List of NME number-one singles of the 1960s


The NME (or New Musical Express) was a British weekly popular music newspaper. Record charts in the United Kingdom began on 14 November 1952 when NME imitated an idea started in American Billboard magazine compiled their own hit parade. Until 15 February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) chart was established, many periodicals compiled their own charts.[1] During this time the BBC used aggregated results of the prominent NME, Melody Maker, Disc, Record Mirror and, later, Record Retailer charts to compile their Pick of the Pops chart. Prior to 1969 there was no universally accepted source or "official" singles chart;[2][3][4] however, the Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums regard the canonical sources for this period as NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer from then until the BMRB took over in 1969.[5] Although Record Retailer is now the most predominantly used source for charting music in the 1960s, NME had the biggest circulation of charts in the decade and was more widely followed.[2][3] After the BMRB was formed, the NME continued compiling its own chart up until 14 May 1988.[1]

The Beatles had eighteen number-one singles on the NME chart, only one of which never topped the Record Retailer chart.

The Allisons' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, entitled "Are You Sure?", was the first single to be number one on the NME chart but not to reach the top spot on Record Retailer's chart.[3] In total, sixteen songs failed to reach number one with Record Retailer but topped the NME chart.[3][6][7] In 1969, after the BMRB chart was introduced, four songs topped the NME but not the BMRB chart. Notable discrepancies include "19th Nervous Breakdown", which reached number one for the Rolling Stones on the NME, Disc, and Melody Maker charts, topped the BBC's Pick of the Pops aggregated chart and was announced as number one on Top of the Pops; however, because it did not reach number one on the Record Retailer chart, it is omitted from the Official Charts Company's canon.[2] The Beatles' "Please Please Me" suffered the same fate so, arguably, should be considered the Beatles' first number-one single.[3] Conversely, Elvis Presley's double A-side, "Rock-A-Hula Baby"/"Can't Help Falling in Love", reached number one on all charts except NME because the entries were split by NME according to which song was requested when the shop returned its figures.[2][3]

Number-one singles

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Elvis Presley had eleven number-one singles on the NME chart, including two not recognised by The Official Charts Company.
 
Kenny Rogers' first number-one single on the NME chart came over seven years before he reached the top of Record Retailer's chart.
 
Joe Brown said the decision to favour the Record Retailer chart "has deprived [him] of [his] only number one".[3]
 
Len Barry's only number-one single was on the NME chart with "1-2-3".
 
