Elvis Presley remains the most successful artist of all time in the UK Charts, or he does according to the Book of British Hit Singles & Albums who have just released the 2005 edition of their Top 100 Most Successful Acts Of All Time survey.
Each artist's success is based on the total number of weeks they have spent in the UK album and singles chart, which arguably favours older artists, firstly because they have simply been around longer, but also because singles, in particular, do not stay in the charts as long as they used to because of the quick sell marketing campaigns employed by most major record labels these days.
Either way, Elvis remains the most successful act according to the survey's criteria, beating Cliff Richard into second place. He is followed by Queen, who overtake The Beatles for the first time - the fab four are fourth, ahead of Madonna. The full top 20 runs thus:
1. Elvis Presley
2. Cliff Richard
3. Queen
4. The Beatles
5. Madonna
6. Elton John
7. The Shadows
8. Michael Jackson
9. U2
10. David Bowie
11. Rod Stewart
12. Frank Sinatra
13. Diana Ross
14. Dire Straits
15. Simon & Garfunkel
16. The Rolling Stones
17. Abba
18. Fleetwood Mac
19. Phil Collins
20. Paul McCartney