1996 in British music

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1996 in music
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This is a summary of 1996 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Summary[]

This year saw the start of an increase in the number of number 1 singles. 24 hit the top spot this year, the highest since 1980, which had an equal number.

The first number 1 single of the year was "Jesus to a Child", George Michael's first solo #1 for 10 years. This was followed by Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman", which had been used in an advert for Levi's. The single was quite different from the version used in the advert, which had been sped up and re-arranged. It stayed at #1 for five weeks, sold over a million copies, and Jas Mann, the man behind Babylon Zoo, became the first solo male to make their chart debut at number 1.

After five years, the boy band Take That announced that they were splitting up, resulting in such distress for their many fans that a telephone helpline had to be set up. Their final number 1 came in March, a cover of the Bee Gees song "How Deep Is Your Love". Several of the members went on to start a solo career, with Gary Barlow the first to hit #1 with "Forever Love" in July. However, it would be Robbie Williams who would go on to score the most success as a solo artist.

After George Michael scored another number 1 with "Fastlove" in April, Gina G reached the top spot with "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" in May. This song was the UK's entry to the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, and originally reached #6 when it was released at the beginning of April. It hovered around the top 5 for the next few weeks, before moving up to 1 in the week of the contest. Although it failed to win, it still became the first Eurovision song to hit #1 since Nicole's "A Little Peace", which won the contest in 1982.

The next number 1 was also influenced by media events: "Three Lions", released by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and the band The Lightning Seeds, was the official song of the 1996 European Football Championship (Euro '96), which was being held in England. A rewritten version of the song ("Three Lions '98") would reach number 1 two years later, coinciding with the Football World Cup 1998 (France '98).

The Fugees had the biggest selling single of the year, with a cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song". It sold over a million copies.

However, by far the most successful act of the year was the Spice Girls, who kickstarted their career with three number 1 singles – the million-selling "Wannabe" in July, which was one of the longest No 1 stints by any girl group (7 weeks); (Shakespears Sister's "Stay" is the longest girl group No 1, with 8 weeks), and remains the biggest-selling single by a girl group; "Say You'll Be There" in October; and "2 Become 1" in December, also a million seller, the year's Christmas number one single and the UK's fastest selling single of 1996. The Spice Girls debut album Spice was the fastest selling album of 1996, shifting over 1.8 million copies in just 7 weeks. It was also the Number 1 album for Christmas 1996 and the second best-selling album of the year.

Oasis smashed the record for most weeks in the singles chart (previously held by Adam and the Ants in 1981) with 134 weeks, thanks to mass waves of re-entries of songs from their back catalogue throughout the year.

1996 is also grimly notable for having the drummers of two popular bands, Mathew Fletcher of Heavenly, on 14 June, and Chris Acland of Lush, on 17 October, commit suicide. Lush had at the time been in the final stages of planning an American tour, which his devastated bandmates cancelled; they then disbanded.

Prolific classical composer Peter Maxwell Davies produced the tenth of his Strathclyde Concertos, an orchestral work which was first performed in Glasgow in October by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, under the composer's baton. In June, his new opera, The Doctor of Myddfai, was premièred in Cardiff. Other British composers who produced new works were Michael Berkeley (Viola Concerto) and John Tavener (Innocence). Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical, Whistle Down the Wind opened in Washington D.C. in December, to poor reviews, but its score would go on to provide Boyzone with one of the best-selling singles of the decade in the form of "No Matter What"; the show did not appear in the West End until 1998.

Events[]

