# 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.

### February

* 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 Superbowl-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.
** 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.
* 28 March – Release date of Sweet Illusions, the debut music album of actor Peter Capaldi.

### May

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

## Bands disbanded

* Porridge Radio
* The Priests

## Bands reformed

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

## Charts and sales
### Number-one singles

The singles chart includes a proportion for streaming.
| Chart date (week ending) | Song | Artist(s) | Chart sales |
| 2 January | "Last Christmas" | Wham! | 114,290 |
| 9 January | "That's So True" | Gracie Abrams | 46,869 |
| 16 January | "That's So True" | Gracie Abrams | 49,122 |
| 23 January | "That's So True" | Gracie Abrams | 50,584 |
| 30 January | "Messy" | Lola Young | 50,697 |
| 6 February | "Messy" | Lola Young | 56,524 |
| 13 February | "Messy" | Lola Young | 56,479 |
| 20 February | "Messy" | Lola Young | 51,751 |
| 27 February | "Not Like Us" | Kendrick Lamar | 52,507 |
| 6 March | "Not Like Us" | Kendrick Lamar | 37,456 |
| 13 March | "Pink Pony Club" | Chappell Roan | 38,646 |
| 20 March | "Pink Pony Club" | Chappell Roan | 39,032 |

### Number-one albums

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.
| Chart date (week ending) | Album | Artist(s) | Chart sales |
| 2 January | Christmas | Michael Bublé | 27,016 |
| 9 January | +–=÷× (Tour Collection) | Ed Sheeran | 15,606 |
| 16 January | Diamonds | Elton John | 14,759 |
| 23 January | The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | Chappell Roan | 10,191 |
| 30 January | Better Man | Robbie Williams | 43,238 |
| 6 February | Can't Rush Greatness | Central Cee | 42,372 |
| 13 February | Hurry Up Tomorrow | The Weeknd | 33,694 |
| 20 February | Lover (Live from Paris) | Taylor Swift | 46,812 |
| 27 February | Short n' Sweet | Sabrina Carpenter | 34,091 |
| 6 March | People Watching | Sam Fender | 107,124 |
| 13 March | Short n' Sweet | Sabrina Carpenter | 17,761 |
| 20 March | Mayhem | Lady Gaga | 55,577 |

### Number-one compilation albums

The compilation albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.
| Chart date (week ending) | Album | Chart sales |
| 2 January | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 12,338 |
| 9 January | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 8,919 |
| 16 January | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 8,886 |
| 23 January | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 8,578 |
| 30 January | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 7,037 |
| 6 February | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 6,014 |
| 13 February | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 5,256 |
| 20 February | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 6,920 |
| 27 February | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 4,404 |
| 6 March | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 3,613 |
| 13 March | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 3,840 |
| 20 March | Wicked: The Soundtrack | 3,411 |

## 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.