0:00:02 > 0:00:05MUSIC: (Call Me) Number One by The Tremeloes
0:00:06 > 0:00:09This programme contains some strong language
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Even in the 21st century,
0:00:11 > 0:00:16a number one hit single remains an almost mythical achievement.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20As we take a musical journey through six decades of UK number ones,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24we meet the people who have had them, written them,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28and those who've helped them reach the ultimate number one spot.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30The number one record is what you hope for.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33It's what you used to stand in your bedroom with your cricket bat
0:00:33 > 0:00:37or your tennis racket pretending to be a rock and roller. Fantastic.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- Enjoyed it, wonderful.- I'm in. I'm in the in crowd now.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I'm one of the exalted.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46The idea of having a number one is ludicrous,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49but when it actually happens, it's even more ludicrous.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55We discover the role played by art, science, chance and manipulation,
0:00:55 > 0:00:59and are there any short cuts or tried and tested routes
0:00:59 > 0:01:00to reach the pinnacle of pop?
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Good-lookingness of a singer, if you're talking about a straightforward pop song.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07There is a science to it. You can feel it.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11We would normally give 15 seconds for the first listen of a new song.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12You've got Top Of The Pops,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14you can more or less guarantee you've got a hit.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17You've got to make sure that everybody within a seven-day period
0:01:17 > 0:01:21goes out and buys that record and sells more than the next one.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27All will be revealed as we uncover how to make a number one single.
0:01:29 > 0:01:36# Here in my heart... #
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The first artist to discover the route to a number one single
0:01:39 > 0:01:43was Al Martino with his recording of Here In My Heart.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It was pre-rock and roll. I mean, it wasn't...
0:01:46 > 0:01:48You know, Elvis had yet to put on his Blue Suede Shoes,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and nothing had really broken out
0:01:51 > 0:01:53that was appealing to the teen audience.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55What was it about Here In My Heart
0:01:55 > 0:01:57that captured the public's imagination
0:01:57 > 0:02:02and made it the first of what are now almost 1,300 UK number ones?
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Well, Here In My Heart, it was a terrific vocal by Al Martino,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and it was at a time
0:02:09 > 0:02:12when people used to live a lyric.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15They used to hang on every word.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20The NME started the chart in November 1952.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23It was only a top 12 then.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26And I think it was compiled from about a dozen different shops.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31It was like a tiny, tiny proportion of the record shops in Britain they asked. You didn't have to
0:02:31 > 0:02:33knock anybody off number one, because there wasn't a chart
0:02:33 > 0:02:35the week before. It didn't exist.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37# One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock... #
0:02:37 > 0:02:40One of the tried and tested routes to the number one spot,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43that began in the '50s and continues to this day,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45is having your song used in a hit movie.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Bill Haley was the first rock and roll artist
0:02:48 > 0:02:51to reap the benefits of this, when Rock Around The Clock
0:02:51 > 0:02:54was featured in the film Blackboard Jungle.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59With Rock Around The Clock, it sort of broke rock and roll, as it were.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03But I remember it mainly from the film, Blackboard Jungle.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06When it was in that movie, it sort of broke really big.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13When a film like that appears, you know,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17everybody would behave the same way. Everybody would go and see it.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And so everybody would dutifully troop off,
0:03:20 > 0:03:21they would go and buy, you know,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24buy the record as one.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Another rocker to take the movie route to the top of the charts
0:03:30 > 0:03:33was Elvis Presley. Jailhouse Rock became the first record
0:03:33 > 0:03:35to enter the charts at number one,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38after featuring in the film of the same name.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40# You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing
0:03:40 > 0:03:42# Let's rock
0:03:42 > 0:03:44# Everybody, let's rock... #
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Elvis never came to Britain. Obviously you'd hear his records
0:03:47 > 0:03:49on the radio, you'd see the occasional picture in the paper,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52but it was the films that brought him to life.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55# Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
0:03:55 > 0:03:57# Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone... #
0:03:57 > 0:03:59The choreography on Jailhouse Rock
0:03:59 > 0:04:03is just incredible. It's a beautiful thing to look at.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Elvis looks terrific.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08The lines... It looks like a piece of modern art.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10It's absolutely gorgeous.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12How impressive that would have looked - you know,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14the biggest rock and roll singer in the world
0:04:14 > 0:04:16and this incredible choreographed scene
0:04:16 > 0:04:21that really predates all sort of rock videos.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25If a song is in a movie, that's, for me,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27that's a catapult effect, as long as it's on the button
0:04:27 > 0:04:32in terms of it being on that top 40 train,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35in terms of what's now and at the moment.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40# And I
0:04:40 > 0:04:45# Will always love you... #
0:04:45 > 0:04:47# I... #
0:04:47 > 0:04:50The ability of the movie to help a song reach the number one spot
0:04:50 > 0:04:52is something that has continued throughout the history
0:04:52 > 0:04:54of the UK singles chart.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03The power of a film to sell a tune is huge.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We go into a huge darkened space
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and we all look up at a massive great screen -
0:05:10 > 0:05:16it's one of the few times when music has our undivided attention.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21And it's an immensely seductive thing.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23In the '90s, in particular, you've only got to look at
0:05:23 > 0:05:26three of the longest-standing number ones there have ever been,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29you know - I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32which is from The Bodyguard. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
0:05:32 > 0:05:35by Bryan Adams was from Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37# You know it's true
0:05:39 > 0:05:41# Everything I do
0:05:42 > 0:05:45# I do it for you... #
0:05:45 > 0:05:48While I was doing the top 40, Everything I Do, Bryan Adams,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I think it made number one for 16 weeks.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It got a bit boring for me to sort of, you know,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57sell the idea that the number one is...
0:05:57 > 0:05:58still Bryan Adams.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00# No other
0:06:00 > 0:06:04# Could give more love... #
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Who was still buying Bryan Adams
0:06:07 > 0:06:1015 weeks after it had gone to number one?
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Who is it that's in their car on a Tuesday morning going,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17"Oh, yeah! Yeah, I've heard this 278 times.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20"Now's the time to buy it." How does that happen?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22# You know I love you
0:06:22 > 0:06:25# I always will... #
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Along with Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31which stayed at number one for 15 weeks, these songs would go on
0:06:31 > 0:06:35to become three of the biggest selling number ones of all time.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37But with many other movie songs falling flat,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41what was the magic behind their success?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43That's always a good question.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I would like to think, of course,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48that it was something in the music.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53But then I have to wonder, with that group of songs,
0:06:53 > 0:06:59whether it's more a story of how they were promoted
0:06:59 > 0:07:01than something in the music itself.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04SCREAMING
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Meanwhile, back in 1963 on Merseyside,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10the rule book for how to have a number one was being rewritten,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13and four lads would write their names into the history books
0:07:13 > 0:07:16of UK number ones. The name of that group?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Gerry and the Pacemakers.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22# How do you do what you do to me?
0:07:22 > 0:07:25# I wish I knew
0:07:25 > 0:07:28# If I knew how you do it to me
0:07:28 > 0:07:32# I'd do it to you... #
0:07:32 > 0:07:35When How Do You Do It got to number one, Brian Epstein rang me up,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37said, "Gerry, we're number one."
0:07:37 > 0:07:40It was fabulous because we were there before The Beatles
0:07:40 > 0:07:45made their first number one. So when John, who was my best friend,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48was having a go at me, I'd say, "John, shut up.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50"We were there first. Clear off."
