2016 in British music

2010s in music in the UK
Number-one singles
Number-one albums
Best-selling singles
Best-selling albums
Summaries and charts 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
←2009	2020→
Top 10 singles 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, , 2017, 2018, 2019
←2009	2020→

This is a summary of the year 2016 in British music.

Events

• 12 January - Having stipulated that he did not want a funeral ceremony, David Bowie is cremated in New Jersey, USA, with arrangements for his ashes to be scattered in accordance with Buddhist rituals on the island of Bali.^[1]
• 13 January - Chetham's School of Music announces the appointment of Alun Jones as its new Head, effective September 2016.^[2]
• 28 January - Wigmore Hall live-streams performances for the first time.^[3]
• 24 February - The 2016 Brit Awards ceremony takes place at The O2, presented by Ant & Dec.^[4] David Bowie is awarded the "Brits Icon" award, a few weeks after his death. Actor Gary Oldman accepts the award on Bowie's behalf.^[5]
• 14 May – The United Kingdom will compete in the final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. This year's Joe and Jake will represent the Untied Kingdom with their song, You're Not Alone
• October - The Wind in the Willows, a musical by Julian Fellowes with music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, is scheduled to receive its world première at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth.^[6]

Television series

• 8 January – Launch of the first series of Lip Sync Battle: UK on Channel 5, a British version of the American musical comedy television show where celebrities lip sync battle each other to various popular songs.
• 9 January – Launch of the fifth series of The Voice UK, the last to be broadcast by the BBC.

Charts

Artists and groups reformed

• Spice Girls

Groups on hiatus

• Bombay Bicycle Club^[7]
• One Direction

Groups disbanded

• The Enemy
• Maybeshewill
• Viola Beach
• Wodensthrone

Opera

• Figaro Gets a Divorce by Elena Langer (libretto by David Pountney) is premièred on 21 February 2016 by Welsh National Opera in Cardiff.^[8]
• Found and Lost by Emily Hall is premièred at the Corinthia Hotel London in January 2016.

Film scores and incidental music

Film

• Erran Baron Cohen & David Buckley - Grimsby
• Charlie Mole - Dad's Army

Television

• Debbie Wiseman - Dickensian

British music awards

• Brit Awards - see 2016 Brit Awards

Deaths

• 4 January - Robert Stigwood, Australian-born band manager (Bee Gees, Cream) and film producer (Grease, Saturday Night Fever), 81^[9] (death announced on this date)
• 10 January - David Bowie, singer-songwriter and actor, 69^[10]
• 17 January - Dale Griffin, drummer (Mott the Hoople), 67 (Alzheimer's disease)^[11]
• 24 January - Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (Rainbow, Dio), 68^[12]
• 26 January - Colin Vearncombe (aka Black), singer-songwriter, 53 (head injuries sustained in a traffic collision)^[13]
• 28 January
  • Paul Kantner, singer-songwriter, guitarist (Jefferson Airplane), 74 ^[14]
  • Signe Anderson, singer-songwriter (Jefferson Airplane), 74^[15]
• 13 February - Members of Viola Beach:
  • Kris Leonard, 20
  • Jack Dakin, 19
  • Tomas Lowe, 27
  • River Reeves, 19
  • Craig Tarry, 32, manager (road accident)^[16]
• 18 February - Brendan Healy, 59, actor and musician
• 19 February - Vi Subversa, musician (Poison Girls), 80^[17]
• 25 February - John Chilton, jazz musician and writer, 83^[18]
• 1 March - Louise Plowright, musical theatre actress, 59 (pancreatic cancer)^[19]
• 3 March - Gwyneth George, concert cellist and music academic, 95^[20]
• 8 March - Sir George Martin, Grammy-winning producer and composer, 90^[21]
• 9 March - Jon English, English-born Australian musician and actor, 66 (complications from surgery)^[22]
• 10 March - Keith Emerson, keyboardist (Emerson, Lake and Palmer), 71 (self-inflicted gunshot wound)^[23]
• 14 March - Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer and conductor, Master of the Queen's Music (2004–2014), 81^[24]

References

1. Keveney, Bill (31 January 2016). "David Bowie requests ashes be scattered in Bali". USA Today. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
2. "Chetham's School of Music appoints new Head" (Press release). Chetham's School of Music. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
3. "Wigmore Hall Announces Start of Live Streaming" (Press release). Wigmore Hall. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
4. "Ant & Dec return for The BRITs 2016". The BRIT Awards. 14 September 2015.
5. Vulpo, Mike (24 February 2016). "Lorde Gets Emotional When Paying Tribute to the Late David Bowie at 2016 Brit Awards". E! Online. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
6. "Julian Fellowes’ The Wind in the Willows to receive world premiere in Plymouth". thestage.co.uk. The Stage. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
7. http://nme.com/news/bombay-bicycle-club/91081
8. "Figaro Gets a Divorce", Welsh National Opera website, accessed 19 March 2015.
9. Bee Gees Manager Robert Stigwood Dies at 81
10. "David Bowie, the Legendary Musician, Has Died at 69". New York Times. 11 January 2016. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
11. http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/14212483.Mott_The_Hoople_drummer_Dale__Buffin__Griffin_dies_at_67/?ref=twtrec
12. Former Rainbow/Dio Bassist Jimmy Bain Dead At 68
13. Colin Vearncombe, the voice of Black, dies, aged 53
14. Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantnet dies at 74
15. Signe Anderson, Original Jefferson Airplane Singer, Dead at 74
16. Members and manager of indie band Viola Beach die in car crash in Sweden
17. Vi Subversa: 20th June 1935 – 19th February 2016: Flesh and blood is what we are
18. John Chilton, Grammy award-winning jazz writer, dies
19. Louise Plowright dies aged 59
20. UK cellist Gywneth George dies aged 95 – The Strad
21. George Martin, Producer and Arranger for The Beatles, Dies at 90
22. Jon English, Australian singer-songwriter and All Together Now star, dies age 66
23. Ratliff, Ben (11 March 2016). "Keith Emerson, ’70s Rock Showman With a Taste for Spectacle, Dies at 71". The New York Times. p. B7.
24. British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies dies aged 81