# 1949 in British music

This is a summary of 1949 in music in the United Kingdom.

## Events

* February – On hearing of the death of Ernest Walker, Albert Schweitzer writes: "Now the dear, gentle, kind, distinguished Dr. Walker has left this life. Seeing him impressed me deeply each time."
* 14 July – Kathleen Ferrier performs in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony in Amsterdam, with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, a work written specifically for her.
* 5 September – Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at The Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death.
* date unknown – The Tempo Records jazz record label is founded by Colin Pomroy, Jack Clough, and R.E.G. (Ron) Davies.

## Popular music

* "Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells" by Billy Reid, performed by Dorothy Squires
* "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" by Tommie Connor

## Classical music: new works

* Malcolm Arnold – Symphony No. 1
* Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 8 in B flat Minor
* Benjamin Britten – Spring Symphony
* William Walton – Sonata for violin and piano (written for Yehudi Menuhin and Louis Kentner)

## Opera

* Benjamin Britten – Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep)
* Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Pilgrim's Progress (original version)

## Film and Incidental music

* Richard Addinsell – The Passionate Friends directed by David Lean.
* Arthur Bliss – Christopher Columbus, starring Fredric March.
* Ernest Irving –
** Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Alec Guinness.
** A Run for Your Money, starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards.
** Whisky Galore! directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson.

## Musical theatre

* 22 June – Her Excellency starring Cicely Courtneidge opens at the London Hippodrome
* 15 September – King's Rhapsody, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, opens at the Palace Theatre, London.

## Musical films

* Maytime in Mayfair, starring Anna Neagle
* Melody in the Dark, starring Eunice Gayson
* Trottie True, starring Jean Kent and Hugh Sinclair

## Births

* 4 January – Margaret Anne Marshall, Scottish soprano
* 19 January – Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003)
* 22 January – Phil Miller, English guitarist
* 6 February – Mike Batt, singer and composer
* 7 February – Alan Lancaster, bass player (Status Quo and The Party Boys)
* 16 February – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers)
* 26 February – Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano
* 24 March – Nick Lowe, singer-songwriter
* 11 April – Lee Sheriden, singer with Brotherhood of Man
* 13 May – Jane Glover, conductor
* 18 May – Rick Wakeman, multi-instrumentalist and composer
* 21 May – Rosalind Plowright, operatic mezzo-soprano
* 14 June – Alan White, rock drummer (Yes) (died 2022)
* 17 June – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (died 1987)
* 24 June – John Illsley, singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Dire Straits)
* 3 July – John Verity, guitarist (Argent)
* 12 July – John Wetton, bass guitarist (King Crimson, Roxy Music)
* 15 July
** John Casken, composer
** Trevor Horn, record producer, songwriter, musician and singer, sometimes called "The Man Who Invented the Eighties".
* 17 July
** Geezer Butler, bass player and songwriter (Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler Band, GZR, and Heaven & Hell)
** Wayne Sleep, actor, dancer, and choreographer
* 28 July – Simon Kirke, English drummer (Bad Company and Free)
* 12 August
** Mark Knopfler, singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer
** Lou Martin, Irish-English pianist, songwriter, and producer (died 2012)
* 28 August – Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers)
* 1 October – Allan Barty, folk musician (died 2008)
* 29 October – David Paton, guitarist, singer and songwriter
* 2 November – Frankie Miller, rock singer-songwriter
* 23 November – Sandra Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
* 26 November – Martin Lee, singer with Brotherhood of Man
* 3 December – Nicky Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
* 5 December – John Altman, film composer, arranger and conductor
* 8 December – Ray Shulman, violinist, guitarist, and producer
* 17 December – Paul Rodgers, rock vocalist
* 22 December – Robin Gibb (died 2012) and Maurice Gibb (died 2003) (Bee Gees
* date unknown – Eleanor Alberga, composer

## Deaths

* 11 January – Edward Goll, Bohemian-born pianist, 64
* 15 January – Robert Evett, singer, actor, theatre manager and producer, 74
* 21 February – Ernest Walker, composer, pianist, organist, teacher and writer on music, 78
* 3 April – Basil Harwood, organist and composer, 89
* 3 May – David John Tawe Jones, composer, 64
* 6 September – Walter Widdop, operatic tenor, 51
* 30 October – Stanley Kirkby, baritone singer and variety artist, 71
* date unknown – Frank Clifford Harris, lyricist, 74