1991 in British music explained

This is a summary of 1991 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Summary

Like 1990, this year saw 17 songs at number 1. The first number 1 of the year surprisingly came from heavy metal band Iron Maiden, scoring their first and only number one "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" which stayed at the top for 2 weeks. The next number one was a track right at the opposite end of the musical spectrum – Enigma, with the calm and hypnotic "Sadness Part 1". Known as "Sadeness Part 1" almost everywhere else with its strong references to Marquis De Sade, Enigma redefined the new age, chill out genre. Romanian-German producer Michael Cretu mixed repeated trance-like dance beats with gregorian chants and whispered, erotic vocals provided by his wife, Sandra, who was also a popular artist in her own right at the same time throughout most of Europe, but never managed to crack the UK market. Enigma's debut concept album MCMXC ad also went straight to the top of the UK Album Chart in January.

In the album charts Simply Red entered with Stars which would prove to be the second best-selling album of the 90s and the best of 1991 and 1992. Although none of its singles reached no.1, title track "Stars" did make the top ten.

February saw The Simpsons (specifically Bart) reach No. 1 with "Do the Bartman",^[1] from the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues which reached #6. The show had premiered on UK screens on the satellite channel Sky One in 1990, though it wouldn't premiere on terrestrial TV until 1996, on BBC One. The family became the first cartoon characters to hit No. 1 since The Archies did so in 1969, with "Sugar Sugar", and the follow-up ("Deep, Deep Trouble") also did well, peaking at No. 7 in April.

In March, The Clash received their first number 1 with "Should I Stay or Should I Go", after being used in a commercial for Levi's. A month later, Cher scored her first UK solo No. 1 with "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", taken from the film Mermaids.

Bryan Adams also reached No. 1 for the first time in July with "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", from the film . Breaking the record held since 1955, it stayed there for sixteen consecutive weeks, a record that remains to this day. It also became the biggest selling single of the year, selling over a million copies.

The Christmas number one single this year was Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", re-issued after the death of Freddie Mercury in November, coupled with "These Are the Days of Our Lives". As "Bohemian Rhapsody" had previously hit the top in 1975 (also becoming the Christmas number one) it became the first song ever, not counting re-entries, to hit number 1 twice.

The death of Joy Finzi, who had founded the Finzi Trust in 1969 to commemorate her husband Gerald, was one of the most notable events on the classical music scene. Harrison Birtwistle's opera, Gawain, with a libretto by David Harsent, received its premiere at the Royal Opera House in May. Symphony Hall, Birmingham, with a big emphasis on acoustic flexibility, opened in April, with the official opening by the Queen in June.

