2024 in British music

See also: Timeline of musical events

List of years in British music
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This is a summary of the year 2024 in British music.

Events

January

• 1 January – BBC One sees in the New Year with the concert Rick Astley Rocks New Year's Eve. Rick Astley is joined by various guests, including Rylan Clark with whom he performs a rendition of the Dead of Alive track "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".
• 3 January – Data from the British Phonographic Industry shows that female artists enjoyed a record year in the UK Singles Chart, with female artists or groups topping the charts for 31 of 52 weeks, the most since the charts began in 1952.
• 5 January – Indie rock band The Last Dinner Party are named the BBC Sound of 2024.
• 6 January – Music researcher Colin Jagger launches an appeal to find the whereabouts of the original score of Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited, which was sold in 1915 and is believed to be lost.
• 7 January – At the 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Foy Vance and Ed Sheeran win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "A Beautiful Game", written for the final episode of the TV series Ted Lasso.
• 8 January – Roger Daltrey announces he will step down as curator of the annual Teenage Cancer Trust gigs held at the Royal Albert Hall following the 2024 events.
• 10 January – Stevie Spring is appointed Chair of the PRS for Music Board, succeeding Stephen Davidson, who will relinquish the role officially at the organisations' AGM.
• 11 January – Royal Mail issues a set of 15 stamps featuring the Spice Girls to celebrate their 30th anniversary, the first time a set of UK stamps have been dedicated to a female pop group.
• 22 January – Birmingham Royal Ballet announces simultaneously the departure of Koen Kessels as its music director on 30 June 2024, and the appointment of Paul Murphy as its next music director, effective 1 July 2024.
• 24 January –
  • Research published by the Music Venues Trust highlights the number of live music venues closing due to financial pressure, with 125 abandoning live music in 2023, half of those closing completely.
  • Raye is nominated for seven Brit Awards, setting a new record for the most number of nominations received by a single artist.
• 29 January – Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, J Hus and Doja Cat are confirmed as headline acts for the 2024 Wireless Festival, scheduled to take place from 12–14 July.
• 30 January – A report published by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee highlights misogyny in the music industry.
• 31 January –
  • The rock band Nothing but Thieves play an exclusive gig for Radio X listeners at London's O2 Forum Kentish Town.
  • Adele announces plans to hold four concerts at a specially built stadium in Munich in August, something she describes as "a bit random, but still fabulous!".

February

• 3 February – Seventeen grassroots music venues across Wales experiencing financial difficulties are offered £718,000 in Welsh Government funding to help keep them open.
• 11 February – Oasis are nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside other artists including Sinéad O'Connor, Cher and Mariah Carey.
• 15 February – The BBC reverses its plan to axe its in-house BBC Singers choir.
• 23 February – Rapper Wiley, whose real name is Richard Cowie, is stripped of his MBE after sharing abusive and antisemitic social media posts.
• 26 February – The Royal Mint unveils a collectable coin featuring George Michael.
• 29 February – Manchester's Co-op Live arena, due to open in April, is chosen as the venue for the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards on 10 November.

March

• 1 March –
  • Swing Fever, an album of big band standards recorded by Jools Holland and Rod Stewart, reaches number one in the UK album chart, giving Holland his first number one album.
  • Release of "Dizzy", Olly Alexander's UK entry for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.
  • The annual Cân i Gymru (Song for Wales) contest is held in Swansea, and is won by Sara Davies with the song "Ti".
• 2 March – The 2024 Brit Awards are take place at London's O2 Arena. Raye is the biggest winner of the night, winning six of the seven awards she was nominated for, and beating previous records set by Blue, Adele and Harry Styles at a single awards ceremony.
• 7 March – Blur drummer Dave Rowntree is selected as the Labour Party candidate for Mid Sussex.

May

• 24 May – The three-day BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend music festival gets underway in Luton, Bedfordshire.

Classical works

• Jonathan Dove – Togetherness (for string quartet)
• Gavin Higgins – Horn Concerto
• Dani Howard – Ascent

Charts and sales

Number-one singles

The singles chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist(s)	Chart sales	References
4 January	"Last Christmas"	Wham!	96,653
11 January	"Stick Season"	Noah Kahan	59,000
18 January			65,834
25 January			72,235
1 February			82,424
8 February			76,191
15 February			71,175
22 February			70,862
29 February	"Texas Hold 'Em"	Beyoncé	59,272
7 March			73,280
14 March			62,113

Number-one albums

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist(s)	Chart sales	References
4 January	Christmas	Michael Bublé	22,020
11 January	Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent	Lewis Capaldi	8,513
18 January	A Matter of Time	Shed Seven	17,556
25 January	Rolling Stone	D-Block Europe	18,397
1 February	Saviors	Green Day	31,361
8 February	Bitter Sweet Love	James Arthur	16,901
15 February	Prelude to Ecstasy	The Last Dinner Party	32,846
22 February	Stick Season	Noah Kahan	21,145
29 February	Tangk	Idles	20,230
7 March	Swing Fever	Rod Stewart and Jools Holland	23,950
14 March	Liam Gallagher John Squire	Liam Gallagher and John Squire	39,395

Number-one compilation albums

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Chart sales	References
4 January	Now Christmas	4,557
11 January	Barbie the Album	3,236
18 January	Wonka	2,760
25 January	Now Yearbook Extra 1988	2,821
1 February	Now 12" 80s: 1982 Part 1	2,850
8 February	The Greatest Showman	2,695
15 February	Hazbin Hotel	7,941
22 February		7,346
29 February		6,801
7 March		6,235
14 March		5,535

Deaths

• 4 January – David Soul, 80, American-born actor (Starsky & Hutch, Here Come the Brides) and singer ("Don't Give Up on Us").
• 5 January – Del Palmer, 71, English singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and sound engineer.
• 7 January – Tony Clarkin, 77, English guitarist and songwriter (Magnum).
• 11 January – Annie Nightingale, 83, English radio DJ and television broadcaster
• 16 January – Laurie Johnson, 96, English composer and bandleader.
• 18 January – Ivan Moody, 59, British classical composer and musicologist.
• 2 February –
  • Steve Brown, 66, British composer, lyricist and record producer, pulmonary fibrosis.
  • Derrick McIntyre, 66, English bassist (Jamiroquai), worked with (Emeli Sande), (Will Young), (Beverley Knight).
• 4 February – Mallorca Lee, 51, Scottish DJ, producer, (Ultra-Sonic), (Public Domain).
• 12 February – Steve Wright, 69, English radio DJ, television presenter.
• 15 February – Ian Amey, 79, English musician and singer (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich).
• 22 February – John Lowe, 81, English pianist (The Quarrymen).
• 24 February – Stewart Robertson, 75, Scottish conductor. (death announced on this date)
• 10 March – Karl Wallinger, 66, Welsh musician (The Waterboys, World Party) and songwriter ("Ship of Fools").

See also

• 2024 in British radio
• 2024 in British television
• 2024 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2024