# 1941 in British music

This is a summary of 1941 in music in the United Kingdom.

## Events

* 29 March – Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem is premiered in Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Barbirolli.
* 3 April – William Walton's Scapino overture has its premiere in Chicago, conducted by Frederick Stock.
* May – Arthur Bliss joins the BBC's overseas music service.
* 10 May – London's Queen's Hall, venue for the Promenade Concerts, is bombed by the Luftwaffe. The Proms re-locate to the Royal Albert Hall.
* 30 October – On the occasion of Britten's String Quartet No. 1 being performed in Washington, he is awarded the Library of Congress Medal for services to chamber music.

## Popular music

* "Could You Please Oblige Us with a Bren Gun?" w.m. Noël Coward
* "Down Forget-Me-Not Lane" w.m. Horatio Nicholls, Charlie Chester & Reg Morgan
* "He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings" w. Eric Maschwitz m. Michael Carr
* "Hey Little Hen" w.m. Ralph Butler & Noel Gay
* "London Pride" w.m. Noël Coward
* "When They Sound The Last All Clear" w.m. Hughie Charles, Louis Elton

## Classical music: new works

* Kenneth J. Alford
** By Land and Sea
** Army of the Nile
* Richard Addinsell – Warsaw Concerto
* Arthur Bliss – String Quartet No. 1
* Benjamin Britten – String Quartet No. 1
* Ralph Vaughan Williams – England, my England

## Opera

* Benjamin Britten – Paul Bunyan

## Film and Incidental music

* Richard Addinsell – Dangerous Moonlight
* William Walton – Major Barbara, starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison.

## Musical films

* He Found a Star, starring Vic Oliver
* Turned Out Nice Again, starring George Formby
* You Will Remember, starring Robert Morley and Emlyn Williams

## Musical theatre

* 5 March – Apple Sauce revue opens at the Palladium.
* 24 July – Lady Behave London production opens at His Majesty's Theatre and runs for 401 performances.
* 19 November – Get a Load of This London production opens at the Hippodrome Theatre and runs for 698 performances.

## Births

* 12 January – Long John Baldry, R&B singer (died 2005)
* 4 February – John Steel, drummer (The Animals and Eggs over Easy)
* 14 February – Big Jim Sullivan, English guitarist (died 2012)
* 5 April – Dave Swarbrick, folk musician (died 2016)
* 11 April – Arthur Davies, operatic tenor (died 2018)
* 13 April – Margaret Price, soprano
* 23 April – Ed Stewart, disc jockey (died 2016)
* 3 May – Paul Ferris, film composer and actor (died 1995)
* 9 May – Pete Birrell, bass player (Freddie and the Dreamers)
* 11 May – Eric Burdon, R&B singer (The Animals)
* 21 May – Martin Carthy, folk musician
* 9 June – Jon Lord, keyboard player and composer (died 2012)
* 12 June – Reg Presley, singer and songwriter (died 2013)
* 30 June
** Mike Leander, arranger, songwriter and record producer (died 1996)
** Nigel Walley, tea-chest bass player and golfer
* 7 July – Jim Rodford, bass player (The Kinks, The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Zombies, The Kast Off Kinks and Argent)
* 17 July – Spencer Davis, instrumentalist (The Spencer Davis Group)
* 20 August – Anne Evans, operatic soprano
* 10 September – Christopher Hogwood, conductor and harpsichordist
* 27 October – Don Partridge, singer-songwriter (died 2010)
* 2 November – Brian Poole, singer (The Tremeloes)
* 15 November – Rick Kemp, singer-songwriter, bass player and producer (Steeleye Span)
* 24 November – Pete Best, rock drummer (The Beatles original lineup)
* 27 December
** Les Maguire, pop pianist (Gerry & the Pacemakers)
** Mike Pinder, rock keyboard player (The Moody Blues)
* 29 December – Ray Thomas, rock flautist and singer-songwriter (The Moody Blues) (died 2018)

## Deaths

* 10 January – Frank Bridge, composer, 61
* 19 February – Sir Hamilton Harty, conductor and composer, 61
* 11 March – Sir Henry Walford Davies, composer, 71
* 27 March – Stewart Macpherson, music teacher and writer, 75
* 16 August – John Coates, operatic tenor, 76
* date unknown – William Hargreaves, music hall composer