Chart marks 50 years with media blitz.

The UK music industry is mounting one of its most ambitious promotional campaigns yet, as it celebrates its own Golden Jubilee of the singles chart.

An unprecedented number of partners are joining forces with the industry to mark the chart's 50th anniversary in November, with radio and TV stations, print media, retailers and even the National Sound Archive coming on board to support the historic landmark.

"From our point of view, the fact we've got different broadcasters and other media picking up on it helps us to establish this as a big event," says BPI director general Andrew Yeates.

Among a packed schedule of celebratory events, Channel 4 is turning over three hours of Saturday night viewing on November 16 to count down the first comprehensive list of the country's 100 biggest-selling singles of all time. The 9pm to midnight programme, whose chart has been researched by Music Week chart analyst Alan Jones, is being put together by Chrysalis TV, which is behind the channel's Top 10 series.

The Channel 4 TV special will be followed by the launch on November 18 of a tie-in book put together by Chrysalis and the NME, plus a double CD released by EMI/Virgin and Universal. The book will include Daily Mirror photographs and the NMEs original reviews of the singles.

The Official UK Charts Company's brand marketing manager Darren Haynes says every effort has been made to make the most of the anniversary. "We're across all platforms, from the grassroots chart anoraks right through BPI and Bard," he says. "We've gone to outside organisations like the Daily Mirror, exploiting their photo archives, and are working with different media and marketing partners."

BBC TV and Radio are also at the forefront of the celebrations, as the corporation draws up plans to find a successor to Mark Goodier as host of ...