1997 in British music
This is a summary of 1997 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Summary
released their highly anticipated third album, Be Here Now, on 21 August. It sold 695,761 copies in its first three days to become the fastest selling album in UK history until 2015, when the record was surpassed by Adele's third studio album 25. Radiohead's third album, OK Computer, was released in June and topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. Met with widespread critical acclaim, it was voted the greatest album of all time by Q Magazine readers barely months after its release.Compared to just five years earlier, singles sales were very high this year. From 22 June right through to the end of the year, every single #1 sold at least 100,000 copies a week. Like the previous year, 24 singles topped the chart, double as many as 1992.
The Spice Girls continued their success from 1996, once again getting three number ones. The first was the double A-side songs "Mama" and "Who Do You Think You Are"; the latter of which was the Comic Relief single for 1997. This ensured the group became the first act to have their first four singles all reach number 1. This was followed by "Spice Up Your Life" in October, and "Too Much" in December, which once again gave them the Christmas number one single. They had now become the first act to have their first six singles reach number 1, but this run would be broken in 1998, with "Stop" only reaching #2. Spice Girls also had great success on the album charts as Spice and Spiceworld were two of the top five best sellers of 1997.
The Backstreet Boys released their second international album Backstreet's Back. The album was a massive success reaching number two and selling over 800,000 copies in the U.K. The three singles released from the album were massive hits with "Everybody " reaching number 3 and "As Long as You Love Me" also reaching number three and staying in the charts for 19 weeks.
Six singles released this year went on to sell over a million. The first to do so was Puff Daddy & Faith Evans' "I'll Be Missing You", a tribute to the late rapper The Notorious B.I.G.. In November and December, three consecutive number ones all sold over a million, for only the third time in UK chart history. These were Aqua's "Barbie Girl", the Children in Need charity single "Perfect Day", and "Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!", the theme tune to the popular children's television series Teletubbies. In addition, All Saints' "Never Ever" was released in November and also sold over a million, though it wouldn't reach number one until January 1998.
In November, The Prodigy released "Smack My Bitch Up", which received huge international media attention, due to the fact that many people believed it to be misogynistic and / or that it promotes violence against women. Some stores refused to stock the single and / or album from which it came, and some radio stations refused to play it. A graphic video showing bad behaviour on the part of the protagonist in the music video lead to its showing on television being greatly restricted.
By far the biggest-selling single of the year, though, came from Elton John. In August, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash. At her funeral, John played a rewritten version of "Candle in the Wind" known as "Candle in the Wind 1997", a song originally written about Marilyn Monroe. When released this year, it quickly overtook 1984's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to become the biggest selling UK single ever, selling 4.86 million copies, and the biggest selling in the world, selling 37 million. It continues to hold the record to this day.
Andrew Glover's string quartet The Fickle Virgin of Seventeen Summers was one of several new classical works by British composers. Others included Geoffrey Burgon's City Adventures, a percussion concerto written for Scottish virtuoso Evelyn Glennie and premièred by her during the 1997 Proms season. One of the UK's most prolific classical composers, Wilfred Josephs, died on 17 November. In April, Nigel Kennedy, now calling himself simply Kennedy, returned to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall after a five-year absence from the concert stage resulting from neck surgery. Towards the end of the year, veteran composer Sir Michael Tippett developed pneumonia while visiting Sweden, which would lead to his death early in 1998.
Events
- 9 January – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, with the opening act Placebo. Proceeds from the concert went to the Save the Children fund.
- 12 February – David Bowie receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA.
- 18 February - Brian Harvey is sacked from East 17 after his controversial comments on a radio interview in which he appeared to be condoning the use of the drug ecstasy.
- 11 March – Paul McCartney receives his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
- 30 March – The Spice Girls launch Britain's new television channel, Channel 5.
- 10 April – Nigel Kennedy, now calling himself simply Kennedy, returns to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall after a five-year absence from the concert stage resulting from neck surgery.
- 3 May
- * 5ive's musical career begins after auditions are held in London, UK to find potential band members, with over 3,000 hopefuls showing up to audition.
- * The Spice Girls attend the Cannes Film Festival to announce their plans to hit the big screen with. A photo call on top of the Hotel Martinez entrance brings the area to a standstill.
- *At the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin's Point Theatre, the UK win with "Love Shine a Light", sung by Katrina and the Waves.
- 11 May – The Spice Girls perform their first British live gig for the Prince's Trust 21st anniversary concert at the Manchester Opera House They break royal protocol by kissing The Prince of Wales on the cheeks and even pinching his bottom.
- 15 May
- * The Spice Girls' album Spice reaches number one on the US charts, making them the first British act to top the charts with a debut album.
- * While his single "Return Of The Mack" climbs up the US Charts, Mark Morrison is sentenced to 3 months in prison, for threatening a police officer with a stun gun.
- September - Ten-year-old Nicola Benedetti begins her studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School for young musicians under Lord Menuhin and Natasha Boyarskaya.
- 6 September – Elton John performs "Candle in the Wind" at the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales; John Tavener's Song for Athene is performed at the same ceremony, with soprano Lynne Dawson as soloist.
- 13 September – Release of Elton John's Candle in the Wind remade as a charity tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. This will be the second best-selling single worldwide of all time "White Christmas" was the first).
- 6 October - Aphex Twin courts controversy with the video to his single "Come to Daddy'". The video is banned by tv networks for being "too frightening".
- 3 November – The Spice Girls release Spiceworld, their second number one album, making the group the first British band since The Beatles to have two albums in the US chart at the same time. Spice and Spiceworld have amassed enough sales for one out of every two people in Britain to own a Spice Girls album.
- 6 November – The Spice Girls make the decision to take over the running of the group and drop Simon Fuller as their manager.
- 17 November - The Prodigy release their controversial single "Smack My Bitch Up", which is censored by Radio 1 and the X-rated video is banned from daytime television, except for a brief, late night rotation on MTV before being removed from broadcast 2 weeks later.
- 20 November - Gary Glitter is arrested after indecent images were found on his computer that he took to a PC World in Bristol for repair. His appearance in the "" is removed from the film as a result.
- 29 November - The Verve and their manager refuse to allow The Chart Show to show the video for their song "Lucky Man" unless the show is redesigned for them.
- 4 and 5 December – Black Sabbath perform a pair of reunion shows in their hometown of Birmingham, England. They are the first full-length concerts by the original lineup of the band since 1978.
- 26 December – The Spice Girls release their big screen debut , starring Richard E. Grant, Roger Moore, Elton John and Stephen Fry. The movie makes £6.8m in its first week of release.
- 31 December – Composers Richard Rodney Bennett and Elton John are among those receiving knighthoods in the New Year's Honours List.
Charts
Number-one singles
Number-one albums
Number-one compilation albums
Year-end charts
Best-selling singles
Based on sales from 30 December 1996 to 28 December 1997.| Title | Artist | Peak position | Sales | |
