The Commercial Radio Chart Show is a radio programme that was broadcast across commercial adult contemporary and contemporary hit radio stations across the United Kingdom, from 30 September 1984 to 30 December 2018. It had many different names over the years, beginning with The Network Chart Show (later sponsored by Nescafé), before securing sponsorship with Pepsi between 1993 and 2003, which led to the birth of The Pepsi Chart. Since then, it has been known as Hit40UK, The Big Top 40 Show, The Vodafone Freebees Big Top 40, The Vodafone Big Top 40 and, finally, The Official Vodafone Big Top 40 between October 2017 and December 2018.[1]
The show was cancelled at the end of 2018, after the producers–Global Radio–withdrew it from syndication following Bauer Radio's decision to stop broadcasting the programme. The final syndicated commercial radio chart show was broadcast on 30 December 2018 by Marvin Humes and Kat Shoob. It was replaced on Global-owned stations by The Official Big Top 40.[1]
Background
Originally, the main presenter was David Jensen (known then as "Kid Jensen") with holiday cover provided by Timmy Mallett and Alan Freeman, and in later years, Pat Sharp. Jensen would record trailers to run on local stations during the week which famously started with the words "Hi Chart Fans!!".
The programme featured the Network Top 30 and ran from 5-7pm, competing directly with BBC Radio One's Top 40 chart show. It was produced by Capital Radio from their studios on Euston Road in London.
The Network Chart Show aired on Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations using the transmission circuits of Independent Radio News, which meant it was originally broadcast in mono in most areas (some stations near to the London area were able to receive Capital on FM well enough for 'off air' rebroadcast). Later, some circuits were upgraded to enable stereo transmission, followed by a satellite distribution service later on.
The programme went on air at exactly 5:00 pm, displacing IRN's hourly national news bulletins at 5 pm and 6 pm, originating from LBC. Each station carrying the programme would play their own 10-second ident before linking up with the network feed. The final song faded out shortly before the 7pm networked news, allowing each station to opt-out for an ident before either presenting their own news or re-joining the network for the IRN bulletin.
Eventually, on Sunday 21 October 1990, the programme was extended to start following the 4 pm IRN bulletin, with the chart expanded to a Top 40 – although not all of the stations took the extra hour to begin with. From 1985, the programme was sponsored by Nescafe.
Even though The Network Chart is listed currently as the beginning of the lineage the true origins of this chart go way back to the 1970s under the title The Capital Countdown using older 70s MRIB and some episodes of it have surfaced online though online your usual classic tape recordings radio on demand services which is evidence to this incarnation existing before The Network Chart.
The Network Chart
The chart was owned by Association of Independent Radio Contractors (AIRC)–the trade body for ILR stations. The chart was distributed by Satellite Media Services, produced by Capital Radio and compiled by the Media Research Information Bureau (MRIB). The chart differed from the entirely sales-based "official" Gallup chart (now the OCC) used by the BBC as it included airplay statistics when compiling the chart.[2] In 1987, sales data for a Thursday-to-Wednesday week was logged manually in diaries by 300 record shops and posted to MRIB.[3] In 1991, data was being collected from around 300 independent record shops who were provided with a checklist of currently released singles. Sales were "checked off against ticks on the retailers' masterbags" and these figures would be collected by telephone on Thursdays. Airplay statistics were factored in by all Independent Local Radio stations providing which playlist (A, B, or C) the current releases were on. More weight was given to the larger stations at the time, such as Capital (17 per cent), BRMB, Clyde, GWR, Metro, and Piccadilly. If a record was on every Independent Local Radio station's A list the sales were boosted by 40 per cent.[4]
