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.
16 January: The Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung announces Sir Simon Rattle as the recipient of the 2025 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
4 February: The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Vanessa Reed as its next chief executive, effective 2 June 2025.
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.
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 Super Bowl-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.
The winners of the 2025 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards are announced at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
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.
13 March: 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.
20 March: Stormzy is nominated for an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge in recognition of his philanthropic work and impact on education, music, sport and literature.
21 March: BBC Radio Wales DJ Aleighcia Scott reaches number one in the iTunes Reggae Chart with her first Welsh-language single, "Dod o'r Galon".
22 March: The Searchers announce they will stop touring after 68 years, ending with their Glastonbury debut at the 2025 Festival.
25 March: The Competition and Markets Authority says that Ticketmaster "may have misled Oasis fans" with unclear pricing over the band's reunion tour.
28 March: Release date of Sweet Illusions, the debut music album of actor Peter Capaldi.
29 March: Launch of the Black Welsh Music Awards, designed to recognise talented black musicians in Wales.
2 April: Muse have cancelled a forthcoming concert in Istanbul after the promoter insulted anti-government protestors in Turkey, leading to pressure from fans and local artists.
3 April: The Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) announces the appointment of Nikki Iles as the next principal conductor of the NDR Big Band, the first woman to be named to the post, effective with the 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of two years.
8 April: Sugababes release their latest single "Weeds".
10 April: Pulp announce the forthcoming release of a new album, More, as well as the release of "Spike Island", their first single since 2001.
11 April: Elton John's collaborative album with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels?, reaches number one in the UK Albums Chart, giving him the 10th number one album of his career.
18 April: Sault surprise-releases their new studio album 10.
27 April: A final tranche of tickets for the Glastonbury Festival 2025 goes on sale, and sells out within 20 minutes.
28 April: Bad Company and Joe Cocker are among acts inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
29 April: The Eden Project cancels a planned appearance by Irish Republican rappers Kneecap at its 2025 Eden Sessions festival in July following the emergence of video in which one of the band's members appeared to condone the killing of MPs.
2 May: Lewis Capaldi makes a surprise guest appearance to play a set at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms during a benefit gig for the Campaign Against Living Miserably, a suicide prevention charity.
14 May: English National Opera announces the appointment of André de Ridder as its next music director, effective with the 2027–2028 season.
15–24 May: Norwich Jazz Festival returns after a 20 year hiatus.
16 May: South London resident Rebekah Shaman wins a High Court challenge over the use of Brockwell Park for a series of regular music events, arguing that the local council does not have the correct planning permission for the events. The decision means a number of events may have to be cancelled.
22 May: Olly Murs ends a show at Glasgow's Ovo Hydro after walking off stage because he was struggling with his voice.
27 May: News reports indicate a reversal of plans by Cardiff University to axe its music department.
28 May:
Irish rap group Kneecap say they have been axed from Glasgow's TRNSMT festival because of police concerns about safety.
The London Mozart Players announce that Flynn Le Brocq is to stand down as its chief executive officer at the end of August 2025.
4–6 June: The 2025 Stendhal Festival takes place in Limavady, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Headline acts include the Lightning Seeds and Kate Nash.
7 June: Sir Paul McCartney makes a surprise guest appearance at Anfield stadium to duet with Bruce Springsteen during the second night of the Liverpool leg of Springsteen's Land of Hope and Dreams tour.
9 June:
It is announced that the 2026 Brit Awards will be held at Manchester's Co-op Live arena, the first time the ceremony has been held outside London.
Glastonbury Festival organiser Emily Eavis says the festival has sold "a few thousand less tickets" in 2025 to help ease the build up of heavy crowds.
13 June: Pulp reach number one in the UK Albums Chart with their latest release, More, their first number one since 1998.
20 June: Dua Lipa plays her first concert at Wembley Stadium, which includes an appearance by Jamiroquai's Jay Kay for a duet of his 1996 song "Virtual Insanity".
21 June: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he does not think a planned performance by Kneecap at the Glastonbury Festival 2025 is "appropriate".
22 June: Liverpool's On the Waterfront Festival is halted after Lionel Duke, drummer with The Christians, suffers a cardiac arrest while playing on stage.
24 June: A report by Arts Council Wales warns that Welsh folk music could be extinct within a generation unless the situation is urgently addressed.
25 June: Stormzy is awarded an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge for his work in helping black students into higher education.
26 June: The BBC confirms that it will not be broadcasting Neil Young's Glastonbury Festival 2025 set at the request of the artist after he previously stated the festival was a "corporate turn-off" because of the BBC's involvement. This decision is later reversed.
