This is a summary of the year 2023 in
British music.
Events
January
6 January –
Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces that its originally planned 2023 Glyndebourne on Tour season will not occur, as a result of the reduced funding from Arts Council England for the 2023–2026 National Portfolio.[1]
9 January – The
Royal Albert Hall announces the appointment of James Ainscough as its next chief executive director, effective in the late spring of 2023.[2]
13 January – The
BBC announces the appointment of Sam Jackson as the new controller of BBC Radio 3, effective April 2023.[4]
17 January –
Arts Council England (ACE) announces the presentation to
English National Opera (ENO) of a one-year grant of £11.46M for the period of April 2023 – March 2024, following its previous November 2022 announcement of a total withdrawal of ACE's funding to ENO for the period 2023–2026 unless ENO relocates outside of London.[5][6]
31 January – The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announces Sir
George Benjamin as the recipient of the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.[7]
February
1 February – In an interview on Finnish Radio, Sir
Mark Elder states that he is to stand down as music director of
The Hallé in August 2024, at the close of the 2023–2024 season..[8]
11 February –
Pensacola Christian College in the USA cancels a concert appearance by
The King's Singers two hours before the scheduled performance time, after objections from a group of students, parents and college staff to the presence of homosexuals in the ensemble.[9]
24 March – The BBC announces a reversal of its intended closure of the BBC Singers, following public reactions in protest at the original 7 March 2023 announcement.[14]
12 April –
Opera North announces the appointment of Laura Canning as its next general director, the first woman named to the post, effective December 2023.[16]
16 April – Vox Urbane performs its inaugural concert at the Asylum Chapel in Peckham, London.[17]
28 April –
HMV announces plans to reopen its flagship store at
363 Oxford Street four years after it closed when the company went into administration.[21]
5 May – The official build-up to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest begins in Liverpool with a concert by Ukraine's
Kalush Orchestra to open the fans village.[24]
The
BBC Concert Orchestra announces the appointment of
Anna-Maria Helsing as its next chief conductor,[30] the first female conductor to be named to the post and the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of any BBC orchestra, effective 1 October 2023, with an initial contract of three seasons.
20 June –
The Hallé announces the appointment of
Wong Kah Chun as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.[33]
27 June –
Lewis Capaldi announces a sabbatical from touring for the "foreseeable future" after struggling to finish his set at Glastonbury 2023.[39]
29 June –
National Youth Orchestras of Scotland announce the appointment of Catherine Larsen-Maguire to the newly created post of music director, effective 2024, with an initial tenure of 3 years.[40]
27 July –
Arts Council England announces an additional £24M grant for
English National Opera from the period of April 2024 – March 2026, with an extended time frame to March 2029 for relocation of the company outside of London.[46][47]
Hyperion Records announces that it is to make available for streaming access 200 albums from its catalogue, for the first time in the company's history. [48]
20 August – The UK government gives the go ahead to plans for a northern version of London's
BRIT School, based in Bradford.[55]
23 August – An advertisement for a fictional glass repair business in the Hackney Gazette is believed to be a teaser for a new
Rolling Stones album as it contains several references to the band's past songs.[56]
24 August – Conductor Sir
John Eliot Gardiner pulls out of the
BBC Proms after being accused of assaulting a singer who left the podium in the wrong direction during a concert in France.[57]
31 August – Sir John Eliot Gardiner announces his withdrawal from his remaining 2023 concert engagements to seek psychological treatment, following his striking of bass William Thomas on 22 August at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André, France.[59]
News reports reveal the new name of the Sage Gateshead complex as The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.[68]
Jazz FM confirms that the annual
Jazz FM Awards will return in Spring 2024, moving back to spring following disruption during the
COVID-19 pandemic.[69]
Lambeth Council gives the
O2 Academy Brixton the go-ahead to reopen once the venue has met 77 "extensive and robust" conditions "designed to promote public safety".[71]
20 September – The
BBC announces the winners of its BBC Young Composer 2023 competition:[72]
4 October – The Snug in
Atherton, Greater Manchester, is the first grassroots gig venue to benefit from the
Music Venue Trust's "Own Our Properties" plan, where music fans can invest in venues to save them from increasing rents and closure.[75]
In parallel with his appointment to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Bill Chandler is to stand down as director of the
BBC Concert Orchestra, as of December 2023.[80]
The BBC announces the appointment of Adam Szabo as director of the
BBC Philharmonic, effective February 2024.[80]
Manchester Collective announces that Adam Szabo is to stand down as its artistic director and chief executive, effective January 2024.[81]
27 October – The
Dartington College of Arts announces that its planned 2024 summer school season is on hold, and the resignation of Sara Mohr-Pietsch and the summer school staff, with immediate effect.[83]
"
Now and Then", described by the surviving members of
The Beatles as their "last song", receives its public premiere.[84][85]
