Request Chart 40 Years – 90s 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:

1990s
As the chart entered a new decade, hosting duties were passed to Alan Tomlinson and Dave Mason at the start of the decade, and then to Alan Joyce in 1992, who has gone on to host the annual chart ever since. Mandy Lester also co-presented the chart between 1994 and 1998.

The start of the decade was totally dominated by New Kids On The Block, who has four of the Top 12 most requested songs of 1990 including this one, at Number 1!

The following year, in 1991, Bryan Adams spent 16 weeks at Number 1 on the UK singles charts, so there was no doubt who would come out on top in our request chart that year!

Following the sad passing of Freddie Mercury at the end of 1991, Queen would dominate the request chart in 1992, with their classic Bohemian Rhapsody being the most requested track by RNOH patients that year. They were also the most requested artist of the year.

Another long-running UK Number One single would top the request chart in 1993, and for the 4th year in a row the most requested artist of the year would also have the most requested song – this time it was Whitney Houston. This track received more requests than the rest of the Top 5 added together!

1994 was the year of Wet Wet Wet, with their cover of “Love Is All Around” spending 15 weeks on top of the UK charts, and then also topping our annual chart. However they were pipped to the post by Take That! for the top artist of the year.

The following year, in 1995, Wet Wet Wet beat Take That by just one request to top our artist chart of the year. But the most requested song came courtesy of a duo from the TV drama “Soldier Soldier” – in the form of Robson Green and Jerome Flynn.

1996 saw the start of Girl Power, and the Spice Girls topped the annual request chart with their debut hit “Wannabe”. They didnt top the artist chart that year, but they did in 1997 and 1998, receiving the highest and second highest number of requests ever for a single act in those two years.

Oasis were the most requested artist of 1996, finishing just ahead of Cliff Richard. The tracks “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” were in our annual Top 5.

In 1998, Celine Dion had a titanic hit on her hands, as “My Heart Will Go On” sold over a million copies and received more requests in a calendar year than any other in the history of the request chart.

The decade finished with a veteran at the top of our request chart, as Cher achieved our annual Number One with “Believe”. Boyzone were the most requested artist of the year.

The most requested artist of the whole decade though was Cliff Richard. Despite never reaching our annual number one, he twice peaked at No.2 and was still scoring hits throughout the decade.