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

List of years in British music
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Summary

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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

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Charts

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Number-one singles

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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

Number-one albums

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Chart date
(week ending)
Album Artist
7 January Carry On Up the Charts The Beautiful South
14 January
21 January
28 January The Colour of My Love Celine Dion
4 February
11 February
18 February
25 February
4 March
11 March Greatest Hits Bruce Springsteen
18 March Medusa Annie Lennox
25 March Elastica Elastica
1 April The Colour of My Love Celine Dion
8 April Wake Up! The Boo Radleys
15 April Greatest Hits Bruce Springsteen
22 April Picture This Wet Wet Wet
29 April
6 May
13 May Nobody Else Take That
20 May
27 May Stanley Road Paul Weller
3 June Singles Alison Moyet
10 June Pulse Pink Floyd
17 June
24 June HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I Michael Jackson
1 July These Days Bon Jovi
8 July
15 July
22 July
29 July I Should Coco Supergrass
5 August
12 August
19 August It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah Black Grape
26 August
2 September Said and Done Boyzone
9 September The Charlatans The Charlatans
16 September Zeitgeist The Levellers
23 September The Great Escape Blur
30 September
7 October Daydream Mariah Carey
14 October (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Oasis
21 October Life Simply Red
28 October
4 November
11 November Different Class Pulp
18 November Made in Heaven Queen
25 November Robson & Jerome Robson & Jerome
2 December
9 December
16 December
23 December
30 December

Number-one compilation albums

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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

Year-end charts

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Best-selling singles

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[2]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 "Unchained Melody"/"(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" Robson & Jerome 1
2 "Gangsta's Paradise" Coolio featuring L.V. 1
3 "I Believe"/"Up on the Roof" Robson & Jerome 1
4 "Back for Good" Take That 1
5 "Think Twice" Celine Dion 1
6 "Earth Song" Michael Jackson 1
7 "Fairground" Simply Red 1
8 "You Are Not Alone" Michael Jackson 1
9 "Missing" (Todd Terry Club Mix) Everything but the Girl 3
10 "Wonderwall" Oasis 2
11 "Boom Boom Boom" The Outhere Brothers 1
12 "Country House" Blur 1
13 "Father and Son" Boyzone 2
14 "Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)" The Outhere Brothers 1
15 "Boombastic" Shaggy 1
16 "Cotton Eye Joe" Rednex 1
17 "Set You Free" (Remix) N-Trance 2
18 "Living Next Door to Alice (Who the F**k Is Alice?)" Smokie featuring Roy Chubby Brown 3
19 "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" U2 2
20 "Roll with It" Oasis 2
21 "Guaglione" Perez 'Prez' Prado & his Orchestra 2
22 "I'll Be There for You" The Rembrandts 3
23 "Two Can Play That Game" (K Klassic Mix) Bobby Brown 3
24 "Here Comes the Hotstepper" Ini Kamoze 4
25 "Shy Guy" Diana King 2
26 "It's Oh So Quiet" Björk 4
27 "Never Forget" Take That 1
28 "Don't Give Me Your Life" Alex Party 2
29 "Waterfalls" TLC 4
30 "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)" Scatman John 3
31 "Some Might Say" Oasis 1
32 "You'll See" Madonna 5
33 "Thunder" East 17 4
34 "Stayin' Alive" N-Trance featuring Ricardo da Force 2
35 "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" Meat Loaf 2
36 "Common People" Pulp 2
37 "Fantasy" Mariah Carey 4
38 "I've Got a Little Something for You" MN8 2
39 "Kiss from a Rose"/"I'm Alive" Seal 4
40 "Dreamer" (Remix) Livin' Joy 1
41 "Heaven for Everyone" Queen 2
42 "Free as a Bird" The Beatles 2
43 "Love Can Build a Bridge" Cher, Chrissie Hynde & Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton 1
44 "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" Baby D 3
45 "The Sunshine After the Rain" Berri 4
46 "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" The Bucketheads 5
47 "Wonderwall" The Mike Flowers Pops 2
48 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Nicki French 5
49 "Alright"/"Time" Supergrass 2
50 "Mis-Shapes"/"Sorted for E's & Wizz" Pulp 2

