original UK number ones are being re-released
(BBC News, January 19, 2005)
The late US legend Elvis Presley is likely to score his third UK number one single in three weeks on Sunday, according to early sales figures. The king of rock 'n' roll has already had consecutive chart-toppers with Jailhouse Rock and One Night. A Fool Such As I, the next in a series of 18 reissues, is on course to beat the Chemical Brothers to the top. But his next single, It's Now Or Never, will face a challenge from tsunami charity single Grief Never Grows Old. Sir Cliff Richard, Russell Watson, Boy George, Bill Wyman and members of the Bee Gees, the Beach Boys, America and the Eagles are expected to feature on the charity song. ...
- The King rocks again at No.1 on UK's chart
By Geoffrey Lewis
(earthtimes.org, January 17, 2005)
The last time Elvis Presley's song "One Night" made it to the No.1 position on U.K. Singles Chart was in 1959. Last week, it reappeared at the top spot confirming the belief of die-hard Elvis fans worldwide that 'the King of rock and roll shall never die'. The British Broadcasting Corp. aired the 100th No.1 UK hit single yesterday, which replaced another of Elvis evergreen hits "Jailhouse Rock".
It's not just three generations of Elvis fans but also people who collect memorabilia who would be rushing to the store to pick up Elvis hits. Because in the weeks to come, Presley's record label Sony BMG will be re-releasing all his 18 U.K.No.1 singles.
... Pop stars and rock-n-roll idols from across the world have, ever since, been vying for that top spot. Among the successful ones, you will find names like the Beatles, Madonna and even St. Winfred's School Choir. With last week's listing on the chart, 'One Night' became Britain's 1,000th No. 1 track. However, sales aren't the same as they must have been decades ago. Fans of Presley would be sorely disappointed to know that last week "Jailhouse Rock" sold just around 21,000 copies although it made it to the top spot on U.K.'s Single's chart, which is the lowest ever in sales.
- The king at No 1 again as darkness falls on singles era: Re-release of Presley's 1959 hit becomes 1,000th disc to top the chart ... but insiders see it as a hollow triumph
By Caroline Sullivan
(Guardian Unlimited, January 16, 2005)
Elvis may have permanently left the building 27 years ago, but yesterday he clocked up his 20th UK No 1 single - a re-released 1959 hit, One Night - amid predictions that the singles format is in terminal decline. The king's latest triumph - if that is the word for a CD that managed to top the chart with just 30,000 sales - is also the 1,000th No 1 since the UK chart began in 1952. Low sales or not, the music industry is rolling out a series of promotions to tie in with the milestone.
This is the second time One Night has been Britain's biggest seller. At the time of its first visit, music was a very different industry. Singles were, as now, "shop windows" for higher-priced albums, but turnover at the top of the chart was far slower. Today's short-attention-span culture sees a new No 1 almost every week, spawning the perception that reaching the top is no longer so prestigious.
Knowing what was No 1 each week used to be de rigueur for any adolescent who wanted a social life. Ignorance of the charts marked one as tragically uncool in a time when the weekly Radio 1 countdown was mandatory listening. BBC 6 Music broadcaster Andrew Collins remembers "going home at lunchtime on Tuesday to hear the chart, because it was so important."
Its social importance waned in the late 1990s, as teenagers found other diversions such as computer games, and sales began to drop. Making matters worse was the advent of reality-TV stars such as Pop Idol's Michelle McManus, whose short careers were marked by singles that shot straight to No 1, then straight to oblivion. The rise of internet downloading, and its snazzy iPod hardware, seems to have sealed its fate. Number ones are now perceived by many as irrelevant one-week wonders, and singles sales as a whole have dropped 41% in the last 12 months.
That has not kept the Official Charts Company, which compiles the charts by tracking sales in 6,000 shops, from turning the 1,000th No 1 into an event. The Capital Gold radio network will devote this week to playing all 1,000 songs, Omnibus Publishing is to follow with a book, and Channel Five will air a primetime programme on February 7.
There will soon be no excuse for not knowing that the first No 1 was Here in My Heart by American crooner Al Martino, and for the fact that you aren't alone in not knowing a single one of Westlife's 12 chart-toppers.
Not everybody is in a celebratory mood, however. "It's like the 100th customer through the doors of a supermarket getting a prize," Collins complained. David Steele, whose V2 Records is home to Paul Weller and Stereophonics, was even less enthusiastic. "We shouldn't celebrate anything about the singles chart, because there's nothing to celebrate. People don't buy singles any more. The way it's going, physical singles will be extinct in a few years."
