1990s in music in the UK |
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This is a summary of 1995 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
1995 saw a number of changes occur. Céline Dion's "Think Twice", which was released in October 1994 yet took until the end of January to reach the top, was the first UK number 1 single not to be available on vinyl in any form.
Around the middle of the year, the way singles entered the chart started to change. Instead of entering low and climbing up to their peak, singles would now usually enter at their peak, and then fall down the chart. In May, Robson & Jerome became the first British act to reach number 1 with "Unchained Melody", after having sung the song on the ITV programme Soldier Soldier . In May, music featured in an advertising campaign for Guinness reached number 2 – mambo tune "Guaglione" by Pérez Prado was a massive hit and the advert featured on an accompanying screensaver.
This was also the year which saw Britpop at its most popular. A highly publicised chart battle in August saw Oasis and Blur battling it out for the number 1 position, having both released their singles on the same day. Blur won the singles battle, with "Country House" beating Oasis' "Roll with It" to the top spot, but Oasis, with (What's the Story) Morning Glory? , would go on to greatly outsell Blur's album, the album of which would eventually become the second biggest album in the UK. After a decade in the business Pulp secured a first number one album while Britpop elder statesman Paul Weller also benefited from a return to popular and critical favour.
Singles that went on to sell over a million copies were Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", the first rap single to sell over a million in the UK, both of Robson & Jerome's songs ("Unchained Melody" / "White Cliffs of Dover", the biggest selling single of the year, and "I Believe" / "Up on the Roof") and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". In addition, a second remix of New Order's "Blue Monday" (reaching number 17) pushed sales of that song over a million as well.
In all, there were 17 number one singles in 1995. As the 1990s continued the amount started to increase, and there wouldn't be a total as low as 1995's.
Composer Michael Tippett celebrated his ninetieth birthday on 2 January. the occasion was marked by special events in Britain, Canada and the US, including the premiere of his final work, The Rose Lake, in February. A collection of his essays, Tippett on Music, was also published. In July Thomas Adès' 1995 chamber opera Powder Her Face with a libretto by Philip Hensher won good reviews, but also notoriety for its musical depiction of fellatio. And there was further controversy and much negative press when Harrison Birtwistle's uncompromising Panic was included in the typically populist Last Night of the Proms in September. The same month Karl Jenkins had a huge popular hit with his album Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary , thanks to the music's exposure in television advertisements.
Chart date (week ending) | Song | Artist(s) | Sales |
---|---|---|---|
7 January | "Stay Another Day" | East 17 | |
14 January | "Cotton Eye Joe" | Rednex | 60,000 |
21 January | 85,000 | ||
28 January | 70,000 | ||
4 February | "Think Twice" | Celine Dion | 74,000 |
11 February | 80,000 | ||
18 February | 86,000 | ||
25 February | 154,000 | ||
4 March | 141,000 | ||
11 March | 120,000 | ||
18 March | 50,000 | ||
25 March | "Love Can Build a Bridge" | Cher, Chrissie Hynde & Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton | 150,000 |
1 April | "Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)" | The Outhere Brothers | 90,000 |
8 April | "Back for Good" | Take That | 346,000 |
15 April | 185,000 | ||
22 April | 140,000 | ||
29 April | 85,000 | ||
6 May | "Some Might Say" | Oasis | 138,000 |
13 May | "Dreamer" | Livin' Joy | 106,000 |
20 May | "Unchained Melody" / "White Cliffs of Dover" | Robson & Jerome | 314,000 |
27 May | 460,000 | ||
3 June | 320,000 | ||
10 June | 210,000 | ||
17 June | 145,000 | ||
24 June | 90,000 | ||
1 July | 73,000 | ||
8 July | "Boom Boom Boom" | The Outhere Brothers | 62,000 |
15 July | 74,000 | ||
22 July | 77,000 | ||
29 July | 65,000 | ||
5 August | "Never Forget" | Take That | 115,000 |
12 August | 86,000 | ||
19 August | 54,000 | ||
26 August | "Country House" | Blur | 274,000 |
2 September | 135,000 | ||
9 September | "You Are Not Alone" | Michael Jackson | 83,000 |
