All the ways in which 2023 became the year that time forgot

A new song by The Beatles went to number one, the Rolling Stones topped the charts and Wham! were Christmas number one with a song recorded in 1984, writes Marc Burrows. But given the horror of the present, is it any wonder we’re turning to the nostalgic, halcyon past?

2023 was the year that time ceased to have meaning (Reuters)

We’ve just said goodbye to 2023: the year that time forgot.

A new song by The Beatles went to number one. The new Rolling Stones album topped the charts. Wham! were Christmas number one with a song recorded in 1984. Their main competition was from Sam Ryder’s cynical attempt to mash up every British festive hit of the last half-century in the hope that pop history can be made by algorithm.

In 2023, David Tennant was playing the lead in Doctor Who. In 2023, Taylor Swift’s 1989 was one of the biggest records of the year. In, 2023, the most popular movies of the year were about a 70-year-old doll and a 40-year old video game.