Events

• 14 January – Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine's single "Bloodsport for All" is released on the day the Gulf War officially starts, and is banned by the BBC due to its lyrics about racism and bullying in the army.
• 15 January – A new all-star rendition of the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance" is released, featuring Yoko Ono, Lenny Kravitz, Peter Gabriel, Alannah Myles, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt and many more, billed as "The Peace Choir". The single is rushed to market in response to the imminent Gulf War.
• 11 February – Massive Attack release their single "Unfinished Sympathy" but have to temporarily shorten their name to "Massive" to avoid a radio ban of the word "attack" during the Gulf War.
• 24 February – The Chamber Symphony for 15 players by Thomas Adès is performed for the first time, in West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, directed by the composer.
• 15 May – The 2,262-seat concert venue Symphony Hall, Birmingham, home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is opened for its first concerts, although the official opening by the Queen takes place on 12 June.
• 15 May – Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers carves the words "4 Real" into his arm with a razor blade during an interview with NME journalist Steve Lamacq, after Lamacq questions the band's authenticity. The incident results in Edwards requiring 18 stitches.
• 17 May – The first performance of Timon of Athens, a two act opera by Stephen Oliver, takes place at the London Coliseum by the English National Opera.
• 25 May - The Stone Roses are released from their contract with Silvertone Records by the High Court, winning up to £500,000 in damages from the label after the band's contract was dismissed by Judge Humphries as "unfair and unjustified". The band would then sign up to Geffen Records, though it would be another 3 years before new material would be released.
• 30 May – The opening night of Harrison Birtwistle’s opera Gawain takes place in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) with Elgar Howarth conducting.
• 25 June – The first performance of James MacMillan’s Tuireadh (Lament) for clarinet and string quartet, is given by James Campbell and the Allegri Quartet at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall (Orkney Islands).
• 28 June – Paul McCartney's classical composition, the Liverpool Oratorio, receives its premiere at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
• 7 July – The world premiere of John Casken’s Cello Concerto takes place at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, with soloist Heinrich Schiff and the Northern Sinfonia.
• 14 August – Oasis play their first ever gig at the Boardwalk Club in Manchester. Noel Gallagher, who was at the time roadie for Inspiral Carpets, went with them to watch his brother's band play.
• 19 September – Summer Music: Concertino No.5 op.74 for oboe, clarinet, and string quartet by Robin Holloway is performed for the first time, at the Purcell Room.
• 27 October – Fruitbat of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine rugby tackles presenter Phillip Schofield at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party after the group performs their single "After the Watershed".
• 9 November – The first performance of the Symphony No 3 by William Mathias takes place at St David's Hall, Cardiff, performed by the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, conductor Grant Llewellyn.
• November – The Rolling Stones sign a new contract with Virgin Records.^[2]
• 1 December – George Harrison plays Yokohama, Japan. The brief Japanese tour with Eric Clapton marks his first set of formal concert performances since 1974.
• 11 December – The Strathclyde Concerto No 5 for violin, viola and orchestra by Peter Maxwell Davies, is performed for the first time in Glasgow.

Publications

• Moura Lympany (with Margot Strickland) – Moura – Her Autobiography^[3]

Charts

Number-one singles

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist(s)
5 January	"Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"	Iron Maiden
12 January
19 January	"Sadness (Part I)"	Enigma
26 January	"Innuendo"	Queen
2 February	"3 a.m. Eternal"	The KLF
9 February
16 February	"Do the Bartman"	The Simpsons
23 February
2 March
9 March	"Should I Stay or Should I Go"	The Clash
16 March
23 March	"The Stonk"	Hale and Pace
30 March	"The One and Only"	Chesney Hawkes
6 April
13 April
20 April
27 April
4 May	"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)"	Cher
11 May
18 May
25 May
1 June
8 June	"I Wanna Sex You Up"	Color Me Badd
15 June
22 June
29 June	"Any Dream Will Do"	Jason Donovan
6 July
13 July	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	Bryan Adams
20 July
27 July
3 August
10 August
17 August
24 August
31 August
7 September
14 September
21 September
28 September
5 October
12 October
19 October
26 October
2 November	"The Fly"	U2
9 November	"Dizzy"	Vic Reeves and The Wonder Stuff
16 November
23 November	"Black or White"	Michael Jackson
30 November
7 December	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	George Michael and Elton John
14 December
21 December	"Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives"	Queen
28 December

Number-one albums

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist(s)
5 January	The Immaculate Collection	Madonna
12 January
19 January
26 January	MCMXC a.D.	Enigma
2 February	The Soul Cages	Sting
9 February	Doubt	Jesus Jones
16 February	Innuendo	Queen
23 February
2 March	Circle of One	Oleta Adams
9 March	Auberge	Chris Rea
16 March	Spartacus	The Farm
23 March	Out of Time	R.E.M.
30 March	Greatest Hits	Eurythmics
6 April
13 April
20 April
27 April
4 May
11 May
18 May
25 May
1 June	Seal	Seal
8 June
15 June
22 June	Greatest Hits	Eurythmics
29 June	Love Hurts	Cher
6 July
13 July
20 July
27 July
3 August
10 August	Essential Pavarotti II	Luciano Pavarotti
17 August
24 August	Metallica	Metallica
31 August	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	London Stage Cast
7 September
14 September	From Time to Time – The Singles Collection	Paul Young
21 September	On Every Street	Dire Straits
28 September	Use Your Illusion II	Guns N' Roses
5 October	Waking Up the Neighbours	Bryan Adams
12 October	Stars	Simply Red
19 October
26 October	Chorus	Erasure
2 November	Stars	Simply Red
9 November	Greatest Hits II	Queen
16 November	Shepherd Moons	Enya
23 November	We Can't Dance	Genesis
30 November	Dangerous	Michael Jackson
7 December	Greatest Hits II	Queen
14 December
21 December
28 December

