The re-release of the 1959, One Night has put Elvis back in the headlines
having secured a number one position in the previous week with a re-release of
Jailhouse Rock.Quite impressive at first glance, but getting a number one position in the UK
these days is a pretty easy affair; Jailhouse Rock made it having sold
21,262 copies, and One Night earned Elvis his "Astounding achievement"
applause on an even lower sales figures of just 20,463.
Hardly impressive, and the fact that both singles were released as limited
editions of just 30,000 guaranteed stock which would be shifted in the week they
were released has been seen as cynical manipulation of the charts.
Headline scoring that it is, the issue has highlighted just how irrelevant the
UK Singles market has become. What has been a play to promote and capitalise on
Elvis's career and musical offerings may well have just brought the whole sorry
fiasco of the Singles Chart finally tumbling to the ground.
Gone are the days when a Number One indicated incredibly large record sales and
the position had some vestige of achievement with it, carrying an implicit
authentication of quality and admiration. Almost anyone could secure a Number
One in the UK these days, if not by selling records, as it is obvious no one is
buying, but by the old trick of record sales manipulation.
Anyone with a hundred grand or so to spend, and an ability to target the shops
used to measure sales could earn themselves a Number One position and the fame
and fortune which accompanied it. It was an underhand trick executed by record
companies and their shady accomplices when sales really were huge, and even
easier to pull off now.
When millions of dollars are spent on promoting a band, a few thousand more
spent by the record companies to secure a Number One would be a wise investment,
and it would be surprising if they wouldn't see that too.
The fact that they don't manipulate the charts shows that even they don't
consider it worthwhile and that the Singles Chart isn't worth the paper it's
printed on. Then again, perhaps they do still manipulate; it would certainly
explain what many see as dross which fills the upper echelons of the Singles
Chart over recent years.
While the announcement of the latest Chart was eagerly awaited upon not that
long ago, it is now a relic of the past and generally dismissed or ignored by
the public.
Well done to RCA who are capitalising on the situation, and they are getting a
lot of free publicity for their stunt, perhaps making more money through that
than their Elvis re-release campaign is going to make them with the limited runs
of each release. Needing just 30,000 fans to snap up a 'must have' record will
make sales easy, and recuperate costs. Everything else is a bonus, and
apparently being played for all it's worth.
The most obvious downside of an ongoing release schedule in a depressed Singles
market is that we will have to endure a chart almost entirely dominated by
Elvis re-releases in the future.
If that does happen, I guess we can rename the Singles Chart, the Elvis Chart,
and discount it entirely; "Who's Number One ?", "Elvis", "Oh. Again ?"
Saying goodbye to the Singles Chart would be no great loss, and it's well past
its time of retirement. It serves no obvious or meaningful purpose any more.
There is also the danger, that now RCA has pulled off its achievement, others
may also jump on the band-wagon. Just how sad would a chart dominated almost
entirely by the singers of the past be, and especially if the record company
buyers are out there rigging the charts to get their favoured artist to Number
One ?
The people I feel sorry for are those true Elvis fans who will see 'The King'
being ridiculed and the worth of his work diminished by the sham revealed.
Although I'm not what one would even call an Elvis fan, it is regrettable that
he and his music are being exploited for publicity purposes; he and his fans
deserve better than that.
But that is a reminder of the essence of Rock and Roll and the music biz in
general; the musicians and their fans get shafted while the Record Bosses roll
naked in baths of dollar bills, sucking on big fat cigars.
Nothing changes.