Best-selling albums

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[3]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 Robson & Jerome Robson & Jerome 1
2 (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Oasis 1
3 The Colour of My Love Celine Dion 1
4 Life Simply Red 1
5 HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I Michael Jackson 1
6 Made in Heaven Queen 1
7 Stanley Road Paul Weller 1
8 Picture This Wet Wet Wet 1
9 The Great Escape Blur 1
10 Different Class Pulp 1
11 Something to Remember Madonna 3
12 Love Songs Elton John 4
13 Carry On up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South The Beautiful South 1
14 Medusa Annie Lennox 1
15 Daydream Mariah Carey 1
16 Nobody Else Take That 1
17 Definitely Maybe Oasis 5[a]
18 Bizarre Fruit/Bizarre Fruit II M People 8[b]
19 Anthology 1 The Beatles 3
20 These Days Bon Jovi 1
21 The Memory of Trees Enya 5
22 No Need to Argue The Cranberries 3[c]
23 Said and Done Boyzone 1
24 Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 Janet Jackson 2
25 Parklife Blur 2[d]
26 Jollification The Lightning Seeds 15[e]
27 Greatest Hits Bruce Springsteen 1
28 Dummy Portishead 2
29 Greatest Hits (1985–1995) Michael Bolton 2
30 Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) Def Leppard 3
31 Singles Alison Moyet 1
32 Power of a Woman Eternal 6
33 CrazySexyCool TLC 4
34 I Should Coco Supergrass 1
35 Welcome to the Neighbourhood Meat Loaf 3
36 Post Björk 2
37 Cross Road: The Best of Bon Jovi Bon Jovi 4[f]
38 Big River Jimmy Nail 8
39 It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah Black Grape 1
40 Crocodile Shoes Jimmy Nail 3[g]
41 Pulse Pink Floyd 1
42 Pan Pipe Moods Free the Spirit 2
43 Up All Night East 17 7
44 The Very Best of Robert Palmer Robert Palmer 4
45 Chants and Dances of the Native Americans Sacred Spirit 9
46 Seal Seal 3[h]
47 Monster R.E.M. 8[i]
48 Tuesday Night Music Club Sheryl Crow 8
49 Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 12[j]
50 Don't Bore Us – Get to the Chorus!: Roxette's Greatest Hits Roxette 5

Best-selling compilation albums

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[4]

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:

  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

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Opera

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Musical films

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Music awards

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Brit Awards

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The 1995 Brit Awards winners were:

Mercury Music Prize

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The 1995 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to PortisheadDummy.

Births

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ BBC Genome project Radio 1 listings 21 April 1995
  2. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  3. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 11.
  4. ^ "Top 50 Compilations of 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 12.
  5. ^ "Viola Concerto No. 1". Sally Beamish. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  6. ^ Gloag, Kenneth (2013). The Cambridge companion to Michael Tippett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. xxxi. ISBN 9781107021976.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Antoine – Biography". Jonathanantoineofficial.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The rough guide to rock. London New York: Rough Guides Distributed by the Penguin Group. p. 1002. ISBN 9781843531050.
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ "The Grim Reaper's Greatest Hits". Rockmine.com. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  11. ^ Voce, Steve (29 August 1995). "OBITUARY: Alan Dell – independent.co.uk". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  12. ^ 'Christopher Shaw' by David Drew, in Musical Times, July 1963
  13. ^ Halligan, Benjamin. Michael Reeves, Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7190-6351-5
  14. ^ GRO Register of Deaths: NOV 1995 B28C 156 WYCOMBE – Marti Caine, DoB = 26 Jan 1945 aged 50
  15. ^ 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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