UK Midweek Single Sales

I'm not counting my chickens, but this seems fantastic news. I just wish the guy that did the Top 40 on the Radio wasn't like Chris Tarrant on 'Millionaire' and keeping us guessing until the very last moment. How fantastic it is though that we are all on tenderhooks about Elvis getting to No 1 with a single release. Is this what it was like in the 50's? I'm far too young to know!! Can't believe that Jailhouse rock is still in the top 5 though. I'd have had more chance of bumping in to Elvis himself than finding a copy of 'Jailhouse Rock' on the shelves anywhere this week. Well done Todd on this fantastic campaign.

Cockney, Virgin in Belfast are still selling vinyl formats of Jailhouse Rock, so it is still leaving the shelves. Looking at that chart list is like im dreaming, 2005 and 2 of Elvis' early recordings number one and number five, wow, im glad i stuck with the best!!

Just think by the end of the campaign Elvis will possibly have accumulated over 30 uk number ones! Perhaps BMG can then issue all the UK E.P's on CD! I'll never be rich.

bless his darlin' face, he would have loved all this...

Strange Elvis fans are so happy to Elvis in the charts. Because in the past i saw a lot of fans that dit not care if he was or was not in the charts. I always wanted to see Elvis in the charts because that is the place he belongs and Elvis mist out a lot of chart action the past 20 years because BMG dit not put any promotion in releases and made a mess of his repertoire by throwing things on the market by the dozen. But all of this is nice and i am so glad to see the singles doing well, and Elvis fans are the reason he is at the number 1 position but let us be honest this box is a 75% fan thing. So i believe a remix is still a good thing for the future because it will bring fans and more younger people to record stores and that is what we also need. And even if sales of singles are not what they use to be it still is the best promotion for a full CD.

There was something magical in hearing Jailhouse Rock bang out from the radio as a number one. Although I did like the mix on 'A little Less Conversation' and was delerious when it hit the top of the charts this is a much more fitting tribute to the man's talent and uniqueness.

Just do'nt forget ALLC hit the N° 1 spot a lot of weeks and why, because young people went out to buy it. Let's be honest, jailhouse rock is a great song and i like all of the other 18 N° one's. But they have been on a lot of compilations. We need things to come out on single that people do'nt know so well.We fans know all of Elvis repertoire but for the non fan there are a lot of hidden treasures, give them a modern sound and i believe we will see a lot more chart action for Elvis in the future.

I agree with you DATA . A remix of Let Yoursef Go could do the trick. Isn't Sony/BMG supposed to re-release Hearbreak Hotel early next year ?

Don't know about Elvis getting to #1 again this week. I have pre-ordered all the singles at my local HMV to ensure I get a complete set and was told today that BMG have screwed up big time and not sent many singles out - not even pre-orders are covered. My local branch only had two of the CD singles sent and the flagship store for this area had pre-orders of 400 and were sent only 5 with no chance of getting any more. How many would have sold if BMG/Sony had got it's act together? I finally bought my copy from an Elvis mail order dealer with no trouble at all but that sale won't count towards the chart placing.

I don't know if this is good news or bad news but I have spent the afternoon at HMV and Virgin in Oxford Street in London and a further 11 music stores in and around the capital trying to get One Night, but can't. Everywhere is sold out. HMV said that they were given a very small supply which sold out on Tuesday in nearly all their stores. They have been inundated with people wanting both One Night and Jailhouse Rock but don't have any copies left to sell.They anticipate that Manic Street Preachers might outsell Elvis because of this. It seems that Sony/BMG have created great publicity but then forgotten to make the product available to buy.

It seems like Sony BMG should listen to the latest Kylie song in regard to Elvis " I believe in you" because that seems to be the real problem.

This is rediculous! If this is true there is something seriously wrong with the chiefs at Sony/ BMG! in the name of god get your act together and stop just trying to rake in the fans wages! We deserve for you to at least supply us with the product after all we are loyal enough to go spend our hard earned and hard saved money to spend on your little money making projects! I swear if One Night dosent make number one this week because of this reason then they can stuff the rest of the singles for all i care, they wonr deserve us to buy from them. Data i totaly agree with you about the remixes. I think Clean up your on Backyard would be a cracker, iv done a wee remix myself of it if youd like to hear.

