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Elvis Rules Brittania

January 09, 2005 | Music
The BBC Radio 1 just played "Jailhouse Rock" as the new #1 single in the UK. It is Elvis 19th chart-topper - and the 999th number one since the singles chart was launched in 1952.

Elvis is still in with a good chance of scoring the 1000th number one - next week sees the re-release of his single One Night, followed the week after by A Fool Such As I.

A good point was made by one of our readers: "All Shook Up" didn't count for chart sales because of the collector's box that came with it probably sold as much as "jailhouse Rock". So in reality, I would guess that Elvis had two of the best selling singles in the UK last week.

Elvis has the record for the longest period of time between the first and last #1's in the US and UK. "Jailhouse Rock" first went #1 in 1957-58. It went #1 again in 2005. This is a span of 47 years, a record for the UK. In the US, Elvis first went #1 on the Billboard country chart in 1955 and #1 on the pop chart and R&B chart in 1956. "That's All Right" went #1 on the Billboard Singles Sales chart in 2004. This gives Elvis a 49 year span between #1's in the US. No one is even close; songwriter and producer Bob Crewe of The Four Seasons had a 38.5 year span between his first #1 "Big Girls Don't Cry" in 1962 and "Lady Marmalade" in 2001 by Christina Aguilera et al.

Click on the quiz on the right to win "Elvis next #1".
Source:BBC

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RobIreland wrote on January 09, 2005
This is sureal !!! The radio one DJ has just said Jailhouse ROck is at number one, Im Speachless, not typless but speachless, well done fans well done ELVIS!! how appropriate that "Against all odds" is number 2 cause it was !!
ElvisFanatic316 wrote on January 09, 2005
So great to see Elvis at #1 again and let's hope everyone of his re-releases make it to the top again too.I must admit it gave me a few goosebumps hearing Jailhouse Rock blasting out from BBC Radio 1. Long may the King reign supreme.
SendToTodd wrote on January 09, 2005
Elvis could make the 1,000th number one next week with "One Night". All the stock including the vinyl is already with dealers up and down the country, but the success to give Elvis his 20th is all down to us. The UK singles chart is now judged to be the most important chart in the world, why this is I really don't know, so we all have to pull together with this one. BMG must be double chuffed to have "Jailhouse Rock" back at number one again, and so are we all. We all deserve a round of applause.
RobIreland wrote on January 09, 2005
Hey are those links at the top of this page supposed to lead to audio files. Mabye im just thick but mine aint working , just a jpeg apparently.
ranger wrote on January 09, 2005
Fantastic to hear the news. This campaign by BMG has got me playing the 50s Box Set on rotation, and of course I'll be in HMV Walthamstow tomorrow to buy 'One Night'. As I didn't really like the 'A Little Less Conversation' remix, I believe that the last decent British No. 1 single before today was 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush!
roytcbintheuk wrote on January 09, 2005
well who would have thought it a song almost 50 years old at #1 lets see if we can get the other 16 to number 1 i am certainly doing my bit by purchasing them on cd and vinyl. roll on next week for elvis's twentieth #1 and 1000th #1 since records began
Arnie wrote on January 09, 2005
What a birthday present it is. Congratulations, and well done you Britsh fans, Elvis is the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen, and you must be the greatest fans ever!
Carl wrote on January 09, 2005
They didn't call him the King of Rock and Roll for nothing. Leornard Bernstein said Elvis was the greatest musician of the 20th century. Bob Dylan wanted to be him. Bruce Springsteen wanted to be like him. John Lennon said that there was no one before him. And now we can see that they knew what they were talking about. This is a historic day for rock and roll. All the experts said rock and roll would not last. I am laughing my rear end off! Beware of experts! Rock and roll forever, the greatest music form of the 20th century. Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me!
