1994 in British music

none December 2012 June 2021 1994 1994 British music This is a summary of 1994 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. Summary The first number one single of the year was the 700th since charts began, a reggae version of "Twist and Shout" by Chaka Demus & Pliers. The next month saw Mariah Carey get her first solo UK number 1 with "Without You", after having 8 previous chart-toppers in the United States. Coincidentally, "Without You" did not top the US Billboard Hot 100. In late May, Wet Wet Wet reached number 1 with "Love Is All Around", from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. It would remain at number 1 for fifteen weeks, the second longest consecutive run at No. 1 ever in the UK Singles Chart, and become the biggest selling single of the year. When Danish singer Whigfield replaced it in September with "Saturday Night", she became the first ever act to enter the UK singles chart at No. 1 with their debut single. Manchester rockers Oasis found their success on their debut album, Definitely Maybe, which shot to number No. 1 on its first week out in September. December saw the debut of Boyzone to the charts, with a No. 2 cover of Johnny Bristol's "Love Me for a Reason" (also a 1974 No. 1 for The Osmonds). They would go on to have another fifteen singles, six reaching No. 1 and the rest reaching the top five, as well as four No. 1 albums. Aside from Wet Wet Wet and Whigfield, the only other million selling single this year came from Céline Dion, with "Think Twice" (though it wouldn't reach number 1 until 1995). In all, 15 singles topped the chart this year, the second lowest number for any year in the decade. 1994 also saw a first for Prince, who scored his only British chart-topper with "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World". This was the year when Karl Jenkins launched his crossover project, Adiemus, with the album, Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. Popularised through its use in TV commercials, the title track became known to classical and popular music fans alike. It also made the name of vocalist Miriam Stockley.Classic FM: Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man (‘Mass for Peace’). Accessed 7 June 2014 Another British composer, Stephen Warbeck, won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play, awarded for achievements in Broadway theatre; the award was made for his music for a production of An Inspector Calls. A record was broken in 1994 for the longest song to become a UK top 10 hit when Bon Jovi released the single "Dry County" in March, when it peaked at #9. The song was 9 minutes and 52 seconds long. Events 11 February – Living Toys, a piece for chamber ensemble by Thomas Adès, is performed for the first time in the Barbican Centre. 17 February – Members of then unknown band Oasis are deported from Amsterdam for starting a drunken brawl with football fans on a ferry. All but Noel Gallagher (who wasn't present in the incident) are arrested and deported, and the incident would be referenced in an interview between Liam and Noel that was later released on the "Wibbling Rivalry" single. 12 March – ...but all shall be well for orchestra by Thomas Adès is performed for the first time, in Ely Cathedral, Cambridge. 15 March – The first performance of Chat Moss for orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies takes place in Liverpool, performed by the orchestra of St. Edward’s College, conducted by John Moseley. 11 April – Oasis release their debut single "Supersonic", it reaches No. 31 on the Official Singles Chart but would eventually sell over 215,000 copies and would later become their 13th best selling single of all time. 9 May – Wet Wet Wet release their cover of "Love Is All Around" as a single, it would chart at No. 4, before rising to No. 2 and then spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Official Charts. 6 July – Oasis are banned for life from Columbia Hotel, London, after trashing the bar and rooms there, as well as throwing furniture from their room which lands on the car of the hotel's manager. 8 July – Bernard Butler leaves Suede, during the recording of their 2nd album Dog Man Star due to tensions with Brett Anderson. Butler would be replaced by Richard Oakes. 9 August – A riot breaks out at an Oasis gig at Newcastle's Riverside after an audience member punches Noel Gallagher, resulting in him damaging a guitar that was given to him by Johnny Marr. Noel would require stitches as a result of the attack. 14 August – The Apocalypse by John Tavener for chorus and orchestra is performed for the first time at the Proms in London. 