2012 in British music

This is a summary of 2012 in music in the United Kingdom. In 2012, dance music continued to dominate the charts.

Events

 * 1 January – Musicians honoured in the Queen's New Year Honours list include conductor Antonio Pappano (knighthood), record producer Steve Lillywhite (CBE), composer and conductor Rev Ronald Corp (OBE) and Ralph Allwood (MBE), former director of music at Eton College.
 * 4 June – A Diamond Jubilee Concert is held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall, London, organised by Gary Barlow as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Performers include Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Grace Jones, Alfie Boe, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey and Stevie Wonder.
 * 8-10 June – Download Festival 2012 takes place at Donington Park in Leicestershire. The Jim Marshall main stage is headlined by The Prodigy, Metallica and Black Sabbath, the Zippo encore stage by Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, You Me at Six and Rise Against, the Pepsi Max Stage by Devin Townsend Project, The Mission and Periphery, the Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage by Cancer Bats, Cockney Rejects and William Control, and the Jägermeister Acoustic stage by Yashin, Tyla and Saint Jude.
 * 16 June – Musicians honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours list include Gary Barlow (OBE), violinist Tasmin Little (OBE) and Gareth Malone (OBE).
 * 27 July – On the opening day of the 2012 Summer Olympics, at 8.15, Martin Creed's controversial work "All The Bells", is performed by the bells of London.
 * 12 August – The 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, also known by the title "A Symphony of British music", takes place at London's Olympic Stadium. Performers include Take That, One Direction, The Spice Girls, Madness, George Michael, Julian Lloyd Webber, Pet Shop Boys, Ray Davies, Annie Lennox, Kaiser Chiefs and Emeli Sandé.
 * 9 December – James Arthur wins the ninth series of The X Factor. Jahméne Douglas is named runner-up, while Christopher Maloney and Union J finish in third and fourth place respectively.

Artists/groups reformed

 * Spice Girls
 * 911
 * Atomic Kitten
 * B*Witched
 * Five
 * Honeyz
 * Kitchens Of Distinction
 * Liberty X
 * Six By Seven
 * The Supernaturals

Groups disbanded

 * Westlife
 * Jet
 * Viva Brother
 * The King Blues
 * SoundGirl
 * Pendulum
 * Chumbawamba
 * Does It Offend You, Yeah?

New works

 * Peter Maxwell Davies – Symphony No. 9
 * Howard Goodall – Every Purpose Under the Heaven (The King James Bible Oratorio)
 * Karl Jenkins – The Peacemakers
 * Philip Ledger – This Holy Child (cantata)
 * Philip Moore – "I will lift up mine eyes"

Opera

 * George Benjamin – Written on Skin
 * Stephen Crowe – The Francis Bacon Opera
 * Neil Hannon – Sevastopol

BRIT Awards
The 2012 BRIT Awards were held on 21 February 2012 at The O2 Arena, London and hosted by James Corden. The most notable winners were Adele and Ed Sheeran, both winning two awards.


 * British Male Solo Artist: Ed Sheeran
 * British Female Solo Artist: Adele
 * British Breakthrough Act: Ed Sheeran
 * British Group: Coldplay
 * British Single: "What Makes You Beautiful" – One Direction
 * MasterCard British Album: 21 – Adele
 * International Male Solo Artist: Bruno Mars
 * International Female Solo Artist: Rihanna
 * International Group: Foo Fighters
 * International Breakthrough Act: Lana Del Rey
 * British Producer: Ethan Johns
 * Critics' Choice: Emeli Sandé
 * Outstanding Contribution to Music: Blur

Ivor Novello Awards
The 57th Ivor Novello Awards were held on 17 May 2012 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.


 * Best Contemporary Song: "Video Games" – Lana Del Rey (written by Lana Del Rey and Justin Parker)
 * PRS for Music Most Performed Work: "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele (written by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
 * Best Television Soundtrack: The Shadow Line (composed by Martin Phipps)
 * The Ivors Jazz Award: Stan Tracey
 * Album Award: Let England Shake – PJ Harvey (written by PJ Harvey)
 * Outstanding Song Collection: Gary Kemp
 * The Ivors Inspiration Award: Siouxsie Sioux
 * Best Original Film Score: The First Grader (composed by Alex Heffes)
 * PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music: Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams (Take That)
 * Best Song Musically and Lyrically: "The A Team" – Ed Sheeran (written by Ed Sheeran)
 * Lifetime Achievement: Mark Knopfler
 * Songwriter of the Year: Adele Adkins
 * PRS for Music Special International Award: Jimmy Webb
 * BASCA Fellowship: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Classical BRIT Awards
The 2012 Classic BRIT Awards were held on 2 October 2012 at the Royal Albert Hall, London and were hosted by Myleene Klass.
 * Female Artist: Nicola Benedetti (Italia)
 * MasterCard Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award: Miloš Karadaglić (Latino)
 * Composer: John Williams (War Horse, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn)
 * International Artist of the Year in association with Raymond Weil: Andrea Bocelli
 * Critics' Award: Benjamin Grosvenor (Chopin/Liszt/Ravel)
 * Male Artist: Vasily Petrenko (Shostakovich/Symphony No. 1 & 3, Shostakovich/Symphony No. 6 & 12, Shostakovich/Symphony No. 2 & 15, Rachmaninov/Piano Concertos 1 & 4, Rachmaninov/Symphony No. 3)
 * Classic BRITs Single of the Year in association with iTunes: "Wherever You Are" – Military Wives with Gareth Malone
 * Lifetime Achievement Award: John Williams
 * Classic FM Album of the Year in association with MasterCard: And The Waltz Goes On – André Rieu