| 1 | "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" | 1 | 4,770,000 | |
| 2 | "Barbie Girl" | Aqua | 1 | 1,500,000 |
| 3 | "I'll Be Missing You" | Puff Daddy & Faith Evans featuring 112 | 1 | |
| 4 | "Perfect Day" | Various Artists | 1 | 1,000,000+ |
| 5 | "Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!" | Teletubbies | 1 | |
| 6 | "Men in Black" | 1 | ||
| 7 | "Don't Speak" | No Doubt | 1 | |
| 8 | "Torn" | 2 | 813,000 | |
| 9 | "Tubthumping" | Chumbawamba | 2 | |
| 10 | "Spice Up Your Life" | Spice Girls | 1 | |
| 11 | "MMMBop" | Hanson | 1 | |
| 12 | "D'You Know What I Mean?" | Oasis | 1 | |
| 13 | "Never Ever" | All Saints | 3 | |
| 14 | "I Believe I Can Fly" | 1 | ||
| 15 | "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" | Spice Girls | 1 | |
| 16 | "I Wanna Be the Only One" | Eternal featuring BeBe Winans | 1 | 600,000+ |
| 17 | "Freed from Desire" | Gala | 2 | |
| 18 | "Where Do You Go" | No Mercy | 2 | |
| 19 | "Sunchyme" | 2 | ||
| 20 | "Free" | 4 | ||
| 21 | "Encore Une Fois" | Sash! | 2 | |
| 22 | "Too Much" | Spice Girls | 1 | |
| 23 | "Time to Say Goodbye " | & Andrea Bocelli | 2 | |
| 24 | "Bellissima" | DJ Quicksilver | 4 | |
| 25 | "As Long as You Love Me" | Backstreet Boys | 3 | |
| 26 | "Baby Can I Hold You"/"Shooting Star" | Boyzone | 2 | |
| 27 | "Ecuador" | Sash! featuring Rodriguez | 2 | |
| 28 | "Wind Beneath My Wings" | 3 | ||
| 29 | "Don't Let Go " | En Vogue | 5 | |
| 30 | "Stay" | Sash! featuring La Trec | 2 | |
| 31 | "Lovefool" | 2 | ||
| 32 | "The Drugs Don't Work" | 1 | ||
| 33 | "Tell Him" | & Celine Dion | 3 | |
| 34 | "Together Again" | 4 | ||
| 35 | "2 Become 1" | Spice Girls | 1 | |
| 36 | "You Might Need Somebody" | 4 | ||
| 37 | "You're Not Alone" | Olive | 1 | |
| 38 | "Everybody " | Backstreet Boys | 3 | |
| 39 | "Angels" | 5 | ||
| 40 | "C U When U Get There" | Coolio featuring 40 Thevz | 3 | |
| 41 | "Your Woman" | White Town | 1 | |
| 42 | "Never Gonna Let You Go" | 7 | ||
| 43 | "Bitter Sweet Symphony" | 2 | ||
| 44 | "Remember Me" | Blue Boy | 8 | |
| 45 | "Closer than Close" | 4 | ||
| 46 | "Stand by Me" | Oasis | 2 | |
| 47 | "Professional Widow " | 1 | ||
| 48 | "Picture of You" | Boyzone | 2 | |
| 49 | "Say What You Want" | Texas | 3 | |
| 50 | "I'll Be There for You" | 5 |
Notes:
Best-selling albums
Based on sales from 30 December 1996 to 28 December 1997.| Title | Artist | Peak position | Sales | |
| 1 | Be Here Now | Oasis | 1 | 1,500,000 |
| 2 | Urban Hymns | 1 | 1,315,000 | |
| 3 | Spice | Spice Girls | 1 | 1,000,000+ |
| 4 | White on Blonde | Texas | 1 | |
| 5 | Spiceworld | Spice Girls | 1 | 1,000,000+ |
| 6 | The Fat of the Land | 1 | ||
| 7 | Let's Talk About Love | 1 | ||
| 8 | OK Computer | Radiohead | 1 | |
| 9 | Greatest Hits | Eternal | 2 | 550,000 |
| 10 | ' | Wham! | 4 | |
| 11 | Ocean Drive | Lighthouse Family | 3 | |
| 12 | Backstreet's Back | Backstreet Boys | 2 | |
| 13 | Older | 7 | ||
| 14 | Postcards from Heaven | Lighthouse Family | 2 | |
| 15 | Sheryl Crow | 5 | ||
| 16 | Travelling Without Moving | Jamiroquai | 4 | |
| 17 | Fresco | M People | 2 | |
| 18 | ' | 4 | ||
| 19 | Paint the Sky with Stars | Enya | 4 | |
| 20 | All Saints | All Saints | 5 | |
| 21 | Blue Is the Colour | 3 | ||
| 22 | Like You Do... Best of the Lightning Seeds | 5 | ||
| 23 | Evita | Madonna/Various Artists | 1 | |
| 24 | Everything Must Go | Manic Street Preachers | 2 | |
| 25 | Pop | U2 | 1 | |
| 26 | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt | 3 | |
| 27 | Falling into You | 2 | ||
