1994 in British music explained

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, . 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.^[1]

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)
1 January	"Mr. Blobby"	Mr Blobby
8 January	"Twist and Shout"	Chaka Demus & Pliers featuring Jack Radics & Taxi Gang
15 January
22 January	"Things Can Only Get Better"	D:Ream
29 January
5 February
12 February
19 February	"Without You"	Mariah Carey
26 February
5 March
12 March
19 March	"Doop"	Doop
26 March
2 April
9 April	"Everything Changes"	Take That
16 April
23 April	"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"	Prince
30 April
7 May	"The Real Thing"	Tony Di Bart
14 May	"Inside"	Stiltskin
21 May	"Come on You Reds"	Manchester United Football Squad
28 May
4 June	"Love Is All Around"	Wet Wet Wet
11 June
18 June
25 June
2 July
9 July
16 July
23 July
30 July
6 August
13 August
20 August
27 August
3 September
10 September
17 September	"Saturday Night"	Whigfield
24 September
1 October
8 October
15 October	"Sure"	Take That
22 October
29 October	"Baby Come Back"	Pato Banton
5 November
12 November
19 November
26 November	"Let Me Be Your Fantasy"	Baby D
3 December
10 December	"Stay Another Day"	East 17
17 December
24 December
31 December

Number-one albums

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist
1 January		Meat Loaf
8 January	Everything Changes	Take That
15 January	So Far So Good	Bryan Adams
22 January		Diana Ross
29 January	Tease Me	Chaka Demus & Pliers
5 February
12 February	Under the Pink	Tori Amos
19 February	The Cross of Changes	Enigma
26 February	Music Box	Mariah Carey
5 March
12 March
19 March
26 March	Vauxhall and I	Morrissey
2 April	Music Box	Mariah Carey
9 April	The Division Bell	Pink Floyd
16 April
23 April
30 April
7 May	Parklife	Blur
14 May	Our Town - The Greatest Hits	Deacon Blue
21 May
28 May	I Say I Say I Say	Erasure
4 June	Seal	Seal
11 June
18 June	Real Things	2 Unlimited
25 June	Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?	The Cranberries
2 July	Happy Nation	Ace of Base
9 July
16 July	Music for the Jilted Generation	The Prodigy
23 July	Voodoo Lounge	The Rolling Stones
30 July		Wet 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 October	Monster	R.E.M.
15 October
22 October	Cross Road	Bon Jovi
29 October
5 November
12 November	MTV Unplugged in New York	Nirvana
19 November	Cross Road	Bon Jovi
26 November
3 December	Carry on up the Charts	The Beautiful South
10 December	Live at the BBC	The Beatles
17 December	Carry on up the Charts	The Beautiful South
24 December
31 December

Number-one compilation albums

Chart date (week ending)	Album
12 February	Sweet Soul Harmonies
19 February	Dance Hits '94 Volume 1
26 February
5 March
12 March	Soul Devotion
19 March
26 March
2 April
9 April	Now 27
16 April
23 April
30 April
7 May	Dance Zone Level One
14 May
21 May
28 May
4 June	Energy Rush – Xtermin8
11 June	Dance Hits '94 Volume 2
18 June	Pure Moods
25 June
2 July	Now Dance Summer 94
9 July
16 July	Dance Zone Level 2
23 July
30 July	It's the Ultimate Dance Album
6 August
13 August	Now 28
20 August
27 August
3 September
10 September
17 September	The Best Rock Album in the World...Ever
24 September
1 October
8 October	Dance Zone Level 3
15 October	Now 1994
22 October
29 October
5 November
12 November	The Best Rock Album in the World...Ever
19 November	The Love Album
26 November	Now 29
3 December
10 December
17 December
24 December
31 December

Year-end charts

Best-selling singles

^[2]

