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Posted by: King Rollo 14th October 2019, 05:50 PM

Just looking at the list of UK no.1 singles,I've noticed that it's three years since a group had a number 1,Little Mix with 'Shout Out To My Ex'. I'm not counting groups like Clean Bandit and Rudimental who hire a different singer for each single they release or choirs put together to do a charity single. I'm only referring to permanent groups with their own lead singer or groups who share the vocals between them. When you can think of the number of groups from the past with multiple number 1s,it's suddenly very difficult for a group to top the chart once. I suppose the chart figures being dominated by streaming is mostly to blame here. So what do you think? Will a group ever have a no.1 single again and who might it be?

Here is a list of groups to reach no.1 in this decade:

2010
Scouting For Girls
Roll Deep
JLS
The Wanted
The Black Eyed Peas

2011
The Wanted
Nero
One Direction
Little Mix

2012
Coldplay
Cover Drive
Florence + the Machine
Sam and the Womp
Little Mix
One Direction

2013
One Direction
PJ & Duncan
One Republic

2014
5 Seconds Of Summer
Rixton
Magic!
Nico & Vinz
Take That

2015
Years & Years
Little Mix
One Direction

2016
Lukas Graham
Little Mix

2017
None

2018
None

2019
None

Posted by: Bréxit 14th October 2019, 06:19 PM

Interesting observation but not sure what the logic is behind saying this is 'because of streaming', it's 100% just a coincidence. I suppose the streaming audience is less receptive to specifically indie/rock groups but there are very few acts that could even vaguely be considered that on your list anyway so that's something that predates the streaming era. I don't think there's any reason that streaming would lower the chance of pop groups reaching #1, and it'll obviously increase the chance of rap groups getting there (just so happens none of them have yet, but there have been big hits by the likes of NSG and Young T & Bugsey so an act like that could easily get a #1 at some point in the near future).

Also seems a little arbitrary to count Nero but not any of the other dance groups - even if your logic is that one of their members is a singer, The Chainsmokers at least should then count as well! Groups are still groups whether or not they have a singer though.

Posted by: ElectroBoy 14th October 2019, 06:26 PM

I'm sure Pop will rise again when everyone gets taste again and realises a lot of the current trend is sh!te

Posted by: Bréxit 14th October 2019, 06:34 PM

8 of this year's 11 #1s have been primarily pop songs but ok x (also that's not even what this thread is about)

Posted by: King Rollo 14th October 2019, 06:38 PM

I didn't count Chainsmokers as they brought in Halsey on their no.1. Nero's number 1 was with their regular singer. If any of the dance groups had an instrumental no.1 then that would count.

Posted by: Nimbus 14th October 2019, 06:41 PM

Fun stat
Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, Little Mix, Coldplay all could do it in their next era if the right stars allied.

Probably some unknown group will do it next though

Posted by: jimwatts 14th October 2019, 06:48 PM

The turnover of #1s of any type has decreased within the last 4 years. Also isn't Lukas Graham actually a group?

Posted by: King Rollo 14th October 2019, 06:56 PM

Well spotted. I have added Lukas Graham to the 2016 list.

Posted by: jimwatts 14th October 2019, 07:40 PM

There's something in it though - looking at #2s, the last of these by a 'self-contained' group was even earlier: One Direction - Perfect in 2015. Several groups have had #2s since then, but they've all been collabs with other acts.

Posted by: Steve201 14th October 2019, 10:33 PM

The girl group era for LM is largely over and we will have to wait for a new well supported group to form!

Posted by: Tones and Iz 15th October 2019, 01:23 AM

Interesting. If we disallow anything that uses a featured artist and also solo singers... it's probably more due to the way hits are advertised right now.

At the moment, the trend is for personalities, global stars, and particularly people seem to like 'crossover songs' right now where one well known name teams up with another, Sheeran's current era influencing that massively.

And that's something you don't get in a single group unless they're a well-known name. No chance some new or even mid-level group is going to make a #1 in this environment. Plenty of groups making music but the truly hyped lot that gets to #1 right now is only going to be these global stars on current trends.

Posted by: Bréxit 15th October 2019, 01:37 AM

I don't think big name collaborations are really that dominant. There were the 3 big #1s from Ed's collab album of course but he'd likely have had at least one #1 if he'd just dropped a solo album instead (I'm still fairly certain a proper solo album would have done better overall for him). Other than that we had Shawn & Camila which, fair, fits your description here, and I suppose also Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus which was just a beast unto itself unconnected to any larger musical trend (and also was by a previously totally unknown artist collaborating with a long irrelevant one hit wonder). The rest have been solo songs and half of those were by previously unknown artists, including of course the biggest hit of the year from Lewis Capaldi. Perhaps he was aided in blowing up by being a funny personality but I don't think 'Someone You Loved' would have been any less of a hit if, say, Lewis was just the lead singer of a group releasing the song. Same applies to 'Dance Monkey' (hell I'd bet a pretty significant proportion of people think Tones And I is the devil a group) and Tones doesn't even have the 'big personality' thing going for her.

The fact that more than half of the year's #1s are solo songs despite collaborations being such a common thing these days is kind of interesting in itself.

Posted by: Tones and Iz 15th October 2019, 03:11 AM

I think collabs are what passes for groups now. It's important that the public know people within that group. I also think that Capaldi just wouldn't have been pushed as the lead singer of a group with a band name. For whatever reason, and I'm just guessing based on the evidence, the people who decide hits probably have some focus grouped information that the public connects better with a song if they know the name of the artist directly. Annoying for me as if anything I'm the opposite, I love evocative band names that hint at a group's musical style, but makes some sense.

Applies less to Tones & I, I suppose but she's a new quantity. Of course there are always solo singers and indeed they are more dominant, and every year there are a couple of new breakthroughs into that superstar list. But groups that don't tell you the names of the people involved appear to not be in fashion. Solo superstars getting together and releasing a new hype song to catch the attention of multiple fan groups seems to have filled that space.

I guess my summary would be: there's only a certain amount of weeks at number one in the year which aren't going to be taken up by whichever global superstars are due to release their solo campaign that year. Groups used to get a look in, now it's the testing grounds for new soloists or time for a surprise 'hype collab'.

Posted by: Jordan Lee 15th October 2019, 12:16 PM

I think so yeah!

There was a time when we went ages without a female lead #1 wasn’t there (between Hello and New Rules).

Little Mix could definitely do it with the right track or a Christmas single what’s an original track.

There’ll also be new bands forming next decade who could do it too.

I think we’ll get one in 2020.

Posted by: Bjork 16th October 2019, 08:42 AM

for a new random act with a new random hit, it doesn't matter if you're a solo singer or a band, proof is barely anyone knows that Lukas Graham is a band

but sure streaming has affected fan based-groups that were going straight at #1 on release week thanks to fans multi buying. For instance, Wrestle going to #1 with the 5th single off their debut, Fool Again, that's impossible to imagine this happening now... in a low sales week with no competitions a dedicated fanbase could help achieve a #1, but there is no way they generate enough streams on their own right now... that's something that was much easily achieved with Cd sales than streaming... and thats why the last Westlife single didn't even go top 100

still think a very popular boy or girlband could do it now... we're just in a dry period cos 1D broke up and Little Mix seems to have peaked, and there is no replacement yet

funnily I read something similar for the US, think Jonas Brothers this yer has been the only solo single for a band without features or anything this decade in the US

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 16th October 2019, 08:46 AM

Magic! and LMFAO also got to #1 in the US with no features this decade.

Posted by: danG 16th October 2019, 09:25 AM

Also I think it’s only a matter of time before we get a 1D reunion of some sort (without Zayn and possibly Harry too) which will go number one on hype.

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 16th October 2019, 09:26 AM

I think Harry will be the one not to rejoin tbh, definitely not for a while at least.

Posted by: Jack 16th October 2019, 09:52 AM

Where are The Saturdays?

Posted by: JosephStyles 16th October 2019, 10:02 AM

I strongly disagree, it won't happen at all without Harry...!

Posted by: Medellíam 16th October 2019, 10:03 AM

Sugababes are back this Friday x

Posted by: Jack 16th October 2019, 10:07 AM

As for the question, I really don't think it's completely out of the realms of possibility of Little Mix getting another #01! They were close with 'Woman Like Me' last year anyway/

As for any other group, I could only see it being One Direction if they reform really.

Posted by: Trick Or Queef! 16th October 2019, 10:09 AM

Little Shis are over.

They were just a Cowell band anyway. It will take a while for a new pop group to get going. They're just not fashionable right now, as the previous ones were SO BAD that they tainted the format. Spices, the greatest girl band ever, and TlC and then GA, all came after a similar period where bands weren't cool. Granted, ony girl bands, but whatever. One Direction ruined the boy band brand too. Groups will come back eventually.

Anyway, Coldplay sold out, so could have a huge commercial song at no.1 at any moment. There could be a new Arctic Monkeys at any point, etc. We'll see.

Posted by: Trick Or Queef! 16th October 2019, 10:09 AM

They're finished.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 16th October 2019, 10:18 AM

I don't think Little Mix are quite "finished".