Mercury Prize
The 2012 Barclaycard Mercury Prize was awarded on 1 November 2012 to Alt-J for their album An Awesome Wave.

Popjustice £20 Music Prize
The 2012 Popjustice £20 Music Prize was awarded on 1 November 2012 to Will Young for his single "Jealousy".

British Composer Awards
The 10th British Composer Awards were held on 3 December 2012 at Goldsmiths' Hall, London and hosted by Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Andrew McGregor.


 * Instrumental Solo or Duo: Learning Self-Modulation – Christian Mason
 * Chamber: The Four Quarters – Thomas Adès
 * Vocal: No Man's Land – Colin Matthews
 * Choral: Airplane Cantata – Gabriel Jackson
 * Wind Band or Brass Band: A Symphony of Colours – Simon Dobson
 * Orchestral: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra – Harrison Birtwistle
 * Stage Works: DESH – Jocelyn Pook
 * Liturgical: Missa Brevis – Francis Grier
 * Sonic Art: The Ethometric Museum – Ray Lee
 * Contemporary Jazz Composition: Sailing to Byzantium – Christine Tobin
 * Community or Educational Project: The Chimpanzees of Happytown – Paul Rissmann
 * Making Music Award: Mesmerism for Piano and Chamber Orchestra – Emily Howard
 * International Award: Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra – Thomas Larcher

The Record of the Year
The 2012 Record of the Year was awarded to "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra. This was the final year that The Record of the Year was awarded.

Best-selling albums of 2012
Notes:

Deaths

 * 3 January – Bob Weston, guitarist with Fleetwood Mac, 64 (gastrointestinal haemorrhage and cirrhosis of the liver)
 * 4 January – Kerry McGregor, contestant on the third series of The X Factor, 37 (bladder cancer)
 * 11 January – David Whitaker, English composer and conductor, 81
 * 27 January – Ted Dicks, composer, 83
 * 6 February – Jim King, saxophonist with Family, 69
 * 9 February – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter with Nero and the Gladiators, 73
 * 15 February – Clive Shakespeare, English-Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer with Sherbet, 64 (cancer)
 * 21 February – John Charles Winter, organist, 88
 * 29 February – Davy Jones, singer and percussionist with the Monkees, 66 (heart attack)
 * 1 March – Peter Graeme, oboist, 90
 * 20 April – Bert Weedon, guitarist, 91
 * 11 May – Roland Shaw, composer, arranger, and bandleader, 91
 * 14 May – Derek Hammond-Stroud, operatic baritone, 86
 * 20 May – Robin Gibb, singer and songwriter with the Bee Gees, 62 (liver cancer)
 * 3 June – Andy Hamilton, Jamaican-born jazz saxophonist and composer, 94
 * 17 June – Brian Hibbard, singer with the Flying Pickets and actor, 65 (prostate cancer)
 * 7 July – Alf Pearson, singer and variety performer as one half of the double act Bob and Alf Pearson, 102
 * 10 July – Lol Coxhill, saxophonist, 79
 * 11 July – Jean Allister, opera singer, 80
 * 16 July – Jon Lord, musician with Deep Purple and Whitesnake, and classical composer, 71 (pancreatic cancer)
 * 23 July – Graham Jackson, conductor, 45 (cancer)
 * 17 August – Lou Martin, keyboard player, 63
 * 31 August – Max Bygraves, singer and variety performer, 89 (Alzheimer's disease)
 * 2 September – John C. Marshall, jazz musician, 71
 * 4 September – Ian Parrott, composer and academic, 96
 * 15 September – George Hurst, conductor, 86
 * 2 October – Big Jim Sullivan, guitarist, 71 (heart disease and diabetes)
 * 12 October – Geraldine Mucha, composer, 95
 * 18 November – Sir Philip Ledger, composer and academic, 74
 * 26 October – Jo Dunne, guitarist with We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It, 43 (cancer)
 * 6 November – Clive Dunn, actor and singer, 92
 * 18 November
 * Stan Greig, pianist, drummer, and bandleader, 82 (Parkinson's disease)
 * Sir Philip Ledger, English organist, composer, and academic, 74
 * 20 November – Michael Dunford guitarist and songwriter with Renaissance (cerebral haemorrhage)
 * 24 November – Ian Campbell, folk musician, 79 (cancer)
 * 4 December – Jonathan Harvey, composer, 73 (motor neurone disease)