- AC/DC’s Back in Black tops the construction charts, followed by Fleetwood Mac's Dreams
- Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo and Lana Del Rey feature among the most listened-to artists
- Research identifies the most popular song for each UK trade
Pop icon Harry Styles and Disney’s Olivia Rodrigo are among the most listened-to artists by UK tradespeople, new research has revealed, while AC/DC’s rock classic Back in Black is the most popular song.
IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, analysed thousands of Spotify playlists1 containing trade-related words in their titles, such as ‘tradesperson’, ‘plumber’ and ‘building site’, to identify the songs which appear the most frequently.
Australian rockers AC/DC are the most popular artist and feature in trade playlists more than twice as much as often as any other singer or band. Three of the band’s hits feature in the top ten tradey tunes, with Highway to Hell and Thunderstruck joining Back to Black on the list.
Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 single Dreams, from their best-selling album Rumours, is the second most listened-to track, ahead of Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood.
Olivia Rodrigo, star of multiple Disney TV series, also makes the top ten with good 4 u, which recently topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in a row. Rodrigo is the third most popular artist, behind AC/DC and Lana Del Rey.
Another surprise inclusion is Harry Styles, formerly of One Direction. He is the fifth favourite artist among tradespeople, largely thanks to the popularity of his summer anthem Watermelon Sugar.
The top ten most listened-to songs by UK tradespeople are:
1) Back in Black - AC/DC
2) Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
3) Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
4) Africa - TOTO
5) Highway to Hell - AC/DC
6) Thunderstruck - AC/DC
7) PTT (Paint The Town) - LOONA
8) Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
9) The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala
10) good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo
Many of these songs appear in playlists across the industry, but it seems that each trade has its own taste in music.
The most popular song for each UK trade is:
- Builder: Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
- Electrician: Closer - The Chainsmokers
- Joiner: Back in Black - AC/DC
- Plumber: Highway to Hell - AC/DC
- Plasterer: Nimbasa CORE - plasterbrain
- Painter Decorator: PTT (Paint The Town) - LOONA
- Landscaper: Avant Gardener - Courtney Barnett
- Carpenter: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
- Bricklayer: Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt - DJ Shadow
Dominick Sandford, Director and Head of Merchandising & Marketing at IronmongeryDirect, said: “Music is a massive part of day-to-day life for tradespeople, whether they’re working on a construction site or in someone’s home, and it’s great to see that they have such varied taste!
“Whether you listen to Harry Styles or AC/DC, playing songs in the background can really help create a positive work environment so it should definitely be encouraged.”
To discover and download the ultimate playlist for each UK trade, visit: https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/blog/the-perfect-playlist-for-each-trade-revealed