Year-end charts

Best-selling singles

^[4]

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	"Bohemian Rhapsody"/"These Are the Days of Our Lives"	Queen	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)"	Cher	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	"I'm Too Sexy"	Right Said Fred	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	"Do the Bartman"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	"Any Dream Will Do"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	"The One and Only"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	"Dizzy"	& the Wonder Stuff	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	"Insanity"	Oceanic	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	"I Wanna Sex You Up"	Color Me Badd	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	"Get Ready for This"	2 Unlimited	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	"3 a.m. Eternal" (Live at the S.S.L.)	featuring the Children of the Revolution	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13	"Black or White"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	"Let's Talk About Sex"	Salt-N-Pepa	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"	and Elton John	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	"More Than Words"	Extreme	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	"When You Tell Me That You Love Me"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	"Sunshine on a Rainy Day" (remix)	Zoë	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	"Should I Stay or Should I Go" / "Rush"	/ Big Audio Dynamite II	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	"Sit Down"	James	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	"Wind of Change"	Scorpions	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	"The Stonk"	Hale and Pace and the Stonkers	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23	"(I Wanna Give You) Devotion"	Nomad featuring MC Mikee Freedom	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	"Now That We Found Love"	Heavy D & the Boyz	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25	"Baby Baby"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	"Charly"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	"Justified & Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)"	featuring Tammy Wynette	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	"World in Union"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	"Promise Me"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	"Last Train to Trancentral" (Live from the Lost Continent)		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	"You Got the Love" (Erens Bootleg Mix)	featuring Candi Staton	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	"Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	"Thinking About Your Love"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	"Rhythm of My Heart"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"	PM Dawn	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36	"Love to Hate You"	Erasure	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	"Sadness (Part I)"	Enigma	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38	"Crazy"	Seal	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	"Move Any Mountain"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)"	Rozalla	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	"Saltwater"		6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	"Sailing on the Seven Seas"	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	"Wiggle It"	2 in a Room	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"	Monty Python	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	"All 4 Love"	Color Me Badd	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	"Crazy for You" (remix)	Madonna	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	"Joyride"	Roxette	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	"Get Here"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	"Gett Off"	Prince and the New Power Generation	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	"You Could Be Mine"	Guns N' Roses	3

Best-selling albums

^[5]

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	Stars	Simply Red	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	Greatest Hits	Eurythmics	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	Greatest Hits II	Queen	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	Simply the Best		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	Dangerous		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	Out of Time	R.E.M.	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	Time, Love & Tenderness		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	The Immaculate Collection	Madonna	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	Love Hurts	Cher	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	From Time to Time – The Singles Collection		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	Seal	Seal	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	Waking Up the Neighbours		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13	We Can't Dance	Genesis	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	On Every Street	Dire Straits	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	The Very Best of Elton John		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	Beverley Craven		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	Michael Crawford Performs Andrew Lloyd Webber		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	Achtung Baby	U2	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	Auberge		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	Shepherd Moons	Enya	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	Joyride	Roxette	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	Voices		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23	Greatest Hits 1977–1990		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat	Original London Cast starring Jason Donovan	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25	Greatest Hits	Queen	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	Essential Pavarotti II		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	Diamonds and Pearls	Prince & the New Power Generation	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	Real Love		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	Chorus	Erasure	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	Innuendo	Queen	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	The Commitments (Original Soundtrack)	Various Artists	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	Into the Light		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	MCMXC a.D.	Enigma	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel	Simon & Garfunkel	8
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36		Pet Shop Boys	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	Wicked Game		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38	Use Your Illusion II	Guns N' Roses	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	Together with Cliff Richard		10
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	In Concert	/Placido Domingo/Luciano Pavarotti	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	Real Life	Simple Minds	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	Use Your Illusion I	Guns N' Roses	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	Vagabond Heart		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	Sugar Tax	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	The White Room		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em	MC Hammer	8
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	Fellow Hoodlums	Deacon Blue	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	Serious Hits... Live!		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	Timeless: The Very Best of Neil Sedaka		10
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	The Greatest Hits	Salt-n-Pepa	6

