| Artist | No of Hits | New Hits | |
| 1 | Cliff Richard | 111 | |
| 2 | Elvis Presley | 102 | |
| 3 | Elton John | 55 | Candle in the Wind 97/Something About the Way You Look Tonight |
| 4 | David Bowie | 53 | Little Wonder, Dead Man Walking |
| 5 | Status Quo | 49 | |
| 6 | Queen | 46 | |
| 7 | Michael Jackson | 45 | Blood on the Dancefloor, History/Ghosts |
| 8 | Rod Stewart | 43 | Do Ya Think I'm Sexy |
| = | Madonna | 43 | Another Suitcase In Another Hall |
| = | Paul McCartney | 43 | Young Boy, The World Tonight, Beautiful Night |
| 11 | Diana Ross | 41 | |
| 12 | Stevie Wonder | 39 | How Come How Long |
| 13 | Rolling Stones | 38 | Anybody Seen My Baby |
| = | Prince | 38 | The Holy River |
| 15 | UB40 | 34 | Tell Me It's True |
| 16 | Frank Sinatra | 33 | |
| 17 | Shakin Stevens | 32 | |
| = | Depeche Mode | 32 | Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Useless |
| 19 | Roy Orbison | 31 | |
| 20 | Lonnie Donegan | 30 | |
| = | Beatles | 30 | |
| = | Pet Shop Boys | 30 | A Red Letter Day, Somewhere |
In just the second year of their chart career the Spice Girls end the year on 6 number ones with none of their hits to date failing to reach the top:
| Artist | No of #1s | New #1s | |
| 1 | Elvis Presley | 17 | |
| = | Beatles | 17 | |
| 3 | Cliff Richard | 13 | |
| 4 | Abba | 9 | |
| 5 | Rolling Stones | 8 | |
| = | Take That | 8 | |
| 7 | Madonna | 7 | |
| = | George Michael | 7 | |
| = | Michael Jackson | 7 | Blood on the Dancefloor |
| 10 | Slade | 6 | |
| = | Rod Stewart | 6 | |
| = | Spice Girls | 6 | Mama/Who Do You Think You Are, Spice Up Your Life, Too Much |
For the first time since 1978 we have no hits from Cliff Richard meaning Prince now holds the record for the longest current streak:
| Artist | Hits Every Year Since | |
| 1 | Prince | 1983 |
| 2 | Whitney Houston | 1985 |
| 3 | Wet Wet Wet | 1987 |
| 4 | Madonna | 1989 |
| 5 | Elton John | 1990 |
| = | Rod Stewart | 1990 |
| = | Mariah Carey | 1990 |
| = | Michael Bolton | 1990 |
| 9 | Blur | 1991 |
| = | Paul Weller | 1991 |
| = | Prodigy | 1991 |
As previously mentioned the 90s saw a dramatic increase in the number of Top 40 hits in the charts each year and this peaked in 1997. To give you an idea, prior to the 90s the year with the most Top 40 hits was 1988 with 358, in 1997 there were 714.
We had the biggest selling UK single of all time this year, Elton John with "Candle In the Wind 97/Something About the Way You Look Tonight".
He was knocked off the top by "Spice Up Your Life" by the Spice Girls who once again were the success story of the year with three singles and three number ones. They were the only act to score more than one number one this year.
Knocking "Spice Up Your Life" off number one were Danish newcomers Aqua with "Barbie Girl". This in turn was knocked off by "Perfect Day" by a collective of different artists which appeared on the BBC all the time. Then came another novelty number one by the Teletubbies with "Teletubbies Say Eh Oh".
Boyzone failed to score any number ones with all three of there singles, "Isn't It A Wonder", "Picture of You" and "Baby Can I Hold You/Shooting Star", reaching number two.
The start of the year saw the end of East 17 as we knew them with Brian Harvey making his comments about ecstasy. Their final hit was "Hey Child" which made number three.