0:07:50 > 0:07:53It's always great. Good fun.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55# I like it, I like it
0:07:55 > 0:08:01# I like the way you run your fingers through my hair... #
0:08:01 > 0:08:05And then we got a song called I Like It, written by Mitch Murray.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08So we did I Like It, which went to number one,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10so that was two number ones.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13And then we decided, "What can we do for our third?"
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Cos nobody had ever had three number ones with their first three records.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20So I got to the boys that night, and I said, I've got a great ballad -
0:08:20 > 0:08:22You'll Never Walk Alone.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28# And you'll never walk
0:08:28 > 0:08:31# Alone... #
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Within a couple of months it was number one,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38and the beauty is, that we still have, that we were the first band
0:08:38 > 0:08:41to have their first three records at number one.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44The Beatles didn't even do that, and I kept reminding them
0:08:44 > 0:08:47that we were the first band to do it. Fantastic.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Enjoyed it, wonderful.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53And that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55It's hard to think that Gerry and the Pacemakers, for instance,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59would have done as well without The Beatles breaking through first.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Once The Beatles broke,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03all the record labels in London rushed to Liverpool just thinking
0:09:03 > 0:09:06there was going to be a Beatles sound-alike in every club
0:09:06 > 0:09:08everywhere they went. And, you know, they weren't wrong.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10And they all got signed up,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and quite a few of them became hugely successful.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Gerry and the Pacemakers' first three singles were all number ones,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17but the biggest selling single of the '60s
0:09:17 > 0:09:19was this record here - She Loves You by The Beatles.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21# She says she loves you
0:09:21 > 0:09:25# And you know that can't be bad
0:09:25 > 0:09:27# She loves you
0:09:27 > 0:09:30# And you know you should be glad... #
0:09:30 > 0:09:34She Loves You was the second of 17 number ones for the Fab Four.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And they were coming up with these fantastic three-minute songs
0:09:38 > 0:09:42with great melodies, catchy lyrics, and it was brilliant.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Unlike Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Beatles wrote their own songs,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48pioneering a new route for any group
0:09:48 > 0:09:52who harboured aspirations to be number one.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56They were the first band to come along that wrote their own songs.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00In the past, bands, artists, they'd had songwriters,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05mainly had songwriters writing for them. The Tin Pan Alley guys.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07For the professional songwriters like Bill Martin
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and Phil Coulter, who had reigned before The Beatles,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12another road to the top of the charts would open up -
0:10:12 > 0:10:15the Eurovision Song Contest.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17We didn't think rock and roll.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19We didn't think that's the way it's going.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21I mean, I'd love to have written Whiter Shade Of Pale.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24I'd love to have written Strawberry Fields Forever.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25I'd love to have written
0:10:25 > 0:10:28If You're Going To San Francisco Put Flowers In Your Hair.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31But Puppet will be remembered
0:10:31 > 0:10:33as the first one to win Eurovision
0:10:33 > 0:10:35for Great Britain.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38# I wonder
0:10:38 > 0:10:41# If one day that you'll say that you care
0:10:41 > 0:10:45# If you say you love me madly I'll gladly be there
0:10:45 > 0:10:51# Like a puppet on a string... #
0:10:54 > 0:10:55We weren't even...
0:10:55 > 0:11:00You know, when they say it wasn't part of the style of the era,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03it wasn't even in the middle of the road. It was just a joke.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07# Love is just like a merry-go-round
0:11:07 > 0:11:11# With all the fun of the fair... #
0:11:11 > 0:11:14We were number one all over the world with Puppet On A String.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18That was really a magical occasion -
0:11:18 > 0:11:23to be top of the Rolling Stones, The Beatles,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Procol Harum, and there was Puppet up there.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30It was the most thrilling moment of my life.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Except... Even my four kids,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35nothing to do with it, this was better.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39This was an incredible feeling, walking about, people said,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42"He wrote Puppet On A String."
0:11:42 > 0:11:45The songwriters behind the winning Eurovision entry
0:11:45 > 0:11:47could almost be guaranteed a number one.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51But in 1974, when the competition was held in Brighton,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55for the first time ever a band won with a self-written song.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56# Waterloo
0:11:56 > 0:11:59# I was defeated You won the war... #
0:12:01 > 0:12:05ABBA's Waterloo hit the top spot on the UK charts,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09and was the first of nine number ones for the Swedish songsters.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12But what was the secret of their success?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14They were a phenomena. I mean, you had the combination
0:12:14 > 0:12:19of two gorgeous girls and two clever songwriters.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23And again, it's the song, the hooks, it all worked.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28# Friday night and the lights are low
0:12:28 > 0:12:32# Looking out for a place to go
0:12:32 > 0:12:34# Mm, where they play the right music... #
0:12:34 > 0:12:37The girls were amazing singers. Amazing.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I mean, accuracy like no-one else on the planet.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Dancing Queen, I think, is up there with the absolute greats.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48And why is it so good? It's pretty silly. The lyrics, fairly silly.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49But it's harmonic.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It's harmonic. The chord changes in the chorus are just so brilliant.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55That: "Ya-da-da-da da-da..."
0:12:55 > 0:12:58The way that melody runs against the chords. It just...
0:12:58 > 0:13:00You've got no choice but to feel better when you hear it.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05# And when you get the chance
0:13:05 > 0:13:09# You are the dancing queen
0:13:09 > 0:13:15# Young and sweet, only 17... #
0:13:15 > 0:13:19They had a knack within the disco genre
0:13:19 > 0:13:24of using harmonies that were ever so slightly different
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and a little bit less standard
0:13:27 > 0:13:29than what the other acts were doing at the time.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31They mastered that balance
0:13:31 > 0:13:34between where you need to be conventional -
0:13:34 > 0:13:35seems to be structure -
0:13:35 > 0:13:39where you need to be slightly unconventional -
0:13:39 > 0:13:40seems to be harmony -
0:13:40 > 0:13:44and where you really do want to be a bit more creative,
0:13:44 > 0:13:45which is the melody.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# Mamma mia
0:13:47 > 0:13:50# Here I go again My, my
0:13:50 > 0:13:52# How can I resist you?
0:13:52 > 0:13:54# Mamma mia... #
0:13:54 > 0:13:58ABBA's songwriting genius is universally acknowledged.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00But there is another factor to consider.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02How much of any record's success
0:14:02 > 0:14:05is down to record company marketeers and pluggers?
0:14:05 > 0:14:09The idea of plugging is that every record is different,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and you'd have to look at the type of the record and the genre
0:14:11 > 0:14:15and the airplay you're likely to get to kind of put a plan together.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16But it's still about Radio 1.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I can't remember the last time
0:14:18 > 0:14:20I walked into a meeting
0:14:20 > 0:14:21and the first thing they didn't want
0:14:21 > 0:14:23to talk about was national radio.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25# Britain's favourite, Radio 1. #
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Good afternoon. It's exactly five o'clock,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and this is Bruno Brookes here in London with the brand-new top 40.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35It was every plugger's dream, every record company's dream,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37every songwriter's dream,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41to get their tracks played on Radio 1 daytime. It's as simple as that.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44But, you know, that is determined by about six people
0:14:44 > 0:14:47who sit round a table, and if they don't like you,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49you ain't going to get played.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54They were hugely, hugely powerful.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57I think eight of them sat on the playlist committee.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02And it was chaired by a woman called Doreen Davies. She was a very...