23 August – The KLF burn one million pounds sterling of their own royalties in a disused boathouse on the Ardfin Estate on the Scottish island of Jura. Bill Drummond was initially unrepentant about the decision, but in 2004 later admitted that he regretted burning the money. 29 August – Oasis release their debut album Definitely Maybe, it sells 100,000 copies within just 4 days of release and earned them the record for fastest selling debut album in British history. 6 September – Wet Wet Wet delete their "Love Is All Around" single, after 15 weeks at No. 1, admitting at the time that they were "sick of it" and that they wanted to concentrate on new material. The single drops to No. 2, and as a result, they fall short of tieing with Bryan Adams' record of 16 consecutive weeks at No. 1. 21 September – The ten-minute orchestral fantasy Britannia by James MacMillan, based on patriotic themes, is performed for the first time at the Barbican by the London Symphony Orchestra, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. 29 October – Pink Floyd finish what would be their final tour, at Earls Court, in support of their The Division Bell album. This would be the last time the 3 members would perform together until a one-off reunion with Roger Waters at Live 8 in 2005. 16 November – Arcadiana for string quartet by Thomas Adès is performed for the first time, in West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge. 24 November – The Spanish Lady, an opera by Edward Elgar, is performed for the first time, in West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge 61 years after it was composed. 2 December – Andrew Lloyd Webber is admitted to hospital for ulcer treatment. 21 December – Richey Edwards gives what would be his final live appearance with the Manic Street Preachers at the London Astoria. The concert ends with the band smashing their equipment. Charts Number-one singles Chart date(week ending) Song Artist(s) Sales 1 January "Mr. Blobby"Mr Blobby 124,000 8 January"Twist and Shout"Chaka Demus & Pliers featuring Jack Radics & Taxi Gang 70,000 15 January 66,000 22 January "Things Can Only Get Better"D:Ream 67,000 29 January 69,000 5 February 81,000 12 February 61,000 19 February"Without You"Mariah Carey 76,000 26 February 109,000 5 March 96,000 12 March 77,000 19 March"Doop"Doop 89,000 26 March 118,000 2 April 84,000 9 April"Everything Changes"Take That 129,000 16 April 105,000 23 April"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"Prince 60,000 30 April 52,000 7 May "The Real Thing" Tony Di Bart 47,000 14 May "Inside" Stiltskin 61,000 21 May"Come on You Reds"Manchester United Football Squad 77,000 28 May 84,000 4 June"Love Is All Around"Wet Wet Wet 87,000 11 June 104,000 18 June 115,000 25 June 113,000 2 July 100,000 9 July 100,000 16 July 98,000 23 July 85,000 30 July 85,000 6 August 88,000 13 August 83,000 20 August 89,000 27 August 82,000 3 September 77,000 10 September 65,000 17 September"Saturday Night"Whigfield 149,000 24 September 220,000 1 October 176,000 8 October 140,000 15 October"Sure"Take That 115,000 22 October 81,000 29 October"Baby Come Back"Pato Banton 71,500 5 November 113,000 12 November 94,000 19 November 77,000 26 November"Let Me Be Your Fantasy"Baby D 75,000 3 December 84,000 10 December"Stay Another Day"East 17 97,000 17 December 174,000 24 December 171,000 31 December 204,000 Number-one albums Chart date(week ending) Album Artist 1 January Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell Meat Loaf 8 January Everything Changes Take That 15 January So Far So Good Bryan Adams 22 January One Woman: The Ultimate Collection Diana Ross 29 JanuaryTease MeChaka Demus & Pliers 5 February 12 February Under the Pink Tori Amos 19 February The Cross of Changes Enigma 26 FebruaryMusic BoxMariah Carey 5 March 12 March 19 March 26 March Vauxhall and I Morrissey 2 April Music Box Mariah Carey 9 AprilThe Division BellPink Floyd 16 April 23 April 30 April 7 May Parklife Blur 14 MayOur Town – The Greatest HitsDeacon Blue 21 May 28 May I Say I Say I Say Erasure 4 JuneSealSeal 11 June 18 June Real Things 2 Unlimited 25 June Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? The Cranberries 2 JulyHappy NationAce of Base 9 July 16 July Music for the Jilted Generation The Prodigy 23 July Voodoo Lounge The Rolling Stones 30 JulyEnd of Part One: Their Greatest HitsWet Wet Wet 6 August 13 August 20 August 27 August Come Prince 3 September End of Part One: Their Greatest Hits Wet Wet Wet 10 September Definitely Maybe Oasis 17 September The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 José Carreras, Plácido Domingo & Luciano Pavarotti with Orchestra Conducted by Zubin Mehta 24 September From the Cradle Eric Clapton 1 October Songs Luther Vandross 8 OctoberMonsterR.E.M. 15 October 22 OctoberCross RoadBon Jovi 29 October 5 November 12 November MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana 19 NovemberCross RoadBon Jovi 26 November 3 December Carry on up the Charts The Beautiful South 10 December Live at the BBC The Beatles 17 DecemberCarry on up the ChartsThe Beautiful South 24 December 31 December Number-one compilation albums Chart date(week ending) Album 12 February Sweet Soul Harmonies 19 FebruaryDance Hits '94 Volume 1 26 February 5 March 12 MarchSoul Devotion 19 March 26 March 2 April 9 AprilNow 27 16 April 23 April 30 April 7 MayDance Zone Level One 14 May 21 May 28 May 4 June Energy Rush – Xtermin8 11 June Dance Hits '94 Volume 2 18 JunePure Moods 25 June 2 JulyNow Dance Summer 94 9 July 16 JulyDance Zone Level 2 23 July 30 JulyIt's the Ultimate Dance Album 6 August 13 AugustNow 28 20 August 27 August 3 September 10 September 17 SeptemberThe Best Rock Album in the World...Ever! 24 September 1 October 8 October Dance Zone Level 3 15 OctoberNow 1994 22 October 29 October 5 November 12 November The Best Rock Album in the World...Ever! 19 November The Love Album 26 NovemberNow 29 3 December 10 December 17 December 24 December 31 December Year-end charts Best-selling singles Top 100 Singles 1994 Music Week 9 14 January 1995 No. Number Title Artist Peakposition 1 "Love Is All Around" Wet Wet Wet 1 2 "Saturday Night" Whigfield 1 3 "Stay Another Day" East 17 1 4 "Baby Come Back" Pato Banton featuring Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40 1 5 "I Swear" All-4-One 2 6 "Without You" Mariah Carey 1 7 "Always" Bon Jovi 2 8 "Crazy for You" Let Loose 2 9 "Things Can Only Get Better" (D:Reamix) D:Ream 1 10 "Doop" Doop 1 11 "The Sign" Ace of Base 2 12 "Come On You Reds" The Manchester United Football Squad Manchester United F.C. 1 13 "The Rhythm of the Night" (Rapino Brothers Radio Version) Corona 2 14 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Mariah Carey 2 15 "I Like to Move It" Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman 5 16 "7 Seconds" Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry 3 17 "Swamp Thing" The Grid 3 18 "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" Baby D 1 19 "Love Me for a Reason" Boyzone 3Reached number 2 in 1995 20 "Everything Changes" Take That 1 21 "(Meet) The Flintstones" The BC-52's The B-52's 3 22 "Streets of Philadelphia" Bruce Springsteen 2 23 "Inside" Stiltskin 1 24 "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" Prince 1 25 "Searching" China Black 4 26 "Crocodile Shoes" Jimmy Nail 4 27 "Compliments on Your Kiss" Red Dragon with Brian and Tony Gold 2 28 "Return to Innocence" Enigma 3 29 "We Have All the Time in the World" Louis Armstrong 3 30 "Baby, I Love Your Way" Big Mountain 2 31 "Another Night" (MC Sar &) The Real McCoy 2 32 "The Real Thing" Tony Di Bart 1 33 "Breathe Again" Toni Braxton 2 34 "Think Twice" Celine Dion 5Reached number 1 in 1995 35 "Regulate" Warren G and Nate Dogg 5 36 "Sweetness" Michelle Gayle 4 37 "All for Love" Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting 2 38 "Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)" Cyndi Lauper 4 39 "Around the World" East 17 3 40 "Stay (I Missed You)" Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories 6 41 "Sweets for My Sweet" C.J. Lewis 3 42 "Sure" Take That 1 43 "I'll Make Love to You" Boyz II Men 5 44 "Endless Love" Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey 3 45 "Cotton Eye Joe" Rednex 5Reached number 1 in 1995 46 "Power Rangers" The Mighty Morph'n Power Rangers Ron Wasserman 3 47 "Shine" Aswad 5 48 "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" Crash Test Dummies 2 49 "No Good (Start the Dance)" The Prodigy 4 50 "Get-A-Way" Maxx 4 Best-selling albums Top 100 Albums 1994 Music Week 11 14 January 1995 No. Number Title Artist Peakposition 1 Cross Road: The Best of Bon Jovi Bon Jovi 1 2 Carry On up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South The Beautiful South 1 3 Music Box Mariah Carey 1 4 Always & Forever Eternal 3Reached number 2 in 1995 5 The Division Bell Pink Floyd 1 6 End of Part One: Their Greatest Hits Wet Wet Wet 1 7 Monster R.E.M. 1 8 Parklife Blur 1 9 Live at the BBC The Beatles 1 10 Steam East 17 3 11 The Three Tenors in Concert 1994 José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta 1 12 Crocodile Shoes Jimmy Nail 2 13 Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 Sting 2 14 The Cross of Changes Enigma 1 15 The Hit List Cliff Richard 3 16 12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some Cyndi Lauper 2 17 Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? The Cranberries 1 18 Our Town – The Greatest Hits Deacon Blue 1 19 Happy Nation Ace of Base 1 20 Elegant Slumming M People 4Reached number 2 in 1993 21 Definitely Maybe Oasis 1 22 Everything Changes Take That 1 23 One Woman: The Ultimate Collection Diana Ross 1 24 Bedtime Stories Madonna 2 25 Bizarre Fruit M People 4Reached number 3 in 1996 as the reissued Bizarre Fruit II 26 Crazy Julio Iglesias 6 27 Labour of Love Volumes I and II UB40 5 28 Music for the Jilted Generation The Prodigy 1 29 The Greatest Hits INXS 3 30 Debut Björk 3 31 MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana 1 32 The Essential Collection Elvis Presley 6 33 The Best of Chris Rea Chris Rea 3 34 No Need to Argue The Cranberries 2 35 Brother Sister The Brand New Heavies 4 36 Songs Luther Vandross 1 37 Seal Seal 1 38 Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell Meat Loaf 4Reached number 1 in 1993 39 (the best of) New Order New Order 4 40 The Best of Sade Sade 6 41 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me Gloria Estefan 5 42 So Close Dina Carroll 2 43 D:Ream On Vol. 1 D:Ream 5 44 Big Ones Aerosmith 7 45 So Far So Good Bryan Adams 1 46 Psyche – The Album PJ & Duncan 14Reached number 5 in 1995 47 Tease Me Chaka Demus & Pliers 1 48 Under the Pink Tori Amos 1 49 Toni Braxton Toni Braxton 4 50 God Shuffled His Feet Crash Test Dummies 2 Best-selling compilation albums Top 50 Compilations of 1994 Music Week 10 14 January 1995 No. Number Title Peakposition 1 Now 29 1 2 Now 28 1 3 The Best Rock Album in the World... Ever! 1 4 The Love Album 1 5 Pure Moods 1 6 Now 27 1 7 Now That's What I Call Music! 1994 1 8 Dance Zone '94 2 9 The Very Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber 3 10 Four Weddings and a Funeral Original Soundtrack 5 Notes: 30em Classical music: new works Thomas Adès – Living Toys Peter Maxwell Davies – Symphony No. 5 Graham Fitkin – Length Jonathan Harvey – One Evening... Alun Hoddinott – The Silver Swimmer, Op. 152/1 – for soprano and ensemble Michael Nyman – MGV John Rutter – "I will sing with the spirit" Opera Harrison Birtwistle – The Second Mrs Kong Andy Vores – Freshwater Judith Weir – Blond Eckbert Film and incidental music Richard Rodney Bennett – Four Weddings and a Funeral. Howard Goodall – The Vicar of Dibley (setting of Psalm 23) Musical films Backbeat Brave Music awards Brit Awards The 1994 Brit Awards winners were: Best soundtrack: "The Bodyguard" Best British producer: Brian Eno Best selling album & Single: Meat Loaf British album: Stereo MC's – "Connected" British breakthrough act: Gabrielle British dance act: M People British female solo artist: Dina Carroll British group: Stereo MC's British male solo artist: Sting British single: Take That – "Pray" British video: Take That – "Pray" International breakthrough act: Björk International female: Björk International group: Crowded House International male: Lenny Kravitz Outstanding contribution: Van Morrison Mercury Music Prize The 1994 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to M People – Elegant Slumming. Births 1 February – Harry Styles, singer (One Direction) 1 April – Ella Eyre, English singer-songwriter 5 May – Celeste, American-born singer 2 August – Jacob Collier, jazz pianist and singer October – Grace-Evangeline Mason, composer 23 September – Andrew Johnston, boy soprano 24 November – Reece Mastin, English-Australian singer-songwriter Deaths 6 February – Norman Del Mar, conductor, horn player, and music writer, 74 1 March – Tim Souster, songwriter and composer of electronic music, 51 23 March – Donald Swann, pianist, composer and comedy entertainer, 70 7 April – Lee Brilleaux, vocalist with Dr. Feelgood, 41 (lymphoma) David Roberts 1998 Guinness Rockopedia 1st Guinness Publishing Ltd. London 128 0-85112-072-5 registration https://archive.org/details/guinnessrockoped0000unse/page/128 23 May – Ronald Hanmer, conductor, composer and arranger, 77 14 June – Lionel Grigson, jazz pianist, cornettist, trumpeter, composer and teacher, 52Independent obituary. Accessed 7 June 2014 26 June – Thomas Armstrong, organist, conductor, composer, educationalist and adjudicator, 96 29 July – William Mathias, composer, 57 31 July – Anne Shelton, British singer, 70 15 August – Syd Dale, composer, 70 2 September – Roy Castle, musician and all-round entertainer, 62 (lung cancer) 6 September – Nicky Hopkins, pianist and organist, 50 (complications from intestinal surgery) 7 September – Eric Crozier, librettist, 79 20 September – Jule Styne, English-born American songwriter, 88 22 September – Leonard Feather, jazz pianist, composer, producer and music journalist, 80 11 November – Elizabeth Maconchy, composer, 87 See also 1994 in British radio 1994 in British television 1994 in the United Kingdom List of British films of 1994 References External links BBC Radio 1's Chart Show The Official United Kingdom Charts Company everyhit – Music database British music Music Category:British music by year Category:20th century in music