Disc (known from 1964 to 1966 as Disc Weekly, and from 1966 until its demise as Disc and Music Echo) was a British weekly pop music newspaper, published between 1958 and 1975. From its launch until 1967, Disc compiled its own record chart, the third (following New Musical Express, the Record Mirror, and Melody Maker with which it competed). Disc initially compiled its chart from 25 random phone calls to dealers across the United Kingdom, in a manner similar to two of its rivals. The first chart, published in its premiere issue of 8 February 1958, saw "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley tied with "The Story of My Life" by Michael Holliday for the number-one spot.
At the outset, Discs chart was a Top Twenty, compiled by phone from 25 random dealers' returns all over the UK. The chart expanded to a Top 30 on 6 October 1962; between 23 April 1966 and 25 March 1967, the chart was Top 50 before reverting to a Top 30 on 1 April. By 1962, Discs phone sample pool was 50, expanded to 80–100 by 1964 before dropping to a 30-50 pool toward the end of its run as an independently compiled chart. On 19 August 1967, the paper stopped compiling its own chart (its last number-one single being "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by Scott McKenzie) and started publishing Melody Maker'''s Top 30 chart.
Record charts in the UK began life on 14 November 1952, when NME imitated an idea started in American Billboard magazine and began compiling a hit parade. Prior to 15 February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau chart was established, there had been no universally accepted chart. During this time the BBC used aggregated results of charts from the Mirror and other sources to compile the Pick of the Pops chart. However, according to the Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums, the NME is considered the official British singles chart before 10 March 1960. After that date and until 1969, a chart compiled by Record Retailer is considered the official chart.
The first number-one record on the Disc chart not to have reached the top of the NME chart was "Bird Dog" by The Everly Brothers. From then until the end of Disc''s independently compiled chart, they would have an additional eighteen number ones that are not recognised as number one by the Official Charts Company, the last of which was Harry Secombe's version of "This Is My Song" in 1967.
Number-one singles +Key* The song did not reach number on the NME (1952–1960) or Record Retailer (1960–1969) charts which are considered by the Official Charts Company as the canonical sources.† The song spent a week at number one where it shared the top spot with another song.
ArtistSingleReachednumber oneWeeks atnumber one "Jailhouse Rock" 0.51 †Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and Michael Holliday's "The Story of My Life" were classified jointly as number one on 8 February 1958. The following week "The Story of My Life" claimed the number-one spot outright. "" 1.53 † "Magic Moments" 8 "Whole Lotta Woman" 3 "Who's Sorry Now" 6 "All I Have to Do Is Dream" 8 "When" 5 "Stupid Cupid" / "Carolina Moon" 5 "Bird Dog" * 210 Lord Rockingham's XI "Hoots Mon" 811 "It's Only Make Believe" 312 "I Got Stung" / "One Night" 313 "As I Love You" 3 14 "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" 315 "Side Saddle" 316 "It Doesn't Matter Any More" 4 17 "" / "I Need Your Love Tonight" 4 18 "Roulette" 119 "Dream Lover" 5520 "Living Doll" 4.05 21 "Only Sixteen" 522 "Here Comes Summer" 223 "Travellin' Light" 624 and The Checkmates "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" 225 "What Do You Want?" 2 and The Checkmates "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" 426 "Starry Eyed" 1 27 "Why" 528 "Poor Me" 129 "Running Bear" 230 "My Old Man's a Dustman" 