A boyband which did make number one this year were newcomers Hanson with their debut hit "Mmm Bop". They followed this up with the Top 5 singles "Where's the Love" and "I Will Come To You" but they wouldn't make the Top 10 again until a comeback in 2005.
There were two more boybands who were competing with Boyzone and Hanson. 911 had hits with "The Day We Find Love", "Bodyshakin", "The Journey" and "Party People...Friday Night" which all made the Top 5. The Backstreet Boys also had their four hits "Quit Playing Games", "Anywhere For You", "Everybody (Backstreets Back)" and "As Long As You Love Me", all reach the Top 5.
Fellow American boyband N Sync made their chart debut this year with "Tearin Up My Heart" but this only made number 40 and we wouldn't see them back in the charts until 1999.
Also from America came No Mercy who had their only hits this year with the number two "Where Do You Go", the number four sound-alike follow up "Please Don't Go" and their final hit "Kiss You All Over reaching number 16.
From Australia we have the only two hits for Universal with "Rock Me Good" and "Make It With You". We had another Irish boyband in the charts this year too with OTT making their debut with "Let Me In" and followed up with "Forever Girl" and "All Out of Love". They would be back for one final hit the following year.
We also had a couple of TV boybands in the charts this year, First up was GMTV boyband The One who had their only hit with "One More Chance". Then there was North & South from "No Sweat" who reached the Top 10 with their first hit "I'm A Man Not A Boy" and followed up by the less successful "Tarantino's New Star" and "Breathing". They would return for one final hit the following year.
It was the end of the road for Simon Cowell boyband Ultimate Kaos who's final hit was "Cassanova" which was now several years old and failed to chart the first time round. However Simon Cowell introduced a new boyband this year, 5ive, who made their debut in December with "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)" which reached number 10 and turned out to be their lowest charting single.
There were more girl groups making their chart debuts this year, most notably the All Saints with "I Know Where It's At". Their follow up "Never Ever" would chart later this year and make number one at the beginning of 1998.
Also debuting was N Tyce with "Hey DJ! (Play That Song)" followed up by "We Come To Party" which would be their highest charting hit that reached number 12. This was better than fellow girl group Vanilla who's debut hit "No Way No Way" was their highest charting single at number 14. Both groups would be back the following year.
Speaking of groups who's debut made number 14, we had the debut of Steps this year with "5,6,7,8" in November.
Eternal had their first and only number one nearly four years after debuting with "I Wanna Be the Only One" featuring Bebe Winans. The following single "Angel of Mine" would be their final single before Kelle Bryan would leave the group.
We also had the final UK single for En Vogue prior to Dawn Robinsons departure from the group with "Don't Let Go (Love)" and they had hits as a three-piece with "Whatever" and "Too Gone Too Long". Dawn Robinson herself had a hit later on in the year featuring on "Firm Biz" by The Firm.
Arguably the biggest R&B record of the year was "I Believe I Can Fly" by R Kelly which was a number one. It was the first of seven Top 40 hits from R Kelly's "R" album, but the only other one to chart this year was "Gotham City".
Toni Braxton had hits this year with "I Don't Want To" and "How Could An Angel Break My Heart" but she was not the only Braxton in the charts this year. Her sisters The Braxtons had three hits with "So Many Ways", "The Boss" and "Slow Flow" but they would not return to the charts beyond this year.
Other R&B debutants this year included Ginuwine with "Pony", Dru Hill with "Tell Me", Erykah Badu with "On And On", Shola Ama with "You Might Need Somebody", Changing Faces with "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T.", K-Ci & JoJo with "You Bring Me Up" plus there was the only UK Top 40 hit for Tony Toni Tone with "Let's Get Down".
The biggest Rap/R&B crossover hit was "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 which spent 6 weeks at number one and was the second Top 40 hit for Puff Daddy who made his debut earlier this year alongside fellow debutant Mase with "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down".