The sale of tickets for the
2024 Glastonbury Festival is delayed for two weeks "out of fairness" to customers who did not realise their registration had expired.[86]
3 November – The
re-recorded version of
Taylor Swift's album 1989 becomes the fastest selling album of 2023, selling 184,000 copies in the UK in its week of release, more than doubling the sales of the original version released in 2014.[87]
7 November –
The
Barbican Centre announces the appointment of Helen Wallace as its new head of music, effective February 2024.[88]
Kings Place announces that Helen Wallace is to stand down as its artistic and executive director at the close of January 2024.[89]
English National Ballet announces the appointment of Maria Seletskaja as its next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season.[90]
Arcangelo announces the appointment of Sir
Nicholas Kenyon as its next chair of trustees, effective March 2024.[91]
Remastered versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are released to coincide with the issue of their final track, "Now and Then", which is included on the release.[84]
"Now and Then" tops the UK Singles Chart, giving The Beatles the longest gap between the first and last number one.[92]
17 November – The new versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are beaten to the top of the
UK Album Chart by Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version), putting them in the same position as the original 1973 release of the albums, which were beaten to number one by
David BowieYoung Americans. The Blue Album reaches number two, while the Red Album reaches number three, the same positions they were at in 1973.[94]
19 November – Tickets for Glastonbury 2024 go on sale at 9.00am, and sell out within an hour.[95]
Organisers of the
BRIT Awards announce they will update the rules for the 2024 Awards ceremony following controversy over the introduction of gender neutral awards when no female artists were nominated for Best Artist. The list of nominations for the prize will be expanded from five to ten. There will also be a prize for Best R'n'B Act.[98]
30 November – The
Bristol Beacon music venue, previously known as Colston Hall, reopens after refurbishment and five years after it closed for repairs.[101]
8 December – A total of 28 of the 40 songs in the week's Official Top 40 are festive songs, with "
Last Christmas" by
Wham! reaching number one for a fourth time.[106]
Don Black and
Lady Robey are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
James Ainscough, Paul Burger,
Laurence Cummings, Michael Eakin, Yvette Griffith, and
Carolyn Sampson are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Margaret Archibald, Wiliam Hutton, Christopher Kent, Bernard Vause, William Watson, Martin White, and Jonathan Willcocks are each awarded the
British Empire Medal.
This chart was published by the Official Charts Company on January 3, 2024[301]
For the first time in British music history, an album that never reached number one on the weekly chart became the biggest-selling album of the year. The Highlights, by
The Weeknd, also sold all its albums in digital and streaming formats.
This is a summary of the year 2023 in
British music.
Events
January
6 January –
Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces that its originally planned 2023 Glyndebourne on Tour season will not occur, as a result of the reduced funding from Arts Council England for the 2023–2026 National Portfolio.[1]
9 January – The
Royal Albert Hall announces the appointment of James Ainscough as its next chief executive director, effective in the late spring of 2023.[2]
13 January – The
BBC announces the appointment of Sam Jackson as the new controller of BBC Radio 3, effective April 2023.[4]
17 January –
Arts Council England (ACE) announces the presentation to
English National Opera (ENO) of a one-year grant of £11.46M for the period of April 2023 – March 2024, following its previous November 2022 announcement of a total withdrawal of ACE's funding to ENO for the period 2023–2026 unless ENO relocates outside of London.[5][6]
31 January – The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announces Sir
George Benjamin as the recipient of the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.[7]
February
1 February – In an interview on Finnish Radio, Sir
Mark Elder states that he is to stand down as music director of
The Hallé in August 2024, at the close of the 2023–2024 season..[8]
11 February –
Pensacola Christian College in the USA cancels a concert appearance by
The King's Singers two hours before the scheduled performance time, after objections from a group of students, parents and college staff to the presence of homosexuals in the ensemble.[9]
24 March – The BBC announces a reversal of its intended closure of the BBC Singers, following public reactions in protest at the original 7 March 2023 announcement.[14]
12 April –
Opera North announces the appointment of Laura Canning as its next general director, the first woman named to the post, effective December 2023.[16]
16 April – Vox Urbane performs its inaugural concert at the Asylum Chapel in Peckham, London.[17]
28 April –
HMV announces plans to reopen its flagship store at
363 Oxford Street four years after it closed when the company went into administration.[21]
5 May – The official build-up to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest begins in Liverpool with a concert by Ukraine's
Kalush Orchestra to open the fans village.[24]
The
BBC Concert Orchestra announces the appointment of
Anna-Maria Helsing as its next chief conductor,[30] the first female conductor to be named to the post and the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of any BBC orchestra, effective 1 October 2023, with an initial contract of three seasons.
20 June –
The Hallé announces the appointment of
Wong Kah Chun as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.[33]
27 June –
Lewis Capaldi announces a sabbatical from touring for the "foreseeable future" after struggling to finish his set at Glastonbury 2023.[39]
29 June –
National Youth Orchestras of Scotland announce the appointment of Catherine Larsen-Maguire to the newly created post of music director, effective 2024, with an initial tenure of 3 years.[40]
27 July –
Arts Council England announces an additional £24M grant for
English National Opera from the period of April 2024 – March 2026, with an extended time frame to March 2029 for relocation of the company outside of London.[46][47]
Hyperion Records announces that it is to make available for streaming access 200 albums from its catalogue, for the first time in the company's history. [48]
20 August – The UK government gives the go ahead to plans for a northern version of London's
BRIT School, based in Bradford.[55]
23 August – An advertisement for a fictional glass repair business in the Hackney Gazette is believed to be a teaser for a new
Rolling Stones album as it contains several references to the band's past songs.[56]
24 August – Conductor Sir
John Eliot Gardiner pulls out of the
BBC Proms after being accused of assaulting a singer who left the podium in the wrong direction during a concert in France.[57]
31 August – Sir John Eliot Gardiner announces his withdrawal from his remaining 2023 concert engagements to seek psychological treatment, following his striking of bass William Thomas on 22 August at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André, France.[59]
News reports reveal the new name of the Sage Gateshead complex as The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.[68]
Jazz FM confirms that the annual
Jazz FM Awards will return in Spring 2024, moving back to spring following disruption during the
COVID-19 pandemic.[69]
Lambeth Council gives the
O2 Academy Brixton the go-ahead to reopen once the venue has met 77 "extensive and robust" conditions "designed to promote public safety".[71]
20 September – The
BBC announces the winners of its BBC Young Composer 2023 competition:[72]
4 October – The Snug in
Atherton, Greater Manchester, is the first grassroots gig venue to benefit from the
Music Venue Trust's "Own Our Properties" plan, where music fans can invest in venues to save them from increasing rents and closure.[75]
In parallel with his appointment to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Bill Chandler is to stand down as director of the
BBC Concert Orchestra, as of December 2023.[80]
The BBC announces the appointment of Adam Szabo as director of the
BBC Philharmonic, effective February 2024.[80]
Manchester Collective announces that Adam Szabo is to stand down as its artistic director and chief executive, effective January 2024.[81]
27 October – The
Dartington College of Arts announces that its planned 2024 summer school season is on hold, and the resignation of Sara Mohr-Pietsch and the summer school staff, with immediate effect.[83]
"
Now and Then", described by the surviving members of
The Beatles as their "last song", receives its public premiere.[84][85]
The sale of tickets for the
2024 Glastonbury Festival is delayed for two weeks "out of fairness" to customers who did not realise their registration had expired.[86]
3 November – The
re-recorded version of
Taylor Swift's album 1989 becomes the fastest selling album of 2023, selling 184,000 copies in the UK in its week of release, more than doubling the sales of the original version released in 2014.[87]
7 November –
The
Barbican Centre announces the appointment of Helen Wallace as its new head of music, effective February 2024.[88]
Kings Place announces that Helen Wallace is to stand down as its artistic and executive director at the close of January 2024.[89]
English National Ballet announces the appointment of Maria Seletskaja as its next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season.[90]
Arcangelo announces the appointment of Sir
Nicholas Kenyon as its next chair of trustees, effective March 2024.[91]
Remastered versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are released to coincide with the issue of their final track, "Now and Then", which is included on the release.[84]
"Now and Then" tops the UK Singles Chart, giving The Beatles the longest gap between the first and last number one.[92]
17 November – The new versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are beaten to the top of the
UK Album Chart by Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version), putting them in the same position as the original 1973 release of the albums, which were beaten to number one by
David BowieYoung Americans. The Blue Album reaches number two, while the Red Album reaches number three, the same positions they were at in 1973.[94]
19 November – Tickets for Glastonbury 2024 go on sale at 9.00am, and sell out within an hour.[95]
Organisers of the
BRIT Awards announce they will update the rules for the 2024 Awards ceremony following controversy over the introduction of gender neutral awards when no female artists were nominated for Best Artist. The list of nominations for the prize will be expanded from five to ten. There will also be a prize for Best R'n'B Act.[98]
30 November – The
Bristol Beacon music venue, previously known as Colston Hall, reopens after refurbishment and five years after it closed for repairs.[101]
8 December – A total of 28 of the 40 songs in the week's Official Top 40 are festive songs, with "
Last Christmas" by
Wham! reaching number one for a fourth time.[106]
Don Black and
Lady Robey are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
James Ainscough, Paul Burger,
Laurence Cummings, Michael Eakin, Yvette Griffith, and
Carolyn Sampson are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Margaret Archibald, Wiliam Hutton, Christopher Kent, Bernard Vause, William Watson, Martin White, and Jonathan Willcocks are each awarded the
British Empire Medal.
This chart was published by the Official Charts Company on January 3, 2024[301]
For the first time in British music history, an album that never reached number one on the weekly chart became the biggest-selling album of the year. The Highlights, by
The Weeknd, also sold all its albums in digital and streaming formats.