| 28 | Secrets | 10 | ||
| 29 | Blur | Blur | 1 | |
| 30 | Their Greatest Hits | Hot Chocolate | 10 | |
| 31 | Marchin' Already | Ocean Colour Scene | 1 | |
| 32 | Do It Yourself | 2 | ||
| 33 | Stoosh | Skunk Anansie | 9 | |
| 34 | Always on My Mind: Ultimate Love Songs | 3 | ||
| 35 | Morning Glory? | Oasis | 17 | |
| 36 | Glow | Reef | 1 | |
| 37 | The Big Picture | 3 | ||
| 38 | Tellin' Stories | 1 | ||
| 39 | K | Kula Shaker | 7 | |
| 40 | It's My Life – The Album | Sash! | 6 | |
| 41 | Left of the Middle | 5 | ||
| 42 | Before the Rain | Eternal | 3 | |
| 43 | Open Road | 1 | ||
| 44 | Come Find Yourself | Fun Lovin' Criminals | 7 | |
| 45 | The Very Best of Sting & The Police | Sting & the Police | 11 | |
| 46 | Jagged Little Pill | 11 | ||
| 47 | Mother Nature Calls | Cast | 3 | |
| 48 | Shelter | 5 | ||
| 49 | Dig Your Own Hole | 1 | ||
| 50 | The Very Best of the Bee Gees | Bee Gees | 11 |
Notes:
Best-selling compilation albums
Based on sales from 30 December 1996 to 28 December 1997.| Title | Peak position | Sales | |
| 1 | Now! 38 | 1 | 920,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 700,000 | |
| 3 | Now! 37 | 1 | 600,000 |
| 4 | Now! 36 | 1 | 600,000 |
| 5 | The Annual III | 1 | 400,000+ |
| 6 | The Full Monty Original Soundtrack | 3 | 350,000 |
| 7 | The Greatest Hits of 1997 | 2 | |
| 8 | The Best '60s Album in the World... Ever! III | 5 | |
| 9 | The Annual II | 1 | |
| 10 | Ibiza Uncovered | 1 |
Classical music
- Thomas Adès - Asyla
- Geoffrey Burgon – City Adventures
- Peter Maxwell Davies – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
- Alun Hoddinott – Spectrum 2: Lizard
- Graham Waterhouse - Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp
Opera
- Mark-Anthony Turnage – Twice Through the Heart
Births
- 23 January – Shaheen Jafargholi, actor and singer
- 18 February - Ramz, rapper and singer
- 16 February – Charlie Green, singer
- 7 April - Laura van der Heijden, cellist
- 2 May - Harris J, singer
- 7 October – Lauren Platt, singer and 2014 X Factor semi-finalist
- 24 October – Raye, R&B singer-songwriter
Deaths
- 22 January
- *Ivor Kirchin, bandleader, 92
- *Billy Mackenzie, singer-songwriter, 39
- *Wally Whyton, singer-songwriter and broadcaster, 67
- 10 February – Brian Connolly, vocalist, 51
- 18 February – Eric Fenby, music teacher, composer, and amanuensis of Frederick Delius, 90
- 7 March – Alfred Nieman, pianist and composer, 82
- 4 June – Ronnie Lane, member of The Small Faces, 51
- 10 August – Conlon Nancarrow, composer, 84
- 8 September – Derek Taylor, press agent for The Beatles, 65
- 10 October - George Malcolm, pianist, organist, conductor and composer, 80
- 6 November – Epic Soundtracks, singer-songwriter and drummer, 38
- 17 November – Wilfred Josephs, composer, 70
- 21 November – Robert Simpson, composer, 76
Music awards
BRIT Awards
The 1997 BRIT Awards winners were:- Best British producer: John Leckie
- Best soundtrack: "Trainspotting"
- British album: Manic Street Preachers – "Everything Must Go"
- British breakthrough act: Kula Shaker
- British dance act: The Prodigy
- British female solo artist: Gabrielle
- British Group: Manic Street Preachers
- British male solo artist: George Michael
- British single: Spice Girls – "Wannabe"
- British Video: Spice Girls – "Say You'll Be There"
- International breakthrough act: Robert Miles
- International female: Sheryl Crow
- International group: The Fugees
- International male: Beck
- Outstanding contribution: Bee Gees
Mercury Music Prize