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Always an elegant woman, always had her hair done, always that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09And you look at her and you think, you know, "That's my mum!"
0:15:09 > 0:15:12But she was in charge of everything.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15We'd have to think of devious ways of trying to, you know,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19bring records to the attention of producers.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21I remember one occasion,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25I sort of paid off a guy who was cleaning the windows outside
0:15:25 > 0:15:28a place where the BBC held the playlists, on the fourth floor.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31I slipped him a couple of bob, I jumped in the thing
0:15:31 > 0:15:34and pulled myself up, threw it in. Anyway, job done, I went off.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Unbeknown to me, I go off,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and I think it was because of the cheek, it went on the playlist.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43At the time, it was Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Simple as that.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50You get those two - you get Radio 1 A-list at the time,
0:15:50 > 0:15:51you've got Top Of The Pops -
0:15:51 > 0:15:54you can more or less guarantee you got a hit.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Don't forget, in those days,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59you turned on the telly at seven o'clock on a Thursday night
0:15:59 > 0:16:03for Top Of The Pops, and 20 million people were watching you.
0:16:03 > 0:16:0420 million!
0:16:04 > 0:16:08# I won't laugh at you when you boo-hoo-hoo
0:16:08 > 0:16:12# Cos I love you
0:16:12 > 0:16:16# I can't turn my back on the things you lack
0:16:16 > 0:16:20# Cos I love you... #
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Luckily for us, we were great on telly.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25We came across great on telly.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28And so in the pubs the next day, people were talking about us.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Whether love us or hate us, we had an effect every time we went on TV.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36And that was a big way to sell records.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Helped in a large part by their appearance on Top Of The Pops,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Slade's third single release, Coz I Luv You,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46would become their first ever number one.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48And of course, when we got that call
0:16:48 > 0:16:51at ten o'clock in the morning that Tuesday morning,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54"You're number one on the charts," the buzz is just phenomenal.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58But then - the hard work starts, then.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Cos you've had a taste for it, so you want another one.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03You don't want to be just one number one,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07you want a string of number ones. And that's when it gets hard,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10because that innocence that you had
0:17:10 > 0:17:13when you'd written your first number one,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17you don't know whether you're going to get that magic back again.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19# Baby, baby, baby... #
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Luckily for us, we had six number one records.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28We built up, over a number of years, a solid fanbase.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30After we'd had one number one record,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34that fanbase gets much, much bigger.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38When that happens, you know, you get such a demand for the next record
0:17:38 > 0:17:43that you ship out so many records that go over the counter first week
0:17:43 > 0:17:47that you're almost guaranteed the number one record.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51And three of them went straight to number one the first day of release.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52All in the same year,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55the three that went to number one first day of release.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Nobody had ever done that before.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Not even The Beatles had done that before.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02# ..don't know why any more... #
0:18:02 > 0:18:05It was only when The Beatles had built massive popularity
0:18:05 > 0:18:07that they could get a record to go
0:18:07 > 0:18:09straight in at number one, because
0:18:09 > 0:18:11that was quite rare in those days.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Because, you know, they didn't know how to...
0:18:13 > 0:18:16The record companies didn't know how to manipulate the charts
0:18:16 > 0:18:21in the way that they worked out how to do many, many years later.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26As a PR, and as a record label,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29the record label's ultimate is to have that number one.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Everybody wanted that number one. It's the prestige.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35It's like football. You get the lead championship.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38The same thing in a music world, in the music world.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41You know, we all wanted to get that number one.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45So the way that the chart could be manipulated was that...
0:18:45 > 0:18:49When I was doing it it was all about barcodes, and Gallup ran the chart.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54And for every single or album sold, there was a laser pen,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57and that would be run over the barcode. I don't think I'm going to break any illusions here
0:18:57 > 0:19:00to say that every single number, as it was called,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03every reading of that barcode, wasn't actually a genuine sale.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And, you know, there were certain projects that you had to
0:19:06 > 0:19:09overly promote, and you maybe had some...
0:19:09 > 0:19:12you know, some gift vouchers to offer
0:19:12 > 0:19:14if a certain single would go top 40.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16So there was a lot of that kind of, like,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18"Could we get a little deal going on?"
0:19:18 > 0:19:20So there was always a bit of a kind of...
0:19:20 > 0:19:23There was always a bit of Arthur Daley going on with the whole job.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26But manipulation will only get your records so far.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30The final choice of what becomes a number one is the public's,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and they can be hard to please.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36If the public don't like the record, it won't go to number one.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39If they like it, and the conditions are right,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44the sales come in over the right span, and everything else...
0:19:44 > 0:19:47The planets have aligned, you have a number one record.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Which is one reason you see this rich-gets-richer
0:19:50 > 0:19:52phenomenon in popular music,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55where you have certain tracks that become incredibly popular
0:19:55 > 0:19:59even though there's other music that every formal scientific metric
0:19:59 > 0:20:02would say is extremely similar.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And it can be dramatically less popular,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07just because it's less popular.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10That's the key part of the classic number one experience,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14is that sense that you're all moving in lockstep.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16You're all doing the same thing.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20You're all enjoying that wonderful moment of blessed uniformity.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23# Woah-oh-oh-oh... #
0:20:25 > 0:20:27The first step on the ladder to the top of the charts
0:20:27 > 0:20:31can simply be a great song. The Righteous Brothers' recording
0:20:31 > 0:20:33of You've Lost That Loving Feeling
0:20:33 > 0:20:36has long been acknowledged as one of the all-time great number ones.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40So what are the musical ingredients needed for a potential chart topper?
0:20:42 > 0:20:46The melody's got to hit you to pay attention.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Most people don't pay attention to the lyrics.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Most people don't.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Well, I think a lyric is very, very important. It depends on the song.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58If it's a ballad, I think it's everything.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04# You've lost that loving feeling
0:21:04 > 0:21:06# Woah-oh-oh... #
0:21:06 > 0:21:10It's the simplicity of the music and the lyrics.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12And if there's a bit of love in it, that's nice.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14And I think it's the marriage
0:21:14 > 0:21:15of great melody, great lyric,
0:21:15 > 0:21:16but you have to have
0:21:16 > 0:21:18a brilliant artist to sing it.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21And the story being told is one that people understand
0:21:21 > 0:21:23and have been through and know.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Get all of that together and you're probably in business.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30# My friend Stan's got a funny old man
0:21:30 > 0:21:31# Oh, yeah
0:21:32 > 0:21:34# Oh, yeah... #
0:21:34 > 0:21:37As far as Slade were concerned,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41a number one record was atmosphere, melody, lyrics,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44it was capturing the essence of Slade.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48# And from the way you blacked my eye
0:21:48 > 0:21:52# I know that you're the reason why... #
0:21:52 > 0:21:55It is not too difficult to write a sad ballad.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58You put a few minor chords together, you get a sad story
0:21:58 > 0:22:03or a love song, and you can probably come up with a decent song.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07# My friend Jack's got an ache in his back... #
0:22:07 > 0:22:11But to write a happy, uplifting pop-rock record
0:22:11 > 0:22:15is very, very difficult. People sort of pooh-pooh it,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17but it's not, it's really hard.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Ever since the advent of the UK singles chart,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23another short cut to hitting the number one spot
0:22:23 > 0:22:25is by winning a talent contest.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28This first occurred back in 1953.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34# Answer me, lord above
0:22:34 > 0:22:38# Just what sin have I been guilty of?