MRIB's Network Chart was a rival competitor to the self-proclaimed "official" UK chart that was compiled by Gallup and that is now published by the Official Charts Company (OCC).[5][6] It was reported in March, 1991 that the Network Chart compiled by MRIB had a radio audience size that was gaining on the BBC Radio 1 chart show which broadcast the chart that was compiled by Gallup for the OCC (then CIN).[7] Later that month Music & Media magazine reported that they were switching to publishing the MRIB charts for the UK which they would also use to compile the European Hot 100 Singles and European Top 100 Albums charts.[8] There were sometimes public disputes over accuracy between Gallup and MRIB such as when the former placed Whitney Houston's single "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" at number 10 while the latter placed it at number 2 in the same week.[9] MRIB's Network Chart was published in music publications NME, Melody Maker,[10] and Sounds,[11] as well as on ITV's ORACLEteletext service.[10] MRIB's Network Chart used sales data starting from different days of the week from those Gallup used for its Radio 1 chart; thus the Network Chart's sales week straddled two Gallup chart sales weeks.[12] However, in July 1993, when Pepsi took over sponsorship, it was announced that the Top 10 of the Network Chart would use the same sales data as Gallup's chart for CIN, but that the lower 11-40 positions would still combine sales with radio airplay data. This new Network Chart was compiled by Spotlight Publications who beat MRIB to the contract.[13]
For its first three years, the Network Chart was more up-to-date than the BBC chart broadcast simultaneously (which had been around since the previous Tuesday), with many singles entering, and reaching their peak on, Sunday's new Network Chart before they did so on the official chart announced two days later. From 4 October 1987 the official (Gallup/OCC) chart which was broadcast by the BBC was brand new on a Sunday afternoon and was more up-to-date, using a Monday-to-Saturday sales week compared to the Network Chart's Thursday-to-Wednesday one.[14] Even when the Network Chart was more up-to-date, though, the Gallup chart was always considered the industry-recognised "official" Top 40, and was promoted as such by the BBC.
In compiling the chart MRIB employed a sliding scale, meaning that for the lower reaches of the Top 40, airplay counted almost as much as sales. This often meant that the 40-to-20 positions could be very different between the Network and BBC charts. The weight given to airplay diminished the higher one went in the chart, and the Top 10 was meant to be entirely sales-based, although the Network Chart did not register sales from Saturday, the single most important record-buying day, until a week later. It was not unusual for the MRIB and Gallup charts to have different songs at number one.
Because the chart did not include sales from the likes of Woolworths and WHSmith, some songs with more specialised appeal (including many by The Smiths) peaked higher than on the official chart, whereas some songs with more middle-of-the-road appeal (such as Su Pollard's "Starting Together") might sometimes peak lower. This had also been the case with the Record Business magazine chart used by ILR in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which also did not include data from the more family-friendly shops. As with the Record Business chart, regional charts were also produced by MRIB for individual ILR stations.
Spin-offs
A TV version launched in 1987 called The Roxy, presented by David Jensen and Kevin Sharkey using the chart data from The Network Chart. The show itself tried and failed to compete with the BBC, who had the long-established Top of the Pops. Announcements in the press indicated that the Saturday repeat of The Roxy would unveil the new Network Chart, but this failed to materialise; the Saturday repeat was always identical to the initial Tuesday broadcast, and so carried only the chart that had been around since the previous Sunday. It ran for just under a year and was produced by Tyne Tees Television, but was often beaten in the ratings by rival programmes on other channels such as EastEnders. The TV show was axed after industrial disputes saw the end of live performances.
On 16 March 1989, Fantail Publishing released a tie-in book called The Network Chart Book Of Hits, which was a review of the previous year (1988) in music. It featured a selection of the singles, albums and music videos charts, as well as interviews with some of the artists who had big hits that year. The book was introduced by David Jensen and the author was Mike Hrano.
Teen magazine Number One used The Network Chart singles and albums charts from January 1985 until summer 1990, when it was sold by its publishers, IPC Media to BBC Magazines. From then on it featured the official national singles and albums charts until the magazine's demise in early 1992. In addition, the national Sunday newspaper The News of the World used to feature The Network Chart Top 20 singles chart in their music section in the late 1980s and early 1990s, whereas The Sunday People featured the MRIB top 10 right up to MRIB's Singles/Album Chart demise in April 2008. However, Independent Radio stopped using it in August 1993.
