Request Chart 40 Years – 00s Flashback

As the Request Chart celebrates it’s 40th anniversary this year, we look back on some of the artists that patients at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital have been asking to hear over the decades:

2000s
As the chart entered a new millennium, the request chart was being broadcast monthly with huge numbers coming in from the Adolescent Unit. However, classic old favourites were sitting side-by-side with new chart records, which made for an unpredictable chart every year….

Robbie Williams dominated the early 2000s, being our most requested artist of 2000, 2001 and 2002.

In 2001, Shaggy uniquely held the top two most requested songs of the year on Radio Brockley, with “It Wasn’t Me” at number two, and “Angel” at the top spot.

Pop Idol ruled the request chart in 2002 with tracks by winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates occupying three of the top five songs. It was Gareth Gates who had the highest placed track though, with his cover of “Unchained Melody” reaching No.2 on our chart.

In 2003, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley were dominating the artist chart, but the most requested song of the year was “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake.

R&B was making a big impact on the charts by 2004, with tracks by Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Outkast in the Top 20. It was Usher who topped our chart that year with “Yeah”.

James Blunt became the first artist to have a song top our chart for two years in a row. “You’re Beautiful” was the most requested song of 2005 and 2006.

As we headed towards the end of the decade, Rihanna was emerging as a firm favourite on the request chart. Her track “Umbrella” was the second most requested song of 2007 and by the following year she was our most requested artist.

Our final chart-topper of the noughties decade was “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga. By this time female artists were ruling our request chart like never before with the likes of Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Beyonce, Rihanna and Girls Aloud all featuring in our Top 20.