Chart Information

Very few copies of A&B Computing, the Acorn magazine from Argus Press, have been archived. Currently only the charts from one issue are available.

Acorn User started publishing a chart in late 1983 with one MRIB chart before moving to RAM/C and then to Gallup, splitting the chart into BBC and Acorn Electron.

Initially published by Amstrad itself, Amstrad Computer User introduced the Gallup Amstrad chart in June 1985. It continued to be a feature in the magazine through to the last issue, May 1992, although the publisher of the magazine changed several times and included Avralite, a subsiduary of Database Publications which was later sold to Focus magazines. The chart, split into full price and budget price, continued in the first four issues of CPC Attack, the shortlived successor

Atari User was published by Database Publications and featured the Gallup chart for 18 months from the end of 1986. All of the charts are unique and undated so all the dates have been estimated.

Bang Weekly was a short-lived weekly paper produced by Specialist Retail Press, publlishers of Computer Trade Weekly. Not all of the ten issues have been archived, but those that do feature the Gallup chart, including the rarely seen MSX chart.

Big K was a magazine dedicated to gaming from the publishers of Your Computer, IPC. It lasted for only 12 issues and featured the MRIB chart. The first issue's chart matches the MRIB chart as printed in Personal Computer News, down to the Jet Pak typo. Unfortunately, PCN then moved to RAM/C for their chart so the rest of the dates are estimated. Issue 10's chart is not included as it was reprint of the same chart as issue 9.

Newsfield never published a chart in any of their titles but after being revived by Europress, Commodore Force (formerly Zzap) published the Gallup chart, often printing a huge Top 100.

Published by Future Publishing, Commodore Format ran until late 1995 with the Gallup chart appearing until mid-94. This site has the charts up to the May 1993 issue, roughly in line with the final Spectrum chart in Your Sinclair.

After being acquired by EMAP in late 1984, Commodore User featured the NOP chart that also appeared their other computer magazines, Sinclair User and C&VG. From 1985, the monthly Gallup C64 chart appeared up until the January 1990 issue.

Although C&VG featured a uncredited chart in some 1983 issues, it's not until 1984 that a chart from a named source appears in the form of the NOP chart. By this time, EMAP had acquired Sinclair User and Commodore User and the bi-monthly NOP/Daily Mirror multi-format chart appears across all three titles. The first chart printed has an exact date, which allows all the rest to be accurately dated too. Woolworths published their own chart in the magazine in the second half of 1987.

Computer Gamer featured the Gallup chart for the first 7 issues. The first one is identical to the chart published in another Argus Press publication, Home Computing Weekly.

Computer Gamesweek was an odd venture for Focus as they had bought Popular Computing Weekly from Sunshine Publications a year earlier. It lasted less than 6 months before it ceased as a standalone title and was absorbed into PCW.

Legible entries from the Computer Software Retailing/Gallup charts for the weeks ending Monday 12th November (image 1,image 2), Friday 30th November (image), Wednesday 5th Dec 1984 (partially printed in Big K No 12) and Tuesday 5th March 1985 (image).

Despite over 1000 issues being published, very few copies of Computer Trade Weekly have been archived; The copies have been scanned are available at Sega Retro.

Like Atari User, Electron User's Gallup charts are unique and undated so the dates have had to be estimated.