Guinness British Hit Singles - 15th Edition
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Music
Guinness British Hit Singles - 15th Edition Details
Reviews
This really only applies if you are studying the U.K. charts, but since the late 1970s Guinness have published the definitive encyclopaedia of U.K. Chart hitsThis contains a list of all acts to hit the U.K. pop music charts from Al Martino in 1952 to the end of the year 2000. The acts are listed alphabetically with chronological lists of each act's hits with number of weeks in the charts and highest chart position. A small amount of additional data is given for some groups, like dates and places of birth, but this is not the purpose of this book and so it is necessarily brief. There is a second section where all the song titles are listed which gives the year, highest position and artist, and this is extremely useful if you can't remember who had a hit with I Only Want To Be With You. A third section gives some chart facts and feats, such as the longest running chart acts, acts with the most hits, etc., and this is interesting and useful for quizzes!The chart used is that favoured by the BBC, which has changed chart compiler over the years, and strong arguments are made for charts used before the B.B.C. had an official chart on the basis that they must use where possible actual sales data and not record company figures or airplay.Earlier editions contain better photographs from the likes of Harry Hammond and Dezo Hoffman, but the sheer quantity of chart acts has necessitated the reduction of picture space and the increase in text. This latest issue has also been dumbed down in the editorial content, but that doesn't detract from the quality and sheer quantity of the data. This is a must have for any fan of U.K. pop music.