0:22:38 > 0:22:42# Tell me how I came to lose my... #
0:22:42 > 0:22:44The first person to take this route to the top
0:22:44 > 0:22:49was the pride of Kingston upon Hull, David Whitfield.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52David Whitfield was the first singer to have a number one
0:22:52 > 0:22:54who'd been discovered through a talent show,
0:22:54 > 0:22:59which was Opportunity Knocks, It was still only on the radio then.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Well, there's been an awful a lot of talent competitions,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05an awful lot of winners, and they've...
0:23:05 > 0:23:07A lot of them have got to the top of the hit parade,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11but they're what I call sort of one-hit wonders.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14And he was always creeping into the hit parade in one way or another,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16but never getting to the top again
0:23:16 > 0:23:20until this marvellous Cara Mia came on the scene.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23And of course, that stayed up there for ten weeks or so.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29# Cara mia, why
0:23:29 > 0:23:34# Must we say goodbye
0:23:34 > 0:23:38# Each time we part
0:23:38 > 0:23:42# My heart wants to die... #
0:23:42 > 0:23:49He has had a statue erected of him,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52and there's a little close, David Whitfield close,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and the people of Hull really loved him.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57# Here are my arms
0:23:57 > 0:24:01# You alone will share... #
0:24:01 > 0:24:03The talent contest route to number one reached its peak
0:24:03 > 0:24:08in the 21st century, as TV competitions grew in popularity
0:24:08 > 0:24:12and songwriters such as Eg White found themselves in demand
0:24:12 > 0:24:15to provide potential number ones.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19# I'm here just like I said
0:24:21 > 0:24:24# Though it's breaking every rule I've ever made
0:24:26 > 0:24:31# My racing heart is just the same
0:24:32 > 0:24:36# Why make it strong to break it once again? #
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And then this is the pre-chorus, where you lift up a bit.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44# And I'd like to say I do
0:24:44 > 0:24:47# Give everything to you
0:24:47 > 0:24:50# But that can never now be true
0:24:50 > 0:24:52# So I say...
0:24:52 > 0:24:56# ..think I'd better leave right now
0:24:56 > 0:24:58# Before I fall any deeper... #
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Pop Idol contestant Will Young topped the charts with this song
0:25:02 > 0:25:04for two weeks, and in 2004,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Eg White was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello
0:25:08 > 0:25:11for best song of that year.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14The verse, if anything, is rather like that Dolly Parton song,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I'll Always Love You. It's kind of loosely modelled on that.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19# So please explain
0:25:21 > 0:25:25# Why you're opening up a healing wound again
0:25:25 > 0:25:27It really is country music. It's a total country music song.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And when I play it on a guitar, it becomes clear as anything to me.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It's not a pop song, really, it's a country, country song.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37# But if I lose the highs at least I'm spared the lows
0:25:39 > 0:25:43# Now I tremble in your arms... #
0:25:43 > 0:25:45I remember just thinking,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48it has to go up like a Mariah Carey song in the chorus.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49It just has to go up.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50# So I say
0:25:50 > 0:25:54# I think I'd better leave right now
0:25:54 > 0:25:56# Before I fall any deeper... #
0:25:56 > 0:25:59When Leave Right Now hit the top spot on the charts,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03it was the 966th song to reside at number one.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06# Somebody better show me how... #
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Is there a science involved in the writing of a hit song?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11# Think I'd better leave right now... #
0:26:11 > 0:26:14There is a science to writing a hit song.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18The challenge is that it's a sort of implicit knowledge,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23that a songwriter has a very good feel for,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27but probably struggles to explain to you explicitly.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Yeah, OK, so you're not going to take two minutes
0:26:29 > 0:26:32before you get to the chorus, you know? And you're not...
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It's unlikely to be under 20 seconds,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37you know, to get a build.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42But I don't see it as a science.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45The scientific state of the art has shown
0:26:45 > 0:26:49that relatively longer notes and relatively smaller intervals
0:26:49 > 0:26:51seem to make a tune stick in your head
0:26:51 > 0:26:54to that obnoxious earworm level.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57You've just got to have a great sounding track that's about the right speed
0:26:57 > 0:27:00with a singer who can bring the pitch and the words across.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02There is a science to it. You can feel it.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Making it explicit is surprisingly difficult to do.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09You have to have that impact right away.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11It's got to hit you right away.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15That's the science. It's nothing to do with the length, or whatever.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18The song must hit you.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Look at A Whiter Shade Of Pale.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22There's nothing scientific about it,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26you've just got to get the attention right away.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31# We skipped the light fandango
0:27:33 > 0:27:37# And turned cartwheels cross the floor... #
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Now one of the things that often makes a number one is people feel
0:27:40 > 0:27:44that they've heard it before, whether they have or they haven't.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46You know, they feel it's building on some
0:27:46 > 0:27:51pre-existing familiarity in their memory.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57There are a lot of singles that also include something that
0:27:57 > 0:28:00you might have heard before, and don't know what it is.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03There might be a resemblance to something else.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05And there's some importance in that too,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07cos all of this plays on the psyche.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12I think that is probably the artistic key
0:28:12 > 0:28:15to writing a hit song.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20It's finding a balance between being familiar but not too familiar.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24And so I think the real art to writing
0:28:24 > 0:28:27an extremely catchy song and a number one hit
0:28:27 > 0:28:30is finding that balance. Having enough that's familiar
0:28:30 > 0:28:34that you draw people in and you make people feel good and safe,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37maybe even something that's familiar and makes them feel like
0:28:37 > 0:28:40they're part of something bigger,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42but then also has something that's a little bit different
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and a little bit new.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46# I love you
0:28:47 > 0:28:49# But I gotta stay true... #
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Mercy was a very, you know, sort of
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Ray Charles-y kind of blues jam.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00It was also such a simple song.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03You know, I'd been writing all these songs for years
0:29:03 > 0:29:06where I was showing off my songwriting -
0:29:06 > 0:29:09"I can do this," you know?
0:29:09 > 0:29:11But that song, it just wouldn't...
0:29:11 > 0:29:13It would not be anything but what it was.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- # You got me begging you for mercy - Yeah, yeah, yeah
0:29:17 > 0:29:20- # Why won't you release me? - Yeah, yeah, yeah... #
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Mercy gave Duffy and songwriter-producer Steve Booker
0:29:23 > 0:29:25their first UK number one.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30The song remained at the top of the charts for five weeks in 2008.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32You know, a song like Mercy by Duffy,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35their ingredients of the production were pretty modern,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38but essentially there was like a Dusty Springfield type thing.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41There was something about it. Her vocal had this sort of '60s vibe
0:29:41 > 0:29:44that you just... It kind of jumped out at you.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47And obviously when you've got loads of different kinds of music
0:29:47 > 0:29:50on a radio station, those songs are going to resonate
0:29:50 > 0:29:51so much more these days.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54- # I'm too hot - Hot damn
0:29:54 > 0:29:56# Called a police and a fireman
0:29:56 > 0:29:57- # I'm too hot - Hot damn... #
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars recently spent seven weeks
0:30:01 > 0:30:03at number one with Uptown Funk.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05How much of this success is down to the genius
0:30:05 > 0:30:08of Mark Ronson's record production?
