2014 in British music charts

This is a summary of the year 2014 in British music charts.

See also: Timeline of musical events

The UK Singles Chart and UK Albums Chart are two of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) that calculates the best-selling singles/albums of the week in the United Kingdom.^[1] Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical singles/albums and digital downloads, with airplay figures excluded from the official chart. From 6 July (chart dated week ending 12 July covering the sales in the first week of July), audio streaming became incorporated into the singles chart which means that a song gets the equivalent of one 'chart sale' if it is streamed 100 times.^[2][3] The OCC continues to compile a sales (only) chart and a streaming (only) chart. A total of 38 singles (the most since 2000)^[4] and 32 albums have claimed the top spot in 2014.

Number one artists

In the singles chart, Pharrell Williams, Clean Bandit, Sam Smith, Route 94, DVBBS, Borgeous, 5 Seconds of Summer, Aloe Blacc, Sigma, Kiesza, Mr Probz, Secondcity, Ed Sheeran, Ella Henderson, Oliver Heldens, Ariana Grande, Rixton, Magic!, Nico & Vinz, Lilly Wood, Nicki Minaj, Meghan Trainor, Gareth Malone's All Star Choir, Band Aid 30, Mark Ronson and Ben Haenow have all claimed their first number 1 single as a lead artist. Williams (with "Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines"), Smith (with "La La La"), and Blacc (not credited; with "Wake Me Up") had all reached number one as featured artists prior to 2014.

In the albums chart, Robbie Williams and Bastille returned to the top of the charts, having reached number 1 in 2013 with Swings Both Ways and Bad Blood. You Me at Six, Bombay Bicycle Club, Katy B, Pharrell Williams, Elbow, Sam Bailey, Sam Smith, Collabro, Royal Blood, alt-J, George Ezra, Ella Henderson and Ben Howard have all claimed their first number 1 album.

"Rather Be" by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor have all spent the most weeks at number 1 in the singles chart with four and x by Ed Sheeran has spent the most weeks at number 1 in the albums chart with eleven.

Notable events and records

"Happy" by Pharrell Williams became the first song released in the 2010s to be certified triple platinum based on sales of more than 1.55 million and 25 million streams by July.^[5] With "Happy", Williams is the only act apart from The Beatles to achieve three million-selling singles in a 12-month period.^[6] "Happy" also became only the third single in chart history, and the first for over 50 years, to return to number 1 more than once.

Cheryl broke the record for the most number one singles for a British female solo artist on 2 November with the release of "I Don't Care". The single sold over 82,000 copies in its first week and gave Cheryl her fifth UK number one. The record was previously jointly held by Rita Ora and Geri Halliwell.

"All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor became the first single ever to reach the top 40 on streams alone.^[7]

"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran broke a record for the longest climb to number 1 within the top 40, having taken 19 weeks to reach the summit.^[8] On its return to number 1 on 13 December, it became the first song ever to peak at number 1 due to streaming, having sold less than the number 2.

The top 10 best-selling albums of the year were all by British artists.^[9]

Number ones

Number-one singles

The 'sales' figures since the chart week ending 12 July include a proportion for audio streams and cannot be compared to previous weeks. See separate 'Singles sales chart' below.