Sales of "physical" singles are at crisis point as consumers desert record shops for their home PCs, where tracks can be downloaded for about 79p each, rather than the £3.99 shop price. Downloading's popularity has been fuelled by the introduction of the iPod, which can store 10,000 downloaded tracks. Its telltale white wires, already trailing out of ears on every city street, are set to become ubiquitous with last week's launch of the lower-priced iPod Shuffle.
This does not bode well for the CD single, as it prepares to join the fax machine and video recorder in a charity shop near you. The business is still pondering the ramifications of a fortnight ago, when another Presley reissue, Jailhouse Rock, became the 999th No 1 with 21,000 sales - the lowest ever for a chart-topper. Downloads will soon be incorporated into the chart, but even this will not make singles the cultural touchstones they were as recently as 1995, when a Blur v Oasis chart battle made the the evening news.
According to Paul Williams of Music Week magazine, the excitement waned when singles began automatically to enter the chart at No 1 - landed there by advance radio play and mailshots to fans - rather than start low and gradually climb. Of the 156 No 1s this century, only three did not debut at the top. "It's all about scheduling now. It's much easier for the business to line up what's going to be No 1 - you know from the schedules, 'Oh, that'll be No 1, and next week that'll be No 1'. In the past, you could never predict - it was all up to the fans."
The Elvis reissues are a prime example of the way releases have been stripped of spontaneity. BMG Records, owners of Presley's back catalogue, has never been reticent about exploiting its goldmine through regular reissues. Seizing another opportunity with the 70th anniversary of his birth on January 8, it began re-releasing all 18 of his previous British chart-toppers, one per week.
Investment
To persuade fans who already owned them to buy them again, it sold a limited-edition box storage box containing the first single, All Shook Up. The box was £10.99, and it will cost another £68 to stock it fully. "People have invested in the box, and they'll want to fill it," said Gennaro Castaldo of retailers HMV, which has sold out of the box. "He should have consistent Top 5s until April."
Released last week as a limited run of 30,000 and helped along by the publicity surrounding the 1,000th No 1, One Night easily outsold the second-biggest seller, the Manic Street Preachers' new single. The manipulation irks Collins. "The moral victory was the Manics'. They're the spiritual number one."
Well, 30,000 Elvis fans would disagree (and those who missed buying a box can bid for one, starting at £45, on auction website eBay). In a way, though, the dedicated 30,000 are getting off lightly, because BMG originally planned to re-release all his US and UK number ones - 30 in total.
Meanwhile, it is safe to assume that we will see a lot more of the man from Memphis in next year or two, before some of his biggest hits go out of copyright. BMG's 50-year copyright on classics such as Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, and Blue Suede Shoes expires in 2006, when any label will be entitled to release them without paying BMG a penny.
But, as the king probably wouldn't have said, what's millions of pounds in royalties between friends?
- Elvis Sales Show Singles Charts on the Rocks
By Anita Singh
(scotsman.com, January 12, 2005)
Elvis Presley may have the 999th number one single under his belt and the 1,000th on the way, but his success hides some depressing truths about the state of the singles charts. The King of Rock 'n' Roll topped the chart last week with the re-release of Jailhouse Rock. But the single sold just 21,262 copies the lowest sales yet recorded for a number one single. And One Night, headed for the 1,000th number one spot this week, won't have to do much better. Because the single is a limited edition, record company SonyBMG have pressed fewer than 30,000 copies - confident that will be enough to top the chart. Not so long ago, a record had to sell well over 100,000 copies to reach number one. Now the singles chart is in such steep decline that artists require only a fraction of that figure. ...
- Elvis set to make chart history
(BBC, January 12, 2005)
Elvis Presley is on course to claim the 1,000th UK number one chart single, according to the latest sales figures. A reissue of his song One Night is outstripping sales of nearest rivals the Manic Street Preachers by as much as 9-1 in some music retailers. The late singer's 18 chart toppers are being re-released week by week in the year he would have been 70. Presley's Jailhouse Rock currently holds the top spot, originally a number one in 1958. It is predicted to slip to number five when the new chart is announced on Sunday. If One Night tops the chart, it will be the legendary star's 20th number one - three more than The Beatles.
Ahead 'by a mile'
Major music stockists have said that Elvis is comfortably outselling its rivals and will "definitely" claim the number one spot. A spokesman for Virgin Megastores said the record is ahead of the Manics and fellow rival the Killers "by a mile", and that they are looking to increase their stocks of the track. Woolworths also reported that Elvis is doing "tremendously well", shifting nine times more than his nearest competitor. ... "With the obvious exception of The Beatles, there is no other act in the history of popular music which has the iconic and enduring appeal of Elvis," added Mr Castaldo. ...
Released 3rd January 2005
- Who's gonna be king of the charts?
