Harry Styles has grabbed the coveted top spot of the lists of both the UK’s best-selling singles and albums in 2022.
And it was in what was a record-breaking year for British music too.
According to the data shared by the Official Charts Company this week, for the first time since year-end chart data began being released over 50 years ago now, the year’s most popular songs were all by British artists – with Cheshire‘s finest Styles claiming the top slot of the top 40 list with his undeniable smash-hit ‘As It Was’.
The lead single from Styles’ third solo album, Harry’s House, sold an impressive 1.57 million chart units since its release in April 2022 to the end of the year, which was probably helped by the fact that it was also the longest-running Number 1 of 2022, managing an 10 weeks at the top of the charts.
‘As It Was’ also leads the pack as the most-streamed song of the year, with over 180.9 million audio and video streams.
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It was also best-selling across combined physical and digital sales with 65,000.
Not only that either, as Harry’s House – which was released in May 2022 – also ran away with the top spot on the best-selling albums list too.
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Elsewhere on the official top 10 biggest songs of 2022 list, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ is immediately behind Styles in second, Fireboy DML’s Sheeran collaboration ‘Peru’ coming in third, London newcomer Cat Burns’ smash-hit single ‘Go’ in fourth, and Sheeran again rounds-out the top five with his other huge hit ‘Shivers’.
It’s not all brand-new songs released in 2022 taking top 10 spots though, as Glass Animals’ sleeper hit ‘Heatwaves’ originally released back in 2020 takes the seventh spot, but just one place before that in sixth is ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush, which enjoyed a resurgence of success in the summer and shot to number 1 for the first time ever thanks to its use in an iconic scene on Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Adele, LF System, Sam Fender, Calum Scott, Dave, Elton John, George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi, and Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal are just a handful of the other names appearing on the top 40 list.
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Official Top 10 biggest songs of 2022
‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles
‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran
‘Peru’ by Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran
‘Go’ by Cat Burns
‘Shivers’ by Ed Sheeran
‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush
‘Heatwaves’ by Glass Animals
‘Where Are You Now’ by Lost Frequencies ft. Calum Scott
‘Afraid To Feel’ by LF System
‘Seventeen Going Under’ by Sam Fender
Harry Styles claims top-selling single and album of 2022 / Credit: Harry Styles
‘As It Was’ may have been Styles’ biggest song of 2022, enjoying success atop countless charts globally for a significant period of time, but the singer also had another one of his smash-hit singles make it onto the top 40 list.
The follow-up single ‘Late Night Talking’ found itself in the 32nd spot.
Oasis release trailer for Don’t Look Back In Anger documentary – watch it here
Daisy Jackson
A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary, ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’, has been released today.
The highly anticipated documentary follows the iconic Manchester rock band as they reunited for a series of epic comeback gigs last summer.
The Gallagher brothers broke up the band 15 years prior to the Live ’25 shows, then returned in spectacular fashion for gigs including five sold-out nights at Heaton Park in Manchester.
The band were followed throughout their triumphant comeback tour by film crews, for the documentary film ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Fans will see never-before-seen snippets of rehearsal, backstage, and onstage, as well as the first joint interview with Liam and Noel in more than 20 years.
It will also explores the profound impact that the reunion had on fans, and chart the global phenomenon that was Oasis Live ’25.
One of the people behind the new documentary is Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will be released in the UK on Wednesday 9 September and you can book tickets HERE.
Watch the full trailer for Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger below:
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
4th January 2023 
