The Official Chart Explained

Show Name:The Official Chart
Other Names:The Official Chart on Radio 1
Format:Top 40
Runtime:105 minutes
Start Time:16:00
End Time:17:45
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Home Station:BBC Radio 1
Presenter:Various
(as of 2022, Jack Saunders)
Producer:Various
Record Location:Broadcasting House, London
Last Aired:present
Audio Format:Stereo

The Official Chart is a long-running United Kingdom music chart programme, airing each Friday afternoon on BBC Radio 1. It airs the UK Singles Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company.

In July 2015 The Official Chart moved from its traditional Sunday slot to Friday afternoons, to coincide with the global change in new music release dates from Sundays to Fridays.[1] [2] The chart airs between 16:00 and 17:45.

History

Pick of the Pops, as the chart was originally known, transferred to Radio One from the BBC Light Programme in October 1967, along with host Alan Freeman. Tom Browne took over in 1972 with Solid Gold Sixty. This consisted of two hours featuring Radio One playlist tracks which were not in the Top 20 (broadcast on 247 metres Medium Wave and carried on VHF by some location BBC radio stations), followed by a one-hour Top 20 rundown from 6pm - 7pm (carried also on BBC Radio 2's FM transmitters). Starting from March 1974,[3] the playlist tracks were incorporated into Paul Burnett's 'All There Is To Hear', and the Tom Browne show was reduced to just the Top 20 for one hour at 18:00.

In April 1978, Simon Bates took over as presenter.[4] From May 1978, Radio One started promoting the Top 40 instead of the Top 30 in its Tuesday chart countdowns and daytime programming. This was because the Top 50 was increased to the BBC Top 75 that month.

From November 1978 the Sunday chart show was extended to a two-hour countdown of the entire top 40. At first, every record was played, but as there was insufficient time to play the whole of each record, during the 1980s some songs dropping in the chart were excluded. Tony Blackburn, who had been removed from weekday programming, hosted the show from 1979 to 1982.

From 6 January 1991, every song in the top 40 was played[5] and in March 1992 the programme was extended to three hours to allow for each song again to be played in full. The programme now ran from 4pm until 7pm.[6] Since then the show has had a variety of different names and presenters in guest and permanent roles.

The programme has run consistently every week, with the exceptions of 31 August 1997, 9 April 2021, and 9 September 2022 when it was cancelled as Radio 1 suspended programming due to the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth II respectively.[7] [8] The show was also sometimes shortened during coverage of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. Due to coverage of Gregathlon for Sport Relief 2016, the show on 12 February 2016 was presented by Scott Mills at the earlier time of 2 to 4pm.

In recent years the show has reflected changes in the music industry. In 2005 downloads began to be included as part of the top 40, and from July 2014 the show has also included audio streaming alongside physical sales.

Between February 2012 and August 2014 the show also streamed visually with music videos of the top 10 singles aired simultaneously on the Radio 1 website.

On 24 March 2015, it was announced that in July 2015 the show would be moving from a standalone show in its traditional Sunday night slot to a new position on Friday afternoons as part of Greg James' afternoon show.[9] The move was due to an international agreement by the music industry to release all new albums and singles on Fridays. The new chart played the top 25 in full rather than the top 40 that had previously been broadcast. The change in presenter meant that Clara Amfo became the shortest-serving permanent host of the show. The Sunday night slot was replaced with a new show hosted by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton.[10]

Since 17 February 2017, only the new entries and highest climbers from the top 40 are played with the top 10 played in full after 5 o’clock.[11]

Presenters

The names in italics indicates a co-host for the show.

FromToDurationPresenter(s)Format
MainCover(s)
1 October 196724 September 1972Alan FreemanKnown as Pick of the Pops and featured new entries between numbers 21 and 30 and the complete Top 20.
1 October 197217 March 1974Tom BrowneJohnnie WalkerA three-hour show called Solid Gold Sixty featuring new releases, climbers and chart entries below the Top 20 from 16:00–18:00, followed by the Top 20 itself from 18:00–19:00.
24 March 197426 March 1978Paul Burnett
Simon Bates
Reduced to just the Top 20, running from 18:00–19:00.
2 April 19785 November 1978Simon Bates
12 November 197826 August 1979Andy PeeblesExtended to a two-hour Top 40 from 17:00–19:00.
2 September 19793 January 1982Tony Blackburn
10 January 19821 January 1984Tommy VanceSimon Bates
Andy Peebles
8 January 198423 September 1984Simon BatesRichard Skinner
30 September 198423 March 1986Richard SkinnerTommy Vance
Simon Bates
Bruno Brookes
30 March 198623 September 1990Bruno BrookesTommy Vance
Simon Bates
Gary Davies
Mark Goodier
30 September 199030 December 1990Mark Goodier
6 January 19911 March 1992Tommy VanceExtended to a two-and-a-half-hour Top 40 from 16:30–19:00.
8 March 1992N/ATommy Vance
15 March 199216 April 1995 Bruno BrookesSimon Bates
Mark Goodier
Neale James
Extended to a three-hour Top 40 from 16:00–19:00. Digital downloads were included in the chart from 17 April 2005.
23 April 199517 November 2002Mark GoodierDave Pearce
Clive Warren
Judge Jules
Scott Mills[12]
24 November 20022 February 2003[13] Various
9 February 200330 January 2005Wes ButtersScott Mills
6 February 200527 February 2005Various
6 March 200530 September 2007JK and JoelScott Mills
7 October 2007N/AScott Mills
14 October 200720 September 2009Fearne Cotton
Reggie Yates
Scott Mills
27 September 200923 December 2012Reggie YatesScott Mills
Greg James
Dev
Huw Stephens
30 December 20126 January 2013Scott MillsA new background theme was introduced in February 2012. Music videos for the top 10 songs were streamed online from 26 February 2012 to 31 August 2014.
13 January 20138 December 2013Jameela JamilScott Mills
15 December 201322 December 2013Jameela Jamil
Jason Derulo (15 December)
Scott Mills (22 December)
29 December 201318 January 2015Jameela JamilScott Mills
Dev
Audio streaming was included in the chart from 6 July 2014.
25 January 20155 July 2015Clara AmfoScott Mills
Greg James
Dev
10 July 201520 October 2017Greg JamesDev
Scott Mills
MistaJam
The chart moved to Friday afternoons airing from 16:00–17:45 (till 18:00 on Bank Holidays). A new background theme was introduced. At the beginning of the period, the top 25 songs were played in full while the songs at 26-40 were mentioned briefly along with a short clip.
27 October 20178 December 2017[14] [15] MistaJamThe format changed in February 2017 to feature the Top 10 played in full (beginning from 5 pm after Newsbeat) with all new entries & big climbers getting a full play along with a select few other songs whilst the other song were quickly mentioned without a 30-sec clip. The top five albums were also announced. The singles at 10-3 were re-mentioned quickly with a short clip before announcing the top 2 singles.
15 December 20179 March 2018Greg JamesScott Mills
Jordan North
MistaJam
16 March 201820 April 2018MistaJam
Scott Mills
Jordan North
Dev
The Newsbeat at 5pm was cancelled to accommodate more songs to be played in the show. Top 10 starts from 5:05 - 5:45 pm.
27 April 201818 May 2018MistaJam
25 May 20188 June 2018Greg James
15 June 201819 August 2022Scott Mills[16] Jordan North
Cel Spellman
Katie Thistleton
Vick Hope
Jack Saunders
The background theme was remastered based on the July 2015 version. Before announcing the top 2 singles, the singles at 20-3 are re-mentioned quickly without a short clip. Video streaming included in the chart from 6 July 2018. A new background theme was introduced in September 2020, which was replaced by another in September 2022 and then another one in January 2024
26 August 20222 September 2022James Cusack
16 September 2022PresentJack SaundersJordan North
James Cusack
Sam & Danni Sian Eleri (co-hosted with Jack at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2024 in Luton)

Notes

The Official Chart Update

Show Name:The Official Chart Update
Format:Top 10
Runtime:15 minutes
Start Time:17:30
End Time:17:45
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Home Station:BBC Radio 1
Presenter:Nick Grimshaw
Record Location:Broadcasting House, London
Audio Format:Stereo

Beginning on 10 March 2010, The Official Chart Update brand was launched giving an insight into the Official Singles Chart as it stands during the week.[17] It originally aired on BBC Radio 1 on Wednesday afternoons hosted by Greg James, with a television version aired on MTV Music and MTV Hits.

In 2012 Scott Mills took over as host of The Official Chart Update with Jameela Jamil as co-host. Clara Amfo became the co-host of the show after Jamil left the show in early 2015. In mid-2015, Mills and Amfo left the show and James once again became the primary host of the show. Throughout the show's run Dev, Huw Stephens, and Matt Edmondson have filled in as cover presenters.

When the Official Chart moved to Fridays in July 2015, The Official Chart Update moved from Wednesdays to Mondays at 17:30 until 8 July 2019. The show was then replaced by The Official Chart: First Look.[17]

Format

From its inception to 1 July 2015, several songs such as the re-entry(ies), new entry(ies), highest climbers and the Number 1 single were played in the show. The songs at 2–40 were mentioned briefly before playing the Number 1 single. Since 13 July 2015, the chart update is presented with the songs at 4–10 being mentioned briefly along with a short clip while the top 3 are played in full.

Presenters

FromToTenureTimeslotPresenter(s)
HostCo-hostCover
28 March 2012Wednesdays, 15:30 – 16:00Greg JamesChris Moyles
Comedy Dave
(11 May 2011)
Dev
Scott Mills
Reggie Yates
4 April 2012Wednesdays, 16:00 – 16:30Huw Stephens
Wednesdays, 15:30 – 16:00Scott MillsJameela JamilHuw Stephens
Dev
Matt Edmondson
Clara AmfoDev
Matt Edmondson
Mondays, 17:30 – 17:45Greg JamesDev
27 August 2018Dev
Alice Levine
8 July 2019Nick GrimshawJordan North

The Official Chart: First Look

Show Name:The Official Chart: First Look
Other Names:The Official Chart: First Look on Radio 1
Format:Top 20
Runtime:60 minutes
Start Time:18:00
End Time:19:00
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Home Station:BBC Radio 1
Presenter:Lauren Layfield
Shanequa Paris
Record Location:Media City, Salford (Manchester)
Last Aired:present
Audio Format:Stereo

The Official Chart: First Look is the show which provides the update on how the chart looks over the weekend. The show is on air during the historic Sunday slot but for one hour only, which is 6:00 - 7:00 pm, and hosted by Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton.

It replaces The Official Chart Update that was on air every Monday at 5:30 - 5:45 pm previously. It gives the fastest aggregated picture of the new week's biggest hits for the UK, reflecting popularity across the full spectrum of the Official Charts' sales and streams panel - including all of the UK's key download and streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Google and many more.[18]

The show was launched on 14 July 2019. It focuses on the Top 20 biggest tracks from data collected on Friday and Saturday.

In September 2020, Vick Hope joined as the co-host of the show with Katie Thistleton. She replaced Cel Spellman as he focused on other acting and broadcasting work, even though the station says he will remain as a part of the Radio 1 family.[19]

Presenters

FromToTenureTimeslotPresenter(s)
MainCover
30 August 2020Sundays, 18:00 – 19:00Katie Thistleton
Cel Spellman
Riyadh Khalaf
Katie Thistleton
Vick Hope
Lauren Layfield Shanequa Paris
CurrentLauren Layfield
Shanequa Paris

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Radio 1 chart show moving to Friday afternoons. 2015-07-05. Mark. Savage. BBC News. 24 March 2015.
  2. Web site: FAQs New Music Fridays. newmusicfridays.com. 2015-07-05. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150713020035/http://newmusicfridays.com/faqs/. 13 July 2015.
  3. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England - 24 March 1974 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  4. Web site: Schedule . BBC Programme Index . 2 April 1978 . 19 April 2023.
  5. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England - 6 January 1991 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  6. Web site: BBC Radio 1 England - 15 March 1992 - BBC Genome. genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  7. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - Schedules . 2022-09-09 . BBC . en-GB.
  8. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - Schedules, Friday 9 April 2021 . 2022-09-09 . BBC . en-GB.
  9. News: Radio 1 chart show moving to Friday afternoons - BBC News . . 24 March 2015 . 24 March 2015.
  10. News: Radio 1 boss Ben Cooper on new Official Chart Show plans - BBC Newsbeat . BBC Newsbeat . 24 March 2015 . 24 March 2015.
  11. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - the Official Chart on Radio 1 with Scott Mills, 17/02/2017.
  12. Web site: Every Presenter of the Official Chart Show Ever. Official Charts Company. 26 May 2018.
  13. These time periods indicate a change in primary hosts during which the show was presented by covers.
  14. Greg James received primary billing for these shows, but he remained completely absent during these time periods.
  15. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - The Official Charts with Greg James - Episode Guide. BBC Radio 1. 26 May 2018.
  16. Web site: McIntosh . Steven . 10 April 2018 . BBC Radio 1 announces major schedule changes . 26 May 2018 . BBC News.
  17. News: Everything you need to know about the new Official Chart. Official Charts. 4 July 2015. Talbot. Martin.
  18. Web site: Official Charts: First Look to offer early glance at singles chart. officialcharts.com. en. 2019-10-26.
  19. News: 2020-08-13. Vick Hope to join BBC Radio 1. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-09-16.