Classical music

• Roy Douglas – Festivities and A Nowell Sequence for strings
• Michael Tippett – String Quartet No. 5^[6]

Music awards

BRIT Awards

The 1991 BRIT Awards winners were:

• Best British producer: Chris Thomas
• Best classical recording: José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti – In Concert
• Best soundtrack: Twin Peaks
• British album: George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
• British breakthrough act: Betty Boo
• British female solo artist: Lisa Stansfield
• British group: The Cure
• British male solo artist: Elton John
• British single: Depeche Mode – "Enjoy the Silence"
• British video: The Beautiful South – "A Little Time"
• International breakthrough act: MC Hammer
• International female: Sinéad O'Connor
• International group: INXS
• International male: Michael Hutchence
• Outstanding contribution: Status Quo

Births

• 12 January – Pixie Lott, singer
• 17 February – Ed Sheeran, singer-songwriter
• 16 June – Joe McElderry, singer
• 17 June – Shura, singer, songwriter and producer
• 30 July – Diana Vickers, singer
• 11 November – Emma Blackery, singer
• 19 December – Declan Galbraith, singer
• 24 December – Louis Tomlinson, singer (One Direction)

Deaths

• 8 January – Steve Clark, guitarist (Def Leppard), 30 (alcohol poisoning)
• 21 February – Margot Fonteyn, ballerina, 71
• 9 March – Denise Tolkowsky, pianist and composer, 72
• 24 March – Maudie Edwards, actress and singer, 84
• 27 March – Alfredo Campoli, Italian-born violinist, 84
• 10 April – Martin Hannett (aka Martin Zero), record producer, 42 (heart failure)
• 20 April – Steve Marriott, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Small Faces and Humble Pie), 44 (killed in house fire)
• 11 June – John Vallier, pianist and composer, 70
• 14 June – Joy Finzi, founder of the Finzi Trust, 84
• 30 July – Max Jaffa, violinist and bandleader, 79
• 6 August – Max Rostal, Austrian-born violinist and viola player, 86
• 28 August – Vince Taylor, singer (Vince Taylor and the Playboys), 52
• 25 September – Sydney MacEwan, singer of traditional Scottish and Irish songs, 82
• 27 October – Sir Andrzej Panufnik, Polish-born composer and conductor, 77
• 8 November – Dave Rowbotham, musician, guitarist, (The Durutti Column, the Mothmen), 33 (murdered by unknown hand)
• 14 November – Bryden Thomson, conductor, 63
• 24 November – Freddie Mercury, singer and songwriter, 45 (pneumonia brought on by AIDS)
• 12 December – Ronnie Ross, jazz saxophonist, 58
• 31 December – Christopher Steel, composer, 53

See also

• 1991 in British radio
• 1991 in British television
• 1991 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1991

External links

• BBC Radio 1's Chart Show
• The Official Charts Company

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2007-12-18. The official UK charts company.
2. Web site: Rolling Stones sign with Virgin Records. 20 November 1991. United Press International. 3 January 2019.
3. Book: Moura Lympany. Her Autobiography. 1991. Peter Owen. 0-7206-0824-4. Moura Lympany.
4. 1991 Top 100 Singles . . Spotlight Publications . London, England . 20 . 11 January 1992.
5. 1991 Top 100 Albums . Music Week . Spotlight Publications . London, England . 21 . 11 January 1992.
6. Jones, Nicholas (2013). "Formal archetypes, revered masters and singing nightingales: Tippett's string quartets". In Gloag, Kenneth and Jones, Nicholas. The Cambridge Companion to Michael Tippett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 206–28.