2025 in British music

This is a summary of the year 2025 in British music.

Events

January

• 1 January – BBC One sees in the New Year with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who performs and hosts a "New Year Disco".
• 2 January – Neil Young announces he will not play the 2025 Glastonbury Festival because it is partnered with the BBC and he believes it to be "under corporate control".
• 3 January – Neil Young announces he will headline Glastonbury a day after saying he had turned down a slot because of the BBC's involvement in the event.
• 4 January – A statue of musician Rory Gallagher is unveiled at Belfast's Ulster Hall.
• 8 January –
  • UK music fans spent £2.4bn on streaming and vinyl during 2024, data shows, exceeding the previous record of £2.2bn in 2001.
  • A UK inquest into the death of singer Liam Payne opens, and hears that he died as a result of "polytrauma".
• 10 January –
  • Chappell Roan wins BBC Radio 1's Sound of 2025.
  • The Elton John compilation album Diamonds reaches number one in the UK Albums chart after 374 weeks.
  • Le Pub, a music venue in Newport which was threatened with closure, has been bought by a community enterprise, Music Venue Properties (MVP), which aims to protect live music locations.
• 16 January – The Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung announces Sir Simon Rattle as the recipient of the 2025 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.

February

• 4 February – The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Vanessa Reed as its next chief executive, effective 2 June 2025.
• 5 February – It is announced that Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath will reunite for a final fundraising concert in Birmingham on 5 July.
• 12 February – Oasis and New Order are among 14 acts on the 2025 longlist for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 13 February –
  • It is announced that Mariah Carey will headline Brighton Pride on 2 August.
  • English Heritage announces that Marc Bolan is among a number of people to be honoured with blue plaques.
• 20 February – Charges are dropped against a friend of Liam Payne and two members of staff at the hotel in Argentina where he died.
• 25 February – Release of Is This What We Want?, a silent album co-written by more than 1,000 musicians, including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush, as a protest against planned changes to UK copyright law, which they argue will make it easier for AI companies to train models using copyrighted material without a licence.

March

• 1 March – The 2025 Brit Awards take place at The O2 in London. The ceremony will feature a performance by Sabrina Carpenter.
• 4 March – Edwyn Collins announces he is to stop touring live later in 2025 following a farewell tour.
• 5 March – Coldplay are to pick the acts for a Super Bowl-style half-time show during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, the first time such a concert has been staged during the World Cup.
• 6 March – Media regulator Ofcom have received 825 complaints about ITV's coverage of the Brit Awards ceremony, the majority of them about Sabrina Carpenter's pre-watershed opening performance and Charli XCX's outfit.
• 7 March – All-female country trio Remember Monday are chosen to represent the UK at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest with their song "What the Hell Just Happened?".
• 8 March – Belfast is announced as the host of the 2026 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), which will take place in August 2026.
• 10 March – King Charles III launches a personal playlist, The King's Music Room, through Apple Music with songs that have been important to him. Songs include tracks by Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue and Grace Jones.
• 13 March – Sugababes release their new single "Jungle".
• 17 March – Stevie Wonder is announced as the headline act at the 2025 Lytham Festival, and will perform on 3 July.
• 20 March – Stormzy is nominated for an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge in recognition of his philanthropic work and impact on education, music, sport and literature.
• 21 March – BBC Radio Wales DJ Aleighcia Scott reaches number one in the iTunes Reggae Chart with her first Welsh-language single, "Dod o’r Galon".
• 22 March – The Searchers announce they will stop touring after 68 years, ending with their Glastonbury debut at the 2025 Festival.
• 25 March – The Competition and Markets Authority says that Ticketmaster "may have misled Oasis fans" with unclear pricing over the band's reunion tour.
• 28 March – Release date of Sweet Illusions, the debut music album of actor Peter Capaldi.
• 29 March – Launch of the Black Welsh Music Awards, designed to recognise talented black musicians in Wales.

April

• 2 April – Muse have cancelled a forthcoming concert in Istanbul after the promoter insulted anti-government protestors in Turkey, leading to pressure from fans and local artists.
• 10 April – Pulp announce the forthcoming release of a new album, Move, as well as the release of "Spike Island", their first single since 2001.

May

• 15–24 May – Norwich Jazz Festival returns after a 20 year hiatus.

June

• 4–6 June – The 2025 Stendhal Festival takes place in Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Headline acts include the Lightning Seeds and Kate Nash.

Bands formed

Bands disbanded

• Porridge Radio
• The Priests

Bands reformed

• The Beta Band
• Black Sabbath (for final farewell gig)
• Five (original line-up)
• Gene
• Girl Thing

Classical works

• Sir George Benjamin – 'Interludes and Aria' from Lessons in Love and Violence
• David Matthews – Serenade and Tango
• Mark-Anthony Turnage – Sco (guitar concerto)

New operas

• Mark-Anthony Turnage and Lee Hall – Festen

British music awards

Charts and sales

Number-one singles

The singles chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Number-one albums

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Number-one compilation albums

The compilation albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Deaths

• 2 January – Russ North, 59, English heavy metal singer (Cloven Hoof).
• 9 January – Laurie Holloway, 86, English pianist, musical director and composer.
• 10 January – Colin Carter, 76, British musician (Flash).
• 13 January – Elgar Howarth, 89, English conductor, composer and trumpeter.
• 15 January – Linda Nolan, 65, Irish-English singer, actress and television personality.
• 18 January – Claire van Kampen, 71, English composer (Royal Shakespeare Company), playwright and theatre director, cancer.
• 20 January – John Sykes, 65, English guitarist (Tygers of Pan Tang, Whitesnake) and songwriter ("Is This Love"), cancer. (death announced on this date)
• 25 January – Edweena Banger, British musician (The Nosebleeds, Slaughter & The Dogs). (death announced on this date)
• 30 January – Marianne Faithfull, 78, English singer ("As Tears Go By"), songwriter ("Broken English") and actress (The Girl on a Motorcycle).
• 1 February – Peter Bassano, 79–80, English trombonist ("Hey Jude") and conductor.
• 5 February – Mike Ratledge, 81, British musician (Soft Machine).
• 12 February – Denis Wick, 93, British trombonist.
• 17 February – Jamie Muir, 82, Scottish painter and musician (King Crimson).
• 18 February – Rick Buckler, 69, English drummer (the Jam).
• 19 February – Snowy Fleet, 79, English-born Australian drummer (The Easybeats).
• 25 February – Simon Lindley, 76, English organist, choirmaster and composer.
• 1 March – Joey Molland, 77, English songwriter, guitarist (Badfinger)
• 3 March – Geraint Jarman, 74, Welsh musician, poet and television producer.
• 6 March – Brian James, 70, English punk rock guitarist (The Damned, The Lords of the New Church) and songwriter ("New Rose").
• 10 March – Stedman Pearson, 60, British singer (Five Star), complications from diabetes.
• 17 March – Peter Farrelly, 76, Northern Irish musician (Fruupp). (death announced on this date)
• 22 March – Paul Wagstaff, British guitarist (Paris Angels, Black Grape). (death announced on this date)
• 24 March – Alan Cuckston, classical harpsichordist, pianist, conductor, and lecturer, 85
• 5 April – Dave Allen, 69, English bassist (Gang of Four, Shriekback, King Swamp).
• 11 April – Mike Berry, 82, English singer ("The Sunshine of Your Smile") and actor (Are You Being Served?, Worzel Gummidge).

See also

• 2025 in British radio
• 2025 in British television
• 2025 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2025

Notes

References