I love Elvis but as i am only 13 and don't have a job yet i find that the singles are a bit over-priced compared to other singles are £2.99 or £2.49 in some shops and i only get a fiver a week pocket money. i think the singles are extremely sepcial and i will most probably try to buy them all, but in future can sony/bmg lower extaustional prices and stopping ripping off devoted elvis fans

Thank you Rob, i would like to hear it but i am not a great PC expert and i think a lot of fans would like to hear it too. I know we fans all have ideas about witch number they should use, some will be great others a little bit disapointing but is that not always the case even if Elvis was still alive and could record new songs we fans would not agree on the quality of a new single, some would like a balad others a rocker and i could go on. What counts to me is, we have a lot of numbers on Elvis albums that a lot of non Elvis fans do'nt know. And given a new arrangement they could be hit records. Not only up tempo numbers but there also are some balads that could use some modern paint.And i am sure that today's studio possibility's would give them a totaly new up to date sound.

Hello,Cockney-Bill I am a new member. I imagine the excitement then was mega.mega as competition even at top10 was sharp.Even to get a top 10 then was a difficult task.Now,showing of half naked figures does it... I think BMG should from the lesson learned increase the number of each single to be issued,as there will be more competition to face. All I can say Elvis music/performance has touched all cultures,mind and soul. If Rock is to continue,Elvis will need to be there. John Lennon knew this. Compare the original Thats All Right Mama with Elvis version ... a complete innovator/inventor. bye for now. signing off... Tiger.

God,I hope 'One Night' gets to no 1.It is completely sold out in Swansea.I have the no1s box,but can't fill it .What can I do?

There will be more singles comming out in the next few days. Just keep building the sets. There will be plenty available for swaps later.

I agree with Elvisrocks, true fans are being ripped off with the prices of these singles, the limited availability is causing major problems and BMG have got a lot to answer for...so have the people who are selling their copies on Ebay for £95!! (yet again, people making money out of Elvis)

isnt it great been an Elvis fan we are the best in the world how about next week making it three out off three we can do it

Someone told me that Jailhouse Rock is the 1000 number one not 999th. 11th june 1977 was not Rod stewarts fourth week with I dont want to talk about it. It was the Sex Pistols first with God save the queen. Anybody know if this is true? And i got Jailhouse Rock this monday just gone from my local town and i did manage to get One Night as well. I did order A fool such as I. So i hope i can get it.

Pacer I,ve just checks the chart entries since 1952 Rod Stewart entered the charts on 21st May1977 with "I don't Want to Talk about it" and stayed at the top for 4 weeks. This was the no 163 chart topper. I must confess I can't find an entry at No1. for the Sex Pistols.

You wont find an entry for 'The Sex Pistols' because Urban myth has it that the Sex Pistols sold twice as many copies of 'God Save the Queen' than Rods record, but because the song was banned by the BBC and Radio everyone refused to agnowledge the single as No 1 and kept Rod Stewart in that position. Some papers even left a blank space in the No 1 position, so as not to show the Sex Pistols at No1. Whatever... 'Officially' Elvis will have the 1,000 Number one on Sunday, and 'unofficially' he had it last Sunday!!!

Rob_Irish the good news is that you will find dozens of hidden gems the more albums you buy. The famous Elvis songs really are the tip of the iceberg.It is incredible that Elvis is so remarkably famous yet so many of the general public and so called journalist experts have no idea about the depth of his recording legacy.Unfortunately for Elvis his unprecedented fame as an individual has blinded people to understanding his true value as an artist.All people get is a bluffers guide to Elvis that gets lazily churned out time after time. Enjoy finding all those great little known songs.

Amazon UK seems to have stopped taking pre-orders for ALL 18 of the Elvis singles. They are listed as no longer available. I assume it's because they've been inundated with orders. Interestingly, they've also (at the moment anyway) suspended the selling of them via merchants, both new and second hand. I saw one on offer there for £150 on Tuesday and it disppeared soon after, not sure if Amazon removed it or someone bought it.

Rob-Irish, I Just Can't Help Believin' is one of my favs too, but my all time favourite Elvis recording is Loving Arms, He sang it so beautifully, Best played loud.

I have just e-mailed the CEO of Sony/BMG to suggest that his company dispatches more Elvis 18 No1 singles to UK outlets and giving my reasons why. I am not optimistic about a reply but should I get one I will post it.

Just as an afterthought,does anyone think that we, as loyal Elvis fans, should petition Sony/BMG to supply more singles so that the record buying public are not scratting about to buy them.