Adam Faith's "Poor Me" was the last number-one single for which NME is considered the canonical source.
Key
Italics Prior to 10 March 1960 the NME is considered by the Official Charts Company as the canonical source.
The song did not reach number one on the Record Retailer chart which is considered by the Official Charts Company as the canonical source until 15 February 1969.
The song did not reach number one on the BMRB chart which is considered as the official chart after 15 February 1969.
[nb #] The song spent a week at number one, where it shared the top spot with another song.
Contents
No. Artist[nb 1] Single[nb 1] Reached
number one[nb 1]
Weeks at
number one[nb 1]
1960
94 Emile Ford and the Checkmates "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" 18 December 1959 6
95 Michael Holliday "Starry Eyed" 29 January 1960 1
96 Anthony Newley "Why" 5 February 1960 4
97 Adam Faith "Poor Me" 4 March 1960 2
98 Johnny Preston "Running Bear" 18 March 1960 1
99 Lonnie Donegan "My Old Man's a Dustman" 25 March 1960 4
100 Anthony Newley "Do You Mind?" 22 April 1960 1
101 The Everly Brothers "Cathy's Clown" 29 April 1960 9
102 Jimmy Jones "Good Timin'" 1 July 1960 3
103 Cliff Richard and The Shadows "Please Don't Tease" 22 July 1960 4
104 The Shadows "Apache" 19 August 1960 6
105 Ricky Valance "Tell Laura I Love Her" 30 September 1960 2
106 Roy Orbison "Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)" 14 October 1960 3
107 Elvis Presley "It's Now or Never" 4 November 1960 9
1961
108 Johnny Tillotson "Poetry in Motion" 6 January 1961 3
109 Elvis Presley "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" 27 January 1961 5
110 The Everly Brothers "Walk Right Back" 3 March 1961 3
111 Elvis Presley "Wooden Heart" 24 March 1961 2
112 The Allisons "Are You Sure?" † 7 April 1961 1
re Elvis Presley "Wooden Heart" 14 April 1961 1
re The Allisons "Are You Sure?" † 21 April 1961 1
113 The Temperance Seven "You're Driving Me Crazy" 28 April 1961 1
114 The Marcels "Blue Moon" 5 May 1961 2
115 Del Shannon "Runaway" 19 May 1961 1
116 Elvis Presley "Surrender" 26 May 1961 4
re Del Shannon "Runaway" 23 June 1961 3
117 The Everly Brothers "Temptation" 14 July 1961 1
118 Eden Kane "Well I Ask You" 21 July 1961 2
119 Helen Shapiro "You Don't Know" 4 August 1961 3
120 John Leyton "Johnny Remember Me" 25 August 1961 3.5[nb 2]4[nb 2]
re Helen Shapiro "You Don't Know" 1 September 1961 0.5[nb 2]1[nb 2]
121 Elvis Presley "Wild in the Country" † 22 September 1961 1
re John Leyton "Johnny Remember Me" 29 September 1961 1
122 The Highwaymen "Michael (Row the Boat)" 6 October 1961 1
123 Helen Shapiro "Walkin' Back to Happiness" 13 October 1961 4
124 Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" 10 November 1961 3
125 Frankie Vaughan "Tower of Strength" 1 December 1961 3.5[nb 3]4[nb 3]
126 Bobby Vee "Take Good Care of My Baby" † 1 December 1961 0.5[nb 3]1[nb 3]
127 Danny Williams "Moon River" 29 December 1961 1
1962
128 Acker Bilk "Stranger on the Shore" † 6 January 1962 1
129 Cliff Richard "The Young Ones" 13 January 1962 6
130 Chubby Checker "Let's Twist Again" † 24 February 1962 2
131 Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen "March of the Siamese Children" † 10 March 1962 1
132 The Shadows "Wonderful Land" 17 March 1962 8.5[nb 4]9[nb 4]
133 B. Bumble and the Stingers "Nut Rocker" 12 May 1962 0.5[nb 4]1[nb 4]
134 Elvis Presley "Good Luck Charm" 19 May 1962 5
135 Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard "Come Outside" 23 June 1962 2
136 Joe Brown and the Bruvvers "A Picture of You" † 7 July 1962 1
137 Ray Charles "I Can't Stop Loving You" 14 July 1962 1
138 Frank Ifield "I Remember You" 21 July 1962 8
139 Elvis Presley "She's Not You" 15 September 1962 3
140 The Tornados "Telstar" 6 October 1962 5
141 Frank Ifield "Lovesick Blues" 10 November 1962 5
142 Elvis Presley "Return to Sender" 15 December 1962 2
143 Cliff Richard and The Shadows "The Next Time" / "Bachelor Boy" 29 December 1962 1
1963
144 The Shadows "Dance On!" 5 January 1963 3
145 Jet Harris and Tony Meehan "Diamonds" 26 January 1963 4
146 Frank Ifield "The Wayward Wind" 23 February 1963 0.5[nb 5]1[nb 5]
147 The Beatles "Please Please Me" † 23 February 1963 1.5[nb 5]2[nb 5]
148 Cliff Richard and The Shadows "Summer Holiday" 9 March 1963 3