Key

†	Best-selling single of the year

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist(s)	Sales / chart sales	References[a]
4 January	"Happy" †	Pharrell Williams	106,904	[10]
11 January	"Timber"	Pitbull featuring Kesha	138,891	[11]
18 January	"Happy" †	Pharrell Williams	107,427	[12]
25 January			117,643	[13]
1 February	"Rather Be"	Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne	162,801	[14]
8 February			136,952	[15]
15 February			102,542	[16]
22 February			79,050	[17]
1 March	"Money on My Mind"	Sam Smith	108,013	[18]
8 March	"Happy" †	Pharrell Williams	83,982	[19]
15 March	"My Love"	Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne	120,770	[20]
22 March	"Tsunami (Jump)"	DVBBS & Borgeous featuring Tinie Tempah	80,476	[21]
29 March	"I Got U"	Duke Dumont featuring Jax Jones	112,082	[22]
5 April	"She Looks So Perfect"	5 Seconds of Summer	94,270	[23]
12 April	"The Man"	Aloe Blacc	88,369	[24]
19 April	"Nobody to Love"	Sigma	121,176	[25]
26 April	"Hideaway"	Kiesza	136,286	[26]
3 May	"Waves"	Mr Probz	126,702	[27]
10 May	"Summer"	Calvin Harris	100,168	[28]
17 May	"Waves"	Mr Probz	75,537	[29]
24 May	"I Will Never Let You Down"	Rita Ora	105,095	[30]
31 May	"Stay with Me"	Sam Smith	108,898	[31]
7 June	"I Wanna Feel"	Secondcity	82,050	[32]
14 June	"Sing"	Ed Sheeran	123,864	[33]
21 June	"Ghost"	Ella Henderson	132,360	[34]
28 June			83,022	[35]
5 July	"Gecko (Overdrive)"	Oliver Heldens & Becky Hill	76,517	[36]
12 July	"Problem"	Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea	112,903	[37]
19 July	"It's My Birthday"	will.i.am & Cody Wise	74,034	[38]
26 July	"Me and My Broken Heart"	Rixton	63,478	[39]
2 August	"Crazy Stupid Love"	Cheryl featuring Tinie Tempah	118,145	[40]
9 August	"Rude"	Magic!	85,169	[41]
16 August	"Am I Wrong"	Nico & Vinz	106,370	[42]
23 August			62,750	[43]
30 August	"Lovers on the Sun"	David Guetta featuring Sam Martin	71,165	[44]
6 September	"Prayer in C"	Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz	85,169	[45]
13 September			68,958	[46][47]
20 September	"Blame"	Calvin Harris featuring John Newman	70,312	[48][49]
27 September	"Changing"	Sigma featuring Paloma Faith	104,191	[50]
4 October	"Bang Bang"	Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj	99,837	[51]
11 October	"All About That Bass"	Meghan Trainor	143,750	[52][53]
18 October			100,942	[54][55]
25 October			108,857	[56][57]
1 November			82,163	[58][59]
8 November	"Thinking Out Loud"	Ed Sheeran	89,475	[60][61]
15 November	"I Don't Care"	Cheryl	82,346	[62][63]
22 November	"Wake Me Up"	Gareth Malone's All Star Choir	120,312	[64][65]
29 November	"Do They Know It's Christmas?"	Band Aid 30	312,928	[66][67]
6 December	"These Days"	Take That	63,998	[68][69]
13 December	"Thinking Out Loud"	Ed Sheeran	58,503	[70][71]
20 December	"Uptown Funk"	Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars	118,117	[72][73]
27 December	"Something I Need"	Ben Haenow	214,239	[74][75]

1. 1st ref: chart position; 2nd: chart sales (sales + streams/100)

Number-one albums

Key

†	Best-selling album of the year

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist	Sales	References[a]
4 January	Swings Both Ways	Robbie Williams	90,938	[76]
11 January	Halcyon	Ellie Goulding	37,507	[77]
18 January			26,456	[78]
25 January	High Hopes	Bruce Springsteen	48,620	[79]
1 February	Halcyon	Ellie Goulding	20,928	[80]
8 February	Cavalier Youth	You Me at Six	32,426	[81]
15 February	So Long, See You Tomorrow	Bombay Bicycle Club	19,646	[82]
22 February	Little Red	Katy B	22,892	[83]
1 March	Bad Blood	Bastille	18,334	[84]
8 March			16,548	[85]
15 March	Girl	Pharrell Williams	69,213	[86]
22 March	The Take Off and Landing of Everything	Elbow	46,211	[87]
29 March	Symphonica	George Michael	49,989	[88]
5 April	The Power Of Love	Sam Bailey	72,644	[89]
12 April	Education, Education, Education & War	Kaiser Chiefs	23,767	[90]
19 April			16,086	[91]
26 April	Caustic Love	Paolo Nutini	109,011	[92]
3 May			52,651	[93]
10 May			36,859	[94]
17 May	Sheezus	Lily Allen	35,414	[95]
24 May	Xscape	Michael Jackson	47,764	[96]
31 May	Ghost Stories	Coldplay	168,048	[97]
7 June	In the Lonely Hour	Sam Smith	101,752	[98]
14 June			48,538	[99]
21 June	48:13	Kasabian	70,339	[100]
28 June	Ultraviolence	Lana Del Rey	48,028	[101]
5 July	x †	Ed Sheeran	182,427	[102]
12 July			93,270	[103]
19 July			52,152	[104]
26 July			39,375	[105]
2 August			33,283	[106]
9 August			31,229	[107]
16 August			29,741	[108]
23 August			27,208	[109]
30 August	Stars	Collabro	48,749	[110]
6 September	Royal Blood	Royal Blood	65,812	[111]
13 September	In the Lonely Hour	Sam Smith	30,081	[112][47]
20 September			30,398	[113][49]
27 September	No Sound Without Silence	The Script	42,546	[114]
4 October	This Is All Yours	alt-J	30,947	[115]
11 October	Wanted on Voyage	George Ezra	30,061	[116][53]
18 October			25,948	[117]
25 October	Chapter One	Ella Henderson	43,824	[118][57]
1 November	I Forget Where We Were	Ben Howard	44,993	[119][59]
8 November	1989	Taylor Swift	90,336	[120][121]
15 November	x †	Ed Sheeran	45,431	[122][123]
22 November	The Endless River	Pink Floyd	139,351	[124][125]
29 November	Four	One Direction	141,780	[126][127]
6 December	Never Been Better	Olly Murs	92,597	[128][129]
13 December	III	Take That	144,538	[130][131]
20 December	x †	Ed Sheeran	152,262	[132][133]
27 December			214,451	[134][135]