  • 19 February – Jarvis Cocker disrupts a performance by Michael Jackson at the BRIT Awards. During an elaborate staging of "Earth Song" Cocker and Peter Mansell (a former Pulp member) invade the stage; Cocker lifts his shirt and points his bottom in Jackson's direction before getting into a scuffle with security. He is arrested and taken for questioning (with Bob Mortimer acting as his solicitor), but is released without charge. Cocker later states that his actions were "a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing".[1]
  • 28 February – At the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles:
  • 1 March - Status Quo take BBC Radio One to the High Court over a dispute in which the station refused to play their single "Fun Fun Fun". The band loses their case, with Radio One arguing that Status Quo don't fit the demographic audience that the station is reaching out to.
  • 2 March – Melody Maker praises Jarvis Cocker for his protest at the Brit Awards ceremony, suggesting he should be knighted.
  • 4 March – The Beatles' second reunion song is released as part of their first reunion since the band's breakup 26 years earlier. The song is a finished version of "Real Love", a John Lennon demo from 1980.[2]
  • 22 March - Black Grape perform a cover of "Pretty Vacant" by The Sex Pistols on TFI Friday on Channel 4. During the performance, Shaun Ryder uses several f-words and the incident results in Ryder being banned from live broadcasting and TFI Friday being recorded instead of being broadcast live.
  • 1 April - John Squire announces his departure from The Stone Roses
  • 28 April – Oasis play the second of two gigs in Maine Road, home of Manchester City F.C., featured on the video "…There and Then".
  • June – Musicians listed in the Queen's Birthday Honours include songwriter Ivan Morrison, clarinetist Emma Johnson, jazz pianist George Shearing and opera singer Felicity Lott.[3]
  • 8 July – The Spice Girls release their début single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom.The song proves to be a global hit, hitting number 1 in 31 countries and becoming not only the biggest-selling début single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
  • July – The Spice Girls appear in Top of the Pops magazine, where each member is given a nickname based upon her image: "Posh Spice", "Baby Spice", "Scary Spice", "Ginger Spice", and "Sporty Spice".[4]
  • 22 July - Rob Collins, keyboardist with The Charlatans, is killed in a car crash on a country road outside Monmouth.
  • 10 August - Oasis play 2 nights at Knebworth House with an audience of 125,000 per night. Over 2.5 million people applied for tickets for the shows, making it the largest ever demand for concert tickets in British history. They are supported by The Charlatans, Kula Shaker, Manic Street Preachers, The Bootleg Beatles, The Chemical Brothers, Ocean Colour Scene and The Prodigy
  • 25 August - The Stone Roses perform a disastrous final gig at the Reading Festival. The performance received a negative reception from fans and critics, with Ian Brown's vocals being particularly criticised.[5] The band would then split up in October.
  • 4 September - Oasis perform "Champagne Supernova" at the MTV Video Music Awards, held in New York. During the performance, Liam Gallagher makes obscene gestures at brother Noel as he was playing his guitar solo, then spat beer all over the stage before storming off.
  • 31 October – David Brookes is fined £45 in Hampstead Magistrates' Court for disrupting the "quiet enjoyment" of the public by playing his bagpipes on Hampstead Heath. Described as "a pain in the neck" by a spokesperson for the College of Pipers in Glasgow, Brookes said he had been playing the pipes on the heath for twenty years and had been given permission to do so, adding that he was surprised by the ruling because social workers were allowed to distribute condoms there.[6]
  • November – Jesus Christ Superstar is revived in London's West End. Directed by Gale Edwards, this version stars Steve Balsamo and Zubin Varla as Jesus and Judas, with Joanna Ampil as Mary Magdalene, and a recording is released as an album.
  • 12 December - Mike Joyce, former drummer with The Smiths, is awarded £1 million in missing royalties and damages from former bandmates Morrissey and Johnny Marr in the High Court.

Charts[]

Number-one singles[]

Chart date
(week ending)		 Song Artist(s) Sales
6 January "Earth Song" Michael Jackson 55,000
13 January 80,000
20 January "Jesus to a Child" George Michael 110,000
27 January "Spaceman" Babylon Zoo 418,000
3 February 204,000
10 February 128,000
17 February 80,000
24 February 63,000
2 March "Don't Look Back in Anger" Oasis 250,000
9 March "How Deep Is Your Love" Take That 257,000
16 March 120,000
23 March 90,000
30 March "Firestarter" The Prodigy 119,000
6 April 80,000
13 April 75,000
20 April "Return of the Mack" Mark Morrison 90,000
27 April 90,000
4 May "Fastlove" George Michael 111,000
11 May 75,000
18 May 55,000
25 May "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" Gina G 75,000
1 June "Three Lions" Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds 110,000
8 June "Killing Me Softly" The Fugees 157,000
15 June 195,000
22 June 173,000
29 June 160,000
6 July "Three Lions" Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds 140,000
13 July "Killing Me Softly" The Fugees 103,000
20 July "Forever Love" Gary Barlow 109,000
27 July "Wannabe" Spice Girls 108,000
3 August 154,000
10 August 150,000
17 August 145,000
24 August 125,000
31 August 110,000
7 September 90,000
14 September "Flava" Peter Andre 129,000
21 September "Ready or Not" The Fugees 72,000
28 September 75,000
5 October "Breakfast At Tiffany's" Deep Blue Something 85,000
12 October "Setting Sun" The Chemical Brothers 99,000
19 October "Words" Boyzone 232,000
26 October "Say You'll Be There" Spice Girls 349,000
2 November 163,000
9 November "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted / Saturday Night at the Movies / You'll Never Walk Alone" Robson & Jerome 196,000
16 November 113,000
23 November "Breathe" The Prodigy 195,000
30 November 95,000
7 December "I Feel You" Peter Andre 87,000
14 December "A Different Beat" Boyzone 90,000
21 December "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Dunblane 189,000
28 December "2 Become 1" Spice Girls 462,000