I am Buffalo-Horn! wrote on January 09, 2005
It's superb that Elvis is a Number ONE again. However, there does not seem to be any stocks of Jailhouse Rock in the majority of record shops. For example, 3 people were looking for it in HMV Yeovil in the short time I was there last week. The record having just got to Number One today most non-fans will now be aware of this for the very first time, as they won't have seen it in the shops. So how is Mr average-member-of-public who would now like to buy this record going to do so?! The answer is that they won't be able to, which seems very sad to me. Also a lot of people like to buy any record that gets to number one regardless, just to have it. It's great our man is still pulling in the punters, but he could pull in a heck of a lot more if his record was there to actually buy!! On a more positive note, go out tommorrow & buy One Night. If you can't find it, get the shop to ring Sony/BMG & demand to know why they have supplied enough (I did!)
Rita wrote on January 09, 2005
There seems to be a sort of excitement over here!!! On the TV ceefax they are all reporting Jailhouse Rock No. 1 and we expect it to be in the papers tomorrow morning. Hopefully the headlines saying "ELVIS IS BACK AGAIN". Wouldn't it be GREAT if the next five singles could be kept in the Top 10, preferably 1 to 5!!! HMV London lists all of the next 16 singles as being unavailable due to a complete sell out! The shape of things to come?! ALWAYS FOR ELVIS - Rita
joemin wrote on January 09, 2005
Great performance by the UK fans. In particular thanks to the UK fan club. They have always been so loyal and dedicated. Thanks a million. Next week will be tougher, but it is likely the retailers will be more co-operative now they see what ELV1S can do. It would be beyond my wildest expectations for ELV1S to get another #1 among the remaining singles, but who knows.
pacer1965 wrote on January 10, 2005
I thought i was dreaming when i heard Jailhouse Rock had got to number one. I never in my wildest dreams thought the king would ever get to number one after ALLC. Well done to all the uk fans. I went into my local town in Ipswich and Hmv had plenty of the singles. so well done to them
get real wrote on January 10, 2005
i was wrong !!!!!!!!! im so happy about it too ! i thought no way this would happen, Jailhouse Rock getting to #1 - but it did. amazing. More amazing than LLC for me. when i was growing up in Ireland in the 70s & 80's, it was so very unpopular to be an Elvis fan. It didnt win you any girls, girls, girls in school, thats for sure haha. But i stuck with him, and aparently so did many others. Now he has #1's in the 50, 60, 70, and 2000's. Four decades. Only Cliff Richards beats it, but Elvis had the disadvantage of dying too early. Way to go Elvis. Lets try to do it again next week! One Night With You ,,,, Buy it now !!! By the way,,,,there is a way that Jail house rock is the 1000th #1. In 1977 the Sex Pistols got to #1, but BBC said Rod Stewart was #1 , as to not up set the Queen, and the sensibilites of those offended by the Punk Movement. If you go to the site shown on the top of this page, you will see that the Sex Pistols are not listed as a #1, even though they apparently outsold Rod by more than double. Just an interesting titbit. Good Luck Elvis for your #20 !
get real wrote on January 10, 2005
i know, i know - i alread made a post about Jailhouse Rock getting to #1 ,,,,,,,, but this is such great news i had to say again how wonderful this is for anyone that loves Elvis. Thank you to all the fans in the UK ! great thing youve done for us all and for the memory of Elvis.
Colin B wrote on January 10, 2005
It does seem unreal somehow, doesn't it ? Let's hope 'One Night' follows the pattern on next week's chart !
CD King wrote on January 10, 2005
ColinB, nice to see you here also. I also hope ONE NIGHT WITH YOU will also make it to Number One as it will be the 1,000th Number One on the UK Charts. and that will be quite an achievement for our hero.
Carl wrote on January 10, 2005
There are some monster Elvis singles coming up: It's Now or Never Are you Lonesone Tonight? Good Luck Charm Return To Sender One of these has a good possibility to go no.1. These are all-time classic records, and depending on the competition, should all do well. ONE NIGHT is a great record. Elvis plays LEAD electric guitar on this record. So buy it if for no other reason than to hear Elvis play lead guitar. It is actually different from Smiley Lewis' One Night with You. They cleaned up and changed the lyrics to One Night and instead of piano, we have Elvis playing the lead guitar. Elvis is rocking the guitar here. Elvis is mimicking the Smiley Lewis piano and it sounds awesome. It has slightly different lyrics and guitar lead instead of piano. So if people want to hear Elvis playing lead guitar, go out and buy One Night and make it no. 1!
