2002 in British music

Summary

British and Irish bands that did well in the charts included Stereophonics, the Chemical Brothers, and Westlife; the latter topped the charts for a record 10th time, matching Madonna. They also were the act to obtain 10 chart toppers the most quickly, with only 35 months between this and their first.

The fastest-selling debut single in UK chart history was released by the Winner of the TV talent show, Pop Idol; Will Young had been voted as the winner by over 4 million people in the final, after winning six out of the nine weeks, with Gareth Gates, the eventual runner-up, winning three times. "Anything is Possible/Evergreen", topped the charts for 3 weeks and sold over 1.1 million copies in its first week of sale; altogether it sold over 1.7 million copies, becoming the 11th biggest-selling single in the UK and also the second fastest-selling single in the UK, with only Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" ahead of it. Young reached the top again with his second single "Light My Fire".

Runner-up Gareth Gates scored a No. 1 with his debut single, "Unchained Melody", spending one week more at the top than Will Young, thought the single itself sold less than Will Young's; nonetheless it became the 77th million-selling single in the UK and the last one until 2004. Overall, it is the 37th biggest selling single in the UK. Gates also had a second No.1 single, "Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)", which topped the charts for 3 weeks, bettering Will Young by one week once again. Darius Danesh, third in Pop Idol, also made No 1 with "Colourblind". After both having two chart toppers, Young and Gates joined forces and revived an old Beatles classic, "The Long and Winding Road".

UK girl group Sugababes (who were now under their second line-up of original members Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and former Atomic Kitten member Heidi Range, who replaced Siobhán Donaghy after her departure the previous year) scored their first UK number one with "Freak like Me". Ronan Keating also returned to the top of the singles chart with a cover of "If Tomorrow Never Comes". Liberty X, consisting of the five losers who just failed to make Hear'Say in the talent show Popstars, reached No. 1 with Just a Little, eventually becoming more successful than Hear'Say, who disbanded in October. S Club Juniors, an 8-piece pre-teen spin off from S Club 7 (who saw the departure of band member Paul Cattermole earlier that year) reached No 2 with their debut single One Step Closer.

The Sugababes hit the top for a second time with their sixth single, "Round Round". Like their first No. 1 single, it only spent a week at the summit. The song was taken from the soundtrack to the hit film, "The Guru". Specialising in Pop/R'N'B with garage influences, all-male act, Blazin' Squad entered at the top of the charts with their massively hyped debut single, "Crossroads". Their success slowly decline throughout their career.

Coldplay released their second album, a follow-up to Parachutes; A Rush of Blood to the Head included several hit singles and they became one of the few early 2000s era British acts to achieve fame and popularity in the US. Having topped the singles charts three times, Atomic Kitten also scored a No. 1 album with their 3rd release, Feels So Good. The album spawned two top 3 hits as well as their 3rd chart topper.

Twelve months after he hit the top with his debut single, Daniel Bedingfield returned to the top with a slow ballad, "If You're Not The One". It became his 2nd UK No. 1, and his debut album, Gotta Get Thru This, produced five Top 10 singles and six Top 40 hits. Boy band Blue reached the top of the UK charts for the third time, collaborating with Elton John to revive an old hit of his, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word".

Popstars: The Rivals became the new phenomenon in the world of talent shows, producing two new acts, boy band One True Voice and girl group Girls Aloud. They both released their singles in Christmas week and the girls beat the boys to the top spot, claiming the Christmas number one with "Sound of the Underground". Robbie Williams took the Christmas number one album spot yet again with his fifth No. 1 album, Escapology.

Events

1 January – Eric Clapton marries his 25-year-old American girlfriend in a surprise wedding ceremony at a church in the English village of Ripley, Surrey.

14 January – Adam Ant is committed to a psychiatric hospital two days after being arrested for carrying a firearm into a London pub that Ant claims was fake.

15 March – Liverpool Airport is rechristened Liverpool John Lennon Airport in an official ceremony.

12 May – We Will Rock You, a jukebox musical based on the songs of Queen, opens at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End.

23 May - The Classical Brits award ceremony takes place. The most successful British performers are Sir Colin Davis, Russell Watson and Guy Johnston.

