1957 in British music
| 1950s in music in the UK |
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This is a summary of 1957 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Events
- 1 January – Benjamin Britten conducts the opening performance of his ballet The Prince of the Pagodas at Covent Garden.[1]
- 11 January – Tommy Steele reaches no 1 in the UK chart with his cover of "Singing the Blues", thus achieving chart-topping success before his American rival Elvis Presley.
- .
- 3 March – Patricia Bredin represents the UK at the 2nd Eurovision Song Contestin Frankfurt, finishing in 7th place. It is the first time the UK has entered the competition.
- June – Kay Kendall, star of Les Girls, marries Rex Harrison, star of My Fair Lady.
- St. Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool, at which Lennon's skiffle group, The Quarrymen, is playing (and in the graveyard of which an Eleanor Rigbyis buried).
- rock 'n roll".[2]
Charts
- See UK No.1 Hits of 1957
Classical music: new works
- Malcolm Arnold – The River Kwai March, Toy Symphony
- Arthur Bliss - Discourse for orchestra
- Benjamin Britten – Songs from the Chinese Op. 58, for soprano or tenor and guitar
- Gordon Jacob – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Robin Orr - Rhapsody for string orchestra
- Edmund Rubbra - Symphony No 7
- Michael Tippett – Symphony No. 2
- William Walton – Partita for Orchestra
- Grace Williams - Symphony No 2
Opera
- Benjamin Britten – Noye's Fludde (composition draft completed 18 December).[3]
Film and Incidental music
- Richard Addinsell – The Prince and the Showgirl directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, co-starring Marilyn Monroe.
- John Addison –
- The Entertainer – opening 10 April at the Royal Court Theatre, London.
- .
- Malcolm Arnold –
- Blue Murder at St Trinian's, starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis.
- The Bridge on the River Kwai directed by David Lean, starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa.
- James Bernard –
- Across the Bridge, starring Rod Steiger and Bernard Lee.
- The Curse of Frankenstein directed by Terence Fisher, starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
- Stanley Black – The Naked Truth, starring Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers and Dennis Price.
- Muir Mathieson – Campbell's Kingdom, starring Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker.
- Clifton Parker – Night of the Demon directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis.
- Humphrey Searle –
- The Abominable Snowman directed by Val Guest, starring Peter Cushing.
- The Passionate Stranger, starring Margaret Leighton and Ralph Richardson.
Musical theatre
- 11 April – Zuleika, with music by Peter Tranchell and book and lyrics by James Ferman receives its West End première at the Saville Theatre, starring Diane Cilentoin the title role.
Musical films
- Let's Be Happy, starring Vera-Ellen
- The Tommy Steele Story
- These Dangerous Years, starring Frankie Vaughan
Births
- 20 January – Andy Sheppard, saxophonist and composer
- 27 January – Janick Gers, guitarist and songwriter
- )
- )
- 28 February – Phil Gould, drummer, singer and songwriter (Level 42)
- 21 March – John Whitfield, conductor
- 26 March – Paul Morley, music journalist
- 20 May – Sid Vicious, punk musician (died 1979)
- 27 May – Siouxsie Sioux, singer
- 29 May – Big George, composer, bandleader, and broadcaster (died 2011)
- 7 June – Paddy McAloon, English singer-songwriter (Prefab Sprout)
- )
- Astro, rapper (UB40)
- 3 July – Poly Styrene, punk musician (died 2011)
- )
- 18 July – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Public Image Ltd, The Flowers of Romance, and The Clash) (died 2022)
- 31 August – Glenn Tilbrook, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Squeeze)
- 11 September – Jon Moss, drummer
- 11 November – Tony 'Gad' Robinson, singer (Aswad)
- 20 December – Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter
Deaths
- 5 January – Gertie Gitana, music hall entertainer, 69[4]
- 21 January – Harry Gordon, entertainer, 63[5]
- 13 March – Lena Ashwell, entertainer, 84
- 12 May – Marie Rappold, operatic soprano, 83[6]
- 1 August – Cathal O'Byrne, singer and poet, 90
- 18 August – Louis Levy, film composer, 62
- 1 September – Dennis Brain, horn virtuoso, 36 (car accident)
- 20 October – Jack Buchanan, singer, dancer, actor and director, 66
- 21 December – Eric Coates, composer, 71
- date unknown
- William Henley, violinist, composer and arranger[7]
- Jack Robson, songwriter
See also
References
- ^ a b Kendall, Alan. The Chronicle of Classical Music. Thames & Hudson, 2000: p. 242
- ISBN 978-0-316-80352-6.
- ^ Reed, Philip & Cooke, Mervyn (eds). Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Vol. 4 1952–1957. The Boydell Press (2008). p. 494
- ^ John Parker (1967). Who's who in the Theatre. Pitman.
- ^ THE SCOTS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 1982. 1982.
- ^ Oscar Thompson; Nicolas Slonimsky (1958). The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians. Dodd, Mead.
- ^ The Strad: A Monthly Journal for Professionals and Amateurs of All Stringed Instruments Played with the Bow. Lavendar Publications. 1985.