What Makes You Beautiful becomes fastest seller of the year

09:43 | Monday September 19, 2011

Placed third in the seventh (2010) season of The X Factor, One Direction comprise 19 year old Louis, 18 year olds Niall, Zayn and Liam and Harry, the baby of the group at 17. They thus become the youngest group to reach number one since McFly, who comprised three 18 year olds and a 16 year old when they topped the chart for the first time in 2004.

One Direction’s victory also extends to 10 the number of consecutive number ones by UK acts, a run that also includes hits by Pixie Lott, Example, Olly Murs feat. Rizzle Kicks, Wretch 32 feat. Josh Kumra, Nero, Cher Lloyd, JLS (admittedly with a little help from US singer Dev), The Wanted and DJ Fresh feat. Sian Evans.

Depending on your point of view, it either equals or beats the previous longest run in chart history, set at the start of 1963. Then, 10 number ones in a row were by acts born or brought up in the UK, though the run included two singles by Cliff Richard, who was born in India of Anglo/Indian heritage, and Frank Ifield, who was born in Coventry but spent his formative years in Australia. American Jason DeRulo was the last foreigner to have a number one, topping with Don’t Wanna Go Home at the start of July.

Released on what would have been her 28th birthday last Wednesday (14th), Body And Soul pairs the late Amy Winehouse and the legendary Tony Bennett. A track on Bennett’s forthcoming Duets II album, proceeds from Body And Soul will benefit The Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up by her father.

The track debuts at number 40 (7,782), and sets a new chart record for being the hit duet between singers of most disparate ages. Winehouse was 27 when it was recorded, and Bennett was 84 – a difference of 57 years. The previous record was set in 2002, when Andy Williams, then 73, charted with a new version of his 1968 hit Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, accompanied by Denise Van Outen who, at 28, was his junior by 45 years.

A pleasing performance of Cannonball on The X Factor last Saturday (17th) by Welsh teacher John Adams catapulted Damien Rice’s 2003 song back into the Top 40. The track, which climbed as high as number 19 in 2004, re-enters the list, at number 39 with sales of 8,043, lifting its career haul to 126,284.

Elsewhere in the Top 40, there are debuts for AKA What A Life (number 20, 15,015 sales), the second single by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, and Days Are Forgotten (number 28, 9,861 sales), the first single from Kasabian’s upcoming fourth album, Velociraptor!.

Last week’s number one, All About Tonight, dips to number three (51,732 sales) for Pixie Lott but Maroon 5 are made of sterner stuff, and remain at number two for the third week in a row with their Christina Aguilera collaboration Moves Like Jagger. The track’s sales slip for the first time, falling 9.10% week-on-week to 75,760, while reaching a five week total of 345,243.

Overall singles sales are down 2.41% week-on-week to 3,030,964 – 23.91% above same week 2010 sales of 2,446,032.