Chart-toppers from across six decades - from Pop Idol Will Young to The Shadow's Bruce Welch - got together on Wednesday to launch the new edition of the bible for chart followers.

Spice Girl Mel B and former Slade star Noddy Holder also joined the get-together to toast the new version of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles.

Editors of the book, which lists every single that has ever reached the UK charts, also launched a search for the minor players in some of the more forgotten hits of chart history.

Shakin' Stevens, Petula Clark and ex-Steps singer Faye Tozer completed the gathering of number one singers, who had been in the chart for almost 2,000 weeks between them.

Minor stars

The book is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and has a golden cover to mark the 50th anniversary of the singles chart.

Editor David Roberts gathered the seven big names - but also urged less well-known musicians who have had a taste of chart success to get in touch in time for the next edition.

"This is a chance for all those people who used to be minor stars in the rock firmament to come forward - or be pushed," he said.

"If your milkman keeps telling you that he was the drummer in Edison Lighthouse or maybe your hairdresser has a picture of herself when she was in Toto Coelo - these are the people we want to hear from."

'Ups and downs'

The seven assembled stars shared a joke, with Young looking thrilled to meet Shakin' Stevens.

Holder, who had topped of the UK chart for 20 weeks with Slade, said: "There's all ages here - it spans the whole history of pop music in the UK."

He gave some advice to Young, 23, saying: "There are ups and downs and everybody here has been through it.

"But it's a great business - I've been in it for nearly 40 years and the upsides outweigh the downsides."