National Album Day 2023: Biggest UK regions for 90s music revealed

Ahead of National Album Day 2023, the biggest UK regions for 1990s music have been revealed – with London and the North West leading the way. 

Collectively, London artists scored 41 Number 1 albums across the decade, including four chart-toppers from Blur, three from Suede, and two apiece from George Michael, Spice Girls, Seal, Queen, Jamiroquai, Erasure and Phil Collins.

Taking place on Saturday October 14, this year's National Albums Day is all about the iconic albums of the 1990s. However, London acts didn't have things all their own way during the decade of Britpop and "Cool Britannia". 

According to research by National Album Day organisers the BPI based on Official Charts data, nearly two-thirds (63%) of the 109 British studio albums that reached Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart in the 1990s were by artists who grew up or bands formed outside of London.

Collectively, the North West can lay claim to 22 Number 1 albums in the 1990s, including three apiece from Oasis and Simply Red, while the South East take 10. Meanwhile, artists from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland racked up seven, five, and one Number 1 albums in the 1990s respectively.

READ MORE: National Album Day 2023: Full list of iconic 90s albums included in the drop

Dr.Jo Twist OBE, Chief Executive BPI, and Kim Bayley, Chief Executive ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association, the organisations behind National Album Day, said jointly: "The 1990s have long been celebrated as a truly golden era for British music, but our new research reveals the extent to which this success came down to the chart-topping talents of artists drawn from across the entire UK. 

"This pattern mirrors the story of today when a new generation of artists both musically and geographically as diverse is now helping to shape what we hope will be the next great era of British music.”

Check out the biggest UK regions for 1990s music below.

1. London    41* (includes Blur, George Michael, Suede) 
2. North West    22 (includes The Charlatans, Oasis, Take That)
3. South East    10 (includes Fatboy Slim, Radiohead, Supergrass)
4. Yorkshire & the Humber 8 (includes Beautiful South, Pulp)
5. Scotland    7 (includes Annie Lennox, Texas, Wet Wet Wet)
6.= East of England   5 (includes Depeche Mode, The Prodigy)
6.= Wales    5 (includes Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers)
8.= South West   4 (including Jesus Jones, Massive Attack, Reef)
8.= West Midlands    4 (includes Ocean Colour Scene, Robbie Williams)
10. North East    4* (includes Chris Rea, Sting)
11. Northern Ireland   1 (Ash)

*includes two Robson & Jerome albums shared by London and North East