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	"Love Is All Around"	Wet Wet Wet	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	"Saturday Night"	Whigfield	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	"Stay Another Day"	East 17	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	"Baby Come Back"	featuring Ali and Robin Campbell of UB40	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	"I Swear"	All-4-One	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	"Without You"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	"Always"	Bon Jovi	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	"Crazy for You"	Let Loose	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	"Things Can Only Get Better" (D:Reamix)	D:Ream	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	"Doop"	Doop	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	"The Sign"	Ace of Base	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	"Come On You Reds"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13	"The Rhythm of the Night" (Rapino Brothers Radio Version)	Corona	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	"All I Want for Christmas Is You"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	"I Like to Move It"	Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	"7 Seconds"	and Neneh Cherry	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	"Swamp Thing"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	"Let Me Be Your Fantasy"	Baby D	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	"Love Me for a Reason"	Boyzone	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	"Everything Changes"	Take That	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	"(Meet) The Flintstones"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	"Streets of Philadelphia"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23	"Inside"	Stiltskin	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"	Prince	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25	"Searching"	China Black	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	"Crocodile Shoes"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	"Compliments on Your Kiss"	Red Dragon with Brian and Tony Gold	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	"Return to Innocence"	Enigma	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	"We Have All the Time in the World"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	"Baby, I Love Your Way"	Big Mountain	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	"Another Night"	(MC Sar &) The Real McCoy	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	"The Real Thing"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	"Breathe Again"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	"Think Twice"		5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	"Regulate"	and Nate Dogg	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36	"Sweetness"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	"All for Love"	/Rod Stewart/Sting	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38	"Hey Now (Girls Just Want to Have Fun)"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	"Around the World"	East 17	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	"Stay (I Missed You)"	and Nine Stories	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	"Sweets for My Sweet"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	"Sure"	Take That	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	"I'll Make Love to You"	Boyz II Men	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	"Endless Love"	and Mariah Carey	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	"Cotton Eye Joe"	Rednex	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	"Power Rangers"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	"Shine"	Aswad	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"	Crash Test Dummies	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	"No Good (Start the Dance)"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	"Get-A-Way"	Maxx	4

Best-selling albums

^[3]

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	Cross Road: The Best of Bon Jovi	Bon Jovi	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	Carry On up the Charts: The Best of the Beautiful South		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	Music Box		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	Always & Forever	Eternal	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	The Division Bell	Pink Floyd	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6		Wet Wet Wet	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	Monster	R.E.M.	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	Parklife	Blur	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	Live at the BBC		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	Steam	East 17	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	The Three Tenors in Concert 1994	, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	Crocodile Shoes		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13		Sting	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	The Cross of Changes	Enigma	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	The Hit List		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	12 Deadly Cyns... and Then Some		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	Our Town – The Greatest Hits	Deacon Blue	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	Happy Nation	Ace of Base	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	Elegant Slumming	M People	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	Definitely Maybe	Oasis	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	Everything Changes	Take That	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23			1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	Bedtime Stories	Madonna	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25	Bizarre Fruit	M People	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	Crazy		6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	Labour of Love Volumes I and II	UB40	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	Music for the Jilted Generation		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	The Greatest Hits	INXS	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	Debut	Björk	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	MTV Unplugged in New York	Nirvana	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	The Essential Collection		6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	The Best of Chris Rea		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	No Need to Argue		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	Brother Sister		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36	Songs		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	Seal	Seal	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38		Meat Loaf	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	(the best of) New Order	New Order	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	The Best of Sade	Sade	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me		5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	So Close		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	D:Ream On Vol. 1	D:Ream	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	Big Ones	Aerosmith	7
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	So Far So Good		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	Psyche – The Album	PJ & Duncan	5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	Tease Me		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	Under the Pink		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	Toni Braxton		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	God Shuffled His Feet	Crash Test Dummies	2

Best-selling compilation albums

^[4]

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	Now 29	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	Now 28	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	The Best Rock Album in the World... Ever!	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	The Love Album	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	Pure Moods	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	Now 27	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	Now That's What I Call Music! 1994	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	Dance Zone '94	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	The Very Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	Four Weddings and a Funeral Original Soundtrack	5

Notes:

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)^[5]
• 23 May – Ronald Hanmer, conductor, composer and arranger, 77
• 14 June – Lionel Grigson, jazz pianist, cornettist, trumpeter, composer and teacher, 52^[6]
• 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

External links

• BBC Radio 1's Chart Show
• The Official United Kingdom Charts Company
• everyhit – Music database

Notes and References

1. http://www.classicfm.com/composers/jenkins/music/karl-jenkins-armed-man-mass-peace/ Classic FM: Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man (‘Mass for Peace’)
2. Top 100 Singles 1994 . . 9 . 14 January 1995.
3. Top 100 Albums 1994 . Music Week . 11 . 14 January 1995.
4. Top 50 Compilations of 1994 . Music Week . 10 . 14 January 1995.
5. Book: Roberts, David. 1998. Guinness Rockopedia. 1st. Guinness Publishing Ltd.. London. 128. 0-85112-072-5. registration.
6. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-lionel-grigson-1411511.html Independent obituary