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Production plays a hell of a big part in it.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14It's not just words and music,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16it's how the whole thing comes together.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20I mean, people always talk about great records today,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23and that's fine, you know. But I was brought up with...
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Well, you could tell a great song by a piano and a vocal.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Nothing else.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34It's probably in the last ten years, maybe, that the producers themselves
0:30:34 > 0:30:36have kind of stepped away from the desk
0:30:36 > 0:30:38and into the limelight as the artist.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Normally they'd be sat there playing around,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44and now they're the artists themselves.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46# Don't believe me, just watch
0:30:46 > 0:30:48# Don't believe me, just watch
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- # Hey, hey, hey, oh! - Stop! #
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Songs have... They succeed for different reasons.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57Sometimes it's all about the lyrics, it's all about the story.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Sometimes it's about the performer, everybody's just digging,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02you know, they're so hot right now.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05And other times some songs survive on a groove.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10All different aspects of hit songs appeal for different reasons.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13But if you hear China In Your Hand as Ronnie and I wrote it,
0:31:13 > 0:31:18just with piano and vocal, it still delivers on that very basic
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and simple presentation of just piano and vocal.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24# It was a theme she had on a scheme he had
0:31:24 > 0:31:27# Told in a foreign land
0:31:29 > 0:31:33# To take life on earth to the second birth
0:31:33 > 0:31:36# And the man was in command
0:31:38 > 0:31:42# It was a flight on the wings of a young girl's dreams
0:31:42 > 0:31:50# That flew too far away
0:31:51 > 0:31:57# Don't push too far, your dreams are china in your hand
0:31:58 > 0:32:02# Don't wish too hard because they may come true
0:32:02 > 0:32:05# And you can't help them
0:32:05 > 0:32:08# You don't know what you might have... #
0:32:08 > 0:32:11And then the story of the song,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14which was a parable for be careful what you wish for,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18your dreams can come true, you can open Pandora's box,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20everything comes out and then you can't control it any more.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23So I think the story chimed with a lot of people.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I think the video was played on Top Of The Pops.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29That was the springboard, and then everything starts to roll.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32You get the phone call, you know, it's the call from above, really.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36To get Top Of The Pops in those days was just everything.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39# Oh, eyes wide
0:32:39 > 0:32:44# Like a child in the form of man... #
0:32:44 > 0:32:48And when we turned up to do our first Top Of The Pops appearance,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51the buzz when we got to the studios was amazing.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54"They're here, they're here."
0:32:54 > 0:32:57You know, it was fantastic, and they were talking about us.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02# Don't push too far, your dreams are china in your hand... #
0:33:02 > 0:33:05When China In Your Hand went to number one, it was incredible.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09And it stayed there for five weeks. You do think, "I'm in!
0:33:09 > 0:33:13"I'm in the in crowd now! I'm one of the exalted," you know.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17And it's a remarkable feeling, and I adjusted to it quite quickly.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20I think I insisted red carpets were rolled out
0:33:20 > 0:33:22and rose petals were thrown wherever I went, you know.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27But you do think, "Nope, no-one can take this away, I've achieved it."
0:33:27 > 0:33:29And when people say to us,
0:33:29 > 0:33:30"Oh, China In Your Hand means so much to me
0:33:30 > 0:33:33"because I was doing my A-levels, getting married,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35"going through a tough time,"
0:33:35 > 0:33:37it's a privilege to be part of their memories.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41And if you've come up with a song that does that for other people,
0:33:41 > 0:33:44I think that's a lovely position to be in.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47We're very flattered that China is that song for some people,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49as lots of songs are that song for me.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55# Do you really want to hurt me? #
0:33:55 > 0:33:58A catchy tune and a lyric that resonates with the public
0:33:58 > 0:34:02is a good starting point on the road to a number one.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04But, as artists like Boy George realised,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06a bit of fashion and fantasy
0:34:06 > 0:34:10could also play a crucial role in any march to the top of the charts.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12George was very clever.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15The thing with Culture Club,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18the image was the main factor
0:34:18 > 0:34:22in breaking them as a band.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26# Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon
0:34:26 > 0:34:29# You come and go
0:34:29 > 0:34:31# You come and go
0:34:31 > 0:34:33# Loving would be easy... #
0:34:33 > 0:34:35It was part and parcel the personality
0:34:35 > 0:34:39that you were buying into, that they had got something to offer,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42other than what was in the groove of the track.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45# Don't, don't you want me?
0:34:45 > 0:34:47# You know I can't believe it
0:34:47 > 0:34:50# When I hear that you won't see me... #
0:34:50 > 0:34:52The Human League's Don't You Want Me?
0:34:52 > 0:34:55held the number one spot for five weeks in 1981,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59further testament to the power of pairing a great song
0:34:59 > 0:35:00with a memorable image.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03Image was very important in terms of artists
0:35:03 > 0:35:06and the visual presentation of an artist was important.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08It could be the difference between being number two
0:35:08 > 0:35:10or number one, in many ways.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17This guy had a choice of appearing on Top Of The Pops or getting married.
0:35:17 > 0:35:18Guess what? He got married!
0:35:18 > 0:35:19Steve "Silk" Hurley!
0:35:21 > 0:35:23What we have learnt on our journey so far
0:35:23 > 0:35:26is that getting to number one is dependent to a large part
0:35:26 > 0:35:28on radio play, TV exposure,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30a great song, and a strong image.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33But sometimes a record comes along and makes it
0:35:33 > 0:35:35without ticking any of those boxes.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38One of these was Jack Your Body by Steve "Silk" Hurley.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Jack Your Body by Steve "Silk" Hurley
0:35:44 > 0:35:46just sounded like the most alien record.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48It sounded like clattering drums,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50this weird, disembodied, processed voice,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53which was just saying "jack your body" over and over again.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57It's got no real hook, no real melody. It's all about rhythm.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59Nothing had sounded like it before.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01It basically broke all the rules in the way that
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Rock Around The Clock had decades earlier.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05# Jack your body
0:36:05 > 0:36:07# Jack, jack your body
0:36:07 > 0:36:08# Jack your body
0:36:08 > 0:36:09# Jack, jack your body... #
0:36:09 > 0:36:12It was purely a hit because it was getting played in the clubs
0:36:12 > 0:36:14and Radio One wouldn't touch it.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Those clubbers then put it in the chart,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19and it became in the public domain.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Radio then couldn't ignore it because it was happening,
0:36:22 > 0:36:23they would play it.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26And it was, "Who's he?" "Where did that come from?"
0:36:26 > 0:36:28But it got to number one.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32And again, it's like the question mark, how?
0:36:32 > 0:36:37It was down to the ingredients in the track, and familiarity, really.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40People hearing it and going, "Oh, yeah, I must get that track."
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Or being perceived to be cool by buying that track.
0:36:43 > 0:36:50And the terrible sadness is it never sounded as good in your home
0:36:50 > 0:36:54as it would sound when you were off your face
0:36:54 > 0:36:59in front of 5,000 people in a warehouse somewhere.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01# Jack your body
0:37:01 > 0:37:02# Jack, jack your body... #
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Another way to hit the number one spot
0:37:10 > 0:37:14without the need for vocal prowess or a haunting melody
0:37:14 > 0:37:16is to tie your song to a major event.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20So who better to write the England World Cup song in 1970
0:37:20 > 0:37:24than Scotsman Bill Martin and Irishman Phil Coulter(?)