Number-one albums[]

Chart date
(week ending)		 Album Artist Sales
6 January Robson & Jerome Robson & Jerome 216,000
13 January (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Oasis 53,000
20 January 48,000
27 January 46,000
3 February 45,000
10 February 48,000
17 February 42,000
24 February Expecting to Fly The Bluetones 83,000
2 March (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Oasis 81,000
9 March 107,000
16 March 84,000
23 March Falling into You Céline Dion 101,000
30 March Anthology 2 The Beatles 78,000
6 April Greatest Hits Take That 276,000
13 April 174,000
20 April 100,000
27 April 52,000
4 May Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 54,000
11 May 65,000
18 May 1977 Ash 54,000
25 May Older George Michael 281,000
1 June 114,000
8 June 80,000
15 June Load Metallica 70,000
22 June 18 Til I Die Bryan Adams 54,000
29 June Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 42,000
6 July Recurring Dream Crowded House 80,000
13 July 47,000
20 July Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 41,000
27 July 37,000
3 August 59,000
10 August 62,000
17 August 56,000
24 August 49,000
31 August 45,000
7 September 47,000
14 September Coming Up Suede 42,000
21 September New Adventures in Hi-Fi R.E.M 125,000
28 September K Kula Shaker 133,000
5 October 54,000
12 October Natural Peter Andre 45,000
19 October Greatest Hits Simply Red 87,000
26 October 84,000
2 November Blue Is the Colour The Beautiful South 80,000
9 November A Different Beat Boyzone 95,000
16 November Spice Spice Girls 128,000
23 November Take Two Robson & Jerome 187,000
30 November 168,000
7 December Spice Spice Girls 170,000
14 December 217,000
21 December 271,000
28 December 364,000

Number-one compilation albums[]

Chart date
(week ending)		 Album
6 January Hits 96
13 January
20 January
27 January
3 February Sisters of Swing
10 February The Best Album in the World...Ever! 2
17 February
24 February The No.1 Love Album
2 March In the Mix 96
9 March
16 March
23 March
30 March Now 33
6 April
13 April
20 April
27 April
4 May Dance Zone 7
11 May Boyz of Swing
18 May New Hits 96
25 May
1 June
8 June
15 June
22 June
29 June
6 July
13 July
20 July Big Mix '96
27 July
3 August
10 August
17 August The Best Dance Album in the World...Ever! Part 6
24 August Now 34
31 August
7 September
14 September
21 September
28 September
5 October
12 October In the Mix 96 – 3
19 October Kiss in Ibiza '96
26 October
2 November
9 November
16 November Huge Hits 1996
23 November
30 November Now 35
7 December
14 December
21 December
28 December

Year-end charts[]

Best-selling singles[]

