The magazine was published weekly and ran from May 7th 1983 to February 1992. It was intended as direct competition to Smash Hits, which was at its peak at the time. Although Number One contained fewer pages and less colour (at a similar price), the magazine claimed "our strength is our weekliness".
One of the most popular aspects was that it published the singles and albums charts every week (obviously not possible for the fortnightly Smash Hits). Until 1990 however, these were the unofficial Network Charts (1985 - 1990). Previously the magazine had used the NME Top 75 singles & albums (March 1983 - December 1984). From October 1990, the full official Top 75 Chart was used until the magazine's demise. It was at this time that BBC Magazines took over publishing from IPC Magazines. When Number One came to an end in 1992, it was incorporated into the BBC's Fast Forward. The magazine's demise went unannounced - the final issue carried details of the features and interviews that would appear in the next issue, but remained unpublished.
