1952 in British Music

The Story of 1952

The story of British pop music as we know it begins here. On 14 November 1952, the New Musical Express published the first UK singles chart – a top twelve compiled from sheet music sales and a handful of record shops. Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart' sat at number one, an American crooner occupying a throne that would soon be fought over by homegrown talent. This was a Britain still dusting itself off after war, where variety theatres still ruled and the BBC's Light Programme offered genteel entertainment. Music hall legends like Gracie Fields were fading, while Vera Lynn's sentimental ballads spoke to a nation that had endured. Yet the teenagers were coming, with their disposable incomes and appetite for something new. Skiffle groups were forming in front rooms, jazz clubs were buzzing, and the first rumblings of rock 'n' roll were crossing the Atlantic. The chart was a modest thing – a mimeographed sheet sold for a few pence – but it was the seed from which an entire culture would grow. This was Year Zero for British pop.