David Bowie single not eligible for charts

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With David Bowie’s new single tipped to reach number one this weekend, it turns out many – including the man himself – are going to be left disappointed, as the track is actually currently not eligible for the charts.

Bowie celebrated his 66th birthday earlier this week with a surprise new single, ‘Where Are We Now?’, which was made instantly available on iTunes.

But despite leading the download sales this week, and its odds being slashed by bookies from 6/1, the song is not eligible because it’s a pre-sale promotional release.

A spokesperson for the Official Singles Chart said:

“Owing to chart rules which are agreed in partnership with UK record companies and retailers, data relating to the David Bowie single Where Are We Now cannot currently be counted towards the official singles charts, as the release is linked to an album pre-order promotion and it is not possible to distinguish album sales from track sales from the retail data received. Should it become possible in the future for regular track sales to be distinguished from album pre-order incentive purchases, then these sales can be counted towards the chart.”

However, the OCC have stated that they are trying to fix the problem of calculation before Sunday’s chart.

The single would be Bowie’s first number one since 1985.

Listen/watch below: