1993 in British music
This is a summary of 1993 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Summary
15 songs reached the number 1 spot this year. Compared to 1992, there was an improvement to singles sales, with sales rising year on year for the first time since 1989. However, none of the singles released this year were million sellers, the first instance of this happening since 1990. The only song to sell over a million in 1993 was one from the previous year, Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You". It managed to sell sufficiently well enough to make its way onto the top 10 of both 1992 and 1993.March saw The Bluebells reach number 1 with "Young at Heart", a song that had previously made number 8 in 1984. It was reissued after appearing in an advert for Volkswagen, and the band reformed to promote the song.
Take That got their first #1 in July, with "Pray". Debuting in 1991 with the #38 hit "Promises", they would go on to score another seven number 1s before splitting in 1996. "Pray" was followed by Freddie Mercury scoring a posthumous number 1 with a remixed version of "Living on My Own", the original version of which made number 50 in 1985, making it the first remix of a previously charted single to reach number 1.
The biggest selling single of the year came from Meat Loaf, who hit #1 for seven weeks from October with "I'd Do Anything for Love ". It came from the album , also the biggest selling of the year.
Finally, as usual, December saw the Christmas number one single. Meat Loaf's successor at number 1 was Mr. Blobby, a popular character on the BBC One show Noel's House Party, with "Mr. Blobby". In the final week before Christmas, he was knocked off by Take That's "Babe", making Mr. Blobby the first one-week #1 since U2's "The Fly" in November 1991, and making Take That the first act to have three singles in a row all enter at #1. However, the following week saw Mr. Blobby climb back up to the top, the first time this had happened since January 1969, and officially become this year's Christmas number 1. Take That's "Babe" became the only chart topper of the year to spend only a week at the summit.
In the classical world, the British composer Michael Nyman enjoyed great success with his soundtrack for the film The Piano, which brought him an Ivor Novello Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and American Film Institute award; the album sold over three million copies. Veteran Welsh composer Daniel Jones died. A less well-known composer, Peter Reynolds, won notoriety when his three-minute work Sands of Time was performed in Cardiff city centre; it is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's shortest opera.
Events
- 19 February - Elton John is forced to end a concert in Melbourne, Australia a half hour early when a swarm of grasshoppers invades the stage.
- 16 April – Paul McCartney headlines a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, USA to celebrate "Earth Day". Other performers included Ringo Starr, Steve Miller and Don Henley.
- 21 April – Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman marries designer Suzanne Accosta in France.
- 22 April - The Who's Tommy opens on Broadway.
- 5 June - premiere of Jonathan Harvey's Inquest of Love at the London Coliseum.
- 28 August - Bruce Dickinson plays his final show with Iron Maiden after announcing his departure from the band earlier in the year. He would rejoin the band in 1999.
- Rick Astley retires from the music industry at age 27 after selling 40 million records in a five-year period.
Charts
Number-one singles
Number-one albums
Year-end charts
Best-selling singles
| Title | Artist | Peak position | |
| 1 | "I'd Do Anything for Love " | Meat Loaf | 1 |
| 2 | " Falling in Love with You" | UB40 | 1 |
| 3 | "All That She Wants" | Ace of Base | 1 |
| 4 | "No Limit" | 2 Unlimited | 1 |
| 5 | "Dreams" | Gabrielle | 1 |
| 6 | "Mr Blobby" | Mr Blobby | 1 |
| 7 | "Oh Carolina" | Shaggy | 1 |
| 8 | "What Is Love" | Haddaway | 2 |
| 9 | "Mr. Vain" | Culture Beat | 1 |
| 10 | "I Will Always Love You" | 1 | |
| 11 | Five Live | and Queen with Lisa Stansfield | 1 |
| 12 | "Young at Heart" | 1 | |
| 13 | "Tease Me" | 3 | |
| 14 | "Babe" | Take That | 1 |
| 15 | "Please Forgive Me" | 2 | |
| 16 | "Boom! Shake the Room" | Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince | 1 |
| 17 | "Informer" | Snow | 2 |
| 18 | "Pray" | Take That | 1 |
| 19 | "Sweat " | Inner Circle | 3 |
| 20 | "Living on My Own" | 1 | |
| 21 | "What's Up?" | 4 Non Blondes | 2 |
| 22 | "The Key The Secret" | Urban Cookie Collective | 2 |
| 23 | "Don't Be a Stranger" | 3 | |
| 24 | "It Keeps Rainin' " | 2 | |
| 25 | "Two Princes" | Spin Doctors | 3 |
