To be fifteen in Britain in 2019 was to have “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi everywhere, Avengers: Endgame on every screen, and Game of Thrones (final season) on after school. That year, gas cost £1.27/L and the Samsung Galaxy Fold and foldable phones was the new thing. Born in 2004? You turned 15 in 2019 — a teenager from 2017 to 2023, 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.
Someone You Loved — Lewis CapaldiLewis Capaldi's raw Scottish heartbreak, the ballad that gatecrashed every breakup and left the whole country blubbing along.
Old Town Road — Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray CyrusA meme that ate the world, every kid and their nan hollering about horses and Wranglers all summer long.
I Don't Care — Ed Sheeran & Justin BieberEd and Bieber's shy-dance duet, the wedding-season singalong nobody admitted loving but everyone knew every word of.
Vossi Bop — StormzyStormzy owning the summer he headlined Glastonbury, UK rap in a Union-Jack stab vest, unapologetically ours.
Bad Guy — Billie EilishBillie's whispered menace, headphones-only and thrilling, the sound of a new decade of teenagers rewriting the rules.
Seven weeks at number one and a country's worth of tears — this Scottish lad's piano ballad was the year's big cathartic cry, the one you belted in the car and the shower. Streamed into oblivion, it became the sound of every 2019 heartbreak, first or imagined.
the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2019.
the movies you are watching in 2019
Avengers: Endgame
Joker
The Lion King
Toy Story 4
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
the tv shows you are binging in 2019
Game of Thrones (final season)
Love Island
Chernobyl
Line of Duty
Gavin & Stacey (Christmas special)
the games you are playing in 2019
FIFA 20
Fortnite
Minecraft
Apex Legends
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Outer Worlds
what things cost in 2019
What things cost in 2019
a pint of lager
£3.86
a cinema ticket
£7.11
a litre of petrol
£1.27
a gallon of gas
£1.27/L
minimum wage
£8.21/hr
a first-class stamp
£0.70
the average income
£30,400
trending this year
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_TV_Plus_Logo.svg · Public domainApple TV+No attribution required (CC0). Photo: Denisse Leon via Unsplash/Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)TikTokAI-generated illustrationGreggs Vegan Sausage RollPhoto by Kyu3a (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring-Con_of_RingFit_Adventure.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Ring Fit AdventureNASA (U.S. federal government, public domain), via Wikimedia CommonsBaby Yoda (The Mandalorian)
the gadgets you just got
Photo by aconcagua (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AirPods_Pro_1.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0AirPods (2nd gen / Pro)Ka Kit Pang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSamsung Galaxy FoldPhoto by Dinkun Chen (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SAMSUNG_Galaxy_S10_5G_(21).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.05G phonesEvan-Amos, Public Domain, via Wikimedia CommonsNintendo Switch LitePhoto by slgckgc (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring_Doorbell_(49198898206).jpg · CC BY 2.0Ring doorbell
what everyone is snacking on
AI-generated illustrationGreggs Vegan Sausage RollPhoto 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 Leigh Harries (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Percy_Pig_(6050229631).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Percy PigWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_Raiders_snacks.jpg · CC0Space RaidersPhoto by Dan arndt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dairy_Milk_Freddo.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Freddo
what everyone is drinking
AI-generated illustrationOatly oat milkPhoto by Matt Brown (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crushed_Punk_IPA_cans.jpg · CC BY 2.0BrewDog Punk IPABxxiaolin, 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 illustrationGin (the boom continues)AI-generated illustrationFanta
what made the news in 2019
Boris Johnson becomes PM and wins a landslide December election on 'Get Brexit Done'
Brexit is delayed twice as Parliament deadlocks over Theresa May's deal
Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg drive climate protests across the UK
England win the Cricket World Cup at Lord's in a dramatic super over
Photo by Ben Shread (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boris_Johnson_official_portrait.jpg · OGL 3Boris Johnson wins a landslide December election on 'Get Brexit Done'Photo by Ilovetheeu (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pro-EU_march_for_a_people%27s_vote_on_Brexit,_London,_June_23,_2018_02.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Brexit delayed three times as Parliament deadlocks over the withdrawal dealPhoto by Andrew1829 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Englandteamcarrycwctrophy.png · CC BY-SA 4.0England win the Cricket World Cup at Lord's in a dramatic super overPhoto by Paul Dobraszczyk (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Extinction_Rebellion_London_Occupation,_April_2019.jpg · CC0Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg drive climate protests across BritainPhoto by LEVRIER Guillaume (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fl%C3%A8che_en_feu_-_Spire_on_Fire.jpeg · CC BY-SA 4.0Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is ravaged by fire
what everyone is saying
"OK boomer"the Gen-Z retort to out-of-touch attitudes
