Number one hits now ‘shorter and slower’

UK number one singles have become shorter, slower and more likely to boast a diverse line-up of performers but oncefamiliar elements such as key changes and fades have almost completely disappeared, new research shows.

The singles chart celebrates its 70th anniversary today and while some characteristics have barely altered over time – females are still outnumbered by male and mixed acts – there has been a long-term trend towards more hits in minor keys, while time signatures are increasingly four beats in a bar.

The PA news agency has analysed all of the 1,404 releases to reach number one from the very first, Here In My Heart by Al Martino, to the latest, Anti-hero by Taylor Swift.

“Many changes are due to the advance of technology, which has upended previous ways of working in music production and composition,” according to chart analyst and historian James Masterton.