To be fifteen in Britain in 2007 was to have “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis everywhere, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on every screen, and The X Factor on after school. That year, gas cost £0.95/L and the first iPhone was the new thing. Born in 1992? You turned 15 in 2007 — a teenager from 2005 to 2011, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.
Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.
Umbrella — Rihanna feat. Jay-ZAn actual monsoon of a British summer, and every downpour arrived pre-soundtracked with that 'ella, ella, eh, eh'.
Grace Kelly — MikaMika's giddy falsetto ricocheted off every radio, camp and cheeky, impossible not to squeak along to in the car.
Bleeding Love — Leona LewisThe big-lunged X Factor ballad you belted into a hairbrush, certain Leona Lewis was singing about your heartbreak.
Valerie — Mark Ronson feat. Amy WinehouseBeehive and sunshine, Amy still with us, that horn-drenched cover soundtracking the summer we didn't know we'd lose her.
About You Now — SugababesThe last great Sugababes single, all MSN heartbreak and 'sorry' texts you drafted and never quite sent.
Leona won The X Factor and then owned Britain — 'Bleeding Love' was the ballad that poured out of every phone, every school disco, every bedroom in the autumn of 2007. That huge soaring chorus was the year's best-seller, the sound of first heartbreak at fifteen.
the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2007.
the movies you are watching in 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The Simpsons Movie
Spider-Man 3
Hot Fuzz
the tv shows you are binging in 2007
The X Factor
Doctor Who
Britain's Got Talent
Skins
Gavin & Stacey
the games you are playing in 2007
Super Mario Galaxy
FIFA 08
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
what things cost in 2007
What things cost in 2007
a litre of petrol
£0.95
a cinema ticket
£5.02
a pint of lager
£2.70
a gallon of gas
£0.95/L
minimum wage
£5.52/hr
a first-class stamp
£0.34
the average income
£24,000
trending this year
Photo by Andrew from London, UK (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_iPhone_docked.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0The iPhoneWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BBC_iPlayer_2021_(Alt).svg · Public domainBBC iPlayerWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smoking_policy_sign,_London,_England,_2005-2007_Wellcome_L0066875.jpg · CC BY 4.0The England smoking banWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Facebook_icon_2013.svg · Public domainFacebook in the UKMaurizio Napolitano, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)Apple iPhone
the gadgets you just got
Maurizio Napolitano, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)Apple iPhonePhoto by Derek Hatfield (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BlackBerry_Curve_20100818.jpg · CC BY 2.0BlackBerry CurveEvan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0Nintendo DS LitePhoto by Guess Who (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPod_touch_1st_generation.png · CC BY-SA 3.0iPod touchLars Curfs (Grashoofd), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 NL)Amazon Kindle
what everyone is snacking on
Photo by NINXIVI (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadbury_Dairy_Milk_-Mini_Bar-_(3951105262).jpg · CC BY 2.0Cadbury Dairy MilkPhoto by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wispa-Split.jpg · Public domainWispaPhoto by Pink Bee (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheese_Quavers.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0QuaversPhoto by Thomas Nugent (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RustlerS_burger_vending_machine_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7753542.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Rustlers burgerPhoto by Jacek Halicki (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2023_Baton_Mars_(1).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Mars bar
Gordon Brown replaces Tony Blair as Prime Minister after ten years
England is battered by devastating summer floods across Gloucestershire and Yorkshire
Madeleine McCann disappears from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal
The smoking ban comes into force in enclosed public places across England
Photo by The White House (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Brown_at_White_House_press_conference_in_2007.jpg · Public domainGordon Brown becomes Prime Minister after Blair steps downPhoto by Bengt Nyman (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Praia_da_Luz_Portugal_February_2015_07.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Madeleine McCann vanishes in PortugalPhoto by Alex Gunningham (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northern_Rock_Customers,_September_14,_2007.jpg · CC BY 2.0Northern Rock suffers the first UK bank run in over a centuryPhoto by Helen Iwanczuk (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gloucester_Road_Tewkesbury,_during_the_flood_of_July_2007_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2205066.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Devastating summer floods hit Gloucestershire and YorkshirePhoto by Thomas Rodenbucher (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_McClaren_2012_1_(cropped).jpg · CC BY 2.0England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 under McClaren, the 'wally with the brolly'
what everyone is saying
"This is England"Meadows' film title that entered the culture
"Have it!"the triumphant lads' shout of the year
"Bare"London slang for 'a lot', 'bare people out'
"Peng"grime-era slang for very attractive
"Lush"all-purpose word for lovely, especially in the West Country
