2003 in British music

none January 2013 June 2021 2003 2003 British music This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom. Events 6 January – The annual Park Lane Group Young Artists festival of contemporary music opens with two concerts in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre, London. The first concert, given by the Gallimaufry Ensemble, included the premiere of a new wind quintet by 23-year-old Benjamin Wallfisch; the second concert featured solo bass clarinettist Sarah Watts, who premiered Marc Yeats' Vox for solo bass clarinet and Michael Smetanin's Ladder of Escape for bass clarinet with prerecorded ensemble of six bass and two contrabass clarinets.Richard Morrison, "PLG Young Artists", The Times (Wednesday 8 January 2003): 15. 10 January – Following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in the UK and the Netherlands recover 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested. The tapes have been used for bootleg releases for years.https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2646921.stm 'Priceless' Beatles tapes discovered 10 January 2003 BBC 24 February 2013 13 January – The Who guitarist Pete Townshend is arrested on suspicion of possessing and making indecent images of children and of incitement to distribute them. Townshend claims in a statement that he did not download any such images and accessed Web sites advertising child pornography because he was researching material for his autobiography, which will include passages about his abusive childhood.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459501/townshend-child-porn-arrest.jhtml https://web.archive.org/web/20110927104300/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459501/townshend-child-porn-arrest.jhtml dead 27 September 2011 Pete Townshend Arrested in Child Porn Investigation Wiederhorn Jon Vineyard Jennifer 13 January 2003 MTV 23 February 2013 18 January – A two-day festival of the music of Mark-Anthony Turnage is given at the Barbican Centre, London, with three world premieres and chamber concerts by the Nash Ensemble and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.Ivan Hewett, "Momentum: The Music of Mark-Anthony Turnage: Barbican, London EC2, 18-19 Jan", The Times (18 January 2003): 10; Richard Morrison, "Blood on the Floor", The Times (20 January 2003): 17. 21 April – S Club announce live on stage at London's Docklands Arena that they are to split after five years together. Their final single, "Say Goodbye", enters the chart at #2 a month after the announcement. Rachel Stevens from the group launched her successful solo career shortly afterwards with the song "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex". 2 May – Mansun confirm that they have split up, after months of speculation and after the departure of Stove King. The remaining members had until that point worked on an unfinished 4th studio album, which was eventually released a year later as "Kleptomania" due to fan demand. 7 May – Pete Townshend is cleared of the charges stemming from his arrest in January on suspicion of possessing child pornography, but is formally cautioned and placed on the sex offenders register for five years.https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/08/arts.ukcrime Pete Townshend put on sex offenders register Wilson Jamie 8 May 2003 The Guardian 23 February 2013 24 May The Eurovision Song Contest is held in Riga, Latvia. "Cry Baby", performed by Jemini, receives no points in the voting, the worst-ever result for the UK until after 2021. Some blame the United Kingdom's involvement in the Iraq War, whilst others attribute the result to a bad performance.https://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_2936000/2936666.stm Jemini's dressing room attacked at Eurovision BBC 2009-01-13 2003-05-25 After a 40-year gap, former Beatle Paul McCartney performs in Russia, on the Red Square in Moscow. 27–29 June – Glastonbury Festival, U.K., headline acts included David Gray, Primal Scream, Morcheeba, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Super Furry Animals, Lamb, Feeder, Manic Street Preachers, and Doves. 7 September – Pete Doherty receives a 6-month prison sentence for stealing items from bandmate Carl Barat's flat. The sentence is reduced, and Doherty is released a month later. 14 November – The legal incarnation of the band Pink Floyd reunites to perform at the funeral of their manager Steve O'Rourke. 6 December – Elvis Costello and Diana Krall are married in a private ceremony at Elton John's estate. 8 December – Ozzy Osbourne is rushed into emergency surgery after having a serious accident riding an all-terrain vehicle on the grounds of his English estate. Osbourne broke his collarbone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck.Osbourne 'stable' after accident, BBC News, 9 December 2003. 12 December – Mick Jagger is knighted for services to music by the Prince of Wales (now Charles III) at Buckingham Palace.Stones frontman becomes Sir Mick, BBC News, 12 December 2003. 18 December – John Rutter tells US television programme 60 Minutes that he is not a particularly religious man yet still deeply spiritual and inspired by the spirituality of sacred verses and prayers.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spreading-good-cheer/ Spreading Good Cheer CBS News 11 February 2009 Rebecca Leung 2011-07-22 Classical music Both Andrew Glover and Peter Maxwell Davies produced several new orchestral/instrumental works. British film score composer Rachel Portman produced an opera, The Little Prince, commissioned by the Houston Opera and premièred in the USA. Michael Nyman, during his period as Composer-in-Residence at Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, Germany, produced his Violin Concerto and an opera Man and Boy: Dada, with libretto by Michael Hastings. It was premièred at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe in the following year. Other classical works Howard Goodall – "O Lord God of Time and Eternity" Alun Hoddinott – Lizard: Concerto for orchestra John Tavener – The Veil of the Temple (2003; soprano, SATB choir, boys' choir, ensemble)Music Obituary: Sir John Tavener https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/10444987/Sir-John-Tavener-obituary.html The Daily Telegraph 12 November 2013 14 November 