I'd say they've definitely got their work cut out to achieve big success again, but it's not completely out of the question if they hit it out of the park. They're definitely in shaky territory though.

Posted by: King Rollo 16th October 2019, 10:30 AM

I didn't put them on the list because their no.1 featured Sean Paul.

Posted by: Jack 16th October 2019, 10:38 AM

Change the channel. We know you don't like them.

Posted by: SKOB 16th October 2019, 03:45 PM

Half of the vocals on Closer are by the singing member of The Chainsmokers so I think it should count. It was years ago anyway.

Posted by: AcerBen 16th October 2019, 05:02 PM

Well, forever is a long time so of course there will be! But they will continue to be rare

Posted by: Envoirment 16th October 2019, 05:20 PM

I'm sure we'll see more #1s by groups in the future. There just aren't any groups in peak success around at the moment like there have been previously (90s-2010s = Spice Girls/Desitiny's Child/Westlife/Blue/Take That/One Direction/Little Mix/Girls Aloud/Sugarbabes/Backstreet Boys/TLC/En Vogue/U2/Pussycat Dolls etc etc).

Posted by: King Rollo 8th January 2021, 07:01 PM

The wait of over four years is over. Well done to those who said that Little Mix might be the next group to have a number 1 single. Technically, it was Wham! last week but that was with an old Christmas song.

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 8th January 2021, 07:02 PM

You could argue LadBaby as well!

Posted by: legendsglory 8th January 2021, 07:05 PM

.. You were saying?

Posted by: Bjork 8th January 2021, 07:35 PM

so basically now we've had 3 in a row

Posted by: ManicKangaroo 8th January 2021, 08:36 PM

But all 3 have been sales-driven rather than streaming

Posted by: No Sleeep 8th January 2021, 08:40 PM

A #1 is a #1?

Posted by: milly 8th January 2021, 08:45 PM

2014- Take That, These Days

Posted by: King Rollo 8th January 2021, 08:58 PM

Well spotted. I've added Take That to the original list.

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 4th July 2022, 02:54 PM

LF SYSTEM set to join this week!

Posted by: AcerBen 4th July 2022, 04:10 PM

They don't meet the OP's criteria for a group though.

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 4th July 2022, 06:32 PM

Surely it’s no different to Nero? Their #1 song also has uncredited vocals.

Posted by: Daan 4th July 2022, 06:36 PM

Alana is considered to be a member of Nero whereas the no name vocalist on the LF System song isn’t a member of LF System

Posted by: WhoOdyssey 4th July 2022, 06:38 PM

Oops never mind then! I’m counting them by my rulebook though

Posted by: Bjork 4th July 2022, 06:52 PM

^ agree :-)

Posted by: jimwatts 4th July 2022, 06:58 PM

Yes I think they're a different case to Clean Bandit and Rudimental whose #1s were all "featuring" other present artists - if we overlook the OCC's lack of crediting on Rockabye.

Posted by: King Rollo 4th July 2022, 06:59 PM

As I started this thread, I'd better put my opinion in. I've never heard the song before. It seems to be a disco song from 1979 that two people have speeded up a bit. Who can blame me for not listening to the top 40 nowadays if this is the best that is on offer. Thank goodness, a classic from Kate Bush has been number 1 for the last few weeks.

So my verdict is : this cannot be added to the list as LF System are not a group with a regular lead singer.

Posted by: chartjack2 4th July 2022, 08:29 PM

Has anyone mentioned Little Mix and Wham! in early 2021 yet?

Posted by: jimwatts 4th July 2022, 09:42 PM

^ yes they were mentioned on the previous page, also LadBaby just before them (not sure whether they really count as a group at all / for their previous #1s as well).

Honorable mention to the self-contained group who've had the longest running chart hit since then *.*

Posted by: Eric_Blob 4th July 2022, 11:24 PM

I'm not sure I'd exactly call Roll Deep a "self-contained" group either. The girls singing the choruses on their number-ones weren't part of the group, and not only that but a lot of the actual group members aren't in the songs.

Posted by: Bjork 5th July 2022, 05:11 AM

but the definition is very biased against dance groups

I'd rather have LF System than Ladbaby tbh

Posted by: jimwatts 10th November 2023, 07:54 PM

An addition to the list this week!

Posted by: Sour Candy 11th November 2023, 07:11 AM

Maybe the AI-enhanced Lennon is additional member of the group so it doesn't count.

Posted by: Mangø 11th November 2023, 09:21 AM

Or maybe just change the criteria to self-contained group whose members are all still alive lol