2025 in British music

See also: Timeline of musical events

List of years in British music
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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 are scheduled to take place at The O2 in London. The ceremony will feature a performance by Sabrina Carpenter.
• 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

• 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	References
2 January	"Last Christmas"	Wham!	114,290
9 January	"That's So True"	Gracie Abrams	46,869
16 January			49,122
23 January			50,584
30 January	"Messy"	Lola Young	50,697
6 February			56,524
13 February			56,479
20 February			51,751
27 February	"Not Like Us"	Kendrick Lamar	52,507

Number-one albums

The albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist(s)	Chart sales	References
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

Number-one compilation albums

The compilation albums chart includes a proportion for streaming.

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Chart sales	References
2 January	Wicked: The Soundtrack	12,338
9 January		8,919
16 January		8,886
23 January		8,578
30 January		7,037
6 February		6,014
13 February		5,256
20 February		6,920
27 February		4,404

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.

See also

• 2025 in British radio
• 2025 in British television
• 2025 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2025