LONG gone are the days of spending Sunday afternoons with two fingers poised over the play and record buttons on a ghetto blaster, waiting to countdown the top 40 hits.
In a modern era where you can download a song from iTunes faster than it takes to make a cup of tea (or indeed peel the cellophane from a new blank C90 cassette tape), The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1 has increasingly felt like a lumbering dinosaur among the music world.
Now, after 48 years, the Top 40 has made its final Sunday appearance. The show moves to a Friday afternoon drivetime slot this week coinciding with the global music industry's decision to have a synchronised international release day for new singles and albums.
The Official Chart will also see a changing of the guard with new host, Greg James - who has enjoyed a light-hearted spat with Scottish tennis coach Judy Murray after dubbing her a "pushy mum" - replacing Clara Amfo, who has presented since January.
The UK charts will incorporate sales and streams across seven days, from 00.01 on Friday through to midnight on Thursday evening, compiled overnight and delivered to the nation every Friday afternoon.
Controller of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra Ben Cooper said when plans were announced in March: "The days of recording your favourite songs from the chart onto cassette are long gone and Radio 1 now operates in an instant digital world.
"So when the global release date changes to a Friday we will also move the Official Chart, continuing our commitment to stay relevant to young music fans of today and tomorrow."
Many of us will feel misty-eyed at the news. Among those to present The Official Chart over the years are Australian-born Alan 'Fluff' Freeman - who hosted its previous incarnation Pick of the Pops until it ended 1972 - Simon Bates, Tony Blackburn, Tommy Vance and Bruno Brookes.
Mark Goodier, born in Zimbabwe but who grew up in Edinburgh where he attended George Heriot's School and later became a mobile DJ in the Scottish capital, presented two stints from September 1990 until March 1992; and then April 1995 to November 2002.
Goodier, who had previously worked at Radio Forth and Radio Clyde, left Radio 1 in 2002 due to falling audiences and BBC bosses reportedly considering him "too old for the job".
Jo Whiley became the first female to present the UK Top 40 on November 24, 2002. Other past presenters include Fearne Cotton, Reggie Yates and Jameela Jamil.
Scottish band Wet Wet Wet topped the charts for 15 consecutive weeks in 1994 with Love Is All Around, the soundtrack to the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Dumfries-born DJ Calvin Harris holds the record for the most top ten hits from one studio album on the UK Singles Charts with nine hits, surpassing Michael Jackson.
The Official Chart has run consistently every week with the exception of August 31, 1997 when it was replaced on BBC Radio 1 by news coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
From February 2012 a new look show saw the music videos of the top 10 singles aired live online from 6pm.
The current Sunday programme has around 1.2 million listeners, while the existing drivetime show presented by James attracts more than five million across the week.
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