Carl wrote on January 10, 2005
The Smiley Lewis record was called One Night of Sin and was too sexually explicit to be a hit. It was rewritten and altered and re-arranged to One Night in the Elvis version. The cool thing about Elvis' version is that he substituted electric guitar for Lewis' piano. Dave Edmunds later ripped off Elvis' idea for I Hear You Knocking, another Smiley Lewis record, in 1971. Edmunds' substituted guitar for piano too, stealing the Elvis idea. Edmunds also steals Elvis' shout from Mystery Train at the end of the record. It you listen closely, you can hear Edmunds' rip off Elvis. The selling point of One Night should be Elvis' awesome lead guitar work! That is what drives the record. Rock on!
CD King wrote on January 10, 2005
What are you all waiting for? Quickly go and grab your copies of ONE NIGHT and send it to the Top Of the Charts. LONG LIVE THE TRUE KING -ELVIS PRESLEY.
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
The singles I would love to see get to number one are One Night Devili n Desguise Surrender His Latest Flame A Little less conversation. Actually I found a fantastic mix of ALLC on the net mixed by a guy called Skewiff who has done a lot of tv and fil soundtracks. This mix is miles a head of the jxl mix, its very soulfoul and even though modern it sticks close to the original formula. If anyone wants to hear it let me know, "rob_irish at msn . com". I just want to say thankyou and well done to this site " Elvisnews" for giving us a platform to view our opinions and communicate with, where else could we have expressed our joy at Elvis' succsess, thanks Elvis news!
glennd wrote on January 10, 2005
It´s great to see Elvis at the #1 spot in the U.K. But why is it only in U.K. and not also in U.S.A. ? The most important charts are U.K. and U.S. and there must be a way to get a #1 in U.S. How many copys of the U.K. #1 were made ? Is this not enough also for U.S. ? Can anybody tell me the answer ? TCB.
data wrote on January 10, 2005
Great to see Elvis again at N°1, Now what will Top of the pops do. I hope they give us the clip from the 1968 special this couls also be good promotion for the DVD. And i repeat give us a new remix afther this(the box set) and you keep Elvis in the charts. If they do and use the wright promotion well " you ain't seen nothing yet"
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
In reply to Glennd. Sadly Elvis just doesnt have the same success in the charts over in the States as he does here in the UK nowadays. Look at A.L.L.C. In England it was a massive seller, and was Number one for a few weeks. It was also a huge success all over Europe. In the States? Nothing. It sold about a dozen copies. Ok I'm exaggerating a little there, but it really didnt pull up any trees in the States did it? I'm proud of us English fans and what we have done for Elvis throughout his lifetime and in all the years since. Can you imagine if Elvis had come from here? We'd have let him know just how much we loved him that's for sure...and we wouldnt have let such a crook work him to death when he was in such ill health either!!
harmston wrote on January 10, 2005
Both ALLC and Rubbernecking were the No1 sellers in the US. Unfortunately, however, the Billboard chard is based primarily upon airplay, and few US stations picked-up on either.
Eddie White wrote on January 10, 2005
ALLC achieved the biggest sales on the Hot 100 Billboard Single Sales Chart for three consecutive weeks. However, the total sales in the weeks did not match the 60,000 copies sold in the UK
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
What is even more remarkable, and no one has really picked up on is this... Elvis didn't just have the Number 1 single this week did he? I would guess that most people who bought 'Jailhouse Rock', also bought 'All Shook Up' which didn't count for chart sales because of the 'Box'. So in reality, I would guess that Elvis had the TWO best selling singles in the UK last week.
Eddie White wrote on January 10, 2005
This venture by Sony to release Elvis's No.1 singles catalogue in successive weeks is a new concept. If the end result is good then I wonder if Parlopone will do the same for The Beatles catologue. I know this comment will open up a can of worms but it would not surprise me if this happened. Or likewise for Cliff Richard on the EMI label. But for me, who cares, Elvis transcends them both.
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
Hey how about BMG releasing the rest of the UK Elvis singles in a box form but maybe one single every 2 or 3 weeks. Could you imagine "If you talk in your sleep" or "Blue River" or Burning Love reaching number one just like Jailhouse Rock did. If the same thing was done with the rest of Elvis2 UK single catalouge we would all but them wouldent we!