[7]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 "Killing Me Softly" Fugees 1
2 "Wannabe" Spice Girls 1
3 "Spaceman" Babylon Zoo 1
4 "Say You'll Be There" Spice Girls 1
5 "Return of the Mack" Mark Morrison 1
6 "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" Gina G 1
7 "Three Lions" Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds 1
8 "Children" Robert Miles 2
9 "Mysterious Girl" Peter Andre featuring Bubbler Ranx 2
10 "2 Become 1" Spice Girls 1
11 "Don't Look Back in Anger" Oasis 1
12 "How Deep Is Your Love" Take That 1
13 "Un-Break My Heart" Toni Braxton 2
14 "Breathe" The Prodigy 1
15 "Firestarter" 1
16 "Words" Boyzone 1
17 "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Deep Blue Something 1
18 "If You Ever" East 17 featuring Gabrielle 2
19 "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"/
"Saturday Night at the Movies"/"You'll Never Walk Alone" 		Robson & Jerome 1
20 "Anything" 3T 2
21 "Fastlove" George Michael 1
22 "Macarena" Los del Río 2
23 "Born Slippy .NUXX" Underworld 2
24 "Ready or Not" Fugees 1
25 "The X Files" Mark Snow 2
26 "One & One" Robert Miles featuring Maria Nayler 3
27 "Because You Loved Me" Celine Dion 5
28 "Give Me a Little More Time" Gabrielle 5
29 "Nobody Knows" The Tony Rich Project 4
30 "You're Gorgeous" Babybird 3
31 "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"/"Throw These Guns Away" Dunblane 1
32 "Cecilia" Suggs featuring Louchie Lou & Michie One 4
33 "Flava" Peter Andre 1
34 "Don't Stop Movin'" Livin' Joy 5
35 "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Celine Dion 3
36 "I Love You Always Forever" Donna Lewis 5
37 "How Bizarre" OMC 5
38 "Jesus to a Child" George Michael 1
39 "Virtual Insanity" Jamiroquai 3
40 "Forever Love" Gary Barlow 1
41 "Hillbilly Rock Hillbilly Roll" The Woolpackers 5
42 "I Wanna Be a Hippy" Technohead 6
43 "There's Nothing I Won't Do" JX 4
44 "Insomnia" Faithless 3
45 "What's Love Got to Do with It" Warren G featuring Adina Howard 2
46 "Freedom" Robbie Williams 2
47 "I Got 5 on It" Luniz 3
48 "Earth Song" Michael Jackson 1
49 "Spinning the Wheel" George Michael 2
50 "A Design for Life" Manic Street Preachers 2

Best-selling albums[]

[8]

No. Title Artist Peak
position 		Sales[9]
1 Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 1 2,000,000
2 (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Oasis 1 1,840,000
3 Spice Spice Girls 1 1,678,000
4 Falling into You Celine Dion 1
5 Older George Michael 1
6 Take Two Robson & Jerome 1
7 The Score Fugees 2
8 Greatest Hits Take That 1
9 Greatest Hits Simply Red 1
10 Blue Is the Colour The Beautiful South 1
11 Moseley Shoals Ocean Colour Scene 2
12 Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House Crowded House 1
13 Ocean Drive Lighthouse Family 3
14 Bizarre Fruit/Bizarre Fruit II M People 3
15 Travelling Without Moving Jamiroquai 2
16 K Kula Shaker 1
17 The Smurfs Go Pop! The Smurfs 2
18 A Different Beat Boyzone 1
19 Different Class Pulp 2[a]
20 Everything Must Go Manic Street Preachers 2
21 Definitely Maybe Oasis 9[b]
22 Hits Mike and the Mechanics 3
23 Around the World Hit Singles: The Journey So Far East 17 3
24 18 til I Die Bryan Adams 1
25 Garbage Garbage 6
26 Wildest Dreams Tina Turner 4
27 All Change Cast 7
28 Secrets Toni Braxton 10
29 1977 Ash 1
30 Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow 5
31 Christmas Party The Smurfs 8
32 Stanley Road Paul Weller 7[c]
33 Free Peace Sweet Dodgy 7
34 New Adventures in Hi-Fi R.E.M. 1
35 HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I Michael Jackson 3[d]
36 Said and Done Boyzone 5[e]
37 Robert Miles Robert Miles 7
38 Spiders Space 5
39 Robson & Jerome Robson & Jerome 1
40 The Bends Radiohead 4
41 Expecting to Fly The Bluetones 1
42 Natural Peter Andre 1
43 If We Fall in Love Tonight Rod Stewart 8
44 Life Simply Red 8[f]
45 Crocodile Shoes II Jimmy Nail 10
46 Walking Wounded Everything but the Girl 4
47 Evita Madonna/Various Artists 7[g]
48 The It Girl Sleeper 5
49 The Finest Fine Young Cannibals 10
50 Mercury Falling Sting 4

Best-selling compilation albums[]

[10]