It's a difficult one to call Eddie, and perhaps I'm being selfish because it seems (to now anyway) that Virgin are keeping my copies behind the counter! Do you think these singles would have been such an amazing success if they were not a limited edition? Perhaps not us 'die-hards' but I bet many hundreds, maybe thousands of Elvis fans would not have joined in this mad frenzy for singles on release date or soon after if they had been freely available. How many would have left it a week or two to pick up their copy (thus losing out on a No1 spot)? How many would have left it completely and bought the 'job lot' once all singles had been released if we knew with certainty we could? How many would have waited a week or so for every release hoping to pick it up in the 'bargain bucket' display? Sony/BMG/Todd en all have surely got what they wanted:- MAXIMUM publicity and No 1 singles and its difficult to argue with that isnt it.

We have to acknowledge the fact, that this has been a clever tactic by Sony/BMG, in respect that they released the Number Ones i.e. Jailhouse Rock / All Shook Up to coincide with Elvis's 70th birthday i.e instant promotion, but more importantly, released at a time of year when record sales have hit an absolute rock bottom. Elvis simply couldnt go wrong, his loyal fans can guarantee minimum sales of 20,000 to ensure Number One status and infact, with the exception of maybe future X Factor releases or charity releases, with such poor sales required, Elvis could quite easily achieve another 18 Number Ones. Sony/BMG for once have done their homework, they knew that a Limited Edition would sell easily enough to ensure Number 1 and too be honest, they would be struggling to sell many more than the limit they had set. I know some fans are struggling to find these releases but in the bigger picture of things, there aren't that many fans who are missing out. Limited Editions of between 20,000 - 30,000 are plenty for the current market. Here's to Elvis's 20th and the UKs 1000th Number One !

I can´t believe it! Elvis did it again! He leaves the Beatles far behind, very far behind! Fantastic! Elvis is greatest, eat your heart out Michael Jackson, Madonna, Robbie Williams, and so on and on. TCB.

Oh dear the news on the Beatles grape vine/Beatles Monthly is that their record company is planning to do the same thing with the Beatle's singles.Their fanbase should mean that they easily get some more number 1 hits. There is probably limited time to keep getting records to number 1 with very low sales. As soon as internet downloads are counted in the sales figures then it will be much harder for older acts to get high in the charts. Lets keep buying those CDs in the meantime.

As I understand it the 'download' chart is far higher than the high street sales one, and they both become one from about July...so unless they do it before then (and I really dont think there's time) then it wont be done. As you say, if download charts counted now Elvis would not be No 1 because how many would just 'download' a track we have many times before? It will be impossible for 're-releases' and older songs that we all have in our collection anyway to chart highly when download charts count. The current Elvis releases are charting high because they are collectors items and not competing with the downloads. And anyway, even if the Beatles did try this stunt, wouldn't it prove the old saying... "Before anyone did anything..Elvis did everything"

I was told today that extra copies of singles would be available to buy at the end of the 18 No1s campaign. Can anyone verify this? I don't mind not having numbered copies, but I would like them all to be in the same format (made to look like old vinyls).

Jim & Cockney Bill have hit the nail right on the head. Had BMG made more copies available, and not deleted the records on the day of issue, people would have bought them over a longer period of time, lessening the impact on the quantity sold in one week. I think it's safe to say that hard core Elvis fans will purchase between 15000 and 22000 copies of a release - Suspicious Minds sold around 16,000 but only managed to get to number 15 as a new entry, and then dropped back to 21/22, and then out. I think fans are getting a little disillusioned if they think that a lot of the general public are running around trying to buy copies. These records are not getting any airplay, but there is some media coverage about the fact that Elvis is back at Number 1, and will probably escalate next week when (if) One Night knowck JHR off the top. I wonder what Top of the Pops will do? Is a clip of JHR too much to ask or expect?

Re: CEP & Beatles etc. The Beatles singles are currenly available in CD format in a nice little box (possibly the vinyls are as well), and have been for years now. I am not convinced however that EMI will re-do this. They have had plenty of opportunities to explore the 40th anniversaries route, but have done nothing. They still won't release the first 4 albums in stereo, even though fans are clamouring for them. I'm a little bit puzzled how thought of this happening could come from Beatles Monthly, as this magazine ceased publication several years ago.

oh sorry for the email, didnt realize it was not allowed

dont really understand why not though?? is that not senserism ? or wot ever its called

Maybe we should have a section on Elvis news where fans can swap contact details. You see I use no other site but Elvis news , it is the best !