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
If the same thing was done with the rest of Elvis" UK single catalouge we would all buy them wouldent we!
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
In reply to Eddie White: They haven't really got the time to do it and 'compete' with Elvis. From April, I think, the charts change in that 'downloads' are taken in to consideration. So, in effect, after April the UK singles charts do not represent the most singles sold on the High street anymore. Therefore Elvis will ALWAYS have the record of most number ones under the old UK chart rules. I expect future charts will be completely different, and reflect (even more than they do today) what nerdy 9 and 10 year olds listen to and download off the 'web'.
Eddie White wrote on January 10, 2005
cockney-bill As I understand it the computer download charts e.g from Napster will be just that, SEPARATE charts which are not due to be introduced until September. However, internet selling e.g from Amazon will form part of the national charts.
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
Sorry Ed, but you are misinformed. Internet sales are already included in the national charts, and have been for a long time. Were they not, I suspect Elvis may not have been No 1, as I would guess a very large proportion of last weeks sales were from HMV on line (in fact they have sold out of all future releases). With regards to 'downloads', they already have their own official seperate chart, but from the middle of the year, these sales are to be merged with high street sales to form just the one UK top 40 singles chart. I did try including links to back up these facts, but my post never got through (I've just read that no links are allowed)!
Eddie White wrote on January 10, 2005
cockney-bill Thanks for putting me right. This is the sort of thing that can be confusing particlarly if you listen to pub talk or read the wrong newspapers. I'm sure you're right about internet sales as the Elvis fans I have spoken to have had difficulty in getting the singles from my local HMV store.
GM wrote on January 10, 2005
Is it a good thing that my local HMV have sold out of all stock (CD ang 10") of "One Night". On the down side I can't get myself a copy. On the up side, perhaps if it's selling so well we will have another #1. Unless of course the reason is that yet again there just was not enough stock ! I have a sinking feeling that again not enough product was put out in to the shops. Have we been let down again ?
ranger wrote on January 10, 2005
Call me old fashioned but if a single is said to have a release date of 10/01/05, I rather think that I should be able to purchase it in a record shop on that date! Well I've tried four stores today with no joy. However, if I go on ebay I can purchase the said disc (value £4) for £20 or £30. Can this be right? It's surely the wheelers and dealers who are benefitting again, at my expense... and they probably hate Elvis. I actually want to purchase these singles on the day of release via a shop rather than the impersonal route of the internet, and I'm not getting conned on ebay. Another loser in all this is Elvis himself. He's at No. 1 in the chart with a new record out today, but there is no evidence of any of this in the four places that I went into. One store (Woolworths) had even concocted their own chart where Jailhouse Rock didn't exist and One Night was at No. 4. Why shouldn't they? If they've got nothing to sell the public they might as well put something at No. 1 that's in stock! My girlfiend did manage to get the one (one!) copy of One Night that a Central London shop had in during her lunchbreak, so I guess at least I've now got a copy...but when did buying a record become so difficult? And what about those approaching Elvis for the first time? They are hardly going to go through as much trouble as the committed fan. Please, BMG, press up more copies of the 'A Fool Such As I' single next week. That way the only losers will be those who have bought up multiple copies to sell on for profit.
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
Im thinking we may be let down with this one. I went in to my local HMV in Romford this morning to pick up my pre-ordered Vinyl and CD of 'One night'. The girl was very pleasant and picked my copies up from about 30 she had in a box on the counter. HOWEVER after purchasing my copy I had a look at the 'New Releases' section of the singles. Nothing at all. Darius... loads of copys on the shelf (he's also releasing 3 different 'formats'). Killers...loads of copies on the shelf Manic street preachers... loads, Minnie Driver...loads, but not one single Elvis CD or vinyl had been put out. It would appear that they are only getting in copies for people who have pre-ordered, which if repeated at too many shops around the country would not be good news at all.
cockney_bill wrote on January 10, 2005
Ranger - If you want to pre-order the future releases you still can on Amazon, but then you pay a quid more than they are (if you can find one) in the shops, PLUS postage. I agree about the wheeler dealers, it is disgusting on two fronts. Firstly it's 'us' the fans who suffer and end up paying through the nose and secondly, although Internet sales count it is very likely that if someone orders more than 5 copies of the single then these sales will NOT count. The laws are quite strict about chart rigging and multiple buying. Why oh why is it so difficult to just walk in the shop and buy an Elvis CD...the week after he was Number one in the charts? P.S My Woolworths had Elvis at No 4 also....well, on their 'list' it was No4, there weren't actually any copies on the shelf!