No. Title Peak
position
1 Now 35 1
2 Now 34 1
3 Trainspotting Original Soundtrack 2
4 The Best Sixties Album in the World... Ever! II 2
5 Now 33 1
6 New Hits 96 1
7 The Best Dance Album in the World... Ever! 6 1
8 Heartbeat: No. 1 Love Songs of the 60s 2
9 The Annual II 3[h]
10 The Love Album III 2

Notes:

  1. ^ Reached number 1 in 1995
  2. ^ Reached number 1 in 1994
  3. ^ Reached number 1 in 1995
  4. ^ Reached number 1 in 1995
  5. ^ Reached number 1 in 1995
  6. ^ Reached number 1 in 1995
  7. ^ Reached number 1 in 1997
  8. ^ Reached number 1 in 1997

Classical music[]

  • Michael Garrett – Fantasia No. 2 for string orchestra, Op. 111
  • Peter Maxwell Davies –
  • Howard Blake – Flute Concerto[11]

Opera[]

Musical films[]

Births[]

  • 1 February – Dionne Bromfield, singer-songwriter and TV presenter
  • 15 May – Birdy, singer

Deaths[]

  • 17 January – Harry Robertson, musician, bandleader, music director and composer, 63
  • 21 January – the London Boys:
    • Edem Ephraim, 36 (car accident)
    • Dennis Fuller, 36 (car accident)
  • 17 February – Evelyn Laye, actress and singer, 95
  • 19 March – Alan Ridout, composer, 61
  • 8 April – Donald Adams, opera singer and actor, 67 (brain tumour)
  • 6 May – Wally Nightingale, guitarist, 40 (drug-related)
  • 19 June – Vivian Ellis, composer, 93
  • 17 July – Chas Chandler (The Animals), 57 (heart attack)
  • 22 July – Rob Collins, keyboard player, 33 (car crash)[12]
  • 12 October – Vernon Elliott, bassoonist, conductor and composer, 84
  • 17 October – Chris Acland, drummer, 30 (suicide)[13]
  • 23 October – Alexander Kelly, pianist and composer, 67
  • 12 November – Gwen Catley, operatic soprano, 90
  • 28 November – Anna Pollak, operatic mezzo-soprano, 84
  • 14 December – Norman Hackforth, accompanist and broadcaster, 87
  • 17 December – Ruby Murray, singer and actress, 61
  • 23 December – Ronnie Scott, jazz musician and club owner, 69

Music awards[]

BRIT Awards[]

The 1996 BRIT Awards winners were:

  • Artist of a generation: Michael Jackson
  • Best British producer: Brian Eno
  • Best soundtrack: "Batman Forever"
  • British album: Oasis – "(What's the Story) Morning Glory"
  • British breakthrough act: Supergrass
  • British dance act: Massive Attack
  • British female solo artist: Annie Lennox
  • British group: Oasis
  • British male solo artist: Paul Weller
  • British single: Take That – "Back for Good"
  • British video: Oasis – "Wonderwall"
  • Freddie Mercury award: The Help Album for the Charity Warchild
  • International breakthrough act: Alanis Morissette
  • International female: Björk
  • International group: Bon Jovi
  • International male: Prince
  • Outstanding contribution: David Bowie

Mercury Music Prize[]

The 1996 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Pulp – Different Class.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Lee, Ann (February 15, 2011). "Brit Awards 2011: Top five moments Through the years". Metro. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "The Beatles". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. 2007. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  3. ^ "THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS", The Independent, 15 June 1996. Accessed 8 June 2014
  4. ^ "nicknames", Halliwell, Geri (1999). If Only, p. 229. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-33475-3.
  5. ^ Perrone, Pierre (2008) "The worst gigs of all time", The Independent, 24 January 2008
  6. ^ John Ezard, "Piper Pays for His Tune", The Guardian (1 November 1996):2.
  7. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 25.
  8. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 27.
  9. ^ Jones, Alan (18 January 1997). "UK acts outstrip the US, but Canadian Alanis hits the top". Music Week. p. 26.
  10. ^ "Top 50 Compilations of 1996". Music Week. 18 January 1997. p. 28.
  11. ^ Howard Blake official website. Accessed 22 November 2013
  12. ^ "Tim Burgess looks to celebrate anniversary with Scotland gig". 14 March 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas "Lush: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved May 9, 2012.

External links[]

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