331 "Stuck on You" * 132 "Do You Mind?" 133 "Cathy's Clown" 734 "Mama" / "Robot Man" * 235 "Good Timin'" 236 "Please Don't Tease" 437 "Apache" 638 "Tell Laura I Love Her" 339 "Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)" 240 "It's Now or Never" 741 "I Love You" 342 "Poetry in Motion" 143 "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" 544 "Sailor" 245 "Walk Right Back" 246 "Wooden Heart" 347 "Are You Sure?" * 2 "Wooden Heart" 148 "Blue Moon" 349 "Surrender" 350 "Runaway" 451 "A Girl Like You" * 152 "Temptation" 153 "Well I Ask You" 154 "You Don't Know" 255 "Johnny Remember Me" 756 "Michael (Row the Boat)" 257 "Walkin' Back to Happiness" 358 "His Latest Flame" 459 "Tower of Strength" 560 "Stranger on the Shore" * 161 "" 562 "Rock-A-Hula Baby" / "Can't Help Falling in Love" 363 "March of the Siamese Children" * 264 "Wonderful Land" 765 B. Bumble and the Stingers "Nut Rocker" 166 "Good Luck Charm" 767 "" * 168 "I Can't Stop Loving You" 169 "I Remember You" 570 "Speedy Gonzales" * 271 "She's Not You" 472 "Telstar" 573 "Lovesick Blues" 574 "Return to Sender" 275 "" / "Bachelor Boy" 576 and Tony Meehan "Diamonds" 277 "" 178 "Please Please Me" * 279 "Summer Holiday" 380 "Foot Tapper" 181 Gerry & The Pacemakers "How Do You Do It?" 482 "From Me to You" 583 & The Dakotas "Do You Want to Know a Secret" * 184 Gerry & The Pacemakers "I Like It" 585 "I'm Confessin'" 286 "Sweets for My Sweet" 387 & The Dakotas "Bad to Me" 288 "She Loves You" 489 "Do You Love Me" 390 Gerry & The Pacemakers "You'll Never Walk Alone" 5 "She Loves You" 191 "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 592 "Glad All Over" 293 "Hippy Hippy Shake" * 194 "Needles and Pins" 395 "Anyone Who Had a Heart" 396 "Bits and Pieces" * 197 & The Dakotas "Little Children" 198 "Can't Buy Me Love" 399 Peter & Gordon "" 2100 "Don't Throw Your Love Away" 2101 "Juliet" 2102 "You're My World (Il Mio Mondo)" 3103 "It's Over" 2104 "The House of the Rising Sun" 2105 "" 4106 "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" 2107 "Have I the Right?" 3108 Herman's Hermits "I'm Into Something Good" 3109 "Oh, Pretty Woman" 3110 "" 2111 "Baby Love" 2112 "Little Red Rooster" 1113 "I Feel Fine" 6114 "Yeh Yeh" 1115 "Go Now" 2116 "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" 1117 "Tired of Waiting for You" 1118 "I'll Never Find Another You" 2119 "It's Not Unusual" 1120 "" 4121 Unit 4 + 2 "Concrete and Clay" 1122 "Ticket to Ride" 4123 "A World of Our Own" * 1124 "Where Are You Now (My Love)" 1125 "Long Live Love" 3126 "Crying in the Chapel" 2127 "I'm Alive" 2128 "Mr. Tambourine Man" 2129 "Help!" 4130 Sonny & Cher "I Got You Babe" 2131 "" 2132 "Make It Easy on Yourself" 1133 "Tears" 5134 "Get Off of My Cloud" 3135 "" 2136 "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" 5137 "Keep On Running" 2138 "Michelle" 2139 "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" 1140 "19th Nervous Breakdown" * 3141 Small Faces "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" * 1142 "" 4143 "Somebody Help Me" 1144 "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" 2145 "Pretty Flamingo" 3146 "Wild Thing" * 1147 "Strangers in the Night" 3148 "Paperback Writer" 2149 "Sunny Afternoon" 2150 "Out of Time" 2151 "With a Girl Like You" 2152 "Yellow Submarine" / "Eleanor Rigby" 3153 Small Faces "All or Nothing" 2154 "Distant Drums" 4155 Four Tops "Reach Out I'll Be There" 4156 "Good Vibrations" 2157 "Green, Green Grass of Home" 4158 "Morningtown Ride" * 1 "Green, Green Grass of Home" 2159 "I'm a Believer" 4160 "This Is My Song" 2161 "Release Me" 5162 "This Is My Song" * 1163 and Frank Sinatra "Somethin' Stupid" 2164 "Puppet on a String" 3165 "Silence Is Golden" 3166 Procol Harum "" 6167 "All You Need Is Love" 2168 "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" 3
Notes
References