The rapper "I'll Be Missing You" was written about, Notorious BIG, started his posthumous chart career having previous charted in 1995. First up was "Hypnotize", then "Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Been Around the World" which both featured Puff Daddy & Mase.
We also had posthumous hits for 2Pac, he had "To Live And Die In LA" and "Toss It Up" under the alias Makaveli and also "Wanted Dead Or Alive" alongside Snoop Dogg. Snoop himself also had hits with "Vapors" and "We Just Wanna Party With You" alongside JD.
There were some female rappers making their debuts this year. Lil Kim debuted with "Crush On You" and Missy Elliott made her debut with "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". The follow up for Missy Elliott "Sock It 2 Me" featured another female debutant, Da Brat.
It was the only year we had hits for KRS One. His debut was "Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight)" and followed up by a collaboration with Goldie on "Digital". Ghostface Killah made his debut this year with "All That I Got Is You" which was his only solo Top 40 hit although it featured uncredited vocals by Mary J Blige.
It was very much the year of collaborations in the Rap/R&B world this year and we saw the debut this year of a rapper who seems to rarely make a record on his own, Jay-Z. His debut was "Can't Knock The Hustle" featuring Mary J Blige. He had a further three hits this year which were all collaborations.
Having had a hugely successful debut year the previous year with music spanning both Rap and R&B genres, this year would mark the end of the Top 40 career of the Fugees. In March, less than a year after their debut they had their final hit with "Rumble In the Jungle".
Out of the Fugees though came the solo careers of members Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. Wyclef Jean had hits with "We Trying To Stay Alive" and "Guantanamera" whilst Lauryn Hill had a hit with "The Sweetest Thing".
We had two further Rap number ones which both came from rappers who had been around for a number of years. LL Cool J was first with the record "Ain't Nobody" and then Will Smith made number one with his solo debut record "Men In Black" having previous had hits as part of Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
There was a new Hip Hop DJ making his debut this year, DJ Shadow with the record "High Noon". If he was British though he'd more likely be classified as Trip Hop which some people do.
It was the year Trip Hop acts Massive Attack scored their highest charting hit with "Teardrop" and Portishead scored their highest charting hit with "All Mine".
Tricky also had hits this year with "Makes Me Wanna Die" and "Tricky Kid". The Lightning Seeds charted with a Trip Hop record "You Showed Me" and we had the only Top 40 hits from Lamb with "Gorecki" and Smoke City with "Underwater Love" this year.
The year saw Olive score a number one on their debut with "You're Not Alone". This was followed up with "Outlaw" which would prove to be their last Top 40 hit. White Town also made number one with their first and only Top 40 hit with "Your Woman".
Acid Jazz kept its presence in the charts courtesy of a couple of hits each for Jamiroquai and the Brand New Heavies whilst US3 had their final hit with "Come On Everybody (Get Down)".
It was another strong year for Big Beat with the Chemical Brothers scoring a number one with "Block Rockin Beats". We also saw the chart debut of Fatboy Slim with "Everybody Needs A 303". Norman Cook would also have a hit this year under the alias Mighty Dub Katz with "Magic Carpet Ride". Also making their debut and having their only three Top 40 hits this year were the Propellerheads with "Spybreak!", "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "History Repeating" which also gave Shirley Bassey her first hit since 1973.
Other notable hits from the Big Beat genre this year included "Smack My Bitch Up" by the Prodigy, "Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out" by Bentley Rhythm Ace and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub" by Apollo 440. There was also a one off return from the KLF under the name 2K with "Fuck the Millennium".
The first Drum & Bass record of the year came from an unlikely artist, David Bowie, who had a hit with "Little Wonder". The big success from the Drum & Bass world this year though was Roni Size & Reprazent who had three hits with "Share The Fall", "Heroes" and "Brown Paper Bag". It was also the year that brought us "Circles" by Adam F.
Jean-Michel Jarre returned to the charts this year after a 20 year absence with a couple of Trance records, "Oxygene 8" and "Oxygene 10". Other notable Trance records of the year included "Flaming June" by BT, "Pacific Melody" by Airscape and "Sundance" by Sundance.
