1994 had to be better than 1993 didn’t it? Well, I’m not promising better but it was certainly a year of change on many fronts. Politically, the groundwork for a huge, landscape altering transformation was laid. Arising out of tragic circumstances after Labour Party leader John Smith died suddenly in May, the country were introduced to Tony Blair who would become the new leader of the opposition in July. Three years later, he would glide into No 10 off the back of a landslide General Election win ending eighteen years of Tory rule. Also in May came another landscape altering event but this time in a very literal, physical sense when the Channel Tunnel officially opened.

Culturally, there was a seismic event on the 14th January when Channel 4 aired the episode of Brookside featuring that kiss. The intimate moment between characters Beth Jordache and Margaret Clemence was the first lesbian kiss ever shown on pre-watershed British television. Possibly generating less explosive headlines but undoubtedly causing a change to the fabric of UK society was the creation of the National Lottery whose first ever draw took place on Nov 19. How many people’s lives have been transformed (for better or worse) by a big lottery win in the subsequent twenty nine years?

In the world of sport, the nation had to endure a World Cup without England after the national team failed to qualify under the stewardship of the vilified Graham Taylor. On a personal level though, 1994 saw my beloved Chelsea reach their first FA Cup final since 1970 which I was very excited about. Sadly, it ended in tears at a rain-soaked Wembley as we lost 0-4 to Manchester United.

This is a music blog though so what was happening sonically this year. Well, as with everything else, the winds of change were blowing. A band from Manchester emerged who would dominate the charts and scene for the rest of the decade. Their debut single was released in April peaking at No 31. By the end of the year, they were the name on everyone’s lips and were unlucky not to bag themselves the Christmas No 1. Counteracting the Oasis effect (you knew who I was and talking about right?) came the year’s biggest selling single which was about as mainstream and safe as could be and brought back memories/nightmares of Bryan Adams from three years earlier when Wet Wet Wet went to No 1 for fifteen weeks with their cover of “Love Is All Around”.

Albums wise, the year’s two biggest sellers were both Best Ofs courtesy of two bands who couldn’t be more contrasting. Bon Jovi claimed the year’s best selling album title with their “Cross Road” collection but just behind them were The Beautiful South with their “Carry On Up The Charts” retrospective which would go five times platinum by the Summer of 1995 prompting the claim that one in seven British households owned a copy. 1994 saw the return of Pink Floyd whose “The Division Bell” went to No 1 and was the year’s fifth biggest seller. Elsewhere in the Top 10 there were huge albums by Mariah Carey and REM whilst the first official release by The Beatles since 1977 (“Live At The BBC”) proved irresistible for many a music fan. One of the biggest stories of the year though was the album lodged in at No 8. We all know about the sales and legacy of “Parklife” now but back in 1994, it certainly wouldn’t have been a given that Blur would pull this milestone album out of the bag.

As for TOTP, 1994 was a year of more huge change, just three years after the ‘year zero’ revamp. Despite an initial upturn in viewing figures, the new presenters bounce was short lived and just eight months later the numbers tuning in fell by a third where they would remain for the next year and a half. The experiment had failed and there was even talk of the show being put out to pasture on BBC2 before ultimately being cancelled. Radio 1 Breakfast Show producer Ric Blaxill was called in to replace Stanley Appel and by February, regular hosts Tony Dortie and Mark Franklin were gone, ushering in the return of Radio 1 DJs Simon Mayo, Mark Goodier, Nicky Campbell and (god help us!) Bruno Brookes. It wasn’t just a lazy attempt to recreate the golden days of the 80s though. Blaxill wanted to go further than that and, wishing to make TOTP must see TV again, created a ‘Golden Mic’ element to the show by having guest presenters in amongst the DJs. Pop stars, comedians and even completely out there names like Malcolm McLaren were lured into the spot and by the end of the year, twenty-two different celebrities had taken up the challenge of presenting the show. Some I am really looking forward to revisiting like Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn introducing Oasis. Blaxill didn’t always get it right though. I’m guessing we won’t be seeing the show where Gary Glitter presided.

In the September the TOTP2 brand was launched showing classic clips from the archives. It was initially anchored by Johnnie Walker before Steve Wright became synonymous with it in 1997. It ran on and off until 2017 and is still present in the BBC4 schedules for specials like Christmas and Halloween and the like.

As for me, 1994 was another year of upheaval. I started the year working in the Our Price store in Altrincham before being moved to the Market Street shop in Manchester where I’d started as a Christmas temp back in 1990. By the Summer I was shunted up the road to the Piccadilly branch where I spent most of my time in the staff kitchen with the security guard waiting for the police to turn up after he’d caught yet another shoplifter. I hated it there and after much protest, I was back at Market Street in time for Christmas. In the August though, a piece of legislation came into force that would change the world of retail forever, not just for those of us working in it but also the behaviour of shoppers themselves. Thanks a lot Sunday Trading Act 1994.

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0016dt6/top-of-the-pops-the-story-of-1994