The Most Bizarre UK No.1s of the 2000s
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Britain in the 00s had some great number one singles. Songs that summed up a moment, stretched the boundaries of what pop could be, yet have stood the test of time. “Stan”. “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”. “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”. “Umbrella”. “Bad Romance”. From this list you would think the British record buying public had excellent, undeniable taste. But then there are other songs where you wonder “how did that become the most popular song in the country?” Whether that’s because it’s defiantly uncommercial, a random novelty or just offensively not very good. Does this make them bad? Not necessarily, but it’s weird they topped the UK charts. This is an exploration of those songs, the stories of the Most Bizarre UK No. 1s of the 2000s.
#00sPop #musiclist
Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
00:48 Oxide & Neutrino – Bound 4 Da Reload
03:49 Limp Bizkit – Rollin’
08:19 Bob The Builder – Mambo No 5
11:39 Las Ketchup – Aserejé
13:57 Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules – Mad World
17:12 Eamon & Frankee
20:10 Crazy Frog – Axel F
23:21 Chico – It’s Chico Time
25:57 Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker
28:59 Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
Soundtrack
Luar – Citrine (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Luar – Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
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Sources
1000 UK Number One Hits by John Kutner & Spencer Leigh (2005) Omnibus Press
“The revolution will not be trivialised” John Robinson, NME, Jan 2000
“Bob the Builder makes number one” Staff, BBC News, Dec 2000
“Limp Bizkit: Hellraiser” Marc Weingarten, Vibe, Dec 2000
“Chart victory ‘dream’ for singer” Staff, BBC News, Dec 2003
““What Goes Up Must Come Down, The Important Thing Is That We’re On Top Now.”” Staff, Terra Networks, 2004 [translated from Spanish]
“Eamon: Ho-Wop Sinsation” Jon Wiederhorn, MTV News, Feb 2004
“Eamon’s Alleged Old Flame Burns Him With Dis Track” Jon Wiederhorn, MTV News, Mar 2004
“That Eamon Dis Track? Ho-Wopper Now Claims He Was Behind It” Jon Wiederhorn, MTV News, Mar 2004
“Eamon Distances Himself From Frankee Track, Welcomes Her To Ho-Wop World” Jon Wiederhorn, MTV News, Mar 2004
“’The Crazy Frog sound? That’s my fault.’” Giles Wilson, BBC News, Jan 2005
“Crazy Frog hops to chart success” Staff, BBC News, May 2005
“Interview with ERIK WERNQUIST, animator at Kaktus Film Sweden and creator of Crazy Frog” Jan Blumentrath, HitQuarters, Oct 2005
“Was Sandi Thom’s effortless rise just too good to be true?” Paul Kelbie, The Independent, May 2006
“An internet superstar – or just another rock’n’roll swindle?” Owen Gibson, The Guardian, May 2006
“Supposing … Sandi Thom is the musical antichrist” Charlie Brooker, The Guardian, Jun 2006
“Sandi Thom – Article” Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, May 2008
“Top Of The Noughties Pops” Bob Stanley, The Guardian, Dec 2009
“Cowell: Facebook music campaign ‘cynical’” Staff, BBC News, Dec 2009
“Rock anthem outselling X Factor winner Joe McElderry” Staff, BBC News, Dec 2009
“Rage Against The Machine swear on 5 live” Staff, BBC News, Dec 2009
“So Solid Crew: ‘What We’re Doing Is Bigger Than Music’” Angus Batey, The Guardian, Jan 2010
“Why Bob the Builder is keeping women out of construction” Kate Lloyd, The Guardian, Jul 2014
“OXIDE AND NEUTRINO – “Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)”” Tom Ewing, Popular Number Ones, Mar 2015
“12 Years On, We Reflect On The Feud Which Shook The World Of Music To Its Core” Gavin Casey, The Sliced Pan, Nov 2015
“Limp Bizkit: “We Got too Big, The Label Milked Us, We Fell Apart…”” Terry Bezer, Metal Hammer, Oct 2016
“Oxide & Neutrino: how we made Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)” Dave Simpson, The Guardian, Jan 2019
“How Rage Against the Machine Created ‘Killing in the Name’” Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, Aug 2020
“GARY JULES ft MICHAEL ANDREWS – “Mad World”” Tom Ewing, Popular Number Ones, Sep 2021
“Ding Ding! Crazy Frog to make a comeback in December” Staff, BBC Culture, Nov 2021
“‘I Think We Opened Doors’: Las Ketchup Look Back on ‘The Ketchup Song’ at 20” Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, Jun 2022
“True story behind Eamon and Frankee’s infamous ‘break-up’ diss songs that weren’t as they seemed” Ali Condon, Unilad, Apr 2023
“When People Run In Circles: Gary Jules And ‘Mad World’” Robin Murray, Clash Music, Dec 2023
“‘It knocked Eminem’s Stan off No 1’: how we made Can We Fix It? by Bob the Builder” Rich Pelley, The Guardian, Dec 2024
“Controversial call behind iconic earworm, ‘The Ketchup Song’” Nine Honey Celebrity, Nine dot Au, Apr 2026
@TrashTheory
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Taking care of your health just got easier – start here with Zocdoc: https://zocdoc.com/trashtheory #sponsored
@seijunsejuki
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
OK I did NOT expect the narrator to look like that. For some reason I was expected and older, distinguished-looking thin guy, like David Bowie or Bill Nighy.
