List of UK top-ten singles in 1952
had the best-selling single of the year, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", despite only peaking at number ten. She had a further two top 10 singles in 1952: "The Homing Waltz", which reached number nine, and "Forget Me Not, which peaked at number five.
made music history in November when his hit single "Here in My Heart" became the first ever number-one record in the UK Singles Chart. The song spent nine consecutive weeks at the top spot and lasted 16 weeks in the top 10 altogether.
's debut entry from November 1952, "Feet Up " was also the first single to peak at number two in the UK. It spent a total of 10 weeks inside the top ten.
The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. New Musical Express magazine published the United Kingdom record charts for the first time in 1952. NME originally published only a top 12 but this was gradually extended to encompass a top 20 by October 1954. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1952, as well as singles which peaked in 1953 but were in the top 10 in 1952. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time.
Twenty-three singles were in the top ten in 1952. "Takes Two to Tango" by Louis Armstrong, "Comes A-Long A-Love" by Kay Starr, "Walkin' to Missouri" by Tony Brent and "You Belong to Me" by Jo Stafford were all released in 1952 but did not reach their peak until 1953. Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1952. Al Martino, Nat King Cole, Guy Mitchell and Frankie Laine were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1952.
The first single to reach number-one in the United Kingdom was "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino; the song debuted at the top of the charts on 20 November 1952 and spent nine consecutive weeks in that position. It was the only single to top the chart that year.
Background
Multiple entries
Twenty-three singles charted in the top 10 in 1952, with nineteen singles reaching their peak this year. "Because You're Mine" was recorded by Nat King Cole and Mario Lanza and both versions reached the top 10.Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1952. American singer Bing Crosby and Britain's Vera Lynn shared the record for most top 10 hits in 1952 with three hit singles each, the first artists to ever do so. In addition, all of these entries were in the chart at the same time. "Forget Me Not" was the highest ranking that week at number 7. "The Homing Waltz" reached number 9, one place higher than "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" at number 10.
Bing Crosby's three entries included a version of the Christmas classic "Silent Night", released as "Silent Night, Holy Night".
Al Martino was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "Here in My Heart". Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Her Majesty's Forces, Nat King Cole and Percy Faith & His Orchestra were the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1952.
Chart debuts
Twenty artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1952, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, six went on to record another hit single that year: Al Martino, Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Her Majesty’s Forces, Nat King Cole and Percy Faith. Bing Crosby and Vera Lynn both had two other entries in their breakthrough year.| Artist | Number of top 10s | First entry | Chart position | Other entries |
| Al Martino | 2 | "Here in My Heart" | 1 | "Take My Heart" |
| Jo Stafford | 1 | "You Belong to Me" | 1 | — |
| Nat King Cole | 2 | "Somewhere Along the Way" | 3 | "Because You're Mine" |
| Bing Crosby | 3 | "Isle of Innisfree" | 3 | "Zing a Little Zong", "Silent Night, Holy Night" |
| Guy Mitchell | 1 | "Feet Up " | 2 | — |
| Rosemary Clooney | 1 | "Half as Much" | 3 | — |
| Percy Faith | 2 | "Half as Much" | 3 | "My Love and Devotion" |
| Vera Lynn | 3 | "Forget Me Not" | 5 | "The Homing Waltz", "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" |
| Frankie Laine | 2 | "High Noon " | 7 | "Sugar Bush" |
| Doris Day | 2 | "Sugar Bush" | 8 | "My Love and Devotion" |
| Ray Martin and His Concert Orchestra | 1 | "Blue Tango" | 8 | — |
| Her Majesty's Forces | 2 | "The Homing Waltz" | 9 | "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" |
| Mario Lanza | 1 | "Because You're Mine" | 3 | — |
| Johnnie Ray | 1 | "Faith Can Move Mountains" | 7 | — |
| Kay Starr | 1 | "Comes A-Long A-Love" | 1 | — |
| Jane Wyman | 1 | "Zing a Little Zong" | 10 | — |
| Mantovani | 1 | "White Christmas" | 6 | — |
| 1 | "Faith Can Move Mountains" | 7 | — | |
| Louis Armstrong | 1 | "Takes Two to Tango" | 6 | — |
| Tony Brent | 1 | "Walkin' to Missouri" | 7 | — |
Songs from films
Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Because You're Mine", "Isle of Innisfree" and "Zing a Little Zong".Additionally, "High Noon " was a version of the song from the film High Noon, originally recorded over the opening credits by Tex Ritter.
