Bob the Builder had more UK no.1s than the Spice Girls in the 21st century
If you’re a fan of music, this sort of fact might really interest you – Bob the Builder had more number one singles in the 21st century than the Spice Girls.
Yes, a BBC children’s character played by Men Behaving Badly and Line of Duty star Neil Morrissey had more chart-topping songs this century than one of the biggest pop bands of all time.
OK, so perhaps the Spice Girls weren’t exactly massive during the 2000s, they did all of their best work in the decade before that, but you would still think they’d have sold more records.
Bob the Builder also had more number one singles that – let’s say – The Beatles or the Rolling Stones during that time, but again that’s just because they didn’t really release any singles during the 2000s for a variety of reasons.
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Not least among them the fact that John Lennon had been dead for 20 years by that point.
Still, it’s a fantastic achievement for the animated builder, who even managed to bag the biggest selling single of the year in 2000, following up on that success with a cover of 'Mambo No. 5' – originally by Lou Bega – that hit the top of the list a year later in 2001.
Well, it was a jazz song sampled by Bega, which is probably where you’ll know it from, so that stands up.
Anyway, back to Bob.
His biggest hit came around Christmas in 2000, and was also the theme tune to the TV show.
As you’ll no doubt remember, it was called ‘Can We Fix It?’
Of course, as you’ll also probably recall, yes – yes they could.
Released as a Christmas novelty single – a proud tradition even to this day – the song beat Westlife’s ‘What Makes a Man’ to the festive top spot, becoming the top selling single of that year in the process.
In fact, the song is 161st on the list of all-time top selling singles for the UK.
The single wasn’t just successful in the UK, as it was also released the following year in Australia and managed to make it to the top of the charts Down Under as well.
Selling 600,000 copies in the UK and 140,000 units in Australia, it was certified Platinum and 2x Platinum respectively by those country’s recording industry bodies.
The Spice Girls, in case you’re wondering, had only one number one single in the 2000s, a double A-side called ‘Holler/Let Love Lead the Way’.
It wasn’t exactly the most memorable duo of songs, to be quite honest.
Whereas ‘Can We Fix It?’ can remain in your head for weeks on end with only the merest thought of it.
You’ll be humming it all day now.
Topics: UK News, Music, Weird, Spice Girls
Tom Wood