1952: Al Martino: Here In My Heart

As Jarvis Cocker would almost say in almost a number one years on from this - "It had to start somewhere, so it started....here" (sic). 'Here In My Heart' was (obviously) not the first best selling song in the UK; charts had been compiled from sheet music since the 1940's, but it wasn't until 1952 that the New Musical Express compiled a Top Twelve chart based solely on sales.

A Top Twelve maybe, but not as we know it. A sneak peek to what's ahead for at least the next couple of years shows a list of songs and artists that were clearly not aimed at 'the kids'. The teenager in modern parlance had yet to become common currency and so in these pre-rock & roll years, 'their' music had a while to wait before the top ten became something relevant to da yoof. Most of the stars were 'performer's' rather than artists and most of the popular songs of the day were cover versions of old standards that were being bought by just about anybody - it wasn't unusual to see the same song by different artists in the same chart at the same time in these years where pop really did just mean 'popular'. And this really was popular - this sucker stayed at number one for nine consecutive weeks (making it the Christmas, Halloween and Bonfire Night number one), a record that's only been beaten five times in the past fifty years.

There's nothing 'pop' about Al Martino and 'Here In My Heart'. From the opening swell of orchestra and Martino's deep breath wail of 'Heeeerreeeeee in my heeaaaarrrrrt' it's obvious Al 's got something he wants to get off his chest. "Here is my heart, my life and my all dear. Please be mine and stay here in my heart" - Martino certainly sounds like he means it and, by god, its got drama in spades. But brewing up a song of heartbreak is a bit like brewing your own beer; to try and to be clever and add extra yeast and hops to make it that much stronger usually results in a treacly, undrinkable mess, which is kind of what this song is. It's not unlistenable, but the Wagnerian faux opera is too over the top for easy listening and it would have gone down far better if Al had kept a lid on his 'top of the mountain' grandstanding. As Mariah Carey would find out, showing off does not equate to genuine passion.

But anyway, we're off.......