Best-selling singles
Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1952.Top-ten singles
;Key| Entered | Weeks in top 10 | Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached | Weeks at peak |
| 20 11 1952 | 16 | "Here in My Heart" | Al Martino | 1 | 20 11 1952 | 9 |
| 20 11 1952 | 16 | "You Belong to Me" ♦ | Jo Stafford | 1 | 22 1 1953 | 1 |
| 20 11 1952 | 6 | "Somewhere Along the Way" | Nat King Cole | 3 | 20 11 1952 | 1 |
| 20 11 1952 | 11 | "Isle of Innisfree" | Bing Crosby | 3 | 18 12 1952 | 3 |
| 20 11 1952 | 10 | "Feet Up " | Guy Mitchell | 2 | 27 11 1952 | 1 |
| 20 11 1952 | 9 | "Half as Much" | Rosemary Clooney with Percy Faith & His Orchestra | 3 | 27 11 1952 | 3 |
| 20 11 1952 | 6 | "Forget Me Not" | Vera Lynn | 5 | 18 12 1952 | 1 |
| 20 11 1952 | 3 | "High Noon " | Frankie Laine | 7 | 20 11 1952 | 2 |
| 20 11 1952 | 7 | "Sugar Bush" | Doris Day & Frankie Laine | 8 | 20 11 1952 | 3 |
| 20 11 1952 | 2 | "Blue Tango" | Ray Martin and His Concert Orchestra | 8 | 20 11 1952 | 1 |
| 20 11 1952 | 2 | "The Homing Waltz" | Vera Lynn with Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen of Her Majesty's Forces | 9 | 20 11 1952 | 2 |
| 20 11 1952 | 1 | "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" | Vera Lynn with Soldiers and Airmen of Her Majesty's Forces | 10 | 20 11 1952 | 1 |
| 27 11 1952 | 22 | "Because You're Mine" | Mario Lanza | 3 | 11 12 1952 | 3 |
| 27 11 1952 | 1 | "Take My Heart" | Al Martino | 9 | 27 11 1952 | 1 |
| 27 11 1952 | 2 | "My Love and Devotion" | Doris Day with Percy Faith & His Orchestra | 10 | 27 11 1952 | 2 |
| 11 12 1952 | 14 | "Comes A-Long A-Love" ♦ | Kay Starr | 1 | 29 1 1953 | 1 |
| 11 12 1952 | 1 | "Zing a Little Zong" | Bing Crosby & Jane Wyman | 10 | 11 12 1952 | 1 |
| 25 12 1952 | 3 | "White Christmas" | Mantovani and His Orchestra | 6 | 25 12 1952 | 2 |
| 25 12 1952 | 3 | "Because You're Mine" | Nat King Cole | 6 | 25 12 1952 | 2 |
| 25 12 1952 | 3 | "Faith Can Move Mountains" | Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads | 7 | 25 12 1952 | 2 |
| 25 12 1952 | 2 | "Silent Night, Holy Night" | Bing Crosby | 8 | 25 12 1952 | 2 |
| 25 12 1952 | 10 | "Takes Two to Tango" ♦ | Louis Armstrong | 6 | 29 1 1953 | 1 |
| 25 12 1952 | 7 | "Walkin' to Missouri" ♦ | Tony Brent | 7 | 15 1 1953 | 1 |
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1952, including singles that reached their peak in 1953. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1952 is also shown.| Entries | Artist | Country of origin | Weeks | Singles |
| 3 | Vera Lynn | 8 | "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", "Forget Me Not", "The Homing Waltz" | |
| 3 | Bing Crosby | 8 | "Isle of Innisfree", "Silent Night, Holy Night", "Zing a Little Zong" | |
| 2 | Al Martino | 7 | "Here in My Heart", "Take My Heart" | |
| 2 | Doris Day | 6 | "My Love and Devotion", "Sugar Bush" | |
| 2 | Frankie Laine | 7 | "High Noon ", "Sugar Bush" | |
| 2 | Her Majesty's Forces | 3 | "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", "The Homing Waltz" | |
| 2 | Nat King Cole | 6 | "Because You're Mine", "Somewhere Along the Way" | |
| 2 | Percy Faith | 8 | "Half as Much", "My Love and Devotion" |