0:37:25 > 0:37:27I always had to sell Phil the idea.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31When I mentioned doing a football song, he said, "You're mad.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32"I'm Irish, you're Scottish,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35"and we're writing for the England World Cup squad!".
0:37:35 > 0:37:38And I said, "Well, Scotland's not in the World Cup,
0:37:38 > 0:37:40"and neither is Ireland!
0:37:40 > 0:37:41"Who are we going to write for?"
0:37:41 > 0:37:46# Back home, they'll be watching and waiting
0:37:46 > 0:37:49# And cheering every move... #
0:37:49 > 0:37:53It's actually like an old-fashioned song of the '40s,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56"hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line",
0:37:56 > 0:37:57or whatever it may be.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59And it was so appealing,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02and we got the right sound and everything was magic.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03That's how you get a number one.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06The England World Cup song reached number one on the chart,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09but once our boys were knocked out in the quarterfinals,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12the game was up for record sales back home.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15We were selling 100,000 records a day.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19The next day, we could not give them away as ashtrays.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23That shows you how fickle the English public were.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25They just dropped them like a stone.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28And that's why we never wrote another football song again.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32We thought, what's the point? None of them...
0:38:32 > 0:38:34No other football song has been a great success.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Well, actually you've scored a bit of an own goal there, Bill,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41because since 1970 there have been two other football songs
0:38:41 > 0:38:46that have walked the hallowed turf at the top of the charts.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48# We're singing for England
0:38:48 > 0:38:49# England!
0:38:49 > 0:38:53# Arrivederci, it's one on one... #
0:38:53 > 0:38:56# Three lions on the shirt
0:38:56 > 0:38:58# Jules Rimet still gleaming... #
0:38:58 > 0:39:01The biggest planned event in the singles buying calendar,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03one that does not depend upon the prowess
0:39:03 > 0:39:05of the national football team,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and rolls around every year is Christmas.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10# Christmas
0:39:10 > 0:39:12# Stars coming down... #
0:39:12 > 0:39:16It used to be the Holy Grail, Christmas number one.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Everybody went in a record shop at Christmas.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21People would come in, you know,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25it was like they had to have a certain number of things seasonal.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29Mistletoe, tick. Christmas pudding, tick. Number one single, tick.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Got to have that.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Anything in any style, pretty much,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37could make a number one at Christmas if it was quirky enough.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39# Grandad
0:39:39 > 0:39:42# Grandad, you're lovely...
0:39:42 > 0:39:45So, you've got Grandad by Clive Dunn.
0:39:45 > 0:39:46You know, there was
0:39:46 > 0:39:51not a grandad in the United Kingdom that was not bought that record.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54You know, the idea that Grandad was going to sit there
0:39:54 > 0:39:57on Christmas morning and play it was ridiculous.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01# That's what we all think of you... #
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Nobody at that time was bringing out Christmas records.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09In the past, in the '50s and '60s, there'd been Christmas songs
0:40:09 > 0:40:11but not really number one records.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15And Jimmy, my co-writer in the band,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18one of his relatives said to him,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21why don't you ever bring a song out that could be played every year,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24like a birthday song or a Christmas song, something like that?
0:40:24 > 0:40:30# Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?
0:40:32 > 0:40:37# It's the time that every Santa has a ball... #
0:40:37 > 0:40:39I did the lyrics pretty quickly.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41I went to the pub one night, got tanked up.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44I was staying at my mum and dad's at the time,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and popped back after the pub with a bottle of whisky.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49By five o'clock in the morning,
0:40:49 > 0:40:54after we'd had a lock-in at the pub, I'd got all the lyrics done.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58# So here it is, merry Christmas
0:40:58 > 0:41:01# Everybody's having fun
0:41:03 > 0:41:06# Look to the future now
0:41:06 > 0:41:12# It's only just begun... #
0:41:13 > 0:41:16We thought we'd have a hit record with this,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19not knowing it was going to be a number one record.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22We just couldn't sell them quick enough, we couldn't keep up
0:41:22 > 0:41:26with demand, and it was still number one three weeks into January!
0:41:26 > 0:41:31It was still selling! In France, it got to number one at Easter!
0:41:33 > 0:41:39# Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall? #
0:41:39 > 0:41:4242 years, that record has been playing and selling.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45No way did we ever think that would happen.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48I mean, it's been great for us, it's our pension,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50but we could not have predicted it.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56# Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day... #
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Another festive favourite that had all the necessary ingredients
0:42:00 > 0:42:01for the number one spot
0:42:01 > 0:42:03was Wham's Last Christmas.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05At the time of the record's release,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Wham had just enjoyed three successive chart toppers.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13We knew that was a number one in the can, because when you hear that,
0:42:13 > 0:42:17you know that is such a great record, and such a catchy tune.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20George had such a following with Wham at the time.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24You know, the ship-out on that record was phenomenal.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25Wham's Last Christmas,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29it's my favourite Christmas record ever, it's amazing.
0:42:29 > 0:42:30The video is...
0:42:30 > 0:42:33The video is just so tacky, but brilliant.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36That would have been planned six, seven months before Christmas.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39The treatment for the video would have been bought in, everything.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42As far as we knew, we had it in the bag.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44# It doesn't surprise me... #
0:42:44 > 0:42:46(Happy Christmas.)
0:42:46 > 0:42:47But, for the boys from Wham,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50the celebratory champagne was put on ice.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52All bets were off when a record was released
0:42:52 > 0:42:55in response to an unplanned global event.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59# Feed the world... #
0:42:59 > 0:43:01'It was just over two weeks ago
0:43:01 > 0:43:04'that dozens of the biggest names in British pop music
0:43:04 > 0:43:07'gathered together in a backstreet studio in West London.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10'Their purpose, to make a record that would go straight to the
0:43:10 > 0:43:12'top of the charts, with all proceeds being used to buy food
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'and medical supplies for the starving families of Ethiopia.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18'They call themselves Band Aid.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20'They called their record Do They Know It's Christmas?
0:43:20 > 0:43:22'This morning, they reached number one.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25'It's the fastest selling record of all time.'
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Band Aid was a phenomenon for obvious reasons,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31and again, I think that shows
0:43:31 > 0:43:35that music placed perfectly well in time
0:43:35 > 0:43:39is stronger. It's time and place.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45# Let them know it's Christmas time... #
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Do They Know It's Christmas,
0:43:47 > 0:43:49as well as keeping Wham off the number one spot,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52would become the second biggest selling single of all time.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Nobody could predict the tragedy,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57but also nobody could have predicted in advance that there'd
0:43:57 > 0:44:00be a record coming out of it and that it would be so huge.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Everybody wants to participate,
0:44:02 > 0:44:05they want to be part of this big cultural moment,
0:44:05 > 0:44:06not just music moment.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10# Let them know it's Christmas time
0:44:10 > 0:44:14# Feed the world... #
0:44:14 > 0:44:16But the biggest selling single of all time
0:44:16 > 0:44:19came about because of a tragic event closer to home.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22# Goodbye, England's rose
0:44:22 > 0:44:26# May you ever grow in our hearts
0:44:26 > 0:44:30# You were the grace that placed itself
0:44:30 > 0:44:32# Where lives were torn apart... #
0:44:34 > 0:44:41That was a unique week in 20th century British history, wasn't it?
