What does ‘Love is All Around’ say about the music chart’s descent into irrelevancy?

If you’re over 35, David Barnett reckons you will know what was No 1 in the British singles charts from the spring of 1994 until the autumn. That’s right, Wet Wet Wet’s cover of ‘Love is All Around’ stayed at the top for 15 weeks

Monday 29 April 2019 11:37 BST
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The Wets’ Troggs cover dominated the chart for what seemed an eternity
The Wets’ Troggs cover dominated the chart for what seemed an eternity

Without cheating – asking Google or a nearby child – do you know what’s No 1 in the British singles charts right now? If you do, then well done. You obviously have your finger on the pulse of popular culture. For the other 92 per cent of people reading this… when did this happen? When did you get so out of touch?

If you’re over the age of 35, I bet you remember what was number one not just for most of the spring in 1994, but for the whole of summer and nudging into autumn as well… Wet Wet Wet’s cover version of “Love Is All Around”.

Twenty-five years ago we all knew what was at the top of the hit parade, and that’s because you couldn’t avoid it. Marti Pellow and co squatted at the No 1 spot in the UK charts for a mind-boggling 15 weeks, from the end of May to the beginning of September. That song might be still there now but for the fact that the United Nations staged a covert intervention and dispatched a Danish special agent called Whigfield to topple the Wets in a bloodless Europop coup with her debut single “Saturday Night”.

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