1 June

Graham Coxon leaves Blur during Think Tank's recording sessions, after tensions with the other members mainly due to its alleged alcohol problems and disagreement about the choice of Fatboy Slim as producer. Coxon only contributed in one song, Battery in Your Leg. He was later "replaced" on tour by Simon Tong, former guitarist of The Verve.

The Prom at the Palace is held in London to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Performers include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus, Kiri Te Kanawa, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna.

11 June - Paul McCartney marries second wife Heather Mills in a lavish ceremony at Castle Leslie in Ireland.

27 June – The Who bassist John Entwistle is found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room on the eve of the band's new tour. He was 57.

30 June – The Glastonbury Festival features headline acts Coldplay, Garbage, Stereophonics, Orbital, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, and Air.

August - Nicola Benedetti wins the "Brilliant Prodigy" Competition, broadcast by Carlton Television.

29 November – Concert For George is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, under the musical direction of friend Eric Clapton.

Performers included Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Ravi Shankar, and Billy Preston. The event benefitted the Material World Charitable Foundation.

Television

Howard Goodall follows up his earlier successful TV series Howard Goodall's Big Bangs with Howard Goodall's Great Dates, in which he focused on significant dates in the history of music.

Classical works

Derek Bourgeois - Symphony No. 9

Peter Maxwell Davies - Naxos Quartet No. 1

Patrick Hawes – Blue in Blue

Tolga Kashif – Queen Symphony

Film scores and incidental music

Patrick Hawes - The Incredible Mrs Ritchie

Deaths

4 January - Peter Hemmings, operatic bass and impresario, 67

7 January – Jon Lee, Feeder drummer, 33 (suicide)

4 March - Eric Flynn, actor and singer, 62 (cancer)

27 March – Dudley Moore, comedian, composer, pianist and actor, 66 (progressive supranuclear palsy)

3 April - Fad Gadget, singer, 45

15 April - William Reed, pianist and composer, 91

27 June – John Entwistle, bassist of The Who, 57 (heart attack)

21 July – Gus Dudgeon, music producer, 59 (car accident)

27 August - George Mitchell, musician who devised The Black and White Minstrel Show., 85

9 October - Joan Mary Last, music educator, author and composer, 94

17 October – Derek Bell, harpist (The Chieftains), 66

3 November – Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician, 71

20 November - George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St John's College, Cambridge, 78

27 November - Stanley Black, pianist, bandleader, composer, conductor and arranger, 89

3 December - Sidney Sager, trombonist, conductor and composer, 85

22 December – Joe Strummer, singer and guitarist of The Clash, 50

24 December - Jake Thackray, singer-songwriter, 64 (heart failure).

31 December – Kevin MacMichael, Canadian guitarist of British band Cutting Crew, 51 (lung cancer)

date unknown - John McHugh, tenor, 93

BRIT Awards

The 2002 BRIT Awards winners were:

Best British Male Solo Artist: Robbie Williams

Best British Female Solo Artist: Dido

Best British Group: Travis

Best British Album: Dido: "No Angel"

Best British Dance Act: Basement Jaxx

Best British Newcomer: Blue

Best International Male: Shaggy

Best International Female: Kylie Minogue

Best International Group: Destiny's Child

Best International Newcomer: The Strokes

Best International Album: Kylie Minogue – "Fever"

Best British Video: So Solid Crew – "21 Seconds"

Best British Single: S Club 7 – "Don't Stop Movin'"

Best Pop Act: Westlife

Outstanding Contribution: Sting

Classical BRITS

Female Artist of the Year — Cecilia Bartoli

Male Artist of the Year – Sir Colin Davis

Album of the Year — Russell Watson — Encore

Ensemble/Orchestral Album of the Year — Richard Hickox and London Symphony Orchestra — Vaughan Williams, A London Symphony

Contemporary Music Award — Tan Dun — Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Young British Classical Performer — Guy Johnston

Critics' Award – Sir Colin Davis and London Symphony Orchestra — Berlioz, Les Troyens

Biggest-selling Classical Album – Russell Watson — Encore

Outstanding Contribution to Music — Andrea Bocelli

Mercury Music Prize

The 2002 Mercury Music Prize was awarded to Ms. Dynamite – A Little Deeper

Record of the Year

The Record of the Year was awarded to "Unchained Melody" by Gareth Gates.