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
Hey how about BMG releasing the rest of the UK Elvis singles in a box form but maybe one single every 2 or 3 weeks. Could you imagine "If you talk in your sleep" or "Blue River" or Burning Love reaching number one just like Jailhouse Rock did.
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
I just bought the box for the vinyl format of the singles. I knew there was no American pic cover but I was dissapointed again to find no booklet inside. The vinyl versions all a bit plain isnt it, wouldent have killed them to have produced a booklet!
King 14 wrote on January 10, 2005
Sad to see so many fans having difficulties buying these discs. They are however limited additions with only 20,000 CD versions and 7500 vinyls of each made and maybe difficult to obtain in every store. Single sales are so poor these days that a no.1 can be achieved,depending on competition,with 15,000-20,000 sales in 1 week. If fans are concerned about store availability then buy on line-the sale will register on /after the day of release and guarantee you get one. It doesn't take a mathematician to release that none of these singles can stay high in the charts for more than a week or too despite any increased interest generated by the public-there simply aren't enough discs in existence! The important thing for fans is to drive each release each week to the top with single week sales surges-this will maximise publicity to Elvis the most. For those interested search as follows "Amazon Hot 100 cd singles" where based on advanced orders, all 18 singles, occupy the top 18 slots!!. If this pattern continues then E maywell have the next 16 no. ones!!! It really is upto us fans who are in sufficient numbers to influence the charts in this way!!Also how about non UK fans ordering from a UK source-the discs all look fabulous and are excellent value Cheers to the Jailhouse Rocker but this should be just the tip of the iceberg!!! Fans TCB for the Boss Man
emjel wrote on January 10, 2005
Brilliant that JHR is now No.1, but it will probably disappear right out of the charts next week as there aren't any copies to buy. Depending on the competition, One Night, if bought by the same fans as JHR, could well go to No.1 too. But I think the 60's tracks - His Latest Flame, Can't Help Falling In Love etc could struggle to get to the top as they will probably be up against the new "Tsunami disaster record" that will probably hit the shops early/mid February. If this sells like the recent Band Aid record, unfortunately Elvis will be blown out for the next 5/6 releases. In the Woolworths chart mid-last week, JHR was No.7, so with One Night at No.4, another No.1 is possible. The reason why JHR is not in their chart this week, is that they, along with other retailers do not have any copies to sell. It's only by BMG having such a concentrated release, ie record deleted on the same day of release, ensures that all purchases are concentrated within that 1 week, and giving Elvis the top spot. Mike
Graeme J wrote on January 10, 2005
I called at my Local Woolworths this morning I managed to get one copy of Jailhouse rock, I did want two but that was all they had. No copies of " One night " to be had, I called into a small local record shop and was informed that " Jailhouse rock " was deleated and " one night " issued that day was already deleated. He informed me that a customer had wanted the complete set of 18 singles and he could only get him 15 of the singles. It seems that although it is good to see Elvis at the top of the charts, why start buying the singles if you can't get the complete set.
data wrote on January 10, 2005
Yet another mistake from BMG ,limited edition ,so next week jailhouse rock has a new record afther one week it drops out of the charts. And ALLC and Rubbernecking and T.A. mama went to the number 1 spot in the US But they make up a chart in a most foolish way , not what people buy counts but what DJ's play on the radio and TV music channels bring most on the screen. To me this is neglecting to play what a lot of people would like to hear and forcing them to listen to what they like themselfs, but this is the case in a lot of country's. And as for sales of ALLC in the US why can't BMG give us a figure.We do'nt get them now and dit not get them then. 50 milion singles sold in the US, comme on BMG You only have to take the sales of Hound dog It's now or never Are you lonsome tonight and all singles released before Elvis came back from the army in 1960 but give us the correct numbers of sales
pacer1965 wrote on January 10, 2005
I am looking forward to seeing Top of the pops this friday.Any ideas which version of Jailhouse Rock they will play ?
