The historic county ofSussex inSouthern England has a rich musical heritage that encompasses the genres of folk, classical, rock, and popular music amongst others. With the unbroken survival of its indigenous music,[1] Sussex was at the forefront of theEnglish folk music revivals of the 19th and 20th centuries. Many classical composers have found inspiration in Sussex, and the county continues to have a thriving musical scene across the musical genres. InSussex by the Sea, the county has its own unofficial anthem.[2]
Perhaps the first knownmusical instrument from Sussex is the so-called 'Sussex horn', a variant of theBronze AgeIrish horn. Dating from around 900BC this instrument was found in the late 18th century at the bottom of a well inBattle.[3][4]
Of all the counties in England, it is Sussex that appears to have drawn the greatest attention from folk song collectors over a period of some 130 years.[5] This was due to a flourishing tradition of folk dance,mummers plays (known in Sussex as Tipteers' or Tipteerers' plays) and folk song, but also in part because of the rural nature of the county in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and yet its relatively close proximity to London.
Passed on throughoral tradition,[6] many of Sussex's traditional songs may not have changed significantly for centuries, with their origins perhaps dating as far back as the time of theSouth Saxons.[7] Writing in 1752,John Burton commented on the "sharp pitch" and "goatish noise" of the Sussexians, whichWilliam Henry Hudson thought still held true when writing nearly 150 years later.[8]
What strikes me as the most curious and interesting about their singing – their love of high-pitched voices, and, in many of their ballads their go-as-you-please tuneless tuneful manner, with the prolonging of some notes at random and "bleating out of goatish noises" – is its resemblance to the singing of theBasques, which is perhaps the most primitive kind of vocal music that survives in Europe. This Basque singing in its turn reminds me of all the Indians' singing I have heard in South America, including that of theTehuelches, the Patagonian nomad race... The Basques and the red men, like our Sussexians, are fond of shrillness and acute sounds, but do not, like the East Indians, cultivatefalsetto.
— W.H. Hudson,Nature in Downland (1900)[8]
In the Sussex tradition there is a strong vein of lyrical songs reflecting the life of the countryside and romance.[9] There are also ballads,[9] drinking songs[2][9] and songs that capture the 'Silly Sussex' humour of the county.[2]
Perhaps the earliest of collections was made by the Revd.John Broadwood in 1843, published asOld English Songs - as now sung by the Peasantry of the Weald of Surrey and Sussex. His niece,Lucy Broadwood, published the anthologiesSussex Songs,English County Songs andEnglish Traditional Songs and Carols. Probably because of the presence of the Broadwoods in the area, most of the traditional Sussex music collected in the early days of the folk revival came from aroundHorsham.[2] Classical musicians who also explored the Sussex repertoire includePercy Grainger andRalph Vaughan Williams. Grainger was rather cavalier in his appropriation of the folk melodies he recorded from all over the world, including arrangements of old Sussex tunes such asThe Merry King and theSussexMummers' Christmas Carol.[2] (Mummers in Sussex dialect are known as Tipteers or Tipteerers). Singer,Henry Burstow, was known to have over 400 songs in his repertoire.[10]Ralph Vaughan Williams' use of the tune ofOur Captain Calls All Hands as sung by Harriett Verrall of Monks Gate, near Horsham, as a setting forJohn Bunyan’sTo be a Pilgrim[5] andGeorge Butterworth’s arrangement ofFolk Songs from Sussex. The tune used by Harriett Verrall was also used by Vaughan Williams in what subsequently became known as theSussex Carol. Using early sound-recording equipment, Vaughan Williams was able to make actual recordings of some songs, including a 1907 version ofThe Trees They Do Grow High as sung by David Penfold, the landlord of the Plough Inn atRusper.[11]
Kate Lee, one of the founders of theEnglish Folk Dance and Song Society, found James 'Brasser' Copper and his brother Thomas, the landlord of the Black Horse public house inRottingdean. In the 1950s Brasser's son Jim, grandson, Bob and others were featured by the BBC and broadcast The Life of James Copper, honouring him with a front cover photo on theRadio Times and asked to sing in London'sRoyal Albert Hall. Another founder of the English Folk Dance and Song Society,William Henry Gill also collected and arranged folk song material from Sussex.[12]
Sometimes song lyrics were recorded with some censorship, such as theSussex Whistling Song and theHorn Fair song.[7] Sung to the tune ofLillibullero and edited for its coarseness, theSussex Whistling Song describes the Devil's dislike of the wife of a Sussex farmer in which the refrain was whistled. As is usual in Sussex lore, the Devil is depicted in a foolish light, in this case 'the wife' gets the better of him.[7] In 1861Mark Antony Lower wrote that "The effect, when continued by strong whistles of a group of lusty countrymen, is very striking, and cannot be adequately conveyed by description."[7][13]
