2004 in music (UK)
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Part of a series of articles on British music

BPI • OCC

Charts Singles chart (#1s; Records) Albums chart (#1s) Download chart (#1s)

Awards BRIT Awards • Mercury Prize NME Awards

Periods Pre-1950 • 1950s & 60s 1970s • 1980s 1990s - Present

Origins and influences Overview England • Scotland • Wales Ireland • Caribbean

Genres Classical • Britpop • Brithop Opera • Britrock • Jazz

Major music publications NME • Melody Maker Music Week • Record Collector Record Mirror • Record Retailer Smash Hits • Q • ChartsPlus Sounds • Kerrang! • fRoots

Other links Bands • Musicians Festivals • Venues

Timeline 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • (full list)

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This article gives details on 2004 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. The year was special for many successful artists, including Eminem, Scissor Sisters, Usher, Natasha Bedingfield, Jamelia and The Streets.

Summary

The year started with the 2003 Christmas number one single topping the first chart of the year. This was followed by Michelle McManus, the winner of the second British series of Pop Idol with her first single release it topped the charts for 3 weeks. Second and third place contestants Mark Rhodes and Sam Nixon formed a duo, whose debut single was a cover of the Beatles song, 'With a Little Help from My Friends', which also managed to reach the No.1 spot.

On March 9 Westlife became a four piece after Brian McFadden decided to leave the band. His final single with the band was Obvious which peaked at No.3 in February; the remaining members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne, and Kian Egan, have had further success without McFadden.

In April, Eamon achieved the number one spot with a song with more profanities than any other hit singleand it stayed at number one for 4 weeks. In another first the answer song by Frankee replaced the original single at the top of the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks but didn't manage to sell half as many copies as Eamon. Both artists released follow-up songs but neither performed well, relegating the pair to one hit wonder status.

A new version of Alltogethernow by The Farm was released to mark the Euro 2004 football tournament – it reached number five on 13 June with Come On England, a remake of Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners) by 4-4-2, reaching number two.

The UK Official Download Chart began at the start of September, the first number 1 being Flying Without Wings by Westlife. U2 released their single Vertigo on music download services weeks before it came out on CD. It stayed at number one for 8 non-consecutive weeks on the download chart. While illegal sharing of music over the Internet had been popular for a number of years the music industry started creating new, pay-per-download services, which were very well received. Charting companies soon took notice and various download charts appeared on radio and television. The use and increased popularity of iPods also helped to promote download services, and Apple's online iTunes Music Store launched in the UK in June, selling over 450,000 songs in the first week [1]. Downloads began to be introduced into the main singles chart in 2005, although not fully until the beginning of 2007.

Albums by Dido, Katie Melua and Norah Jones dominated the first three months of the year. In May and June, Keane twice returned to the top of the charts with their album Hopes and Fears. The Scissor Sisters, The Streets and Maroon 5 also enjoyed great success with their albums. Numerous acts released greatest hits albums with Robbie Williams' being most successful, selling over one million copies in eight weeks.

Popular artists from the 1980s made successful returns with Duran Duran, The Cure, Depeche Mode and Morrissey releasing top ten singles. After appearing in the reality television show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, Peter Andre re-released his 1996 hit single Mysterious Girl, this time getting to the top spot.

In September and October Eric Prydz "Call on me" stayed at number one for five non-consecutive weeks and staying in the chart for a further 14 weeks.

In October the music industry mourned the loss of John Peel, the Radio 1 DJ famous for championing new bands and musical styles.

20 years after the original, the Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas? was re-recorded and became a massive success, easily selling the most singles of the year, and holding the Christmas number 1 spot. The second week of release saw the song sell almost as many as the first, pushing it to half a million in less than 14 days. This was all additional to the number of legal downloads as the song topped that chart as well. The song had sold over a million copies in a month.

Artists who narrowly missed out on number ones were Kelis whose Milkshake peaked at number two for 4 weeks in January and February and "Trick Me" in June. Other acts were Anastacia with Left Outside Alone who peaked at number three but was the seventh best selling of the year staying on the chart for 18 weeks. Also the long awaited return of Destiny's Child came in November when they peaked at number two for 4 weeks with Lose My Breath the first single released of their album "Destiny Fulfilled".

On the issue date of November 7, the top five consisted of all American performers/acts.

• #1. Eminem - Just Lose It
• #2. Destinys Child - Lose My Breath
• #3. Britney Spears - My Prerogative
• #4. Christina Aguilera & Missy Elliott - Car Wash
• #5. Usher & Alicia Keys - My Boo

This broke a record in UK chart history. The #6 was also held by an American act, Ja Rule featuring. Ashanti & R Kelly with Wonderful.

The most successful acts of 2004 were McFly whose first two debut singles entered at number one and they had two other top five hits later in the year. Natasha Bedingfield topped the singles, album and download charts. Britney Spears and Usher returned to the charts and had two number ones each (Toxic and Yeah! respectively) and another top five hits each. Girls Aloud also had big hits with songs including "The Show", "Love Machine" which both peaked at #2, and the 2004 Children in Need #1 single "I'll Stand by You".

Charts

Singles

Albums

Downloads

Top 40 Singles of 2004

Top 40 Albums of 2004

Top 10 Downloads of 2004

Music awards

BRIT Awards

The 2004 BRIT Awards winners were:

• British album: The Darkness - "Permission to Land"
• British breakthrough act: Busted
• British dance act: Basement Jaxx
• British female solo artist: Dido
• British group: The Darkness
• British male solo artist: Daniel Bedingfield
• British rock act: The Darkness
• British single: Dido - "White Flag"
• British urban act: Lemar
• International album: Justin Timberlake - "Justified"
• International breakthrough act: 50 Cent
• International female solo artist: Beyoncé
• International group: The White Stripes
• International male solo artist: Justin Timberlake
• Outstanding contribution: Duran Duran
• Pop act: Busted

Mercury Music Prize

The 2004 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

Popjustice £20 Music Prize

The 2004 Popjustice £20 Music Prize was awarded to Rachel Stevens for her song Some Girls from the album Funky Dory.

The Record of the Year

The Record of the Year was awarded to "Thunderbirds" by Busted.

External Links