Notes of Nostalgia: The albums that stood the test of time

Last weekend, ABBA broke yet another record in the UK music sector with their Greatest Hits record being the first to spend a staggering 1,000 weeks in the UK charts. ABBA’s album is not the only ‘golden oldie’ to have spent a significant amount of time in the charts, with Bob Marley and the Wailer’s Legend currently holding a score of 984 weeks. Following this is Queen’s Greatest Hits album coming in at 952 weeks while also holding the record for the best-selling album of all time in the UK.

This moment of nostalgia in the UK charts follows a year of musical nostalgia. Global streaming and music discovery platform, DICE reveals that 84% of Brits have returned to the hits of artists that were in their prime decades ago. This might be explained by the emotional connection we have with music, or our instinctive application of emotion to certain tempo. For some, a song or artist that was a favourite of a parent or grandparent makes a tune timeless. For others, an artist from our own childhood that we have attached to a particularly emotional – be that jovial or dejected – time in our lives, makes this music a staple in our musical repertoire for decades.

But what makes an album stand the test of time, and which artists will have the golden oldie albums of the future?

Research from Brigham Young University found evidence that on a psychological and neurochemical level, infants as young as five months can identify happy and sad music based on tempo. This, paired with an extremely emotionally driven year and a half, might explain DICE’s landmark research showing that 84% of Brits have returned to their golden oldies, and nearly half (45%) have re-discovered artists from their childhood.

Key Stats:

More than 8 in 10 (84%) Brits say their music of choice over the last year came from artists that were in their prime decades ago
Nearly half (45%) of Brits say they re-discovered artists from their childhood over the last year
The golden oldies we will see in the coming decades might, therefore, come from one of the most emotional years of any of our lifetimes. Just as Queen became a staple musical institution amidst the AIDS epidemic, might our pop stars of today become timeless amidst Covid-19? Whether this be Dua Lipa’s dance hits that allowed Brits to escape feelings of isolation over the last year, or Olivia Rodrigo’s Driver’s Licence that gave Brits a license to cry, the comparative tempos of these songs paired with the emotional connections to a unique time in our history may solidify albums such as these as our new timeless hits.

Andrew Foggin, Global Head of Music at DICE, comments:
“Throughout lockdown, music has played a vital role in alleviating feelings of isolation and boosting moods. Fans miss live music and their desire to get closer to their favourite artists hasn’t diminished. Although nothing will replace in-person live shows, streaming offers fans the chance to get closer to their favourite artists and experience all the joys that a live event has to offer from the comfort of their own home.”