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, Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. 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

Number-one albums

Number-one compilation albums

Year-end charts

Best-selling singles

^[2]

Best-selling albums

^[3]

Best-selling compilation albums

^[4]

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