1. 1st ref: chart position; 2nd: sales

Number-one compilation albums

Key

†	Best-selling compilation of the year

Chart date (week ending)	Album	References
4 January	Now 86	[136]
11 January		[137]
18 January		[138]
25 January	The Trevor Nelson Collection 2	[139]
1 February		[140]
8 February		[141]
15 February	Frozen	[142]
22 February	I'm Every Woman	[143]
1 March	Brit Awards 2014	[144]
8 March	Eat Sleep Rave Repeat	[145]
15 March	Frozen	[146]
22 March	Now Running 2014	[147]
29 March	Now Feel Good	[148]
5 April	Your Songs 2014	[149]
12 April	Frozen	[150]
19 April	Now 87	[151]
26 April		[152]
3 May		[153]
10 May		[154]
17 May		[155]
24 May		[156]
31 May	Frozen	[157]
7 June		[158]
14 June		[159]
21 June	Eddie Stobart Trucking Songs - Trucking All Over The World	[160]
28 June	Frozen	[161]
5 July	Now Summer	[162]
12 July		[163]
19 July	The Nation's Favourite Motown Songs	[164]
26 July	Frozen	[165]
2 August	Now 88	[166]
9 August		[167]
16 August		[168]
23 August		[169]
30 August		[170]
6 September		[171]
13 September		[172]
20 September		[173]
27 September	Keep Calm and Chillout	[174]
4 October		[175]
11 October		[176]
18 October		[177]
25 October		[178]
1 November		[179]
8 November	BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2014	[180]
15 November		[181]
22 November		[182]
29 November		[183]
6 December	Now 89 †	[184]
13 December		[185]
20 December		[186]
27 December		[187]

Year end charts

Biggest singles

This chart published by the Official Charts Company on 31 December 2014 is based on sales and streams for the whole of 2014.^[188]

Position	Sales position	Title	Artist	Peak position	Sales	Streams	Combined sales[nb 1]
1	1	"Happy"	Pharrell Williams	1	1,500,000[189]	35,000,000[190]	1,850,000
2	2	"Rather Be"	Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne	1	1,130,000[189]	39,700,000[190]	1,527,000
3	3	"All of Me"	John Legend	2	851,000	34,900,000[190]	1,200,000[191]
4	4	"Waves"	Mr Probz	1	815,000[192]	32,100,000[190]	1,136,000
5	7	"Thinking Out Loud"	Ed Sheeran	1	735,000	27,500,000[190]	1,010,000[191]
6	5	"Ghost"	Ella Henderson	1	757,000[189]
7	8	"Stay with Me"	Sam Smith	1		29,100,000[190]
8	9	"All About That Bass"	Meghan Trainor	1	651,000[189]
9	6	"Timber"	Pitbull featuring Kesha	1	744,000[189]
10	13	"Budapest"	George Ezra	3
11	12	"Sing"	Ed Sheeran	1
12	16	"Rude"	Magic!	1
13	10	"Let It Go"	Idina Menzel	11	636,000[189]
14	11	"Shake It Off"	Taylor Swift	2		0[193]
15	17	"Hideaway"	Kiesza	1
16	14	"My Love"	Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne	1
17	15	"Nobody to Love"	Sigma	1
18	19	"Money on My Mind"	Sam Smith	1
19	22	"Summer"	Calvin Harris	1			600,000[194]
20	18	"Dark Horse"	Katy Perry featuring Juicy J	4
21	29	"Am I Wrong"	Nico & Vinz	1
22	26	"Prayer in C"	Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz	1
23	27	"Problem"	Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea	1
24	30	"I'm Not the Only One"	Sam Smith	3
25	25	"Bang Bang"	Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj	1
26	21	"I Got U"	Duke Dumont	1
27		"Don't"	Ed Sheeran	8
28	37	"Blame"	Calvin Harris featuring John Newman	1
29	20	"Do They Know It's Christmas?"	Band Aid 30	1
30	23	"Uptown Funk"	Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars	1		6,000,000[195]
31	33	"Fancy"	Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX	5
32		"Chandelier"	Sia	6
33	24	"Hey Brother"	Avicii	3[a]
34	34	"Changing"	Sigma featuring Paloma Faith	1
35	40	"Gecko (Overdrive)"	Oliver Heldens & Becky Hill	1
36	28	"I Will Never Let You Down"	Rita Ora	1
37	32	"Only Love Can Hurt Like This"	Paloma Faith	6
38		"Blame It on Me"	George Ezra	6
39	31	"Say Something"	A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera	4
40		"A Sky Full of Stars"	Coldplay	8
41	38	"Loyal"	Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Tyga	10
42		"Riptide"	Vance Joy	10
43		"Steal My Girl"	One Direction	3
44		"Counting Stars"	OneRepublic	10[b]
45	35	"How Long Will I Love You"	Ellie Goulding	5[c]
46		"Crazy Stupid Love"	Cheryl featuring Tinie Tempah	1
47		"Black Widow"	Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora	4
48		"Wiggle"	Jason Derulo featuring Snoop Dogg	8
49	36	"Feelin' Myself"	will.i.am featuring French Montana, Wiz Khalifa & Miley Cyrus	2
50		"She Looks So Perfect"	5 Seconds of Summer	1

