Welcome to 2003! Click here for the rest of the Noughties appreciation
What happened in the world?
30 January - Richard Colvin Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber", sentenced to life imprisonment by a United States court.
15 February - In London, more than 2 million people demonstrate against the Iraq War, the largest demonstration in British history.
17 February - The London congestion charge, a fee that is levied on motorists travelling within designated parts of London, came into operation.
12 March - Iraq disarmament crisis: British prime minister Tony Blair proposes an amendment to the possible 18th U.N. resolution, which would call for Iraq to meet certain benchmarks to prove that it was disarming. The amendment is immediately rejected by France, who promises to veto any new resolution.
20 March - 2003 Iraq war: Land troops from United Kingdom join troops from the United States, Australia and Poland in the invasion of Iraq.
April 21 - S Club announce live on stage at London's Docklands Arena that they've decided to split up after five years together. Their final single, "Say Goodbye", enters the chart at #2 a month after the announcement.
29 April - Tony Blair holds a one day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin mocks Britain's and America's failure to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
29 May - Andrew Gilligan broadcasts a report on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme stating that the government claimed in its dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes knowing the claim to be dubious. A political storm ensues. Gilligan's source is David Kelly, a weapons expert. LOL!!!
15 June - The News of the World publishes a newspaper article in which Ian Huntley is photographed in his cell at Woodhill Prison. An undercover reporter had got a job in the prison and was being employed as Huntley's guard.
15 July - David Kelly appears before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee to answer questions over the information he had given to Andrew Gilligan.
18 July - David Kelly is found dead near his home in Oxfordshire — police suspect that he committed suicide.
20 July - The BBC confirms that Dr David Kelly, found dead from suspected suicide two days ago, was the main source for a controversial report that sparked a deep rift with the government.
1 August - The Hutton Inquiry begins, with judge Lord Hutton opening an inquiry into the recent deaths of weapons expert Dr David Kelly
4 September - The Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore.
29 September - The comeback of Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham) in EastEnders is screened, 14 years after the character was supposedly killed off, and just over four months after the BBC confirmed that Grantham would be returning to the series
3 November - Channel 4's soap opera Brookside finishes after 21 years on air. Had fallen off by then. Jimmy Corkhill was arguably the baddest man in soaplands those days.
22 November - England are rugby world champions after defeating Australia 20-17 after extra time
24 November - The High Court in Glasgow imposes a minimum sentence of 27 years for Al Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The trial judge had originally recommended a minimum of just 20 years, which could have seen him out of prison as early as 2019. But the new sentence means that Al Megrahi is set to remain behind bars until at least 2026. LOL!!!
November 30 - Michael Jackson is arrested on charges of child molestation
26 December - A policeman dies and two others are injured after being shot by a man they were questioning about a suspicious BMW car in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Sounds of 2003
Well we all know 2003 was the year of a bullet-ridden, Southside Jamaica Queens, New York native by the name of Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent made one of if not the biggest entrance into the hip-hop game with the classic Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The album went on to surpass 12million copies sold.
Beyonce stepped out solo with Dangerously In Love. Smashed the charts as expected. Her soon-to-be-husband Jay-Z marked his "retirement" (like I ever believed that) with the release of the Black Album. The Jay-Z worshipping went into overdrive after this.
Also making a big appearance was dancehall pop superstar Sean Paul. Topped the charts twice with Blu Cantrell (UK) and Beyonce (US), then by himself with Get Busy on the Stephen "Lenky" Marsden (where is he now) produced Diwali riddim. Arguably the best riddim of the whole decade. Refreshing and innovative are the two words I'd use to describe it.
His success spawned a resurgence of dancehall in the mainstream. Acts such as Elephant Man, Kevin Lyttle, TOK enjoying regular rotation on mainstream radio playlists and music channels both here (UK) and US. Best time for music personally because I was proud to see my island doing big things. That all came to a halt when certain man went on campaigns like big gyal pickney but SNM (say no more).
What else went down?
A star was born. Yes, 2003 was the year One Night IN Paris touched road and made the DVD man/woman a lot of money. Great name for DVD but to be frank the movie was rubbish. Yes, I watched and? I bet you did too. First time I've ever seen a movie shot on night vision. I'll pass thanks
2003 Big Brother was the worst to date. Cameron Stoute won. WHO? Where is he now? This was the first series where I didn't care about missing episodes.
David Beckham left Manchester United to sign for Spanish giants Real Madrid. He would turn out to be the last Galatico bought until 2009.
Popstars: The Rivals birthed the short-lived career of Hear'Say (remember them? lol). Not gonna lie, I was sucked. Can't believe I was a fan of them.
Remember this tune?
Staying on the lesbo tip Madonna, Britney and Xtina Aguilera had their three-way snogfest ('snog' always brings an immature chuckle out of my system).
Ali G cracked America with his legendary show. My personal favourite UK comic. Wasn't a fan of Bruno, Ali G wasn't as good as he was, but Borat still reigned King.
