This article gives details of the official charts from 2004. The year was special for many successful artists, including

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, Scissor Sisters,

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...

Jamelia ' Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. She has released three studio albums, each of which has reached the Top 40 in the UK, which collectively have spawned eight UK top-ten singl ...

, Franz Ferdinand,

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

and

The Streets The Streets are an English music project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner. The project has released six studio albums: ''Original Pirate Material'' (2002), ''A Grand Don't Come for Free'' (2004), ''The Hardest Way to M ...

Summary of UK chart activity

The year started with the 2003

Christmas number one single In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

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 Mark Thomas Rhodes (born 11 September 1981) is an English singer, actor and television presenter. Career Born in Wolverhampton, England, Rhodes finished in second place in the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom, runner-up to M ...

and Sam Nixon formed a duo, whose debut single was a cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

song, " With a Little Help from My Friends", which also reached the No.1 spot. On 9 March

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

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, went on to further success without McFadden. In April, Eamon achieved the number one spot with a song with more profanities than any other hit single; it stayed at number one for 4 weeks. In another first the

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Frankee Nicole Francine Aiello (born June 9, 1983), known by her stage name Frankee, is an American model and R&B singer mainly known for her 2004 single "F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back) "F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back)" is the debut single of Amer ...

replaced the original single at the top of the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks despite selling less than half as many copies as Eamon. Both artists released follow-up songs but neither performed well, relegating the pair to

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

status. A new version of " Alltogethernow" by The Farm was released to mark the Euro 2004

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart co ...

began at the start of September, the first number 1 being ''

Flying Without Wings "Flying Without Wings" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 18 October 1999 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album (1999). It is the band's fourth-best-selling single on both paid-for and combined sales in the ...

'' by

. 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 The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

had been popular for a number of years the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

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

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

s also helped to promote download services, and Apple's online

iTunes Music Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...

launched in the UK in June, selling over 450,000 songs in the first week. Downloads began to be introduced into the main singles chart in 2005, although not fully until the beginning of 2007. Albums by

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

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,

and

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

also enjoyed great success with their albums. Numerous acts released greatest hits albums with

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

' being most successful, selling over one million copies in eight weeks. Popular artists from the 1980s made successful returns with

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

and

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

releasing top ten singles. After appearing in the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

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 John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, the

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

DJ famous for championing new bands and musical styles. 20 years after the original, the Band Aid single ''

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

'' 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 A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...

'' peaked at number two for 4 weeks in January and February and "Trick Me" in June. Other acts were

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

with ''

Left Outside Alone "Left Outside Alone" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her third studio album, ''Anastacia''. Written primarily by Anastacia as well as Dallas Austin, and Glen Ballard detailing the singer's strained relationship with her estr ...

'' 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 Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

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 7 November, the top five consisted of all American performers/acts. * #1. Eminem – Just Lose It * #2. Destiny's Child – Lose My Breath * #3. Britney Spears – My Prerogative * #4. Christina Aguilera &

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

– Car Wash * #5. Usher &

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

– My Boo This broke a record in UK chart history. The No. 6 was also held by an American act, Ja Rule featuring. Ashanti &

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

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.

and

returned to the charts and had two number ones each (''

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

'' and '' Yeah!'' respectively) and another top five hits each. Girls Aloud also had big hits with songs including "

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

", " Love Machine" which both peaked at No. 2, and the 2004 Children in Need No. 1 single " I'll Stand by You". Former

S Club S Club 7 were a British pop group from London, created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and consisting of members Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett. The group ...

star Rachel Stevens continued on with her solo career in this year too, reaching the top 3 once again with Sport Relief track " Some Girls" and a cover of

Andrea True Connection Andrea Marie Truden (July 26, 1943 – November 7, 2011), better known by her pseudonym Andrea True, was an American pornographic actress and singer from the disco era. In addition to her given name, she had multiple stage names, including Inger ...

's "

More, More, More "More, More, More" is a song written by Gregg Diamond and recorded by American artist Andrea True (credited to her recording project Andrea True Connection). It was released in February 1976 as the first single from her debut album by same name ...

Charts

Number-one singles

Number-one downloads

Number-one albums

Number-one compilation albums

Year-end charts

Between 28 December 2003 and 1 January 2005.

Best-selling singles

Best-selling albums

Best-selling compilations

Notes:

Total album sales of 2004

Total sales for albums in 2004 amounted to 163,405,658.

References

Top 200 singles of 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 in British Music British record charts

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...