The first nail in the coffin of the UK singles chart will be hammered in at 6pm tonight. The Official Charts Company (crap website, guys) are launching the Official Download Chart today, and Radio 1 will be broadcasting it every Wednesday to anyone who cares. The new chart counts only legal downloads costing at least 40p, no illicit freeloading and no old-school over-the-counter CD singles either. The problem isn't that people aren't buying singles any more - they are apparently - but that most of the people who buy singles have acne, croptops and braces on their teeth. Expect the new chart to include a few more adult records, and a bit less Busted, Rachel Stevens and the Fast Food Rockers. I fear this new chart may swing a bit too far the other way, a full house of Anastacia, Phil Collins and Dido, but hopefully it won't end up quite as bland as the album chart has become. Spare a thought for your local record shop though, because today sees the start of the inexorable rise of iTunes, Napster and even the ghastly mycokemusic.com to phonographic domination. In 20 years time I wonder if we'll remember when music was something we could touch, handle and admire? Start writing the obituaries today.
diamond geezer has obtained an exclusive peek at tonight's new download chart. Here's the top 10: 1) A single that's not officially released until next Monday. 2) A single that's not officially released until October, recorded off the radio in mono. 3) A single that's not officially released until November, recorded off the radio in mono with the DJ talking over the introduction. 4) An exclusive U2 track off their forthcoming album. 5) An exclusive U2 track that's so poor it doesn't even appear on the forthcoming album. 6) What was supposed to be a exclusive U2 track, except it turns out to be a mislabelled Cheeky Girls track instead. 7) Classic 70s record you thought you'd never own again but which has a nasty vinyl scratch all the way through it. 8) Classic 80s record you thought you'd never own again but which suddenly cuts off 3 seconds before the end. 9) Classic 90s record you thought you'd never own again but which turns out to be a really dire remix. 10) Nasty computer virus you appear to have downloaded by mistake.
Update: So, it turns out that Westlife have the very first Legal Download Number 1 with an exclusive live version of the execrable 'Flying Without Wings'. Maybe some of the tracks listed further down the Top 20 are a bit more refreshing but, with that schmaltz at the top of the pile and even more drivel from Blazin Squad at number two, I've lost interest already.
1) A single that's not officially released until next Monday.