Re-branding
From 1 August 1993, Neil Fox took over the rebranded Pepsi Network Chart,[15][16] which later became the Pepsi Chart,[17] and then Hit40UK. On 15 June 2009, Hit40UK became The Big Top 40 Show. All these shows mostly used the same Top 10 as The Official Chart chart which is compiled by the Official Charts Company, except The Big Top 40 which used the iTunes live top 10, at the end of the show, and kicks off with the full week's top 10 on iTunes. The 40–11 positions on all of them is a 50/50 sales/airplay chart. In January, 2019, all re-branded versions of The Network Chart were finally replaced with The Official Big Top 40 which has more listeners than The Official Chart which is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and which is compiled by the Official Charts Company.[18]
"Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" is a split single, released as a double a-side, from the American rock bands The Jesus Lizard and Nirvana, released via Touch and Go Records.
The Official Charts Company is a British inter-professional organisation that compiles various official record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
UKChartsPlus is an independent weekly newsletter about the UK music charts. It was first published in September 2001 as ChartsPlus in order to authoritatively record the official music chart information in the UK, as compiled by the Official Charts Company. It began after Hit Music, a sister publication of Music Week, ceased publication in May 2001. The new newsletter was established totally independent of Music Week, licensing the chart data directly from Official Charts Company and other chart providers.
Hit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the official UK music charts. The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published September 5, 1992, the last issue was May 5, 2001.
Hit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It was also a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio and Somethin' Else. The show was cancelled on 7 June 2009 and the last number 1 single was Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas, played at 6:52pm.
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.
The Pepsi Chart was a networked Sunday afternoon Top 40 countdown on UK radio that started life on 1 August 1993 with Neil 'Doctor' Fox hosting the show live from the Capital Radio studios in London. The Pepsi Chart show carried an emphasis in fun and was the UK's first personality-led chart show: the presenter was live and exciting and big-prize competitions were held.
Fresh 40 was a networked dance and urban music singles chart show broadcast on a number of UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. The show was produced by Somethin' Else. The radio show was launched on Sunday 22 October 2006, and counts down the top 40 R'n'B and dance songs in the chart. Schedule-wise, the programme competes against BBC Radio 1's official chart show. It is also broadcast at the same time as its sister show, hit40uk.
The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart are 40-position R&B and hip hop music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry in the United Kingdom.
The Sky VIP Official Big Top 40 from Global is a radio chart show broadcast every Sunday from 4 to 7pm on Global's Capital and Heart networks, presented by Will Manning. It started on 14 June 2009. "When Love Takes Over" by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland became the show's first number 1. There are 357 number one songs as of 17th December 2023 with the current being "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday " by Creator Universe.
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, which was based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Singles Chart were faring in Scotland, has not been published since 20 November 2020.
UKHotList, originally Hit40UK and UKHot40, is a televised Top 40/20 chart show produced by The Box Plus Network for 4Music, The Box and Box Hits.
The 1Xtra Chart is a discontinued weekly record chart based on sales of singles in the United Kingdom. It listed the 40 biggest-selling urban music songs released within a three-month time period, and featured genres such as hip hop, R&B, dancehall and rap. The chart was compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the UK music industry, and each week's new number one was announced on The 1Xtra Chart at 1 p.m. on Saturdays on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Adele Roberts took over from Sarah-Jane Crawford in spring 2012, and it had been hosted by Ronnie Herel until December 2010. The chart was also listed on the official websites of both BBC Radio 1 and the OCC.
The Media Research Information Bureau (MRIB) was a music chart research company that operated in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 2008. It was best known for compiling the chart data for The Network Chart Show which was broadcast by many TV and radio shows, as well as being published in many music newspapers and magazines. MRIB also compiled other genre charts for the United Kingdom.
This is a timeline of the history of chart shows on UK radio.
↑ "UK Independent Charts Are Upgraded"(PDF). Music & Media. 17 October 1987. p.3. Retrieved 12 September 2021. MRIB's new panel represents more than 10% of the UK record retail market. But the Network Chart has yet to respond to the changed timing of the rival Gallup chart which has been brought forward two days
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
