2002's 'Hero' was Enrique Ingesias who spookily also held the position for four weeks and broke the 100,000 weekly sales barrier for a number one for the first time this year.

The déjà vu didn't end there. Westlife squeezed in a number one record with 'Uptown Girl' in the week directly before the Popstars release. This year they did it again! 'World of Our Own' clocked up yet another chart topper for them in the week before the 'Pop Idol' phenomenon was unleashed.

It was like 'Hear'Say fever' all over again-but more frenzied-and twice in a month! Week one sales of 1,108,000 for Will Young and 850,000 for Gareth Gates gave both singles an unbeatable head start which will ensure them both a place in the top 50 selling singles in the UK since the charts began.

Even extraordinary Pop Idol performances couldn't prevent a 12% year on year slide in singles sales for the first quarter of 2002. However, these remarkable sales figures serve as compelling evidence that the public can still be persuaded into stores to pick up a single if record companies get the package right.

Let's hope that in this, the 50th anniversary of the singles' chart, the industry can score more similar hits to reverse the trend. With the rollercoaster ride the market has experienced this Spring, perhaps we should call on 'Phil' the woodchuck to help us predict how things will go.

Log on to our new website www.theofficialcharts.com to vote for your "Greatest Official UK #1 Singles of All Time"

Groundhog Day?

What does Gobblers Knob have in common with the UK singles' chart?

Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney USA is the site of the annual 'Groundhog Day' event where 'Phil' the woodchuck makes his Spring prediction into whether Winter weather will continue for a further six weeks. In the film of the same name, Bill Murray experienced the same day over and over and the singles' market this Spring definitely had a 'Groundhog Day' feel to it.

In the UK, Darius was our Bill Murray-subjected to the same agonising rounds of auditions as last year; finally triumphing when he learnt that he needed to shave off his moustache.

Average Weekly Sales to Make No…	Spring 2002	Spring 2001	% change
1	245,500	162,600	51
5	33,100	40,200	-18
10	18,300	23,500	-22
20	8,700	12,100	-28
40	3,000	4,700	-32

There were more parallels. In Spring 2001, the TV launched Hear'Say's 'Pure and Simple' (the fastest selling debut single ever) held the top slot for three weeks. In Spring 2002 , the TV launched artist 'Will Young's 'Anything Is Possible/Evergreen' (the new fastest selling debut single by a artist ever) topped the charts for three weeks.

The two biggest selling singles of 2001, the previously mentioned Hear'Say release plus Shaggy's 'It Wasn't Me', were both released in the first quarter and it already looks like the two Pop Idol singles will be the top two shifters this year. Seven different artists reached number one in the first thirteen weeks of last year as was the case this year.

As with 2001, many predicted 2002 would be a disastrous year for the single's market. It seemed they were right when Daniel Beddingfield registered the lowest selling weekly sales for a number one of all time with just 25,000 copies. To be fair, this was a return to the pole position in a week starved of new entries and in which many shops closed for several days, but the market didn't get a great deal better when they all re-opened.

'Gotta Get Through This' seemed apt enough when it was tragically followed by the first ever back to back posthumous number ones for Aaliyah and George Harrison.

Who could save the single?

Last Year, it was Atomic Kitten's 'Whole Again' which tempted the public back into record shops -holding the number one position for four weeks and broke the 100,000 weekly sales barrier for a number one for the first time that year.

.	Spring 2002	Total Sales	Spring 2001	Total Sales	% change
The Market	.	12,238,400	.	13,959,600	-12
Best Seller Overall	Will Young	.	Shaggy Ft Rikrok	.	.
.	Anything Is Possible/Evergreen	1,697,200	It Wasn't Me	885,100	92
Best Selling Dance Single	Puretone	.	Rui Da Silva Ft Cassandra	.	.
.	Addicted To Bass	205,500	Touch Me	283,100	-27
Best Selling R & B Single	Pink	.	Shaggy Ft Rikrok	.	.
.	Get The Party Started	279,000	It Wasn't Me	885,100	-68

Position	Spring 2002 Top DVD Video Singles	Sales	Spring 2002 Top 7" Singles	Sales
1	Blue - Fly By II	10,700	Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills	3,900
2	Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar	9,300	White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl	2,400
3	Jamiroquai - Love Foolosophy	8,400	Cooper Temple Clause - Been Training Dogs	2,300

All information contained in this newsletter is © The Official UK Charts Company 2002. You are free to republish any of the data contained in this report as long as you credit The Official UK Charts Company Ltd as the source of the data.

It is compiled by Paul Clifford, James Gillespie and Sophie Clark using data obtained from the UK Charts Online system. This is a business to business internet site which contains a wealth of information regarding the status of the Audio and Video market as well as sales figures on thousands of products available in the UK

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..	Spring 2002	.	Spring 2001	.	% change
Average Weeks On Chart (Top 75)	.	5	.	6	-20
Average No Of New Entries On Chart (Top 75)	.	17	.	16	6
Most Weeks On Chart (Top 75-up to wk 13)	Kylie Minogue	.	Spiller	.	.
.	Can't Get You Out of My Head	25	Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)	24	4