149 The Shadows "Foot Tapper" 30 March 1963 1
150 Gerry & The Pacemakers "How Do You Do It?" 6 April 1963 3
151 The Beatles "From Me to You" 27 April 1963 5.5[nb 6]6[nb 6]
152 Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas "Do You Want to Know a Secret" † 1 June 1963 1.5[nb 6]2[nb 6]
153 Gerry & The Pacemakers "I Like It" 15 June 1963 4
154 Frank Ifield "Confessin' (That I Love You)" 13 July 1963 3
155 The Searchers "Sweets for My Sweet" 3 August 1963 3
156 Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas "Bad to Me" 24 August 1963 2
157 The Beatles "She Loves You" 7 September 1963 4
158 Brian Poole and The Tremeloes "Do You Love Me" 5 October 1963 3
159 Gerry & The Pacemakers "You'll Never Walk Alone" 26 October 1963 4
re The Beatles "She Loves You" 23 November 1963 2
160 The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 7 December 1963 6
1964
161 The Dave Clark Five "Glad All Over" 18 January 1964 2
162 The Searchers "Needles and Pins" 1 February 1964 3
163 Cilla Black "Anyone Who Had a Heart" 22 February 1964 4
164 Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas "Little Children" 21 March 1964 1
165 The Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love" 28 March 1964 4
166 Peter & Gordon "A World Without Love" 25 April 1964 2
167 The Searchers "Don't Throw Your Love Away" 9 May 1964 1
168 The Four Pennies "Juliet" 16 May 1964 2
169 Cilla Black "You're My World (Il Mio Mondo)" 30 May 1964 3
170 Roy Orbison "It's Over" 20 June 1964 2
171 The Animals "House of the Rising Sun" 4 July 1964 2
172 The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" 18 July 1964 4
173 Manfred Mann "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" 15 August 1964 2
174 The Honeycombs "Have I the Right?" 29 August 1964 2
175 The Kinks "You Really Got Me" 12 September 1964 1
176 Herman's Hermits "I'm Into Something Good" 19 September 1964 3
177 Roy Orbison "Oh, Pretty Woman" 10 October 1964 3
178 Sandie Shaw "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" 31 October 1964 2
179 The Supremes "Baby Love" 14 November 1964 1
180 The Rolling Stones "Little Red Rooster" 21 November 1964 2
181 The Beatles "I Feel Fine" 5 December 1964 6
1965
182 Georgie Fame "Yeh Yeh" 16 January 1965 1
183 The Moody Blues "Go Now" 23 January 1965 2
184 The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" 6 February 1965 1
185 The Kinks "Tired of Waiting for You" 13 February 1965 1
186 The Seekers "I'll Never Find Another You" 20 February 1965 2
187 Tom Jones "It's Not Unusual" 6 March 1965 1
188 The Rolling Stones "The Last Time" 13 March 1965 4
189 The Yardbirds "For Your Love" † 10 April 1965 0.5[nb 7]1[nb 7]
190 Cliff Richard "The Minute You're Gone" 10 April 1965 0.5[nb 7]1[nb 7]
191 The Beatles "Ticket to Ride" 17 April 1965 5
192 Jackie Trent "Where Are You Now (My Love)" 22 May 1965 1
193 Sandie Shaw "Long Live Love" 29 May 1965 2
194 The Everly Brothers "The Price of Love" † 12 June 1965 1
195 Elvis Presley "Crying in the Chapel" 19 June 1965 2
196 The Hollies "I'm Alive" 3 July 1965 2
197 The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man" 17 July 1965 2
198 The Beatles "Help!" 31 July 1965 4
199 Sonny & Cher "I Got You Babe" 28 August 1965 1
200 The Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" 4 September 1965 3
201 Ken Dodd "Tears" 25 September 1965 6
202 The Rolling Stones "Get Off of My Cloud" 6 November 1965 3
203 Len Barry "1-2-3" † 27 November 1965 1
204 The Seekers "The Carnival Is Over" 4 December 1965 1
205 The Beatles "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" 11 December 1965 5
1966
206 The Spencer Davis Group "Keep On Running" 15 January 1966 3
207 The Overlanders "Michelle" 5 February 1966 1
208 Nancy Sinatra "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" 12 February 1966 1
209 The Rolling Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown" † 19 February 1966 3
210 The Hollies "I Can't Let Go" † 12 March 1966 1.5[nb 8]2[nb 8]
211 The Walker Brothers "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" 19 March 1966 3.5[nb 8]4[nb 8]
212 The Spencer Davis Group "Somebody Help Me" 16 April 1966 1
213 Dusty Springfield "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" 23 April 1966 2
214 Manfred Mann "Pretty Flamingo" 7 May 1966 3
215 The Rolling Stones "Paint It, Black" 28 May 1966 1
216 Frank Sinatra "Strangers in the Night" 4 June 1966 3
217 The Beatles "Paperback Writer" 25 June 1966 2
218 The Kinks "Sunny Afternoon" 9 July 1966 2
219 Chris Farlowe "Out of Time" 23 July 1966 2
220 The Troggs "With a Girl Like You" 6 August 1966 2
221 The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" / "Eleanor Rigby" 20 August 1966 4
222 Small Faces "All or Nothing" 17 September 1966 1
223 Jim Reeves "Distant Drums" 24 September 1966 5
224 Four Tops "Reach Out I'll Be There" 29 October 1966 3
225 The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" 19 November 1966 2
226 Tom Jones "Green, Green Grass of Home" 3 December 1966 7
1967
227 The Monkees "I'm a Believer" 21 January 1967 4
228 Petula Clark "This Is My Song" 18 February 1967 2
229 Engelbert Humperdinck "Release Me" 4 March 1967 6
230 Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra "Somethin' Stupid" 15 April 1967 1
231 Sandie Shaw "Puppet on a String" 22 April 1967 4
232 The Tremeloes "Silence Is Golden" 20 May 1967 3
233 Procol Harum "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 10 June 1967 5
234 The Beatles "All You Need Is Love" 15 July 1967 4
235 Scott McKenzie "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" 12 August 1967 4
236 Engelbert Humperdinck "The Last Waltz" 9 September 1967 6
237 Bee Gees "Massachusetts" 21 October 1967 3
238 The Foundations "Baby Now That I've Found You" 11 November 1967 3
239 Long John Baldry "Let the Heartaches Begin" 2 December 1967 1
240 The Beatles "Hello, Goodbye" 9 December 1967 6
1968
241 Georgie Fame "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" 20 January 1968 1
242 Love Affair "Everlasting Love" 27 January 1968 3
243 Manfred Mann "Mighty Quinn" 17 February 1968 2
244 Esther and Abi Ofarim "Cinderella Rockefella" 2 March 1968 4
245 The Beatles "Lady Madonna" 30 March 1968 2
246 Cliff Richard "Congratulations" 13 April 1968 1
247 Louis Armstrong "What a Wonderful World" 20 April 1968 4
248 Gary Puckett & The Union Gap "Young Girl" 18 May 1968 5
249 The Rolling Stones "Jumpin' Jack Flash" 22 June 1968 2
250 The Equals "Baby Come Back" 6 July 1968 3
251 Tommy James and the Shondells "Mony Mony" 27 July 1968 4
252 Tom Jones "Help Yourself" † 24 August 1968 2
253 Bee Gees "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" 7 September 1968 1
254 The Beatles "Hey Jude" 14 September 1968 3
255 Mary Hopkin "Those Were the Days" 5 October 1968 5
256 Joe Cocker "With a Little Help from My Friends" 9 November 1968 1
257 Hugo Montenegro "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" 16 November 1968 1
258 Barry Ryan "Eloise" † 23 November 1968 2
259 The Scaffold "Lily the Pink" 7 December 1968 5
1969
260 Marmalade "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" 11 January 1969 2
261 Fleetwood Mac "Albatross" 25 January 1969 3
262 The Move "Blackberry Way" 15 February 1969 1
263 Amen Corner "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" 22 February 1969 1
264 Peter Sarstedt "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" 1 March 1969 4
265 Marvin Gaye "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" 29 March 1969 3
266 Desmond Dekker & The Aces "Israelites" 19 April 1969 2
267 The Beatles with Billy Preston "Get Back" 3 May 1969 5
268 Tommy Roe "Dizzy" 7 June 1969 2
269 The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko" 21 June 1969 2
270 Thunderclap Newman "Something in the Air" 5 July 1969 2
271 Elvis Presley "In the Ghetto" ‡ 19 July 1969 1
272 The Rolling Stones "Honky Tonk Women" 26 July 1969 5
273 Zager and Evans "In The Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)" 30 August 1969 3
274 Creedence Clearwater Revival "Bad Moon Rising" 20 September 1969 3
275 Bobbie Gentry "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" 11 October 1969 3
276 The Archies "Sugar, Sugar" 1 November 1969 2
277 Fleetwood Mac "Oh Well" ‡ 15 November 1969 1
re The Archies "Sugar, Sugar" 22 November 1969 2
278 Stevie Wonder "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" ‡ 6 December 1969 1
279 Kenny Rogers and The First Edition "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" ‡ 13 December 1969 1
280 Rolf Harris "Two Little Boys" 20 December 1969 6
Contents

