The ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...
'' is a former British weekly pop music newspaper. From 1955 until 1962, the ''Record Mirror'' compiled its own
record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
which was used by many national newspapers.
It formed as a rival to the existing chart published by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. The ''Mirror''s chart was based on the postal returns from record stores that were financed by the newspaper, whereas the rival chart in the ''NME'' was based on a telephone poll.
On 22 January 1955, the ''Mirror'' published its first chart, compiled using figures from 24 shops. The first chart-topper was "
Mambo Italiano" by
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...
, with the newspaper having compiled a Top Ten.
The chart was expanded from a Top Ten to a Top Twenty on 8 October 1955.
In the early 1960s some national newspapers switched to using a chart compiled by ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' and, ultimately, the cost of collecting sales figures by post led to the chart's demise. On 24 March 1962, the paper stopped compiling its own chart and started publishing ''
Record Retailer
''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...
s Top 50.
Record charts in the United Kingdom began life on 14 November 1952 when ''NME'' imitated an idea started in American ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine and began compiling a
hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...
. 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
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used aggregated results of charts from the ''Mirror'' and other sources to compile the ''
'' chart. However, according to
before 10 March 1960. After that date and until 1969 a chart compiled by ''Record Retailer'' is considered the official British singles chart.
" was the first to have a number-one in the ''Record Mirror'' chart but not to be awarded the top spot in ''NME''s chart.
There are five more songs that, like Martin's, reached number-one on the ''Record Mirror'' chart but are not classified as number-one by the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, the ''Record Mirror'' and other charts differed about what they classified as the top song of the year. ''Record Mirror'' classified
". Furthermore, despite never reaching number-one,
" was classified by ''Record Mirror'' as the best-selling song of 1957; the song entered the chart at number eleven on 13 July and, later, charted in the top three positions for 9 consecutive weeks.