27 June:
Lewis Capaldi returns to Glastonbury two years after taking a break because of his mental health.
The 1975 are the Friday night headline act on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
28 June:
Glastonbury's mystery act billed as Patchwork is revealed to be Pulp, who play a Saturday evening gig on the Pyramid Stage.
Neil Young is the Saturday night headline act on the Pyramid Stage, with the concert broadcast on BBC Two, while Charli XCX headlines on The Other Stage. Her gig, broadcast on BBC One, draws the larger audience.
Kneecap play the West Holts stage at Glastonbury, and use the opportunity to criticise the prime minister with expletive-laden chants.
Kneecap's appearance is preceded by rap duo Bob Vylan, who lead chants calling for death to the Israeli Defence Force. The BBC says footage of the gig will not be made available on BBC iPlayer, while festival organisers say they are "appalled" by the incident.
Avon and Somerset Police say they will retrieve footage of Kneecap's performance, along with that of Bob Vylan to see if an offence has been committed.
29 June:
Rod Stewart plays the legends slot at Glastonbury.
Olivia Rodrigo headlines the Pyramid Stage on the final night of Glastonbury 2025.
30 June:
Avon and Somerset Police launch a criminal investigation to determine whether comments made by Bob Vylan and Kneecap at their respective Glastonbury concerts constituted a criminal offence.
The BBC issues a statement in which it says it should have cut away from the livestream of Bob Vylan's concert following their anti-IDF chant. The statement comes after Ofcom said the BBC "clearly has questions to answer" over its coverage, and the UK government questioned why the comments were aired live.
2 July: Rap duo Bob Vylan are dropped from the Radar Festival, where they were due to headline the Manchester event on 5 July.
3 July: The BBC tells a small number of staff to step back from their day-to-day roles on music and live events following the broadcast of Bob Vylan's Glastonbury gig.
4 July:
Oasis begin their five-month reunion tour in Cardiff, the band's first live concerts in 16 years.
The BBC Singers simultaneously announce the scheduled conclusion of the tenure of Sofi Jeannin as its chief conductor at the close of the 2025–2026 season, and the appointment of Owain Park as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2026–2027 season.
5 July: Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath play what they say will be their final gig, titled Back to the Beginning, at Villa Park in Birmingham. The event raises £140m for local charities.
7 July: Irish rap group Kneecap use a concert at the O2 Academy Glasgow to criticise Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, for being among those who said the band should not appear at the TRNSMT festival.
9 July: Sugababes release "Shook", the next single from their upcoming album.
10 July: Kneecap say they have been banned from displaying one of their posters on the London Underground.
11 July: Oasis return to Manchester for the first of five gigs at the city's Heaton Park.
12 July:
BST Hyde Park cancels the final day of the festival, scheduled for 13 July, after Jeff Lynne pulls out of an appearance with his band, Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, due to ill health.
Fans of Ozzy Osbourne are offered the chance to meet the Black Sabbath frontman for £666 at Comic Con Midlands in Birmingham.
18 July: Avon and Somerset Police conclude their investigation into Kneecap's Glastonbury performance, announcing that no further action will be taken against the rap group.
19 July: A cast member unfurls a Palestinian flag on stage during the curtain call of a performance of Il trovatore at London's Royal Opera House.
22 July: An agreement between the UK government and music industry will see better pay for session musicians and songwriters, with musicians guaranteed £75 per day plus expenses whenever they attend sessions or songwriting camp.
23 July: Fans in the UK and around the world pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, frontman of Black Sabbath and pioneer of heavy metal, following his death the previous day.
30 July: Thousands of people line the streets of Birmingham to watch a funeral procession for Ozzy Osbourne.
31 July: Jess Glynne criticises the White House for using a meme featuring her 2015 song "Hold My Hand" in a post about deportation.
1 August: The Baptist Union of Wales confirms that a campaign group set up to save Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where the hymn "Cwm Rhondda" was first performed in December 1907, will be allowed to buy the building.
9 August: An investigation is launched after The Sun reports that around 200 people were allowed into an Oasis gig at Wembley Stadium without buying tickets and were instead asked to pay £350 to be let into the venue through a disabled access entrance.
14 August: Coldplay frontman Chris Martin plays an impromptu gig at the Puzzle Hall Inn in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
15 August: Audition recordings made by Dame Vera Lynn in 1935 are to be released for the first time.
24 August: A number of bands make an eleventh hour withdrawal from Portsmouth's Victorious Festival after Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers say they were "cut off" for displaying a Palestinian flag.