That was the year 2004. What were you highlights of 2003?
What happened in the world?
30 January - Richard Colvin Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber", sentenced to life imprisonment by a United States court.
15 February - In London, more than 2 million people demonstrate against the Iraq War, the largest demonstration in British history.
17 February - The London congestion charge, a fee that is levied on motorists travelling within designated parts of London, came into operation.
12 March - Iraq disarmament crisis: British prime minister Tony Blair proposes an amendment to the possible 18th U.N. resolution, which would call for Iraq to meet certain benchmarks to prove that it was disarming. The amendment is immediately rejected by France, who promises to veto any new resolution.
20 March - 2003 Iraq war: Land troops from United Kingdom join troops from the United States, Australia and Poland in the invasion of Iraq.
April 21 - S Club announce live on stage at London's Docklands Arena that they've decided to split up after five years together. Their final single, "Say Goodbye", enters the chart at #2 a month after the announcement.
29 April - Tony Blair holds a one day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin mocks Britain's and America's failure to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
29 May - Andrew Gilligan broadcasts a report on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme stating that the government claimed in its dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes knowing the claim to be dubious. A political storm ensues. Gilligan's source is David Kelly, a weapons expert. LOL!!!
15 June - The News of the World publishes a newspaper article in which Ian Huntley is photographed in his cell at Woodhill Prison. An undercover reporter had got a job in the prison and was being employed as Huntley's guard.
15 July - David Kelly appears before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee to answer questions over the information he had given to Andrew Gilligan.
18 July - David Kelly is found dead near his home in Oxfordshire — police suspect that he committed suicide.
20 July - The BBC confirms that Dr David Kelly, found dead from suspected suicide two days ago, was the main source for a controversial report that sparked a deep rift with the government.
1 August - The Hutton Inquiry begins, with judge Lord Hutton opening an inquiry into the recent deaths of weapons expert Dr David Kelly
4 September - The Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore.
29 September - The comeback of Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham) in EastEnders is screened, 14 years after the character was supposedly killed off, and just over four months after the BBC confirmed that Grantham would be returning to the series
3 November - Channel 4's soap opera Brookside finishes after 21 years on air. Had fallen off by then. Jimmy Corkhill was arguably the baddest man in soaplands those days.
22 November - England are rugby world champions after defeating Australia 20-17 after extra time
24 November - The High Court in Glasgow imposes a minimum sentence of 27 years for Al Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The trial judge had originally recommended a minimum of just 20 years, which could have seen him out of prison as early as 2019. But the new sentence means that Al Megrahi is set to remain behind bars until at least 2026. LOL!!!
November 30 - Michael Jackson is arrested on charges of child molestation
26 December - A policeman dies and two others are injured after being shot by a man they were questioning about a suspicious BMW car in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Sounds of 2003
Well we all know 2003 was the year of a bullet-ridden, Southside Jamaica Queens, New York native by the name of Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent made one of if not the biggest entrance into the hip-hop game with the classic Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The album went on to surpass 12million copies sold.
Beyonce stepped out solo with Dangerously In Love. Smashed the charts as expected. Her soon-to-be-husband Jay-Z marked his "retirement" (like I ever believed that) with the release of the Black Album. The Jay-Z worshipping went into overdrive after this.
Also making a big appearance was dancehall pop superstar Sean Paul. Topped the charts twice with Blu Cantrell (UK) and Beyonce (US), then by himself with Get Busy on the Stephen "Lenky" Marsden (where is he now) produced Diwali riddim. Arguably the best riddim of the whole decade. Refreshing and innovative are the two words I'd use to describe it.
His success spawned a resurgence of dancehall in the mainstream. Acts such as Elephant Man, Kevin Lyttle, TOK enjoying regular rotation on mainstream radio playlists and music channels both here (UK) and US. Best time for music personally because I was proud to see my island doing big things. That all came to a halt when certain man went on campaigns like big gyal pickney but SNM (say no more).
What else went down?
A star was born. Yes, 2003 was the year One Night IN Paris touched road and made the DVD man/woman a lot of money. Great name for DVD but to be frank the movie was rubbish. Yes, I watched and? I bet you did too. First time I've ever seen a movie shot on night vision. I'll pass thanks
2003 Big Brother was the worst to date. Cameron Stoute won. WHO? Where is he now? This was the first series where I didn't care about missing episodes.
David Beckham left Manchester United to sign for Spanish giants Real Madrid. He would turn out to be the last Galatico bought until 2009.
Popstars: The Rivals birthed the short-lived career of Hear'Say (remember them? lol). Not gonna lie, I was sucked. Can't believe I was a fan of them.
Remember this tune?
Staying on the lesbo tip Madonna, Britney and Xtina Aguilera had their three-way snogfest ('snog' always brings an immature chuckle out of my system).
Ali G cracked America with his legendary show. My personal favourite UK comic. Wasn't a fan of Bruno, Ali G wasn't as good as he was, but Borat still reigned King.
That was the year 2004. What were you highlights of 2003?
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