From what I have seen in the past two weeks with the mad scramble to find these singles and the high black market prices I see no reason why Elvis cannot have 18 no 1 singles and I think he will, my concern is that the people who are going to put him there are the black market dealers as they are buying in bulk while the real fans are at work which means a lot of these singles will end up in storage unsold because the real fans will just give up trying to fill the boxes at the high prices, it is so sad that this wonderful idea has turned into a fiasco the only way to control it is to restrict it to one copy per customer that way everybody will get one.

Just a quick update on my message yesterday regarding the loss of sales due to BMG not supplying HMV with the One Night release. Following a phone call to BMG this morning HMV have been promised further supplies of the single although they are not exactly sure when. This means if you are collecting the whole box you should get a complete collection but if you are hoping Elvis will be #1 next week ... well ... who knows? This fiasco does mean that any of the general public who don't access forums like this have probably stopped collecting already. A seach on eBay can still prove fruitful though... at a price.

I think "I Just Can't Help Believin" is Elvis' greatest performance. I hope Sony/BMG are working on the next phase. Is there going to be advertising for the Love, Elvis album??

Surely fans don't believe that these singles are doing so well because the public are clamouring for them!They have had no radio play and limited publicity ahead of the 70th birthday.This is a brilliant promotional event by BMG,so brilliant it would make the Colonel smile! How many fans are there in UK Fan Clubs?It only takes 15/20,000 sales in release week in quieter periods to get a No.1 and BMG know it.Produce collectables -the fans clamour to buy in numbers to propel each single to the top for one week only -Elvis has (subject competition) 17 no.1's-brilliant promotion value.They need the clamour and urgency to guarantee the first week surge of sales to get the number 1's.They aren't going to risk dilution of this effect by higher supply over several weeks otherwise the singles would get nowhere-this stategy was probably learnt from the Thats Alright Mama release!!Lets hope BMG are smart enough to exploit this promotional triumph on bigger things such as album releases such as the Love album which not uncoincidently is to be released shortly amidst this campaign.It is sad that fans are having difficulties getting these discs but conversly it suggests that amidst other average selling release Elvis may well take the next 16 no.1's -something to really savour as it won't happen again.Most singles these days are only promotional devices to sell albums and most make a financial loss. As for the Beatles repeating this stunt then they had better get their skates on as the download charts are to merge soon with discs making the impact ofcollectable rereleases redundant forever!!! I am already looking forward to Fool Such As I being no.1 at the end of next week and can't wait for Way Down to do the same as the first single I ever bought -savour the moment

Stop Press! As at 12.40am (5 minutes ago) the Jailhouse Rock 10 inch was shown as available on the HMV website.

This is interesting, just arrived on ebay are two copies of 'One Night' un-numbered..........now is this part of a batch issued by BMG to satisfy the demand ? they said they would do this but they would be un-numbered, this is good news for fans but the dealer selling them is saying that these are more rare than the numbered versions ..........where will this all end.

I had no luck in Ipswich today trying to get One Night

Just watched Top Of The Pops-UTTERLY DISCRACEFUL- less than 25 seconds of photographs behind the record because EPE/BMG refused to allow film to be used.UTTERLY CONTEMPTIBLE!We could had Elvis in glorious technicolour from the 68 special blowing into every home in the UK and the estate won't let it happen!!!The biggest and most effective promotional opportunity for years and those pee brains have blown it!!! Heads should roll at EPE or BMG for whoever did this!!! Pure shortsightedness and gross incompetence-feel the same then inundate these orgaisations with complaints

I agree, TOTP is rubbish but then there aren't that many people who watch it these days. It's just like the BBC to take off good programmes, i.e. TOTP2 presented excellently by Steve Wright, and keep on trash like TOTP. Anyway on a lighter note, well done on your efforts guys, let's take One Night, and the next 15 straight to the TOTP. That way demand for Elvis will put pressure on the powers that be. Long Live the King

Oh yeah Rusty, I sell Elvis and other things on ebay. Please do not tar all of us with the same brush. I am happy if I get my money back, and can make other people happy at the same time, especially as concerns Elvis. If I make a profit...great. Many Thanks

I've just seen the two un-numbered copies of One Night on ebay and the seller describes both as 'mispresses'. As I've not yet heard of any one of the first three releases (vinyl or cd) being mispressed, I'm inclined to think that BMG have indeed kept to their word and started making more copies available. However, once again a number of these issues (maybe most of them) are going to completely miss the shop floor and go straight on to ebay...just like the first batch. You have to laugh don't you?!