Ken Dodd tickles top selling chart hits

HE IS better known for his tickling stick and Diddy Men but new research shows Ken Dodd was one of the biggest-selling chart stars of the 60s, beaten only by The Beatles.

His hit single Tears was the third-biggest-selling single of the entire decade, according to a new chart which brings together sales data from the era.

Unsurprisingly The Beatles dominated the chart, which was counted down by BBC Radio 2 yesterday, with five tracks in the top ten.

Comedian Dodd scored a string of hits in the early 60s, including what became his signature tune Happiness, but the biggest of them was Tears. The single went to No.1 and was the highest seller of 1965.

Sales data shows that it outsold monster hits such as Can't Buy Me Love and I Feel Fine by the Fab Four, which were placed in fourth and fifth position.

The biggest-selling single of the 1960s was She Loves You by The Beatles, followed by I Want To Hold Your Hand.

The Radio 2 programme, presented by Tony Blackburn, was collated data from 1 January 1960 to 31 December 1969.

The Beatles take up six places in the top 20 and make up nearly a third of the 60 tracks played by Blackburn, with 18 entries.

But the list shows that it was more than guitar groups which dominated the public's interest during the decade. Alongside Dodd, other big sellers included yodelling Frank Ifield, Engelbert Humperdinck, Acker Bilk and Rolf Harris.

The Rolling Stones failed to make the top 20, but achieved five places lower down in the list. And the highest female artist is Cilla Black with Anyone Who Had A Heart.