@anarchodolly
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Had a weird moment there @1:08 where I thought I'd fallen through some interdimensional crack when I saw the Oxide & Neutrino logo and thought it was Conflict's logo… 🙃 That would have been a curious combo! 🧐
@fanstastic83
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I actually prefer the cover version of Mad world. It's more haunting.
@CaptainAndy
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Sandi Thom’s whole backstory has been proven to be bullshit.
She was never a touring artist and she didn’t build a fanbase using YouTube.
It was all just a gimmicky and completely made up PR story.
She was actually a guest speaker at my university while I was studying Commercial Music Production and I refused to attend. I don’t need career advice from frauds.
@benpunter
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I highly enjoyed – "A bleep-bloopin' synth pop classic"
@Karton206
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Bob The Builder story is out of my mind, jesus 😀
@kevintyerman1906
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
It was good to see that a campaign to get the "F**k you, I won't do what you tell me" song to number one in the charts, worked.
@animerocksautistic
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Not certain if possible, but I wouldn't mind seeing a video that looked at novelty hits/odd songs that didn't hit number 1 but at least were top 10 or top 5. I'm sure there's been some weird singles that have cropped up over the years.
@jonothanthrace1530
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I laughed so hard at "el tomate" and "las ketchup" that I started tearing up; thank you, universe, for that.
@sonicsnout
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
"Talent Show Industrial Complex"
I fukin love Trash Theory
😂🙌👏🏆
@immer-schlimmer
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I agree with Pete Townsend but regarding life in general.
@spiralpython1989
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Having kids born in 2002, 2004 and 2006, Bob The Builder’s “music” was big news in our car… thanks (not) for reminding me of hours of driving with Can We Fix It? and Mambo No 5.
@rickbannan7110
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Bob The Builder at Number One as one of the most famous unplanned demolitions occurs across the ocean is WILD
@RaverHates
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Fantastic!
@Matt-e5r1t
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Nu metal isn't metal, it's hyper macho dude bro bullshit
@CorbsTheGreat
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I remember Christmas 2009 fondly. It felt like a fun rebellion against the spoon-fed dross.
@Sclothier1588
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Rollin was The Undertaker’s theme song in the WWF at the time and with wrestling being so popular in the UK around 2000/01, that was another reason the song was able to gain such success.
@3aster3gg
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
32:19 care to talk about metalcore?
@SteRDLK
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Unless you're planning to an an entire video around it, where on earth is JCB by Nizlopi!
@danpereyra2165
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
TrashTheory I wasn't familiar with yr game 🙌🙌🙌
@Cogs123
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Between 2000 and 2011, I was trapped in the rear of a minibus for 4 hrs a day having to listen to all this rubbish on the radio while we travelled to work and back. It seemed like an endless parade of covers by Irish boybands, novelty songs and songs by X factor contestants.
During this period I stopped watching programs like Top of the Pops, listening to the charts on the radio or even listening to music at home. This decade broke me musically.
@pinkfuzzysocks1949
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I've always heard it as "I said a hey… ha! the hey the heva through the heaven is heavy you know why my hobby and the boogie and the webby feet"
@DitzyIzzy2009
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
13:52 – It might be more down to the advertising that prevent it from going higher: it listed the countries where it had gone to No1 and implied that topping the Billboard chart was inevitable. In a strange twist of fate, the Americans saw this as arrogance (and who would know better than the USA?) and refused to buy it.
@TwoWholeWorms
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
😮 Trash Theory beard reveal! 😮
@DukesMusic84
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
IT'S LIMP BIZKIT. I can't believe Fred Durst became a pop star and an early icon for Millenials. HOW that band was a thing that happened is beyond me. ONLY in the 2000s.