| 26 | "Little Bird"/"Love Song for a Vampire" | 3 | |
| 27 | "The River of Dreams" | 3 | |
| 28 | "Relight My Fire" | Take That featuring Lulu | 1 |
| 29 | "True Love" | and Kiki Dee | 2 |
| 30 | "The Love I Lost" | West End featuring Sybil | 3 |
| 31 | "Twist and Shout" | featuring Jack Radics and Taxi Gang | 3 |
| 32 | "Give It Up" | 5 | |
| 33 | "For Whom the Bell Tolls" | Bee Gees | 4 |
| 34 | "Right Here" | SWV | 3 |
| 35 | "Mr. Loverman" | 3 | |
| 36 | "Moving On Up" | M People | 2 |
| 37 | "U Got 2 Let the Music" | Cappella | 2 |
| 38 | "Exterminate!" | Snap! featuring Niki Haris | 2 |
| 39 | "Deep" | East 17 | 5 |
| 40 | "When I'm Good and Ready" | Sybil | 5 |
| 41 | "Ain't No Love " | Sub Sub featuring Melanie Williams | 3 |
| 42 | "One Night in Heaven" | M People | 6 |
| 43 | "That's the Way Love Goes" | 2 | |
| 44 | "It's Alright" | East 17 | 5 |
| 45 | "Tribal Dance" | 2 Unlimited | 4 |
| 46 | "Go West" | Pet Shop Boys | 2 |
| 47 | "Are You Gonna Go My Way" | 4 | |
| 48 | "She Don't Let Nobody" | 4 | |
| 49 | "Why Can't I Wake Up with You" | Take That | 2 |
| 50 | "Give In to Me" | 2 |
Best-selling albums
| Title | Artist | Peak position | |
| 1 | ' | Meat Loaf | 1 |
| 2 | Automatic for the People | R.E.M. | 1 |
| 3 | So Close | 2 | |
| 4 | Everything Changes | Take That | 1 |
| 5 | ' | 1 | |
| 6 | So Far So Good | 1 | |
| 7 | Promises and Lies | UB40 | 1 |
| 8 | Both Sides | 1 | |
| 9 | Zooropa | U2 | 1 |
| 10 | Music Box | 1 | |
| 11 | Pocket Full of Kryptonite | Spin Doctors | 2 |
| 12 | Ten Summoner's Tales | Sting | 2 |
| 13 | ' | Wet Wet Wet | 4 |
| 14 | Elegant Slumming | M People | 2 |
| 15 | Duets | 5 | |
| 16 | Unplugged | 2 | |
| 17 | Are You Gonna Go My Way | 1 | |
| 18 | The One Thing | 4 | |
| 19 | Take That & Party | Take That | 2 |
| 20 | ' | 3 | |
| 21 | Debut | Björk | 3 |
| 22 | Connected | Stereo MCs | 2 |
| 23 | Janet | 1 | |
| 24 | Keep the Faith | Bon Jovi | 5 |
| 25 | Emergency on Planet Earth | Jamiroquai | 1 |
| 26 | Diva | 1 | |
| 27 | Unplugged...and Seated | 2 | |
| 28 | What's Love Got to Do with It | 1 | |
| 29 | Very | Pet Shop Boys | 1 |
| 30 | 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... | Arrested Development | 3 |
| 31 | River of Dreams | 3 | |
| 32 | The Red Shoes | 2 | |
| 33 | No Limits | 2 Unlimited | 1 |
| 34 | Dangerous | 6 | |
| 35 | Duets | 5 | |
| 36 | ABBA | 9 | |
| 37 | Walthamstow | East 17 | 1 |
| 38 | Stars | Simply Red | 11 |
| 39 | The Hits 2 | Prince | 5 |
| 40 | "The Spaghetti Incident?" | Guns N' Roses | 2 |
| 41 | So Natural | 6 | |
| 42 | Ingénue | 3 | |
| 43 | Bat Out of Hell | Meat Loaf | 15 |
| 44 | A Touch of Music in the Night | 12 | |
| 45 | Suede | Suede | 1 |
| 46 | In Utero | Nirvana | 1 |
| 47 | Republic | New Order | 1 |
| 48 | Rage Against the Machine | Rage Against the Machine | 17 |
| 49 | The Album | 1 | |
| 50 | Duran Duran | Duran Duran | 4 |
Best-selling compilation albums
| Title | Peak position | |
| 1 | The Bodyguard Original Soundtrack | 1 |
| 2 | Now 26 | 1 |
| 3 | The Best Dance Album in the World... Ever! | 1 |
| 4 | Blues Brother Soul Sister Vol. 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Now 24 | 1 |
| 6 | 100% Dance | 1 |
| 7 | Now 25 | 1 |
| 8 | Originals | 1 |
| 9 | Best of Dance '93 | 1 |
| 10 | 100% Dance Vol. 2 | 1 |
Notes:
Music awards
BRIT Awards
The 1993 BRIT Awards winners were:- Best British producer: Peter Gabriel
- Best soundtrack: "Wayne's World"
- British album: Annie Lennox: "Diva"
- British breakthrough act: Tasmin Archer
- British female solo artist – Annie Lennox
- British group: Simply Red
- British male solo artist: Mick Hucknall
- British single: Take That - "Could It Be Magic"
- British video: Shakespear's Sister - "Stay"
- International breakthrough act: Nirvana
- International solo artist: Prince
- International group: R.E.M.
- Outstanding contribution: Rod Stewart
Mercury Music Prize
Classical Music
- Stephen Caudel - Edel Rhapsody
- Nicholas Maw - Violin Concerto
Opera
- Michael Nyman – Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs
Births
- 12 January – Zayn Malik
- 17 January – Frankie Cocozza, singer
- 13 February – Sophie Evans, Welsh singer and actress
- 5 July – Hollie Cavanagh, English-American singer
- 29 August – Liam Payne
- 13 September – Niall Horan
Deaths
- 23 April - Daniel Jones, composer, 80
- 22 May - Melville Cook, organist, conductor and composer, 80
- 19 June - Tony Brent, singer, 65
- 7 August – Roy Budd, jazz pianist and film composer, 46
- 11 October - Andy Stewart, singer, 59
- 9 November - Stanley Myers, film composer, 63
- 22 November – Anthony Burgess, composer and polymath best known as a novelist, 76
- 12 December – Joan Cross, operatic soprano, 93