Sales of singles in the UK have slumped to their lowest point for at least 10 years, with a drop of more than 14% in the last 12 months.

The figures come as the 50th anniversary of the singles chart is celebrated by the music industry.

Almost 54 million singles were bought in the last 12 months - nine million fewer than the previous year.

Westlife have the anniversary number one

Big sellers from Gareth Gates, Elvis Presley and Kylie Minogue have not been enough to halt the decline.

The last five years have seen sales drop from the high watermark of 87 million in 1997.

But there is a more positive outlook for albums, with sales up almost 2% in the last year.

The 50th anniversary of the singles chart - on Thursday - has been trumpeted by the music industry.

Just over 12 million singles were sold between July and September this year - the lowest total for that period since quarterly figures were first collated in 1976, according to trade body The British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The singles market has been in decline since the late 1990s, when it was worth �140m per year at its height.

Its value now dropped below �100m for the first time since 1994.

Golden oldies

The previous low was in 1992, when 53 million singles were bought.

A recent poll of number one singles to mark the chart's anniversary revealed that golden oldies like Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine and Hey Jude were still favourites with fans.

The first recent hit to appear on the all time top 100 was Kylie's Can't Get You Out Of My Head, at 35.

In the albums market, the BPI says strong releases from home-grown bands like Oasis and Coldplay have helped the UK buck a global downturn.

The first UK singles chart was published by New Musical Express on 14 November, 1952.

Percy Dickins, joint founder of NME, compiled the results by telephoning a selection of record stores. The top position was occupied by Al Martino's Here In My Heart.

Joy Division's melancholic anthem Love Will Tear Us Apart was named the greatest single of all time by NME writers to mark the 50th anniversary of the chart.

It was released in January 1980, and reached number 13 in the charts, the Manchester band's only top 20 hit.