https://www.goldradiouk.com/news/music/first-uk-singles-chart-songs-date/
"The UK was a little set in its ways, with printed sheet music charts still being how we judged things going into the 1950s.
That all changed on November 14, 1952 when the
New Musical Express (later the
NME, and now just NME.com) printed the first ever UK singles chart."
"Have you ever wondered what songs were in the first ever UK singles charts. And more importantly, what was the first ever UK number one single?
Well, wonder no more... but first, some quick trivia:
- Vera Lynn was on the first UK singles chart THREE times
- Frankie Laine popped up twice - once as a solo star, and once as a duet with Doris Day.
- Forget The British Invasion... of the 13 different artists in the first UK chart, a whopping TEN are from the US, with just Vera Lynn, Ray Martin and Max Bygraves repping for the Brits"
UK's first Pop Number One, 1952.