Meet the North-East chart toppers and their unforgettable bangers

From local hero Sam Fender to classic hits from The Animals and Roxy Music, the North East has provided some of the best number one singles and albums over the past 50 years.

Here’s a collection of the very best the North East has had to offer, from transatlantic success to Geordie-based brilliance that dominated the charts.

Girls Aloud – Sound of the Underground

The English-Irish pop girl group that featured local lass Cheryl charted six separate chart-topping works.

Two albums and four singles hit the top spot, with their Greatest Hits album from 2006 marking the first of two top spot albums.

Second album, Out of Control, spent one week at the top of the charts.

Other singles I’ll Stand By You, Walk this Way and The Promise all spent a few weeks in the top spot the longest being Sound of the Underground with four weeks.

Lindisfarne – Fog on the Tyne

A folk-rock band behind the classic Fog on the Tyne album, Lindisfarne topped the charts time and time again.

The original line-up including Alan Hull and Simon Cowe crafted the debut album that spent a whole month at number one.

With no luck in the singles charts, Lindisfarne dominated the album charts with their debut record, with the two releases to follow lingering in the top ten.

Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under

It isn’t just single success for Geordie musicians, some have topped the charts with a full album. Sam Fender did just that, twice.

First with Hypersonic Missiles and more recently with Seventeen Going Under, the Bruce Springsteen-influenced singer has provided more than a few hits.

His album of delicate tracks detailing family fallouts and self-reflective material is a real treat and provides listeners with one of the best albums of the year. It’s no surprise Fender hit number one for a second time.

Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms

Championed by rock fans across the globe, Newcastle-born brothers Mark and David Knopfler are at the heart of this number one hit from Dire Straits.

While none of the singles topped the charts (Walk of Life was the closest at No. 2), the album itself soared to the top of the charts and spent 14 weeks there.

Mark Knopfler’s track Local Hero can be heard echoing through St. James’ Park on a matchday too, the impact the local musician had on the area still felt to this day.

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun

With one week at the top of the charts, The Animals cemented their legacy with House of the Rising Sun.

Eric Burdon from Walker, Newcastle, was behind the vocals that catapulted this rhythm-and-blues rock band to the top of the charts.

The Animals are set to host a farewell tour next year, with Burdon touring the transatlantic chart-topper, as well as classic tracks We Gotta Get Out of this Place and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.

Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind

With four tracks hitting number one, (and an impressive 42 in the Top 30) Pet Shop boys have charted success on numerous occasions.

North Shields-born Neil Tennant, along with Chris Lowe, spent four weeks at number one in 1987 with hit track Always on My Mind.

The duo had achieved chart success just once before this, with West End Girls and would soon follow it up with two more chart-toppers, It’s a Sin and Heart in 1987 and 1988.

Roxy Music – Stranded

The work of Durham-born Bryan Ferry on Roxy Music’s Stranded is a peak for 1970s culture, and a 17-week stint at the top of the charts cemented its legacy.

Working with Brian Eno to craft glam rock pop anthems like Street Life and Amazona, the work on Stranded was a chart-topping peak for the band.

Ferry would hit the top of the charts once again with solo work Boys and Girls ten years after disbanding Roxy Music.

The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star

This jaunty pop track riffed on the death of radio in the face of a new age of entertainment, and Durham-born Trever Horn is the glue that holds the track together.

Written and released in 1979, the song spent 11 weeks in the number one spot, a feat The Buggles would never accomplish again.

Sting – Nothing Like the Sun

Three chart-topping albums for the Northumberland-born Sting show an impressive track record for The Police frontman.

Solo works Nothing Like the Sun and The Soul Cages spent a week at number one in 1987 and 1991, while his work with The Police garnered five tracks and six albums in the number one spot.

Don’t Stand So Close to Me spent a month in the charts, while 1981’s Ghost in the Machine spent a comfortable three weeks at the top of the charts.