1950s in music in the UK | |
Number-one singles | |
Number-one albums | |
Best-selling singles | |
Summaries and charts 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 |
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←1949 | 1960→ |
Top 10/12 singles | |
1952, 1953, 1954 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 |
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1960→ |
The UK Singles Chart, compiled by the Official Charts Company, calculates the best-selling record singles of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] New Musical Express (NME) magazine published the United Kingdom record charts for the first time in 1952.[2][3][4] NME originally published only a top 12 (although the first chart had a couple of songs that were tied so a top 15 was announced) but this was gradually extended to encompass a top 20 by October 1954.[5][6][7] Songs that entered the top 12 in 1952 but did not peak until 1953 are included in the table, as well as in List of top 12 singles in 1953 (UK).
Eighteen songs reached their peak in 1952. "Because You're Mine" was recorded by Nat King Cole and Mario Lanza and both versions reached the top 10. Additionally, five songs entered the charts in 1952 but did not peak until 1953. The first song to reach number-one in the United Kingdom was "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino; the song debuted at the top of the charts on 9 November 1952 and spent nine consecutive weeks in that position.[5][8]
American Bing Crosby and British singer Vera Lynn shared the record for most top 12 hits in 1952, both achieving three. One of Crosby's songs, "Zing a Little Zong", was a collaboration with Jane Wyman. This was one of three collaborations to record hit singles in 1952; the others were Doris Day and Frankie Laine ("Sugar Bush", which peaked at number 8), and Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads ("Faith Can Move Mountains", which reached number 7). Lynn had three songs—"The Homing Waltz", "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and "Forget Me Not"—in the chart simultaneously.
Contents |
Key
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
♦ | Single released in 1952 but peaked in 1953. |
Entered | The date that the song first appeared in the chart. |
Peak | Highest position that the song reached in the UK Singles Chart. |
The table is sorted by the date the song entered the chart, then by the date the song reached its peak position in the chart.
Entered[A] | Weeks in top 12 | Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached[A] | Weeks at number 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 November | 7 | "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" | Frankie Laine | 7 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 8[B] | "Sugar Bush" | Doris Day and Frankie Laine | 8 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 4[B] | "Blue Tango" | Ray Martin | 8 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 3 | "The Homing Waltz" | Vera Lynn | 9 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 1 | "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" | Vera Lynn | 10 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 1 | "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" | Johnnie Ray | 12 | 9 November | 0 |
9 November | 18 | "Here in My Heart" | Al Martino | 1 | 16 November | 9 |
9 November | 7 | "Somewhere Along the Way" | Nat King Cole | 3 | 16 November | 0 |
9 November | 10 | "Feet Up" | Guy Mitchell | 2 | 16 November | 0 |
9 November | 9 | "Half as Much" | Rosemary Clooney | 3 | 16 November | 0 |
9 November | 24 | "Because You're Mine" | Mario Lanza | 3 | 30 November | 0 |
9 November | 6[B] | "Forget Me Not" | Vera Lynn | 5 | 7 December | 0 |
9 November | 12 | "Isle of Innisfree" | Bing Crosby | 3 | 7 December | 0 |
9 November | 19 | "You Belong to Me"♦ | Jo Stafford | 1 | 11 January | 1 |
9 November | 8[C] | "Cowpuncher's Cantata"♦ | Max Bygraves | 6 | 18 January | 0 |
16 November | 1 | "Take My Heart" | Al Martino | 9 | 16 November | 0 |
16 November | 2 | "My Love and Devotion" | Doris Day | 10 | 23 November | 0 |
30 November | 2 | "Zing a Little Zong" | Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman | 10 | 30 November | 0 |
30 November | 16 | "Comes A-Long A-Love"♦ | Kay Starr | 1 | 18 January | 1 |
7 December | 6[B] | "Britannia Rag"♦ | Winifred Atwell | 5 | 18 January | 0 |
14 December | 3 | "White Christmas" | Mantovani | 6 | 14 December | 0 |
14 December | 3 | "Because You're Mine" | Nat King Cole | 6 | 14 December | 0 |
14 December | 3[B] | "Faith Can Move Mountains" | Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads | 7 | 14 December | 0 |
14 December | 2 | "Silent Night, Holy Night" | Bing Crosby | 8 | 14 December | 0 |
14 December | 2 | "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" | Jo Stafford | 11 | 14 December | 0 |
14 December | 4[B] | "Walkin' to Missouri"♦ | Tony Brent | 7 | 4 January | 0 |
14 December | 10 | "Takes Two to Tango"♦ | Louis Armstrong | 6 | 18 January | 0 |
Notes
Artist | Number of top 12 singles |
---|---|
Bing Crosby | 3 |
Vera Lynn | 3 |
Nat King Cole | 2 |
Doris Day | 2 |
Frankie Laine | 2 |
Al Martino | 2 |
Johnnie Ray | 2 |
Jo Stafford | 2[D] |
Notes