1997: The Year That Changed Everything

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

1997 wasn’t just a year — it was a cultural turning point wrapped in a Union Jack dress and soundtracked by D:Ream. Tony Blair swept into Downing Street with a grin and a guitar-laden theme tune, Britpop was still riding high (but starting to wobble), and after 18 years of Conservative rule, the country exhaled like it had just been holding its breath since Live Aid.

But joy turned quickly to heartbreak. The tragic death of Princess Diana united a nation in grief, leaving newspapers soaked in tears and Candle in the Wind back at number one. Suddenly, everything felt a little more fragile, a little more grown-up.

Still, pop kept popping. The Spice Girls ruled the charts and even the big screen, Radiohead gave us OK Computer and the sound of anxious genius, and All Saints turned parkas and crop tops into high fashion. Harry Potter quietly appeared on the shelves (just a small children’s book, nothing special — yet), and Teletubbies hypnotised toddlers and baffled adults across the land.

On telly, Cold Feet showed us neurotic middle-class relationships were the new rock 'n' roll, The Royle Family began its reign from a well-worn sofa, and Titanic prepared to take over cinemas with soggy grandeur.

1997 — the year we grew up, got hopeful, got heartbroken… and kept dancing anyway.