THE BRIT PARADE

HOME-GROWN ACTS FILL YEAR'S TOP 10

-  ANNA BURNSIDE

FOR the first time ever, last year's most popular songs in the UK were from home-grown musicians.

The top 10 singles of 2022 all contained British talent the first time this has happened since the charts began in 1952.

The country's best-selling single was by a British artist for 36 weeks of the last year, including a 10-week run for Harry Styles' banger As It Was. It was the only song streamed more than 180 million times.

Ed Sheeran has three entries in the year's top 10 - two solos and a collaboration with Nigerian star Fireboy DML.

The chart shows the range of music enoyed in the UK from newcomer Cat Burns, 21, to 64-year-old Kate Bush.

Cat Burns's song, Go, went viral on TikTok while Kate Bush's 80s masterpiece Running Up That Hill found a whole new audience when it was on the soundtrack for Netflix hit series Stranger Things.

The only Scots in the top 10, LF System, are two producers from West Lothian. Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan's Afraid To Love was a huge summer hit, keeping Beyonce off top spot. Its success allowed them to give up their day jobs, as a roofer and petrol station attendant.