To be fifteen in Britain in 2017 was to have “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran everywhere, Star Wars: The Last Jedi on every screen, and Blue Planet II on after school. That year, gas cost £1.18/L and the Nintendo Switch was the new thing. Born in 2002? You turned 15 in 2017 — a teenager from 2015 to 2021, 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.
Shape of You — Ed SheeranEd Sheeran's marimba loop was genuinely everywhere, weddings to gyms, until it fused permanently to that whole spring.
Despacito (Remix) — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin BieberLatin pop conquering Britain, 'Despacito' mangled phonetically by everyone who couldn't speak a word of Spanish.
Symphony — Clean Bandit feat. Zara LarssonClean Bandit's swelling strings and Zara Larsson, the big-hearted singalong of that endlessly sunny, sixth-form summer.
Galway Girl — Ed SheeranEd's fiddle-driven knees-up, all pub singalong and holiday romance, blaring across caravan sites and cousins' weddings alike.
New Rules — Dua LipaDua Lipa's self-respect anthem taped to every girls'-night mirror, chanted as a rule you all promised to keep.
You couldn't escape it — 14 weeks at number one, marimba loop drilled into your brain in every corner shop and PE lesson. Ed owned the whole top ten in 2017, but this was the one that pinned the year: cheeky, danceable, everywhere.
the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2017.
the movies you are watching in 2017
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Beauty and the Beast
Dunkirk
It
Wonder Woman
the tv shows you are binging in 2017
Blue Planet II
Love Island
Peaky Blinders
Line of Duty
The Great British Bake Off
the games you are playing in 2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
FIFA 18
Super Mario Odyssey
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Horizon Zero Dawn
what things cost in 2017
What things cost in 2017
a pint of lager
£3.68
a cinema ticket
£7.49
a litre of petrol
£1.18
a gallon of gas
£1.18/L
minimum wage
£7.50/hr
a first-class stamp
£0.65
the average income
£28,600
trending this year
Liam Dawe / GamingOnLinux; PNG by VulcanSphere, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Nintendo SwitchWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fidget_spinner_red,_cropped.jpg · CC0Fidget spinnersPhoto by Gregory Varnum (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_iPhone_X_-_front_(8121).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0The iPhone XWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OnePoundCoin-P1010041.jpg · CC0The £1 coin (new 12-sided design)Dennis Cortés (Unsplash), CC0 / Public DomainiPhone X
the gadgets you just got
Liam Dawe / GamingOnLinux; PNG by VulcanSphere, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Nintendo SwitchDennis Cortés (Unsplash), CC0 / Public DomainiPhone XBDaniel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsFidget spinnerPhoto by MetricSupporter89 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Home_Original.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Google HomeAI-generated illustrationFingerlings
what everyone is snacking on
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadbury-Twirl-Split.jpg · Public domainCadbury TwirlWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McCoy%27s_crisps.jpg · CC0McCoy'sPhoto by Ben Sutherland (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colin_the_caterpillar_cake.jpg · CC BY 2.0Colin the CaterpillarPhoto by Dan arndt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dairy_Milk_Freddo.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0FreddoPhoto by -donald- (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nutella_ak.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0Nutella (Ferrero recipe row)
what everyone is drinking
AI-generated illustrationFantaAI-generated illustrationLucozade (new lower-sugar recipe)Bxxiaolin, edited by Pittigrilli, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_of_Monster_Energy_drink_sold_in_China_(0.33_l),_on_white_background.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Monster EnergyAI-generated illustrationRubicon MangoAI-generated illustrationProsecco
what made the news in 2017
A terror attack at Manchester Arena kills 22 after an Ariana Grande concert
Grenfell Tower fire in London kills 72 people in the deadliest UK residential fire since WWII
Theresa May loses her majority in a snap general election, propped up by the DUP
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announce a third child; Prince Harry engaged to Meghan Markle
Photo by Ardfern (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Ann%27s_Square_tributes_and_memorials,_Manchester,_May_2017_(19).JPG · CC BY-SA 4.022 killed in the Manchester Arena bombing after an Ariana Grande concertPhoto by Natalie Oxford (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grenfell_Tower_fire.jpg · CC BY 4.0Grenfell Tower fire kills 72 in west LondonPhoto by Home Office (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theresa_May_(2015)_(cropped).jpg · CC BY 2.0Theresa May loses her majority in a shock snap electionPhoto by Mark Jones (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_Harry_and_Meghan_Markle_on_Christmas_Day_2017.jpg · CC BY 2.0Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagementPhoto by Ilovetheeu (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manchester_Brexit_protest_for_Conservative_conference,_October_1,_2017_12.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Article 50 triggered, formally starting the Brexit countdown
what everyone is saying
"Oh Jeremy Corbyn"the Glastonbury chant to a White Stripes riff
"Snowflake"insult for the easily offended, everywhere in 2017