0:44:41 > 0:44:44You know, the death of Lady Diana.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48And so you suddenly got this massive national focus
0:44:48 > 0:44:56on looking for a way that they can express their grief.
0:44:56 > 0:45:02I think when Diana died, I mean, it is a huge emotional moment.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07People wanted to express how they felt, and they bought that record.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10Everything went together to make that a number one.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13# ..England's greenest hills... #
0:45:13 > 0:45:16The promotion is beyond the normal standard promotion.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18It's totally across-the-board.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20You know, every paper would cover it,
0:45:20 > 0:45:21every radio station would play it.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27Every shop will stock it. I mean, you ticked every box.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31Elton John's re-recorded version of Candle In The Wind
0:45:31 > 0:45:35would go onto sell over four million copies in the UK alone,
0:45:35 > 0:45:39and, to this day, remains the biggest selling number one ever.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43# Every step I'm taking... #
0:45:43 > 0:45:45David Whitfield might have been
0:45:45 > 0:45:49the first person to top the charts via a talent contest back in 1953,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51but he certainly wouldn't be the last,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53and, by the start of this century,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56young contenders would be taking this tried and tested route
0:45:56 > 0:46:00to the summit of the singles chart with predictable regularity.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04What happened in the present century
0:46:04 > 0:46:09is that we got to see round the back of the machine.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15So, if the papers are full of so and so is going to get to number one,
0:46:15 > 0:46:19particularly because this bloke with a really annoying face
0:46:19 > 0:46:21says it's going to go to number one,
0:46:21 > 0:46:26it's natural instinct on the part of the public to go, no it bloody isn't!
0:46:26 > 0:46:29And, in 2009, following four years of the Christmas number one
0:46:29 > 0:46:32being held by the winners of that year's X Factor,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36a section of the public, spurred on by a social media campaign,
0:46:36 > 0:46:38decided enough was enough.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42I'm going to find something that is as objectionable as possible,
0:46:42 > 0:46:43you know.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Something that comes from completely the other side of the spectrum,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50and I'm going to buy that, and I don't even like it!
0:46:50 > 0:46:52# Killing in the name of...
0:46:56 > 0:46:58# Killing in the name of... #
0:46:59 > 0:47:02A husband and wife from the deepest,
0:47:02 > 0:47:06darkest corner of Essex decided to make a campaign about it,
0:47:06 > 0:47:10and they used Facebook and they got everybody to come together
0:47:10 > 0:47:13and make a statement against something they didn't much like.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15# Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!
0:47:15 > 0:47:19# Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! #
0:47:19 > 0:47:21I knew that the Rage Against the Machine record
0:47:21 > 0:47:24was not something that people were going to be sitting
0:47:24 > 0:47:26listening to on Christmas Day.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28I knew that. I'm not an idiot.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31And I knew it also wasn't a personal attack against me.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34And...in the first couple of days,
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I couldn't really grasp why it was going on,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40but then, when I step outside of it now and look back,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44it actually made it a historical chart battle.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47# There's always gonna be another mountain
0:47:47 > 0:47:49# I'm always gonna wanna make it move
0:47:49 > 0:47:52# Always gonna be an uphill battle
0:47:52 > 0:47:56# Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose. #
0:47:56 > 0:47:59It was an interesting one to see in terms of how you can rally
0:47:59 > 0:48:03the British public, and how you can do that online
0:48:03 > 0:48:06with no marketing spend, with no posters, with no big adverts.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09This was just a Facebook campaign.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13Right now, let's find out who is the Christmas number one 2009.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16And I was actually told I was number one.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19I got a phone call saying congratulations, you are number one.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21But I had a funny feeling that I wasn't.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24The Christmas number one 2009 is...
0:48:24 > 0:48:25CROWD: # Killing in the name of! #
0:48:25 > 0:48:27Rage Against The Machine!
0:48:30 > 0:48:34At the time, I was a bit like, why me? Rain on my parade, you know.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37To be honest, at that point in time, I was still over the moon
0:48:37 > 0:48:40that I'd even got a number two, you know.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Now it's time for the final number one of 2009. It is Joe McElderry!
0:48:44 > 0:48:46People were like, hang on,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48he's got to have his opportunity to have number one.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51I don't know whether it was people who'd already bought it
0:48:51 > 0:48:54went out and bought it again, but it did get a number one.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57I suppose in a way it made me appreciate it a lot more.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00# There's always gonna be another mountain
0:49:00 > 0:49:03# I'm always gonna wanna make it move
0:49:03 > 0:49:06# Always gonna be an uphill battle
0:49:06 > 0:49:12# Sometimes you're gonna to have to lo-o-o-ose... #
0:49:12 > 0:49:17I think the feeling of having a number one is, for me, anyway,
0:49:17 > 0:49:21it wasn't actually about it being number one, it was more like,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24wow, think of the amount of people that have heard your song
0:49:24 > 0:49:26and know the words to that song.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29With it being number one, it gets played all over the radio.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33For me, it was like, "God, almost everybody has heard this song",
0:49:33 > 0:49:36and that for me was a more insane feeling
0:49:36 > 0:49:40than the actual thing of being number one.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Here it is, it's number one on Top Of The Pops,
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Way Down, with the great Elvis Presley.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Since the UK singles chart began in 1952,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51there have been 17 posthumous number ones.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54# Babe, you're getting closer
0:49:55 > 0:49:57# The lights are going dim... #
0:49:58 > 0:50:00Following his death in 1977,
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Elvis Presley returned to the number one spot
0:50:03 > 0:50:05after an absence of seven years.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09There's a horrible, you know, black joke
0:50:09 > 0:50:14that death in the music business is always a very good career move.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Because you're guaranteed loads and loads of attention.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20At the time of John Lennon's death in 1980,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23he'd never had a solo UK single at number one.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27At the time that John Lennon was tragically murdered,
0:50:27 > 0:50:29he had a new record out.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Suddenly, that gets loads of attention.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Loads of people feel that they have
0:50:35 > 0:50:39to express their genuine grief by going and buying a record.
0:50:39 > 0:50:40# Woman
0:50:41 > 0:50:44# I can hardly express... #
0:50:44 > 0:50:46During the two months following his death,
0:50:46 > 0:50:48John topped the charts on three occasions
0:50:48 > 0:50:50with three different records.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54The gloom was lifted when he was replaced at the top of the charts
0:50:54 > 0:50:56by Joe Dolce!
0:50:56 > 0:50:58# What's-a matter you? Hey!
0:50:58 > 0:51:00# Gotta no respect
0:51:00 > 0:51:02# What-a you t'ink you do?
0:51:02 > 0:51:04# Why you look-a so sad?
0:51:04 > 0:51:05# It's-a not so bad
0:51:05 > 0:51:07# It's-a nice-a place
0:51:07 > 0:51:09# Ah, shaddap-a you face! #
0:51:09 > 0:51:10That's my mamma!
