The British Music Experience, represented by TravelBeat, have partnered with the Official Charts Company to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the UK singles chart. Published by New Musical Express in 1952, the chart was compiled by Percy Dickins and topped by Al Martin’s Here In My Heart.
Harvey Goldsmith CBE and Chair of the Trustees of the British Music Experience said, “We are delighted to have collaborated with the Official Charts Company who keep meticulous records about the records we love. For a band or an artist to climb to the pinnacle of the Official Charts was a true honour and badge of success. For us at the British Music Experience, the Official Chart informs the great story of popular music in the UK. You won’t find a single track in the Museum that was not at some point chronicled by the chart but in this temporary exhibition visitors will look more closely at some of the meteoric success and dramatic races to the top.”
Official Charts Company Chief Executive, Martin Talbot added, “The Official Singles Chart has chronicled the nation’s favourite music for 70 years now, spanning eight decades (from the Fifties to the Twenties), and more than 1,400 No.1 singles. The race to top the Official Chart means as much to artists now as it has ever done and we are delighted to be partnering with the BME to mark this anniversary moment. The BME and the Official Charts share a joint mission – to celebrate all that is great about British music, in all its glory, and we intend to do just that through this brand new partnership.”
To launch the exhibition, BME is to host a very special evening in conversation with Peter Hooton and Keith Mullin from The Farm as they discuss the Official Charts. They will be talking about their chart-topping heroes and influences, their own chart singles and their No.1 single as part of The Justice Collective, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. BME will be playing the videos of Groovy Train, All Together Now and He Ain’t Heavy on the big screen before the band discuss each single. Groovy Train reached No.6 in September 1990 and All Together Now peaked at No.3 in December 1990. It was on the crest of this wave that their album Spartacus reached No.1 the following year. The Justice Collective went on to take the coveted Christmas No.1 position in 2012, beating X Factor winner James Arthur.
The event will take place on 17 November, tickets are £8 each and on sale Friday 14 October from www.britishmusicexperience.com.
70 Years of the Official Singles Charts runs at the British Music Experience in Liverpool’s Cunard Building from 16 November 2022 until 5 March 2023. Entry is included in the price of admission.
