Elvis
set to claim 1000th UK Chart Topper
Elvis
set to make chart history
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Elvis
is on course to notch up his 20th chart topper 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.
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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.
By
1977, Elvis already had an illustrious chart career behind
him HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said that Elvis was "pretty
certain" to claim the historic chart topper.
"It's
fantastic news given that the honour could have fallen to
an unknown artist or a pretty bland single," he said. "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.
The
late musician's record company BMG are also offering artwork
and a collectors' box for the number one reissues, which is
proving popular with commited fans of Presley. Sales decline
The
singles chart has been a weekly fixture in the UK since 1952,
when Al Martino claimed the first number one with Here In
My Heart. Singles regularly crept their way up to the top
spot for the first few decades of the 'hit parade'. But from
the early nineties, records often went straight to number
one after being heavily promoted prior to their release.
Singles
sales have declined in recent years, with Jailhouse Rock selling
just 21,262 copies to reach number one last weekend - the
lowest since data began in 1969.
(News, Source: BBC News)
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