@djpookie2000
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Your ad is funny. Poor little Lego guy. Texan here, great video. I love seeing what was popular across the pond.
@tmamone83
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Oh god, not the Ketchup Song and that stupid little hand jive song!
Now I do like the "Punk Rocker with Flowers in my Hair" song.
@randovids7147
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
8:51 – Bob the builder !! Can We Fix It ? Bob the Builder – "no it''s f**ked" 😉
@randovids7147
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
1:52 Bound 4 Da Reload was not that bizarre given the time period. The slowed down sample could be easily mixed into the garage remix of Tina Moore – never gonna let you (from 1997)
@acquij
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
You know, with the previous decades it was all fun and games, but now this is making me feel old..
@KremBotop
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I watched Bob the Builder so much as a kid but until recently I didn't know it was a British show, probably because I saw it dubbed. So the fact that it had 2 chart topping singles is insane.
@guimeplaying
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
"Aserejé" became "Ragatanga" here in Brazil, by a band called Rouge, and it was a HUGE success.
@LuminalSpoon
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I have to say Christmas 2003 is forever tied to me getting a PS2 and listening to Tears for Fears as it was my birthday a few days before the 25th of December. My mum was annoyed with the cover of Mad World so she played the whole of their Greatest Hits album on cassette. So I remember playing FIFA 2003 to Everybody Wants to Rule the World. 😂
@Tudsworth
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Killing in the Name and The Muppets both going for Christmas Number One in 2009 was one of the funniest moments of early Facebook and one of the few Internet campaigns that actually got what it wanted.
@LuminalSpoon
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Bob the building,
he's a building,
Bob the building,
OH NO.
@TheCreatureFromTexas
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Mr Theory, please remember that it’s Chico time and any Chico deniers will be sent to the woods
@Modenut
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I remember seeing and hearing the Formula 1 SWF file back in 2001 and I laughed my fucking ass off. It still makes me cackle like an idiot.
@brieclarke
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I found out shockingly recently that Gary Jules' Mad World was a cover
@petermgruhn
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I like how it's all about the charts and the important things the charts say and the bewildering things the charts say, then it ends pointing out that the charts are bullshit and mean nothing.
@OliverSMIC
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Who hid this from me for 24 hours 😡
@petermgruhn
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
"not for the better"… what on earth do you mean? It knocked down Oasis and Coldplay? That's like winning World War 2 and Miss America on the same weekend.
@tinnedmeats
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
This may very well be the greatest music analysis video ever made
@vipslol
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Face reveal….😮😮😮😮????..
@paulduckworth1121
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
With regards to Las Ketchup – Aserejé, the comment "Despite the chorus sounding Spanish to uneducated ears, it's actually gibberish. An approximation what a certain hip pop classic might sound like to a Spanish person that doesn't know much English", brings to mind the 1972 song "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by Adriano Celentano which was intended to sound like American English to people who do not know any English. The main difference being that the whole song is gibberish, not just the chorus.
@LordMarlle
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
If there was a god, everyone involved with Crazy Frog would have gotten hit by lightning
@johnbharris
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Fantastic doc…AGAIN!
A few observations:
Any doc that mentions Jellyfish is a winner.
Any doc which sees Coldplay kicked to the curb…brilliant.
"Take a look at me now…" Ugh…it was bad when Phil Collins sang it. And no amount of covers will ever make it better.
Finally, I would like to quote Professor Elemental from his song I'm British – "And we're so terribly, terribly sorry about Simon Cowell." Never truer words were ever spoken.
Bravo!!!
@AhYesIndeedItsFunTime
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Transition into the advert was brilliant.
@Crazy_Borg
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
The original Mad World by Tears for Fears is an obsucre song around here, it might not had the impact outside the UK back then.
The Michael Andrews / Gary Jules cover is the one most people know of. I wouldn't call it bizarre, its a very powerful rendition.
"Bob the Builders Mambo #5 was pushed from UK single charts number one by DJ Ötzi" Well, that I did not had on my Bingo card. My respect for the british taste in music just took a big nose dive.
@t0xtricity
August 30, 2026 at 11:00 pm
I can just imagine the Gallagher brothers seething with rage at getting swapped out for Bob the Builder, I argue that that's a pretty punk move on his part. Paving the way *pun intended*, for other animated acts; Gorillaz & their more famous counterpart, Crazy Frog.
(I'm kidding around, don't shoot me lol)