Note: figures without a reference must always be deduced from the two others according to these operations: Sales + (Streams/100) = Chart sales / (Chart sales - Sales)*100 = Streams / Chart sales - (Streams/100) = Sales

Biggest-selling albums

^[196]

Position	Title	Artist	Peak position	Sales
1	x	Ed Sheeran	1	1,689,000
2	In the Lonely Hour	Sam Smith	1	1,248,000
3	Wanted on Voyage	George Ezra	1	678,000
4	Caustic Love	Paolo Nutini	1	545,000
5	Ghost Stories	Coldplay	1	544,000
6	A Perfect Contradiction	Paloma Faith	2
7	Four	One Direction	1
8	Never Been Better	Olly Murs	1
9	The Endless River	Pink Floyd	1
10	III	Take That	1
11	1989	Taylor Swift	1
12	Halcyon/Halcyon Days	Ellie Goulding	1
13	Blue Smoke	Dolly Parton	2
14	Partners	Barbra Streisand	2
15	GIRL	Pharrell Williams	1
16	Love in the Future	John Legend	2
17	If You Wait	London Grammar	3[d]
18	AM	Arctic Monkeys	2[e]
19	Chapter One	Ella Henderson	1
20	Bad Blood	Bastille	1
21	No Sound Without Silence	The Script	1
22	Royal Blood	Royal Blood	1
23	Meet the Vamps	The Vamps	2
24	Beyoncé	Beyoncé	2
25	Rock or Bust	AC/DC	3
26	Sonic Highways	Foo Fighters	2
27	48:13	Kasabian	1
28	Since I Saw You Last	Gary Barlow	2
29	5 Seconds of Summer	5 Seconds of Summer	2
30	Christmas	Michael Bublé	1
31	True	Avicii	2
32	The Take Off and Landing of Everything	Elbow	1
33	The 1975	The 1975	1
34	Love in Venice	André Rieu	4
35	Symphonica	George Michael	1
36	Stars	Collabro	1
37	It's the Girls!	Bette Midler	4
38	Night Visions	Imagine Dragons	9[f]
39	Midnight Memories	One Direction	3[g]
40	Melody Road	Neil Diamond	4
41	The Power of Love	Sam Bailey	1
42	Motion	Calvin Harris	2
43	Home	Rudimental	5[h]
44	Xscape	Michael Jackson	1
45	Tribute	John Newman	4[i]
46	Native	OneRepublic	9
47	Moon Landing	James Blunt	6[j]
48	Pure Heroine	Lorde	8[k]
49	Going Back Home	Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey	3
50	Queen Forever	Queen	5

Notes:

1. Reached number 2 in 2013
2. Reached number 1 in 2013
3. Reached number 3 in 2013
4. Reached number 2 in 2013
5. Reached number 1 in 2013
6. Reached number 2 in 2013
7. Reached number 1 in 2013
8. Reached number 1 in 2013
9. Reached number 1 in 2013
10. Reached number 2 in 2013
11. Reached number 4 in 2013

Biggest-selling compilation albums

^[197]

Position	Title	Peak position	Sales
1	Now 89	1	954,000
2	Frozen	1	937,000
3	Now 88	1	701,000
4	Now 87	1	645,000
5	Disney Sing Along - Frozen	2	405,000
6	BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2014	1
7	Now Christmas	2
8	Keep Calm and Chillout	1
9	Now Disney	4
10	Now 21st Century	2

Notes:

See also

• 2014 in British music
• List of 2014 albums
• List of UK top 10 singles in 2014

Footnotes

1. Sales plus (streams divided by 100)