1995_in_British_music

1995 in British music

1995 in British music

Overview of the events of 1995 in British music


This is a summary of 1995 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Quick Facts List of years in British music ...

Summary

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.

Events

Charts

Number-one singles

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Number-one albums

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Number-one compilation albums

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Year-end charts

Best-selling singles

[2]

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Best-selling albums

[3]

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Best-selling compilation albums

[4]

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Notes:

  1. Reached number 1 in 1994
  2. Reached number 3 in 1996 as the reissued Bizarre Fruit II
  3. Reached number 2 in 1994
  4. Reached number 1 in 1994
  5. Reached number 12 in 1996
  6. Reached number 1 in 1994
  7. Reached number 2 in 1994
  8. Reached number 1 in 1994
  9. Reached number 1 in 1994
  10. Reached number 1 in 1996

Classical music

Opera

Musical films

Music awards

Brit Awards

The 1995 Brit Awards winners were:

Mercury Music Prize

The 1995 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to PortisheadDummy.

Births

Deaths

See also


References

  1. "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  2. "Top 100 Albums 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 11.
  3. "Top 50 Compilations of 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 12.
  4. "Viola Concerto No. 1". Sally Beamish. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  5. Gloag, Kenneth (2013). The Cambridge companion to Michael Tippett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. xxxi. ISBN 9781107021976.
  6. "Jonathan Antoine – Biography". Jonathanantoineofficial.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. Buckley, Peter (2003). The rough guide to rock. London New York: Rough Guides Distributed by the Penguin Group. p. 1002. ISBN 9781843531050.
  8. Simmonds, Jeremy. The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press, 2008. ISBN 1-55652-754-3, ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8
  9. "The Grim Reaper's Greatest Hits". Rockmine.com. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  10. Voce, Steve (29 August 1995). "OBITUARY: Alan Dell – independent.co.uk". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  11. 'Christopher Shaw' by David Drew, in Musical Times, July 1963
  12. Halligan, Benjamin. Michael Reeves, Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7190-6351-5
  13. GRO Register of Deaths: NOV 1995 B28C 156 WYCOMBE – Marti Caine, DoB = 26 Jan 1945 aged 50
  14. Welch, Chris (20 November 1995). "OBITUARY: Alan Hull". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2018.

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