The number-one that got away!

When visiting charity shops, if any vinyl is in stock, I obviously feel compelled to ignore the limitations on space in our humble abode and investigate. On Tuesday, in a shop rarely replete with records, in what appeared to be a very old, personal collection; I unearthed several 78rpm shellac surprises.

I'll buy any UK number-one hit. My 80s collection is complete; I have most 1970s 7-inch chart-toppers and a good number from the 1960s too. Shellac 78s were uncharted territory for me, though. From memory, I can rattle off most number-ones from the 1960s to 1990s in a pop quiz. However, the first decade of the UK singles chart — which officially began in November 1952, with Al Martino's 'Here In My Heart' as the first official number-one — remains rather hazy.

Earlier in the day, I'd mistakenly bought 'Midnight In Moscow' by Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen, convinced that it had been a number-one; it reached No.2 in 1961. Luckily most of these records go for just 50p each. Though each time I buy an also-ran, I tell myself that I won't get fooled again! So having found a very nice-looking 78rpm copy of 'Mary's Boy Child' by Harry Belafonte, I was sure I could come home, check its chart performance and return to the shop to buy it, if necessary. The track had indeed been a UK No.1 in 1957 and — what's more — was the very first record to sell one million copies in the UK. It was worth 99p of anyone's money and I simply had to have it!

When I went back to the shop yesterday, I hadn't bargained for the prospect of another pop-picker purchasing it prior to my return! Yes, I could have grabbed the 7-inch copy of the same track but its condition was poor. So I consoled myself, buying several older, historic hits instead:

Bing Crosby - 'Silent Night, Holy Night' b/w 'Adeste Fideles' (on 7-inch), a No. 8 hit issued in 1952

Slim Whitman - 'Rose Marie' b/w 'We Stood At The Altar', a 1955 No.1 hit which spent 11 weeks at the top, holding the record for the most consecutive weeks at No.1 until it was beaten by Bryan Adams in 1991

George Formby - 'Leaning On A Lamp Post' b/w 'Hi-Tiddly-Hi-Ti Island' (on 10-inch, 78rpm shellac), which pre-dates the arrival of any UK pop charts, as it was issued in 1937

Bing Crosby - 'Pennies From Heaven' b/w 'Let's Call A Heart A Heart' (on 10-inch, 78rpm shellac), was issued even earlier — in 1936

My total spend for the above pieces of heritage pop came to just £3.47. The Harry Belafonte track is the number-one that got away, for now! I won’t now be accumulating an array of ancient records. But certain revered singles do deserve room in my record collection.