We also had Trance/Eurodance crossover music most notably from DJ Quicksilver who debuted with "Belissima" and Sash who debuted with "Encore Une Fois". The debut from Sash was in French and his follow up "Ecuador" was and Spanish and his third hit "Stay" was in English but Sash himself is German.
Daft Punk made their debut this year with "Da Funk / Musique" and followed up with the better known "Around The World" and had a third hit with "Burnin". Also making their debut were Basement Jaxx with "Fly Life" but it would be another two years until their next hit.
The new dance music genre this year though was Speed Garage. The first number one of the year was a Speed Garage remix of "Professional Widow" by Tori Amos which had been a minor hit for her the previous year and was remixed by Armand Van Helden.
Around the same time there was a similar remix of "People Hold On" by Lisa Stansfield vs The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Other big Speed Garage hits of the year included "Ripgroove" by Double 99 and "Gunman" by 187 Lockdown. There was also the debut at the end of the year of future Radio 1 DJs the Dreem Teem who had a hit with "The Theme".
Many of the existing Brit Pop bands continued to have hits this year. Blur had their second and final number one with "Beetlebum" but only managed number two with the perhaps better known "Song 2".
There was also the long awaited new single for Oasis with "D'You Know What I Mean". They were hugely popular at this time and the shops would open at midnight for people to buy their single. It got to number one knocking off "I'll Be Missing You" but the next week "I'll Be Missing You" returned to the top.
The Verve had their only number one with "The Drugs Don't Work" after having to settle for number two with the perhaps better known "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
Former Take That members Mark Owen and Robbie Williams also jumped on the Brit Pop bandwagon this year. Mark Owen had a hit with "I Am What I Am" which only reached number 29 which proved to be the end of his pre Big Brother career.
Robbie Williams hit number two with the rather Oasis sounding "Old Before I Die". He also had a Top 10 with "Lazy Days" but didn't fare so well "South of the Border" which reached 14. In December though came "Angels" which was credited with saving his solo career.
Gary Barlow meanwhile had a number one with his second hit "Love Won't Wait" which came 10 months after his first. His next hit "So Help Me Girl" missed out on the Top 10 reaching 11, but he followed it up with the Top 10 hit "Open Road". This wasn't the end of his solo career yet though.
Hard Rock had been somewhat struggling for some time now in the charts and this year even more so. Aerosmith and Thunder had hits that were too soft to be considered Hard Rock whilst the Wildhearts had a couple of hits that were more metal sounding. Keeping the sound alive though was Metallica with "The Memory Remains".
We also had the chart debut of Led Zeppelin with "Whole Lotta Love". This was obviously not a new song, but during their heyday they never released any singles in the UK.
There was no Heavy Metal as such in the charts this year, but we did have Industrial Metal via the debut of Marilyn Manson with "The Beautiful People" which he followed up with "Tourniquet". We also had Nu Metal with debut of Korn with "A.D.I.D.A.S." which they followed up with "Good God".
Punk band Symposium had their only three hits this year with "Farewell To Twilight", "The Answer to Why I Hate You" and "Fairweather Friend" whilst Offspring had a hit with "All I Want" and Green Day had a hit with "Hitchin' A Ride".
All the Grunge bands this year were chart debutants. There was Bush with "Swallowed" and "Greedy Fly", Silverchair with "Freak" and Radish with "Little Pink Stars".
I would say 1997 is the year we start to see the rise of the DJ and fall of the guitar. As someone who was just listening to Dance music at the time it may be a biased view, but looking at how much Dance music in the charts there was and how little Rock/Metal music there was despite the quantity of Top 40 hits overall it looks about right. The red herring to this is the fact Brit Pop was still very much present and was largely guitar based, but for some reason it feel like this was the beginning of the end for Brit Pop.
So the burning question is will the rise of the DJ and fall of the guitar become more evident in 1998?
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