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d The names, singles, week-ending dates and duration at number one are from NME.[1][8]
  2. ^ a b John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me" and Helen Shapiro's "You Don't Know" were classified jointly as number one on 1 September 1961. The following week "Johnny Remember Me" reclaimed the number-one spot outright.[9]
  3. ^ a b Frankie Vaughan's "Tower of Strength" and Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby" were classified jointly as number one on 1 December 1961. For the following three weeks "Tower of Strength" claimed the number-one spot outright.[10]
  4. ^ a b The Shadows's "Wonderful Land" and B. Bumble and the Stingers's "Nut Rocker" were classified jointly as number one on 12 May 1962. The following week neither reclaimed the number-one spot.[11]
  5. ^ a b Frank Ifield's "The Wayward Wind" and The Beatles' "Please Please Me" were classified jointly as number one on 23 February 1963. The following week The Beatles claimed the number-one spot outright.[12]
  6. ^ a b The Beatles' "From Me to You" and Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas' "Do You Want to Know a Secret" were classified jointly as number one on 1 June 1963. The previous week "From Me to You" had been the number-one spot outright, and the following week "Do You Want to Know a Secret" claimed the number-one spot individually.[13]
  7. ^ a b The Yardbirds' "For Your Love" and Cliff Richard's "The Minute You're Gone" were classified jointly as number one on 10 April 1965. The next week neither song reclaimed the number-one spot.[14]
  8. ^ a b The Hollies' "I Can't Let Go" and The Walker Brothers' "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" were classified jointly as number one on 19 March 1966. The previous week The Hollies had been number one outright and The Walker Brothers held the number-one spot individually for the following three weeks.[15]

References

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Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c Smith, Alan. "Every No.1 in the 1960s is listed from all the nine different magazine charts!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Smith, Alan. "50s & 60s UK Charts – The Truth!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Leigh, Spencer (20 February 1998). "Music: Charting the number ones that somehow got away". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  4. ^ Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book Of The British Charts: Singles and Albums (3rd ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. v. ISBN 1-84449-058-0. Until 15th February 1969, there was no officially compiled chart.
  5. ^ "Key Dates in the History of the Official UK Charts". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Featured Artists: Elvis Presley". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Artist Chart History: Bobby Vee". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  8. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, pp. 82–217.
  9. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, p. 104.
  10. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, pp. 107–108.
  11. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, p. 113.
  12. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, pp. 123–124.
  13. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, p. 127.
  14. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, p. 152.
  15. ^ Rees, Lazell & Osborne 1995, p. 165–166.
Sources

Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Osborne, Roger (1995). Forty Years of "NME" Charts (2nd ed.). Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-7522-0829-2.