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This is a summary of 1991 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Contents
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 90's and the best of 91 and 92. Although non-of its single reached no.1, title track stars did make the top ten.
February saw The Simpsons (specifically Bart) reach No. 1 with "Do the Bartman", 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 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. 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, was performed for the first time on 30 May at the Royal Opera House.
Events
Publications
Classical music
BRIT Awards
The 1991 BRIT Awards winners were: