Neha Patil (Editor)

1957 in British music

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1957 in British music

This is a summary of 1957 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Contents

Events

  • 1 January - Benjamin Britten conducts the opening performance of his ballet The Prince of the Pagodas at Covent Garden.
  • 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.
  • 16 January – The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool.
  • 25 January - first performance of William Walton's Cello Concerto in Boston.
  • 3 March - Patricia Bredin represents the UK at the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest in 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.
  • 6 July – John Lennon and Paul McCartney (The Beatles) meet for the first time, at St. Peter's Church garden fete.

    • Charts

  • See UK No.1 Hits of 1957

    • Classical music: new works

  • Malcolm Arnold - The River Kwai March
  • Benjamin Britten - Songs from the Chinese Op. 58, for soprano or tenor and guitar
  • Gordon Jacob - Piano Concerto No. 2
  • Michael Tippett - Symphony No. 2
  • William Walton - Partita for Orchestra

    • Opera

  • Benjamin Britten - Noye's Fludde (composition draft completed 18 December).

    • 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.
  • Lucky Jim directed by John Boulting, starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Hugh Griffith.
  • 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 Cilento in 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
  • 3 February - Steven Stapleton, singer-songwriter (Nurse with Wound and Current 93)
  • 13 February - Tony Butler English bass player (Big Country and On the Air)
  • 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)
  • 21 June – Mark Brzezicki, drummer (Big Country, The Cult, Ultravox, and Procol Harum)
  • 24 June – Astro, rapper (UB40)
  • 3 July - Poly Styrene, punk musician (died 2011)
  • 11 July - Peter Murphy, singer-songwriter (Bauhaus and Dalis Car)
  • 18 July - Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Public Image Ltd, The Flowers of Romance, and The Clash)
  • 31 August - Glenn Tilbrook, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Squeeze)
  • 20 December - Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter

    • Deaths

  • January
  • Gertie Gitana, music hall entertainer, 69
  • Harry Gordon, entertainer, 63
  • 13 March - Lena Ashwell, entertainer, 84
  • 12 May - Marie Rappold, operatic soprano, 83
  • 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
  • Jack Robson, songwriter

    • References

    1957 in British music Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA