tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989615734957920270.post6157434298992699133..comments2024-03-28T12:50:01.782-07:00Comments on Real Life And Real Charts: The First Ever UK ChartUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989615734957920270.post-10327701404126369872015-03-19T13:35:25.892-07:002015-03-19T13:35:25.892-07:00The Stephen Waters book isn't based on sales, ...The Stephen Waters book isn't based on sales, but orders from record dealers. It doesn't follow that if orders are high then a record sale is high. For example dealers will order a lot of Christmas records up to Christmas then none after. In the book all Christmas records fall out the first chart after Christmas. Even if they were Number One!! All new records enter the first week of each month, when dealers could order them. That doesn't happen in a Sales chart. <br />I suspect that the Bill Johnson was only selling in certain areas of the UK in small numbers, but overall selling the most. I leave you to guess where, but it might be where such a song would be sung today!<br />It's not uncommon for a record to get to number one for a week or more and not appear in the top 100 best sellers of the year. Since the late 1940's Record market wasn't that strong, records were only selling in small numbers anyway. <br />I would say that about half of my family's 78 collection were binned as they had broke, many of them were late 50's records, so what does that say for those that are older? <br /><br />The explanation of how the Real Chart is compiled can be found on the What Is The Real Chart section of this blog. Graham Appleyardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17287069564642596833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3989615734957920270.post-26060648671250975192015-03-19T11:23:36.152-07:002015-03-19T11:23:36.152-07:00Thank you for an interesting list. I have been col...Thank you for an interesting list. I have been collecting 78s for some years and I am amazed at some of the records listed. My experience at the availability of some of these records does not marry up to their sales. It took me some years to get hold of a copy of Mantovani's Dream Of Olwen on a 12" Decca 78. However you can see lots of Charles Williams conducting this, his own composition, on a 12" Columbia 78. This is listed but below the Mantovani version. You yourself say that "We'll keep a welcome" by Bill Johnson is the record of which you don't have a copy. Does that not imply that there are not many copies around ie it was not a big seller. Yet it was number one. What record of that title you see lots of is by The Lyrian Singers on HMV. Records by Bill Johnson in abundance are You're Breaking My Heart and Some Day My Heart Will Awake. I have never seen a copy of We'll Keep A Welcome by him or of his record of Suvla Bay which was another forgotten hit.<br />Can I ask where you got your information from? I have been led to believe record companies did not keep records of disc sales - sheet music was the thing for assessing a hit. I know of only one chart book purporting to be based on record sales of this era and that is by Stephen Waters.<br />This is all fascinating and I look forward to seeing what other listings you put up.<br />All the best<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com