New chart but the same No.1

Music downloads were included in the official singles chart for the first time yesterday as Tony Christie's charity track Amarillo stayed No.1 for a fifth week.

The chart will now include songs sold over the Internet as well as conventional singles sales.

The shake-up reflects the growing market for people paying to access tracks on the Web. Download sales have rocketed to 300,000 a week, compared with 20,000 at the same time last year.

Music insiders claim including downloaded tracks may change the chart's make-up, since the vast majority who use the service are older men.

But HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo took the opposite view.

He said: 'The inclusion of downloads may not prove as dramatic as some commentators-have suggested, at least for now. Most download purchases are likely to be spread over a broad range of songs and styles of music.

'There will be relatively small quantities of sales for some of the download titles. And that will mean their impact will generally be felt outside the top 40, so the McFlys of this world can rest easy for now.'

Christie kept his number one spot with (Is This The Way To) Amarillo, featuring Peter Kay - a song the veteran crooner first had a hit with in 1971.

Razorlight had a new entry in second spot with their song, Somewhere Else, while Elvis Presley's The Wonder Of You entered the charts at four.