As expected, Elvis Presley set UK chart history again last night by scoring the 1000th number one in British chart history with his twentieth chart topper - a re-release of 'One Night'.
BMG are, of course, in the process of re-releasing 18 Elvis singles to celebrate what would have been the King's 70th birthday (and also recognizing the fact that, unless there is a change in
European copyright law, many Elvis recordings will soon be out of copyright in the UK).
As
BMG put the Elvis singles into the release schedule it soon became apparent their was a chance that one of them would be the 1000th number one since the British singles chart was launched in 1952. This was perhaps apt given that Elvis has had more number one records in the UK that any other artist - the Beatles managed 17.
There is now speculation that Elvis will dominate the top spot in the singles chart every week for the next few months as BMG proceed with their re-release plans. Bookmakers Ladbrokes said they were now offering only 10:1 odds on that happening. They told reporters this weekend: "Bookmakers certainly don't underestimate the power of the King and his fans. When we first looked at the chances of Elvis scoring 18 number ones in a row we thought it would be very unlikely but when you consider that singles sales are so woefully low you certainly cannot rule it out."