29 August: A BBC Proms performance by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, requiring the concert to be paused for ten minutes. Jewish Artists for Palestine later claims responsibility.
30 August: Coldplay reschedule their final two Wembley Stadium gigs, scheduled for 7 and 8 September, to 6 and 12 September respectively, as a result of the industrial action on the London Underground on those dates.
2 September: – Sting is sued by former the Police bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland for millions of pounds in lost royalties in a High Court writ.
3 September:
Radiohead announce their first tour in seven years, which includes four nights at London's O2 Arena in November.
Morrissey announces that he is selling off his stake in the Smiths, including his rights to the name, songwriting credits, merchandising and contractual rights to the band's recordings. He explains that he wishes to disassociate himself from any connections to his former bandmates as well as business communications linked to the group.
5–7 September: Radio 2 in the Park takes place at Hylands Park in Chelmsford, with Bryan Adams and Def Leppard headlining.
12 September: Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand have sponsored the youth football team Symington Tinto 2014s.
13 September:
At the 2025 Last Night of The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall:
Alison Balsom gives the final performance of her musical career.
Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen join the BBC Symphony Chorus for the first ever symphonic performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
BBC News reports that Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour is the highest attended music tour in history, with over 13 million tickets sold.
15 September:
Lewis Capaldi is announced as the headline act of the 2026 Roundhay Festival, which is scheduled to take place on 4 July.
Paloma Faith delivers the Isle of Man Arts Council's annual lecture at the Gaiety Theatre in Douglas.
21 September: Morrissey cancels to planned concert dates in the United States after receiving a death threat ahead of a concert in Ottawa, Canada.
23 September: Zayn Malik announces a week-long residency in Las Vegas in January 2026.
25 September:
The Competition and Markets Authority says thatTicketmaster will have to give music fans more advance information about ticket prices following complaints about the system used for the Oasis reunion tour.
The Royal Philharmonic Society awards Víkingur Ólafsson its Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal on-stage at the Royal Festival Hall.
26 September: A terrorism case against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, a member of rap group Kneecap, is thrown out over a technical error in the way the charge against him was brought.
27 September:
Heavy metal group Judas Priest release a charity version of the Black Sabbath song "War Pigs" featuring the vocals of Ozzy Osbourne.
Tickets for the 2026 Green Man Festival, scheduled for August, go on sale, and sell out within two hours.
30 September: Garsington Opera announces the appointment of Ben Weston as its new executive director, effective 10 November 2025.
6 October: Don Leisure wins the 2025 Welsh Music Prize for his album Tyrchu Sain.
7 October: The Crown Prosecution Service says it will appeal against the Chief Magistrate's decision to throw out the case against Kneecap rapper Liam Og Ó hAnnaidh.
8 October: The Stereophonics are forced to cancel a number of forthcoming tour dates after singer Kelly Jones suffered a "displaced jaw joint".
10 October: After four decades on the air, MTV is to stop showing rolling music videos in the UK, with MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live all closing by the end of the year.
11 October: West Yorkshire Police confirm that Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, who was serving 29 years in prison for child sex offences, has died after being attacked at HMP Wakefield.
14 October: BBC Radio 3 show Round Midnight is named Jazz Media Award winner at the 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
16 October: Sam Fender wins the 2025 Mercury Prize for his third album, People Watching.
21 October: The London Mozart Players announce the appointment of Chrissy Kinsella as its next chief executive, effective 1 January 2026.
23 October: Punk-rock duo Bob Vylan postpone two UK gigs, scheduled for 5 November 2025 and 5 February 2026, blaming "political pressure".
24 October: The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain announces the appointment of Alpesh Chauhan as its new principal conductor and musical advisor.
31 October: Dave becomes the first British rap artist to debut three albums at number one in the UK Albums Chart after his third album, The Boy Who Played the Harp, becomes the top-selling album of the week.
4 November: Global Media & Entertainment founder Ashley Tabor-King is presented with the 2025 Music Industry Trusts Award in recognition of his impact on British broadcasting and music.
6 November: Glasgow band Kai Reesu win the 2025 Scottish Album of the Year Award for their debut album Kompromat vol.i.
12 November: It is announced that Adele will make her acting debut in the Tom Ford film Cry to Heaven.
13 November: It is announced that Ezra Collective drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso will join BBC Radio 6 Music as a regular presenter from 2 January 2026.
14 November: London girl group XO release their debut extended play, Fashionably Late, under Polydor Records.
18 November:
English National Opera announces that Jenny Mollica is to stand down as its chief executive officer in the summer of 2026.
