UK Number One Albums in the 90s

The United Kingdom Albums Chart (currently called the Official Albums Chart) was published for the first time on July 22, 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays (previously Sundays). It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (top 5) and published in Music Week magazine (top 75), and on the OCC website (top 100).

To qualify for the Official Albums Chart the album must be the correct length and price. It must be more than three tracks or 20 minutes long and not be classed as a budget album. A budget album costs between £0.50 and £3.75. Additionally, various artist compilations – which until January 1989 were included in the main album listing – are now listed separately in a compilations chart. Full details of the rules can be found on the OCC website.

According to the canon of the OCC, the official British albums chart was the Melody Maker chart from November 8, 1958 to March 1960 (although the Record Mirror published charts from July 22, 1956); the Record Retailer chart from 1960 to 1969; and the Official Albums Chart from 1969 on. In the 1970s the new album chart was revealed at 12:45 pm on Thursdays on BBC Radio 1, and then moved to 6:05 pm (later 6:30 pm) on Wednesday evenings during the Peter Powell and Bruno Brookes shows. In October 1987 it moved to Monday lunchtimes, during the Gary Davies show, and from April to October 1993 it briefly had its own show from 7:00–8:00 pm on Sunday evenings, introduced by Lynn Parsons. Since October 1993 it has been included in The Official Chart show from 4:00 – 5:45 pm on Fridays (previously from 4:00 – 7:00 pm on Sundays). A weekly 'Album Chart' show was licensed out to BBC Radio 2 and presented by Simon Mayo, until it ended on April 2, 2007.

Though album sales tend to produce more revenue and, over time, act as a greater measure of an artist's success, this chart receives less media attention than the UK Singles Chart, because overall sales of an album are more important than its peak position.

The first number one album of the UK Albums Chart was Songs for Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra on July 22, 1956.

## UK Number One Albums in the 90s

### Buddy Holly & the Crickets

***The Crickets*** were an American rock and roll band, formed by singer-songwriter ***Buddy Holly*** in the 1950s. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957, was a number-one hit single on both sides of the Atlantic. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums lineup and the talent to write most of their own material. Holly would release material under his own name during the 1950s and much was released in the 1960s, after his death in 1959. After 1959 the band continued to tour and record with other band members into the 21st century.

#### February 20, 1993: *Words of Love*

***Words of Love*** is a compilation album by Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

* **Released** February 8, 1993
* One week, Gold
* **Listen** to *Words of Love*

### Celine Dion

***Céline Dion*** (born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian singer and businesswoman. Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. Dion first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest where she represented Switzerland. Following a series of French albums during the 1980s, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States.

During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after releasing several English albums. Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical.

#### January 28, 1995: *The Colour of My Love*

* Released February 21, 1994
* Six weeks plus one further week on April 1, 1995
* 5x Platinum

#### March 23, 1996: *Falling Into You*

* Released March 1, 1996
* One week, 7x Platinum

#### November 29, 1997: *Let's Talk About Love*

***Let's Talk About Love*** is the fifth English-language studio album by Celine Dion, the follow-up to her commercially successful album Falling into You (1996). Throughout the project, she collaborated with Barbra Streisand, the Bee Gees, Luciano Pavarotti, Carole King, George Martin, Diana King, Brownstone, and Corey Hart. Let's Talk About Love includes Dion's biggest hit, "My Heart Will Go On", which served as the love theme for James Cameron's blockbuster film Titanic.

* Released November 17, 1997
* Two weeks plus three further weeks:
	+ December 20, 1997 (two weeks); and
	+ March 28, 1998 (one week)
* 6x Platinum
* Listen to *Let's Talk About Love* on Spotify.

### Original Soundtracks

#### February 14, 1998: Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture

***Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture*** is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed, orchestrated and conducted by James Horner.

* Released November 18, 1997
* One week plus two weeks from February 28, 1998
* 3x Platinum
* Listen to *Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture* on Spotify

### Spice Girls

The ***Spice Girls*** were an English pop girl group formed in 1994, originally consisted of Melanie Brown ("Scary Spice"), Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham, née Adams ("Posh Spice").

Measures of their success include international record sales, a 2007/08 reunion tour, unprecedented merchandising, record-breaking achievements, iconic symbolism representing "girl power", and a film, Spice World. The group became one of the most successful marketing engines ever, earning up to $75 million per year, with their global grosses estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.

#### November 16, 1996: *Spice*

***Spice*** is the debut studio album by the Spice Girls, an inclusion of styles such as dance, R&B and hip hop. It is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back, opening the doors for a wave of teen pop artists. Conceptually, the album centred on the idea of Girl Power, and during that time was compared to Beatlemania.

* Released September 19, 1996
* One week, plus a further 14 weeks:
	+ December 12, 1996 (eight weeks)
	+ March 8, 1997 (one week)
	+ March 22, 1997 (four weeks); and
	+ May 17, 1997 (one week)
* 10x Platinum
* Listen to *Spice* on Deezer.

#### November 15, 1997: *Spiceworld*

***Spiceworld*** is the second studio album by the Spice Girls, incorporating dance-pop music and production. The album became a commercial success worldwide, lengthening the so-called "Spicemania" of the time. The album reached number one in 13 countries, while peaking inside the top three in Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland and the United States. Spiceworld has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

* Released November 3, 1997
* Two weeks, plus one further week on December 13, 1997
* 5x Platinum
* Listen to *Spiceworld* on Deezer.

### The Verve

***The Verve*** were an English rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member.

Beginning with a psychedelic sound with their debut LP A Storm in Heaven, by the mid-1990s the band had released several EPs and three albums. It also endured name and line-up changes, break-ups, health problems, drug abuse and various lawsuits. The band's commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album Urban Hymns, one of the best-selling albums in UK Chart history.

#### October 11, 1997: *Urban Hymns*

***Urban Hymns*** is the

third studio album by The Verve. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling release and one of the biggest selling albums of the year.

The album features the hit singles "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "Lucky Man" and "The Drugs Don't Work". The critical and commercial success of the album saw the band win two Brit Awards in 1998, including Best British Group, and appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in March 1999. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

* **Released** September 29, 1997, 11x Platinum
* Five weeks, plus a further seven weeks:
	+ January 3, 1998 (six weeks); and
	+ February 21, 1998 (one week)
* **Listen** to *Urban Hymns* on Spotify.

### Robbie Williams

#### April 18, 1998: *Life thru a Lens*

***Life thru a Lens*** is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. It is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.

* **Released** September 29, 1997, 8x Platinum
* Two weeks
* **Listen** to *Life thru A Lens*

#### November 7, 1998: *I've Been Expecting You*

***I've Been Expecting You*** is the second studio album by English recording artist Robbie Williams. The album spawned five singles, including lead single "Millennium", which became Williams' first UK number-one hit.

* **Released** October 26, 1998, 10x Platinum

* One week, plus two further weeks:
	+ January 16, 1999 (one week); and
	+ February 20, 1999 (one week)

* **Listen** to *I've Been Expecting You*