Encyclopedia > List of number one singles in the United Kingdom
This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Singles Chart, from its inception in 1952 to the present. The sources are the New Musical Express chart from 1952 to the end of 1966, and the Record Retailer chart thereafter.
This is a summary of 2003 in music in the UnitedKingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Becoming the second single of the year to have a 4 week run at number one, the next chart topper was a re-working of Oliver Cheatham's 1983 #38 hit, "Get Down Saturday Night".
Hitting the top for only the 6th time since his massively successful career began in 1971, Elton John's #42 hit from 1979 was shortened, put into use in by Sky TV for their football premiership ads and consequently re-released when it shot straight to the top of the charts for a week.
Most singles have only one A-side and are named after this song, but some may have a double A-side (a famous example being Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane by the Beatles), where two tracks are given equal billing in the title of the single.
Singles often feature "radio edit" or "single edit" versions of the main song, which differ from the original recording in being edited to an attractive length for radio play, having expletives censored (often by re-recording with different lyrics), or both.
Singles have been issued on various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch and 12-inch vinyl discs (usually playing at 45 rpm); 10-inch shellac discs (playing at 78 rpm); cassette, 3 and 5-inch CD singles and 7-inch plastic flexi discs.
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