The Roundhouse announces the appointment of Jenny Mollica as its new chief executive, effective in 2026.
26 November: Madness play an exclusive Radio 2 in Concert gig at the BBC Radio Theatre in London for broadcast on Radio 2 on 11 December.
27 November: The Ulster Orchestra announces the appointment of Anna Handler as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2026–2027 season, with an initial contract of three years.
6 and 7 December: Capital's Jingle Bell Ball is held at The O2 Arena in London, with headlining acts including Ed Sheeran on 6 December and Kylie Minogue on 7 December.
13 December: Paediatric consultant Dr Sian Jenkins, based at Ysbyty Glangwili, Carmarthen, has written a Christmas song, Pob Un Plentyn (Every Child) for a choir, Cân o'r Galon, made up of young heart patients.
15 December:
Sir Cliff Richard reveals that he has been treated for prostate cancer, and that the disease is in remission.
The Official Charts Company announces there are three contesters for the Christmas number one, with Kylie Minogue's "XMAS" ahead of "Last Christmas" by Wham! by 7,000 units, while Together for Palestine's "Lullaby" is 231 units behind Wham!.
A Primal Scream concert scheduled for the Trentham Live festival on 21 August 2026 is cancelled over claims antisemitic imagery was shown on stage at a previous gig in London.
Biffy Clyro bass player James Johnston announces he will not join the band on their upcoming UK and European tour because of mental health and addiction issues.
16 December: PRS for Music has paid out a record £274.9m in royalties during 2025, shared between 51,500 members.
19 December: "XMAS" by Kylie Minogue is the 2025 UK Christmas number one single, after beating off competition from Wham!'s "Last Christmas".
23 December: Following an investigation, Avon and Somerset Police announce that rap duo Bob Vylan will not face charges over their anti-IDF chant at Glastonbury.
30 December: 2026 New Year Honours: Among those from the world of music to be honoured is Ellie Goulding, who receives an MBE for her services to biodiversity and the climate.
31 December:
Female artists, including Olivia Dean and Lola Young, have dominated UK music sales during 2025, with Oasis also experiencing a resurgence in sales following their summer tour.
BBC One airs Ronan Keating & Friends: A New Year's Eve Party to welcome in 2026.
Classical Music
SALLY BEAMISH
Field of Stars
SIR GEORGE BENJAMIN
'Interludes and Aria' from Lessons in Love and Violence
KIERAN BRUNT
The Hologram of St. Cecilia
JOHN CASKEN
Mantle (for piano and wind quintet)
AROWAH (ANJELICA CLEAVER)
'In This World Of War, Peace is What We're Fighting For'
ANNA CLYNE
The Eye
ERLAND COOPER
Birds of Paradise
TOM COULT
Monologues for the Curious
JASDEEP SINGH DEGUN
Abbhā (A Tribute to Ustad Vilayat Khan)
DONNACHA DENNEHY
Hard Landing
JASPER DOMMETT
King Torques Hollow Acetate
EDMUND FINNIS
Cello Concerto
SIMON HOLT
Acrobats on a loose wire (for flute and string trio)
NATALIE HOLT
Eyjafjallajökull
HELEN GRIME (music) and ZOE GILBERT (text)
Long Have I Lain Beside the Water (for soprano, flute, clarinet, string trio and harp)
SIR STEPHEN HOUGH
Nocturne for September 10th 2001
SIR KARL JENKINS
'The Signs Still Point the Way'
SIR JAMES MACMILLAN
'Where the Lugar meets the Glaisnock' (euphonium concerto)
COLIN MATTHEWS
Canon for soprano and piano trio
DAVID MATTHEWS
Serenade and Tango
THEA MUSGRAVE
In memoriam 2022
NKEIRU OKOYE
And The People Celebrated
RACHEL PORTMAN (text by NICK DRAKE)
'The Gathering Tree'
MARK SIMPSON
Zebra (or, 2-3-74: The Divine Invasion of Philip K Dick)
RAKHI SINGH
'There is nothing in the sky'
AILEEN SWEENEY
Views from the M9
DOBRINKA TABAKOVA
Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra
MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE
Sco (guitar concerto)
ERROLLYN WALLEN
Remembering 2012
The Elements
HUW WATKINS
Concerto for Orchestra
Octet
RYAN WIGGLESWORTH
for Laura, after Bach
Operas completed in 2025
MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE and LEE HALL
Festen
MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE and RACHEL HEWER
The Railway Children
Please address any comments concerning this page to The Music Maestro
Mark Chard BSc, PLY
Page created: 4th April 2026
Last edited: 4th April 2026
