1980 in British music McLean's cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying". The Ska and Mod revivals reached their peak this year, with strong chart showings by The Jam, The Specials and Madness. 1970s favourites ABBA and Blondie both had their last years as chart heavyweights, clocking up 5 No.1 singles between them. David Bowie scored his second No.1 this year, while the death of John Lennon at the end of the year gave him his first chart topper (and would dominate the early months of 1981). Kate Bush became the first British female artist to have a No.1 album, and The Police finished the year
1999 in British music in the top two of the UK singles chart for over 6 years. Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera both headed their careers and released their début singles. February saw Britney start a phenomenon, her début single, "...Baby One More Time" sold 1.45 million copies in the UK, becoming the second largest selling single by a female solo artist and also the fastest selling single by a female solo artist, with 0.46 million copies shifted in its first week of sale. She became the youngest female artist to début at #1 on the singles and albums chart in the US. Her