2013 Graham Waterhouse – Bassoon Quintet Graham Waterhouse Kammerkonzert Gasteig 5 October 2003 Opera Keith Burstein – Manifest Destiny Film and incidental music Anne Dudley – Bright Young Things Patrick Doyle – Calendar Girls Nicholas Hooper – The Heart of Me Michael Nyman – The Actors Musical films Bollywood Queen Love Actually (comedy with a popular music score) Seeing Double, starring S Club Deaths 2 January – Eric Jupp, composer, arranger and conductor, 80Harris M. Lentz III Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture https://books.google.com/books?id=sXrGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 24 October 2008 McFarland 978-0-7864-5208-8 215Lentz uses user-generated content as sources May 2025 5 January Doreen Carwithen, composer, widow of William Alwyn, 80Adrian Wright The Innumerable Dance: The Life and Work of William Alwyn https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg8WAxFjyrAC&pg=PA276 2008 Boydell & Brewer Ltd 978-1-84383-412-0 276 Daphne Oram, electronic musician and composer, 77Professor Simon Emmerson Living Electronic Music https://books.google.com/books?id=zNShAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA89 28 January 2013 Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 978-1-4094-9371-6 89 8 January – Ron Goodwin, composer, 77https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jan/18/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Mickey Finn Alexander Gleason 11 January 2003 The Guardian 22 February 2019 11 January – Mickey Finn, bongo player and T.Rex sideman, 55 (liver failure)https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jan/11/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Ron Goodwin Dave Laing 18 January 2003 The Guardian 22 February 2019 12 January – Maurice Gibb, musician and singer-songwriter, 53 (heart attack).http://articles.cnn.com/2003-01-16/entertainment/gibb.autopsy_1_maurice-gibb-autopsy-cardiac-arrest?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ Gibb autopsy cites twisted intestine CandiottI Susan 16 January 2003 CNN 22 December 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120405172137/http://articles.cnn.com/2003-01-16/entertainment/gibb.autopsy_1_maurice-gibb-autopsy-cardiac-arrest?_s=PM%3ASHOWBIZ 5 April 2012 19 January – Remo Lauricella, violinist and composer, 90http://www.vodokanal.spb.ru/en/presscentr/news/stradivari_violin_stayed_at_water_museum/ Stradivari Violin stayed at Water Museum 21 October 2014 vodokanal.spb.ru 22 February 2019 23 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074137/http://www.vodokanal.spb.ru/en/presscentr/news/stradivari_violin_stayed_at_water_museum/ dead 30 January – Mary Ellis, musical comedy star, 105 8 March – Adam Faith, singer and actor, 62 (heart attack)https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/mar/10/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Adam Faith Dave Laing 10 March 2003 The Guardian 22 February 2019 13 March – Ian Samwell, musician and singer-songwriter, 66 4 May – Arthur Oldham, composer and choirmaster, 76 30 May – Mickie Most, record producer, 64 (mesothelioma)https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jun/02/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries Mickie Most Garth Cartwright 2 June 2003 The Guardian 22 February 2019 6 June – Dave Rowberry, singer-songwriter and pianist (The Animals), 62 2 August – Don Estelle, actor and singer, 70 18 August – Tony Jackson, English singer and bass player, 63 9 September – Reginald Smith Brindle, composer and writer, 86 25 September – Matthew Jay, singer-songwriter, 24 (fell from window) Matthew Jay plunges from window Virgin Megamagazine 2003-10-01 http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?aid=B08 2007-06-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20070928105546/http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?aid=B08 2007-09-28 dead 26 September – Robert Palmer, singer, 54 (heart attack)Singer Robert Palmer dies BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2012 4 October – Freddie Phillips, guitarist and composer of children's TV themes (age unknown) 13 October – Anne Ziegler, soprano, 93 27 November – Dai Francis, singer, 73 11 December – Malcolm Clarke, composer, 60 Music awards BRIT Awards The 2003 BRIT Awards winners were: Best British Male Solo Artist: Robbie Williams Best British Female Solo Artist: Ms. Dynamite Best British Group: Coldplay Best British Album: Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head Best British Urban Act: Ms Dynamite Best British Dance Act: Sugababes British Breakthrough Artist: Will Young Best International Male: Eminem Best International Female: Pink Best International Group: Red Hot Chili Peppers International Breakthrough Artist: Norah Jones Best International Album: Eminem – The Eminem Show Best British Single: Liberty X – "Just a Little" Best Pop Act: Blue Outstanding Contribution: Tom Jones Ivor Novello Awards The winners of the Ivor Novello Awards were: Best Song Musically and Lyrically – "Leave Right Now" – Will Young, written by Francis White Best Contemporary Song – "Stronger Than Me" – Amy Winehouse, written by Winehouse and Salaam Remi The Ivors Dance Award – "Strict Machine" – Goldfrapp, written by Alison Goldfrapp, William Gregory and Nick Batt PRS Most Performed Song – "Superstar" – Jamelia, written by Mich Hansen, Joseph Belmaati and Remee International Hit of the Year – "White Flag" – Dido, written by Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong and Rick Nowels Best Selling UK Single – "Mad World" – Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules, written by Roland Orzabal Songwriters of the Year – The Darkness (Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain, Ed Graham) Mercury Music Prize The 2003 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Dizzee Rascal for his debut studio album Boy in Da Corner. Popjustice £20 Music Prize The 2003 Popjustice £20 Music Prize was awarded to Girls Aloud for their song No Good Advice from the album Sound of the Underground. The Record of the Year The Record of the Year was awarded to "Mandy" by Westlife. See also 2003 in British music charts 2003 in British radio 2003 in British television 2003 in the United Kingdom List of British films of 2003 References Category:British music by year