Official Chart 70th Anniversary Flashback: Al Martino's Here In My Heart becomes the UK's first Official Number 1 single in 1952
This coming week we're celebrating the 70th anniversary of the UK's Official Singles Chart - and what better way to do that than a look back at the first song to ever reach Number 1 officially in the UK?
The song that holds this distinction is Al Martino's Here In My Heart, which ascended to Number 1 on November 14, 1952.
For a little context: until this point, a song's popularity in the UK was not measured by physical sales, but by sales of its accompanying sheet music. But it was in 1952 that Percy Dickins, of the founders of NME (then known as the New Musical Express) decided to produce a sales-based chart.
Therefore, the first-ever Official Singles Chart was published on November 14, 1952. Its results were compiled by Dickins ringing up 20 record shops up and down the country every week, tallying up their biggest-sellers. Don't worry, our methods are a lot more robust now.
You may also notice that the Top 12 of the first Official Singles Chart is technically a Top 15, given that positions at Numbers 7, 8 and 11 were tied.
The top spot was taken by Italian-American crooner Al Martino and his track Here In My Heart. It would remain at the top for nine consecutive weeks, a UK chart record that would go un-broken until the current record-holder, Bryan Adams, came along in 1991 with Everything I Do (I Do It For You), whose run of 16 consecutive weeks at Number has yet to be overcome.
You can discover the longest-running Number 1 singles on the Official Singles Chart here.
At Number 2 was US singer Jo Stafford with You Belong To Me. This track would also go on to make history, as Jo would become the first female artist to score a UK Number 1 single.
The artist most dominant in the chart this week, however, was none other than the Forces Sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynn, with an impressive total of three entries; Forget Me Not (7), The Homing Waltz (9) and Auf Wiederseh'n Sweeetheart (10). In May 2020, Dame Vera would set an Official Charts record for the oldest person to appear on the Official Albums Chart Top 40, just one month before her death aged 103.
The first-ever Official Singles Chart: November 14, 2022
| POS | TITLE | ARTIST |
| 1 | HERE IN MY HEART | AL MARTINO |
| 2 | YOU BELONG TO ME | JO STAFFORD |
| 3 | SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY | NAT KING COLE |
| 4 | THE ISLE OF INNISFREE | BING CROSBY |
| 5 | FEET UP (PAT HIM ON THE PO-PO) | GUY MITCHELL |
| 6 | HALF AS MUCH | ROSEMARY CLOONEY |
| 7 | FORGET ME NOT | VERA LYNN |
| 7 | HIGH NOON (DO NOT FORSAKE ME) | FRANKIE LAIN |
| 8 | SUGARBUSH | DORIS DAY & FRANKIE LAIN |
| 8 | BLUE TANGO | RAY MARTIN |
| 9 | THE HOMING WALTZ | VERA LYNN |
| 10 | AUF WIEDERSEH'N SWEETHEART | VERA LYNN |
| 11 | BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE | MARIO LANZA |
| 11 | COWPUNCHER'S CANTANA | MAX BYGRAVES |
| 12 | WALKIN' MY BABY BACK HOME | JOHNNIE RAY |
©2022 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
Article Image: Hart/ANL/Shutterstock
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Chris Alcroft
Well spotted re: records set and weeks at no 1.
Thanks to David Eve - for pointing out the OCC's anomaly!
David Eve
"It would remain at the top for nine consecutive weeks, a UK chart record that would go un-broken until the current record-holder, Bryan Adams, came along in 1991 with Everything I Do (I Do It For You), whose run of 16 consecutive weeks at Number has yet to be overcome."
I think you meant to say until 1954 when David Whitfield spent 10 weeks at no.1 with Cara Mia, followed by 11 weeks for Slim Whitman with Rose Marie in 1955.
Estranged Liberal
“But it was in 1952 that Percy Dickins, of the founders of NME (then known as the New Musical Express) decided to produce a sales-based chart.” Surely a mistake here, as the sheet music chart was also based on sales!
Also, listeners should be aware that several of the songs on the Spotify playlist are not the original recordings that were issued on 78 at the time of that chart. This is a hazard when looking for recordings of hits from the 1950s and 60s. I’m pretty sure that Here in My Heart, Somewhere Along the Way and High Noon are all later re-recordings by the original artists. The BBC made the same mistake with the Al Martino track on Sixty Years of the Top 10.
T
TimisD
You obviously mean 1952 and not 2022. As quoted above: "The first-ever Official Singles Chart: November 14, 2022". Anyway, I enjoy the celebration of 70 years of MUSIC!