King 14 wrote on January 10, 2005
J Graeme is right-it is a pity if you want the complete collection but find ,down the line ,that you cannot get them all. I think the only way around this is to secure them by advanced order. If averse to online purchase such as at Amazon then when trying to buy "One Night" this week then why not think ahead and place an order with the store which may not otherwise stock the single.Usually payment isn't required until the disc is ready to collect and,again,guarantees a sale in the right week for the Chart.Just a thought for those having difficulties as I have secured guaranteed copies of each single already and paid nothing apart from the initial releases!!Good Luck fellow music lovers P.S Apologies for the terrible spelling mistakes in my last(hurriedly) typed entry.
RobIreland wrote on January 10, 2005
They seem to be showing the comeback special version. We all should be happy that Elvis has got to number one and that the rest of the singles will chart highly. Do we have to be so manic in that we "need" every single to get to number one ??? personally I would be embarressed if Wooden Heart got to number one, come on guys its pretty cheesy.
Carl wrote on January 11, 2005
Remember, Joe Dowell had a no. 1 record with his cover of Elvis' "Wooden Heart" in 1961 in the USA. I think Elvis and RCA felt that the song was wrong for Elvis' imgage as a rocker. They agreed to release it in the UK and Europe because it was a sure no. 1 there and earned a lot and lot of royalty money for all involved. I personally like the record. It shows ELvis' range and how he could assimilate any type of music known to man and turn it into a no. 1 hit. "Wooden Heart" was based on an old German folk tune. Elvis gave it a great understated treatment. I think it showed that Elvis was not a one trick pony. Elvis had depth and substance. He didn't do just one type of song. but could do any style. Persoanlly, I would've hated it if every song Elvis did was in the style of Jailhouse Rock. That is so shallow and limiting. Elvis was too talented and too brilliant to be limited in that way. It is like with The Beatles. They did every kind of music. Only the no talent and very limited performers do just one type of style of music. The geniuses in music know that the depth of msuic is infinite and doing just one style shows a lack of talent and a poor understanding of music. "Wooden Heart" was in fact one of ELvis' biggest no. 1s in the UK, It was no. 1 for 6 weeks I believe. It was huge. I think fans liked it because it showed that Elvis had so much musical depth. And the record is not all that bad either. No, it ain't really rock and roll, but Elvis never limited himself by labels and genres. Elvis always transcended genres and musical categories.
RobIreland wrote on January 11, 2005
CArl Elvis had already shown the world he could transend any musical catagory way before Wooden Heart. Examples bieng Reconsider Baby, Are you lonesome tonight etc. If wooden Heart gets to number one, which ofcourse if it does even though i dont love the song i will be happy,they will probably show the clip from G.I Blues, not going to go down very well with todays youth I dont think, or maybe im wrong the girls will probably love El in the uniform.
ranger wrote on January 11, 2005
Having drifted around the internet over the last ten days or so, there is one website which I think might be of interest to you: the Top Of The Pops website (totp). We're two weeks into the '18 No. 1's' series and the reviewers on totp and those on the message board are getting restless! The first word in the review for 'One Night' was 'Sigh!'! What the reviewer thought of the wonderful 'I Got Stung' was not documented. The previous review of 'Jailhouse Rock' was admittedly more positive but, by including about three references to cheeseburgers and suchlike, did not endear me to the reviewer. I'm afraid that I can only see these comments getting worse as the series continues to give Elvis huge success at the expense of the artistic might of Madonna, Kylie and Robbie Williams! I don't think that anyone should get too hung up about anything that might be said, but it is one place where you will be guaranteed to see a review of each new single, and obviously from a less (much less) pro-Elvis slant than you'll get from an Elvis website.
pacer1965 wrote on January 11, 2005
Who cares what Top of the pops say. Jailhouse Rock is still number one and i am in heaven. If my head gets any bigger my neck is going to break
Mal wrote on January 14, 2005
what a disappointment no video of jailhouse rock not even the whole song just 30 secs on top of the pops