The best No 1 records: Iron Maiden – Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter

Would you believe this was the first metal single to reach No 1, a feat that wouldn't be repeated until Limp Bizkit took Rollin' to the top slot a decade later? Metal has always been penalised by the curse of the fanbase: fans buy records as soon as they come out, ensuring a high early position, but the lack of crossover means a rapid tumble down the charts. Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter – though not even a terribly good Maiden song, and certainly not one that would have made it to an A-side a few years earlier – benefited from a perfect storm for a fanbase record. It was released at the start of January, when the casual record-buyers stay home; it had been promoted as a rival to Cliff Richard for Christmas No 1; and it was banned by Radio 1. It was enough. And there's the lesson: the charts can always be gamed. See every No 1 from 1991