(NME, January 11, 2005)
THE KILLERS and MANIC STREET PREACHERS are battling it out with ELVIS PRESLEY for the 1,000th UK Number One hit. The King's classic 'Jailhouse Rock' is currently holding on to the top spot, and midweek sales of his latest single 'One Night' suggest that he will soar to the top of the charts yet again this weekend. The legendary singer is currently outselling Manic Street Preachers' latest single 'Empty Souls', which is at Number Two, and the re-release of The Killers' former hit 'Somebody Told Me', at Number Three, by around 5,000 copies.
- Elvis Odds On For 1000th Number One-bookies All Shook Up
(Casino City Times, January 10, 2005)
After taking a number of large bets, bookies William Hill have slashed the odds on Elvis having the 1000th No.1 this weekend from Even money to a 1/8 near certainty. On Sunday Elvis racked up his 19th number 1 single and this weeks release of One Night looks almost certain to rack up his 20th No.1 on Sunday. There are a number of other contenders who are in with a sporting chance and Hills make Ciara, a 19 year old R & B act from the States, joint second favourite with the Scissor Sisters at 14/1. The outsiders include The Killers 20/1, Steve Brookstein 25/1 and the Roosters at 33/1
"Last week we were offering Even money that Elvis would have the 1000th number one but we had not factored in the fanatical nature of Elvis fans. Judging by the weight of money that we have seen for Elvis it looks like the Elvis juggernaut is definitely on the road. That said, we probably owe Elvis fans a payout as we have a taken a number of bets over the years on Elvis to be found alive which is currently 1000/1." said Hills spokesman Rupert Adams
Wednesday Elvis sighting in Edgware Rd
On Wednesday morning at 11am an Elvis look-alike (Elvis Shmelvis) will be placing a charity bet that Elvis will have the 1000th No.1 in aid of the Tsunami Appeal at William Hill's Edgware Road branch (260 Edgware Rd). Hills will be accepting an Elvis artwork kindly donated by Sid Shaw of Elvisly Yours in lieu of payment and if Elvis is No.1 Hills will donate £1000 to the Tsunami Appeal. If unsuccessful Hills will auction off the life size work for the same charity. Elvis will be singing "One For The Money".
- Presley passes 50 million single sales in time for birthday celebrations
(Irish Examiner, January 11, 2005)
Elvis Presley had a 70th birthday celebration to remember from beyond the grave after passing the 50 million singles mark in America. ... [as below]
- PRESLEY PASSES 50 MILLION IN TIME FOR BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
(Contact Music, January 10, 2005)
ELVIS PRESLEY had a 70th birthday celebration to remember from beyond the grave after passing the 50 million singles mark in America. The dead rocker's 1954 single GOOD ROCKIN' TONIGHT was certified gold to push his total US single sales past 50 million - in time for the celebrations to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Presley's birth. ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES bosses were presented with a special sales award during a ceremony on Saturday (08JAN05) at the singer's Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. The latest certification, representing 500,000 in domestic sales, solidifies Presley's status as the artist possessing more certified singles than anyone in music history.
In second place is SIR ELTON JOHN, who has sold more than 21 million singles.
Meanwhile, Presley fans further celebrated his birthday in style after learning their idol had crashed into the top of the British charts with a reworked version of JAILHOUSE ROCK, which became the 999th number one in British singles history.
- The King returns to reign in charts
(Yahoo! News, January 9, 2005)
Elvis Presley is back at the top of the UK singles chart, 27 years after he died. The King of Rock'n'Roll has knocked Steve Brookstein off the number one spot with the re-release of Jailhouse Rock, which topped the US and UK charts for the first time in 1958. It is Elvis's 19th chart-topper and comes the day after what would have been his 70th birthday. ...
Released 3rd January 2005
- ELVIS TO MAKE U.K. SINGLES CHART HISTORY WITH FOUR MONTHS OF CONSECUTIVE
HIT SINGLES
(Sony/BMG UK, January, 2005)
SonyBMG launches massive Elvis Presley
18 UK #1 Singles Campaign ... On the first day of this audacious campaign (January 3, 2005), SonyBMG will issue two Elvis singles, the first of which, "All Shook Up", [is to be] sold inside a numbered CD and 10" collectors' box that will eventually house all 18 singles in the series. Please note that due to U.K. chart regulations on packaging for singles, "All Shook Up" and the limited edition collectors box were [sic] not be eligible for the U.K. singles chart. However to see the King back in the charts to celebrate his 70th anniversary SonyBMG will simultaneously issued the second Elvis #1 single "Jailhouse Rock" and gave [sic] Elvis the perfect birthday present, his 19th No.1 single.
Boxed set
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