Is your musical taste dependent on where you live? According to new stats from Spotify, it just might be. The streaming app and website has pulled together data on the listening habits of its listeners around the world, resulting in playlists featuring 100 songs popular in each city.
In Edinburgh, The Proclaimers’ ‘Sunshine on Leith’, ‘Face for the Radio’ by The View and ‘Dignity’ by Deacon Blue are among the most popular tracks, but it’s not just big-name Scottish artists that feature – Aberdonian singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph (winner of the most recent Scottish Album of the Year Award) and Glaswegian synth-poppers Prides have also made the cut.
Notable non-Scottish trends include a strong Mancunian showing from The Stone Roses, Oasis and Noel Gallagher’s Flying Birds, and a taste for reality TV hits from Ben Haenow and Stevie McCrorie (though admittedly, the latter has that Scottish connection too). One of the more, shall we say, interesting selections is the 1998 boyband cheese-fest ‘Got The Feelin’ by Five – known for groundbreaking lyrics such as ‘7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 / I'm on the microphone, got you hot like the sun’ and ‘Five will make you feel alright’.
Spotify are keen to point out the playlists aren't composed of the most played tracks in each city – instead, it’s the ‘distinctive’ music enjoyed in each location. In other words, it's the songs that people in a given city listen to a fair bit which other cities to don't listen to as much. That said, it’s maybe worth noting that Spotify users in Edinburgh don't have a monopoly on streaming ‘Sunshine on Leith’ – it’s also ranked as one of the most popular tunes in Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Have a listen to the full playlist below:
See more music in Edinburgh from Time Out.