January: The KLF release "What Time Is Love?" — the beginning of a run that would redefine British dance music.

March: Beats International, fronted by Norman Cook (later Fatboy Slim), hit #1 with "Dub Be Good to Me".

June: England's World Cup campaign is soundtracked by "World in Motion" — New Order's football anthem with a rap by John Barnes.

September: Happy Mondays release "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" — the album that defines the Madchester sound.

November: The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" re-enters the charts after featuring in Ghost. 25 years later, it finally hits #1.

Elton John — "Sacrifice/Healing Hands" — 5 weeks

Partners in Kryme — "Turtle Power" — 4 weeks

Sinead O'Connor — "Nothing Compares 2 U" — 4 weeks

Madonna — "Vogue" — 4 weeks

Vanilla Ice — "Ice Ice Baby" — 4 weeks

Pop music in 1990 didn't know what it wanted to be. The 80s were over — really over — and nobody had quite figured out what came next. The result was a year of glorious chaos in the charts.

The year opened predictably enough — Band Aid II's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was still at #1. But by mid-January, things got weird fast. New Kids on the Block kicked off with "Hangin' Tough" — the last gasp of bubblegum before the landscape shifted.

The Dance Revolution

1990 was the year dance music stopped being a subculture and became the mainstream. Adamski's "Killer" wasn't just a #1 — it was a statement. A squelching, hypnotic synth line, a driving beat, and a vocal from a then-unknown Seal that sounded like a man possessed. It didn't sound like pop music. It sounded like the future.

The Madchester Wave

Manchester owned 1990. The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets. Baggy jeans, bucket hats, and the sound of a generation finding its feet. Spike Island became the British Woodstock — 27,000 people on a disused industrial estate in Widnes.

The Ballad Renaissance

But it wasn't all dance beats. Elton John's "Sacrifice" became the surprise hit of the summer. Maria McKee's "Show Me Heaven" was pure power ballad perfection. And the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody", 25 years old, found new life through a pottery wheel.

10. Beats International — "Dub Be Good to Me"
Norman Cook's first major hit before he became Fatboy Slim. Built on a bassline from The Clash.

9. Madonna — "Vogue"
The black-and-white video cost £1.5m. The dance craze is still going.

8. Englandneworder — "World in Motion"
The only great England World Cup song. John Barnes' rap is genuinely good.

7. Righteous Brothers — "Unchained Melody"
Originally 1965. Re-released because of Ghost. A song so timeless it transcended decades.

6. Elton John — "Sacrifice"
A song about infidelity written from a friend's marriage. Elton's biggest hit in over a decade.

5. Sinead O'Connor — "Nothing Compares 2 U"
The single close-up. The tear. The shaved head. A performance so raw Prince admitted she made it better.

4. Adamski feat. Seal — "Killer"
Seal was paid £150. The song became a club classic still played today.

3. The KLF — "What Time Is Love?"
The song that launched a thousand raves. From underground acid house to pop charts in 12 months.

2. Vanilla Ice — "Ice Ice Baby"
The first hip-hop #1 in UK history. A dance craze. A lawsuit. A career that burned bright for one year.

1. Snap! — "The Power"
The definitive dance anthem of 1990. A pounding beat that defined the sound of a year in transition.

Partners in Kryme — "Turtle Power" (1990)
Four weeks at #1. The duo never troubled the charts again. Immortalised as the men who sang about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a month straight.

Beats International — "Dub Be Good to Me" (1990)
Norman Cook went on to become Fatboy Slim. Beats International had exactly one hit. This was it.

Londonbeat — "I've Been Thinking About You" (1990)
Hit #2 in the UK, #1 in the US. A few minor hits after, but nothing close.

Bombalurina — "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (1990)
A cover recorded by a children's TV presenter. It went to #1 for a week. One of the most inexplicable chart-toppers of all time.

In the UK: Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in November after 11 years. John Major took over. Nelson Mandela was released from prison in February. The Hubble Space Telescope launched. Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web.

In music: The Stone Roses played Spike Island (27,000 people). Madonna's Blond Ambition tour was banned from several cities. The rave scene faced a government crackdown. The second Summer of Love was over, but its influence was just beginning.

If 1990 had a geographical centre of gravity, it was Manchester. Not London, not New York — a post-industrial northern city where the rain never stopped and the music never stopped either.

Madchester wasn't just a genre — it was a complete cultural takeover. Baggy jeans, bucket hats, smiley faces, and a sound that mixed 60s psychedelia with 80s dance beats. Born in The Haçienda nightclub, funded by Factory Records and New Order.

Key Albums

The Stone Roses — "The Stone Roses" — flawless from start to finish. "I Wanna Be Adored" to "Fools Gold".

Happy Mondays — "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" — a perfect fusion of indie guitars and dance beats. "Step On" and "Kinky Afro".

The Charlatans — "Some Friendly" — debut album that went straight to #1. "The Only One I Know".

Inspiral Carpets — "Life" — grittier, rougher. "This Is How It Feels" resonated deeply in early-90s Britain.

Spike Island 1990

27,000 people on a disused industrial estate in Widnes. No toilets. No shelter. The band were late. The sound was patchy. The PA failed. And it was still the greatest gig of a generation. Tickets cost £12.50. Today an original stub sells for over £1,000 at auction.

1988 was the Second Summer of Love. 1989 was the hangover. 1990 was the consolidation. By 1990, rave wasn't just a scene — it was an industry. Records were pressed by the thousands, club nights expanded into arenas, and the government was paying attention.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill was being drafted to ban outdoor raves. The dance community responded with the biggest youth movement since punk. It didn't stop the legislation, but it proved the scene was here to stay.

Key tracks: The KLF's "3 a.m. Eternal", Orbital's "Chime" (a bedroom recording that became a festival staple), and The Shamen's "Move Any Mountain" (rave went pop).