16 September | 100,000 | ||
23 September | "Boombastic" | Shaggy | 93,000 |
30 September | "Fairground" | Simply Red | 211,000 |
7 October | 142,000 | ||
14 October | 129,000 | ||
21 October | 96,000 | ||
28 October | "Gangsta's Paradise" | Coolio featuring LV | 107,000 |
4 November | 166,000 | ||
11 November | "I Believe" / "Up on the Roof" | Robson & Jerome | 258,000 |
18 November | 224,000 | ||
25 November | 118,000 | ||
2 December | 80,000 | ||
9 December | "Earth Song" | Michael Jackson | 116,467 |
16 December | 149,549 | ||
23 December | 150,739 | ||
30 December | 261,851 |
Chart date (week ending) | Album |
---|---|
7 January | Now 29 |
14 January | |
21 January | |
28 January | The Best of Heartbeat |
4 February | The Best Punk Album in the World...Ever!' |
11 February | Dance Mania 95 Volume 1 |
18 February | |
25 February | On a Dance Tip |
4 March | |
11 March | |
18 March | Smash Hits 95 Volume 1 |
25 March | Dance Zone Level 4 |
1 April | |
8 April | Dance Mania 95 Volume 2 |
15 April | |
22 April | Now 30 |
29 April | |
6 May | |
13 May | |
20 May | On a Dance Tip 2 |
27 May | |
3 June | |
10 June | Top of the Pops 1 |
17 June | |
24 June | Dance Zone Level 5 |
1 July | |
8 July | |
15 July | Dance Mania 95 – Volume 3 |
22 July | |
29 July | |
5 August | The Best Summer...Ever! |
12 August | Now 31 |
19 August | |
26 August | |
2 September | |
9 September | Dance Zone Level 6 |
16 September | Help |
23 September | |
30 September | Heartbeat – Forever Yours |
7 October | |
14 October | |
21 October | |
28 October | |
4 November | |
11 November | The Greatest Party Album Under the Sun |
18 November | Pure Swing IV |
25 November | Now 32 |
2 December | |
9 December | |
16 December | |
23 December | |
30 December |
No. | Title | Peak position |
---|---|---|
1 | Now 32 | 1 |
2 | The Love Album II | 2 |
3 | Now 30 | 1 |
4 | The Best Rock Ballads in the World... Ever! | 2 |
5 | Now 31 | 1 |
6 | Heartbeat: Forever Yours | 1 |
7 | Pulp Fiction Original Soundtrack | 5 |
8 | The Best Sixties Album in the World... Ever! | 2 |
9 | Dance Tip 95 | 3 |
10 | Pure Swing IV | 1 |
Notes:
The 1995 Brit Awards winners were:
The 1995 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Portishead – Dummy .
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, in reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher. The structure and arrangement style of the album was a significant departure from the band's previous album, Definitely Maybe (1994). Gallagher's compositions were more focused in balladry and placed more emphasis on "huge" choruses, with the string arrangements and more varied instrumentation contrasting with the rawness of the group's debut album. Morning Glory was the group's first album with drummer Alan White, who replaced Tony McCarroll.
Different Class is the fifth studio album by English rock band Pulp, released on 30 October 1995 by Island Records.
The Great Escape is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Blur. It was released on 11 September 1995 on Food and Virgin Records. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and charted in the top 10 in more than ten countries around the world. Less than a year after the album was released, it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album received near-universal acclaim on release.
This article gives details on 2004 in music in the United Kingdom.
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The song contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the music video, which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi.
"Common People" is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp, released in May 1995 by Island Records as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Different Class (1995). It reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming a defining track of the Britpop movement as well as Pulp's signature song. In 2014, BBC Radio 6 Music listeners voted it their favourite Britpop song in an online poll. In a 2015 Rolling Stone readers' poll it was voted the greatest Britpop song.
"Roll with It" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was released on 14 August 1995 by Creation as the second single from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). In a highly publicised chart battle with Blur's single "Country House" dubbed "The Battle of Britpop," "Roll with It" reached number two on the UK singles chart.
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