0:51:10 > 0:51:14Joe Dolce was supposed to be an Italian,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17but wasn't, with this fun record.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20It was not my cup of tea, but I had a job to do.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23I promoted it and we ended up on Top Of The Pops,
0:51:23 > 0:51:27and I'm holding a stick, doing the lyrics with my hand,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and he's singing away, Shaddap You Face.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32# Why you look-a so sad... #
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Appearing alongside Joe on Top Of The Pops
0:51:34 > 0:51:37was Midge Ure and his group Ultravox,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40who were stalled at number two with their song Vienna.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Ultravox had a great track out, and I'm looking at the other stage
0:51:44 > 0:51:46and Midge is on the stage there,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49and I'm saying to myself, I'm awfully sorry, Midge,
0:51:49 > 0:51:52honestly, I mean, it's a job, it's a job.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57# This means nothing to me
0:51:57 > 0:52:01# Oh, Vienna... #
0:52:01 > 0:52:05But it just showed you the eclectic taste that the audience had.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08They bought more Joe Dolce than they did Ultra.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12And the rest is history.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15To be beaten to number one by what is clearly a novelty record,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17here today, gone tomorrow,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20does that make Shaddap You Face a better record than Vienna?
0:52:20 > 0:52:23Midge Ure would say absolutely not, but in the public's eyes that
0:52:23 > 0:52:25particular week, they preferred Shaddap You Face.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27It's as simple as that.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30There's nothing wrong with Shaddap You Face!
0:52:30 > 0:52:34And the idea that this has kept something off number one
0:52:34 > 0:52:37because something else has more of a right to be number one,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40it's like saying you've got a right to win the Premier League.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42You know, you either win it, or you don't.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Having kept Ultravox off the top spot
0:52:45 > 0:52:49means that Joe Dolce is a fully paid up member of the number one club,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52something that cannot be said of this guy,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55who, despite being the voice of his generation,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58has never had a UK number one.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02# Oh, my name, it ain't nothing... #
0:53:02 > 0:53:06Bob Dylan has never had a number one, but it doesn't surprise me,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09because he doesn't really write three-minute pop songs.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11He's not the kind of individual
0:53:11 > 0:53:15that you could imagine on what was Top Of The Pops.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19As it happens, neither have this bunch of Shepherd's Bush ruffians.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21# Talking 'bout my generation
0:53:21 > 0:53:23# Talking 'bout my generation... #
0:53:23 > 0:53:28There's often songs that it's a surprise when someone says to you,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30that song never went to number one,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33like Chris Difford said, that he's never had a number one,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36it's mad, if you think of the amount of hits.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37# The Sweeney's doing 90
0:53:37 > 0:53:39# Cos they've got the word to go
0:53:39 > 0:53:41# To catch a gang of villains
0:53:41 > 0:53:42# In a shed up at Heathrow... #
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Some people think, "You must have had loads of number ones.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47"We heard you on the radio so much, you know."
0:53:47 > 0:53:50We had a greatest hits album, and all that stuff,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53but no, we've never had a number one.
0:53:53 > 0:53:54It's eluded us.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58It's confusing because we used to sell like 30,000 singles a day
0:53:58 > 0:54:02in those days, and to do that now, if we sold 30,000 singles
0:54:02 > 0:54:06we'd be like Mark Ronson, we'd be there all year round.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09It's very hard to get a number one anywhere in the world,
0:54:09 > 0:54:11particularly in England.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13# Born free... #
0:54:13 > 0:54:17Despite having written two American number ones,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19and winning an Oscar for this song,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23Don Black has never occupied pole position in the UK.
0:54:23 > 0:54:27Yes, I've had quite a few hits here.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29In fact, I have looked at the number one spot.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33There are many popular records that have never got to number one.
0:54:33 > 0:54:34Huge records of their time,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37but because they never quite got to the point
0:54:37 > 0:54:40where they were the most popular record of that specific week,
0:54:40 > 0:54:42they never got to number one.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45One artist who did have a number one was Gnarls Barkley,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49and, in March of 2006, history was made when he achieved it
0:54:49 > 0:54:51without selling any records.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53If that sounds crazy, you better believe it!
0:54:54 > 0:54:59# Does that make me crazy?
0:55:00 > 0:55:03# Does that make me crazy?
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Crazy was the first record that went to number one on downloads alone
0:55:09 > 0:55:12and that was a sea change.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15The digital revolution has transformed the singles market
0:55:15 > 0:55:18and it has transformed the singles chart as well.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21These days, you hear a record on the radio,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24you can immediately just download it on your phone.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27You've got it instantaneously without any thought.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31Crazy stayed at the number one spot for nine weeks in 2006,
0:55:31 > 0:55:34and was the biggest selling single of that year.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39And still, to this day, a record that sounds fresh and exciting.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42A game changer record.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45# I think you're crazy
0:55:46 > 0:55:49# I think you're crazy... #
0:55:49 > 0:55:52Our journey has taken us through six decades of number ones,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56and, although we've travelled down many different roads
0:55:56 > 0:55:58to reach the top spot, one thing is for sure.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00It may not be essential,
0:56:00 > 0:56:03but if you want your record to bear the hallmarks
0:56:03 > 0:56:09of a classic number one, it helps to start with a great song.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12It's great to have in your catalogue
0:56:12 > 0:56:16a few big hit records, number one records,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20that are still getting played 30 or 40 years on.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22It...
0:56:23 > 0:56:27It's a part of pop history, and it's something you can't buy.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30# When your legs don't work like they used to before
0:56:33 > 0:56:36# And I can't sweep you off of your feet... #
0:56:37 > 0:56:41One song that has all the musical ingredients to be a future classic
0:56:41 > 0:56:43is Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48# Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
0:56:49 > 0:56:53# Darling, I will be loving you
0:56:53 > 0:56:55# Till we're 70... #
0:56:55 > 0:56:57It's just brilliant. It's for ever.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00A song like that is not about to go away.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02You'll hear it on the radio in 15 years' time.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04It will always be current.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07#... heart at 23... #
0:57:09 > 0:57:16# And I'm thinking about how people fall in love in mysterious ways... #
0:57:16 > 0:57:21Sheeran co-wrote Thinking Out Loud with singer songwriter Amy Wadge.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25The first time I heard it live was on Jools Holland,
0:57:25 > 0:57:28and I went to watch it, and I remember just weeping.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32The song would go on to become one of the biggest selling number ones
0:57:32 > 0:57:34of the past year.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37Is having a number one single still the ultimate dream?
0:57:37 > 0:57:42My daughter is seven, and she said to me the other day, "You know,
0:57:42 > 0:57:44"your dream has really come true, hasn't it?"
0:57:44 > 0:57:46It actually made me quite teary
0:57:46 > 0:57:48because I thought, "Yes, it has."
0:57:48 > 0:57:51# Take me into your loving arms
0:57:54 > 0:57:58# Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
0:58:00 > 0:58:03# Place your head on my beating heart
0:58:04 > 0:58:07# I'm thinking out loud
0:58:07 > 0:58:13# That maybe we found love right where we are... #
0:58:20 > 0:58:23# Do you believe in magic
0:58:23 > 0:58:25# In a young girl's heart?
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# How the music can free her whenever it starts
0:58:28 > 0:58:29# And it's magic
0:58:29 > 0:58:31# If the music is groovy
0:58:31 > 0:58:35# It makes you feel happy like an old time movie
0:58:35 > 0:58:37# I'll tell you about the magic
0:58:37 > 0:58:38# And it'll free your soul
0:58:38 > 0:58:42# But it's like trying to tell a stranger about rock'n'roll... #