1995 in British music

1995 saw a number of changes occur. Céline Dion's "Think Twice", which was released in October 1994 yet took until the end of January to reach the top, was the first UK number 1 single not to be available on vinyl in any form.

Around the middle of the year, the way singles entered the chart started to change. Instead of entering low and climbing up to their peak, singles would now usually enter at their peak, and then fall down the chart. In May, Robson & Jerome became the first British act to reach number 1 with "Unchained Melody", after having sung the song on the ITV programme Soldier Soldier. In May, music featured in an advertising campaign for Guinness reached number 2 – mambo tune "Guaglione" by Pérez Prado was a massive hit and the advert featured on an accompanying screensaver.

This was also the year which saw Britpop at its most popular. A highly publicised chart battle in August saw Oasis and Blur battling it out for the number 1 position, having both released their singles on the same day. Blur won the singles battle, with "Country House" beating Oasis' "Roll with It" to the top spot, but Oasis, with (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, would go on to greatly outsell Blur's album, the album of which would eventually become the second biggest album in the UK. After a decade in the business Pulp secured a first number one album while Britpop elder statesman Paul Weller also benefited from a return to popular and critical favour.

Singles that went on to sell over a million copies were Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", the first rap single to sell over a million in the UK, both of Robson & Jerome's songs ("Unchained Melody" / "White Cliffs of Dover", the biggest selling single of the year, and "I Believe" / "Up on the Roof") and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". In addition, a second remix of New Order's "Blue Monday" (reaching number 17) pushed sales of that song over a million as well.

In all, there were 17 number one singles in 1995. As the 1990s continued the amount started to increase, and there wouldn't be a total as low as 1995's.

Composer Michael Tippett celebrated his ninetieth birthday on 2 January. the occasion was marked by special events in Britain, Canada and the US, including the premiere of his final work, The Rose Lake. A collection of his essays, Tippett on Music, was published in the same year. The other most notable British classical composer of the year was Karl Jenkins, whose album Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary was released in September to become a huge hit, thanks to the music's exposure in television advertisements.

• Sally Beamish - Viola Concerto
• Harrison Birtwistle – Panic (premiered at Last Night of the Proms)
• Andrew Glover – Fractured Vistas
• Michael Tippett - "Caliban's Song"
• Graham Waterhouse - Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp

• Thomas Adès - Powder Her Face

• England, My England, starring Michael Ball
• Pulse, Pink Floyd concert film

• 13 January - Jonathan Antoine, tenor
• 11 April - Dodie Clark, singer songwriter, youtuber
• 14 May - Fox Jackson-Keen, actor, dancer and singer
• 23 June - Lauren Aquilina, singer-songwriter
• 15 July - Elyar Fox, singer
• 23 July – Faryl Smith, singer
• 19 December – Elliot Evans, singer

• 4 February - David Alexander, singer, 56
• 12 February – Tony Secunda, music industry manager, 54 (heart attack)
• 18 February - Denny Cordell, record producer, 51
• 5 March – Vivian Stanshall, eccentric British musician, 51 (house fire)
• 7 March - John Lambert, composer, 68
• 20 March - Ella Halman, opera singer and actress, 98
• 4 April - Kenny Everett, radio DJ and comedian, 50
• 9 June - Frank Chacksfield, pianist, organist, composer and arranger, 81
• 1 July - Ian Parkin, guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe), 45[4]
• 12 July - Sean Mayes, pianist and writer.[5]
• 18 August – Alan Dell BBC Radio 2 disc jockey, 71
• 22 September - Dolly Collins, folk musician, 62
• 27 September - Christopher Shaw, composer, 71[6]
• 30 October
  • Brian Easdale, composer, 86
  • Paul Ferris, film composer, 54 (suicide)[7]
• 31 October - Alan Bush, pianist and composer, 94
• 4 November - Marti Caine, entertainer, 50 (lymphatic cancer)[8]
• 17 November - Alan Hull, singer-songwriter and founder of Lindisfarne, 50 (heart thrombosis)[9]
• 21 November
  • Peter Grant, music industry manager, 60 (myocardial infarction)
  • Matthew Ashman, guitarist of Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, 35
• 18 December - Brian Brockless, composer, organist and conductor, 69

• 1995 in British radio
• 1995 in British television
• 1995 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1995

• BBC Radio 1's Chart Show
• The Official Charts Company