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The Horn Fair song was written about a fair known for its drinking and licentiousness. Sussexdrinking songs include theSussex Toast[14] andTwankydillo.[2] WriterHilaire Belloc, who spent most of his life in the county, enjoyed traditional Sussex singing,[7] writing two drinking songs, theSussex Drinking Song, which was set to music byMartyn Wyndham-Read, and theWest Sussex Drinking Song, which was included in Belloc's novel,The Four Men: a Farrago, and was put to music in 1921 byIvor Gurney.[15] Belloc wrote about singing as if it were the soul of Sussex and a key part of its identity.[7] Belloc described the 'proper type of song' for Sussex as being theglee, comparing the glee's relationship to Sussex with that of theritornello of Italy, theseguidilla of Spain, thepastourou of Provence and thesaga of the North Sea.[16] Glee harmonies have also been part of the repertoire of the Copper family for several hundred years.[17] Belloc also calls a song namedGolier the "national anthem" of Sussex.[18]
Sung at the annual dinner of the now-defunct Men of Sussex Society,The Song o' the Sussex Men, written inSussex dialect by Arthur Beckett, contains verses about various characters associated with Sussex includingSt Wilfrid,St Cuthman,St Dunstan, John Dudeney,Tom Paine, Tom Tipper,Percy Bysshe Shelley,Richard Cobden and theDevil.[19]
Songs were sometimes associated with ritual.Turn the Cup Over was a one-verse song which would be sung after completion of the summer'sharvest and would be held in the open air or in a large hall. A 'chairman' would be appointed to pass the cup to each man in turn, who would drink while the other men sang.[7][20] After his drink, the drinker would have to use the hat to throw the cup into the air and catch it as it fell.[7][20] Failure to do so would compel the man to go through the ceremony again.[7][20] Singing in thepub would also have ritualised elements. The 'chairman' would decide who should sing next. Some men, particularly older men, would have a song they would always sing, and it would have been considered impertinence for anyone else to attempt it.[7]
Other singers included Michael Blann, a shepherd from Upper Beeding, George Attrill fromStopham, Hastings fisherman Noah Gillette. Often singing unaccompanied,[6] Sussex's folk music also had musicians, including renowned fiddler, Michael Turner ofWarnham.[21] Taken from a tune byMozart, Michael Turner's waltz is also known as theSussex Waltz.[22] Some singers likeGeorge 'Pop' Maynard inCopthorne and George 'Spike' Spicer in Selsfield in theAshdown Forest gained a following from beyond their native Sussex.[2] Tester noted that there were a large number of fiddle players in Ashdown Forest before the First World War but by the 1920s there were very few, changes which were reflected across England.[23]
In the 1960s, English folk music went through a revival of interest, which was also true of folk music in Sussex.Scan Tester's recordings were published posthumously in the 1990 albumI Never Played to Many Posh Dances (sometimes misquoted as "I Never Played Too Many Posh Dances"). Tester was an accomplished musician, playing theconcertina,melodeon,bandoneon and fiddle.[2] SistersDolly andShirley Collins from Hastings gained some popularity in the 1960s, producing the 1967 album of mainly Sussex tunes,The Sweet Primeroses[2] as well as the 1969 albumAnthems in Eden. According to some commentators, many people believe that the folk-rock revolution of 1969 would not have happened without the album that Shirley Collins recorded with guitaristDavey Graham, released in 1964 asFolk Roots, New Routes".[24] Shirley Collins founded theEtchingham Steam Band with her husband at the timeAshley Hutchings while they were living inEtchingham. It was formed after the break-up of theAlbion Country Band and ended with the formation in 1976 of theAlbion Dance Band. Founding Sussex's first folk club in 1958,[5] Tony Wales also recorded the first LP of Sussex Folk Songs and Ballads in 1957 on theFolkways Records label in New York,[5] and in 1961 organised the first Horsham Folk Festival.[5]
Singing under the name Young Coppers, the young generation of theCopper Family of Rottingdean continue the family tradition of singing, in what is at least the seventh generation to do so.[25] They were also part of the original line-up ofThe Imagined Village, a project formed to represent the multicultural folk music traditions of the United Kingdom. Brighton-based folk-punk bandThe Levellers who formed in 1988 continue to play, winning theRoots Award at the 2011BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.[26] Combining a vocal sound reminiscent of folk singersSandy Denny and fellow Sussexian Shirley Collins with sounds from New Orleans and Vancouver, folk-blues bandSmoke Fairies emerged in the early 2000s to acclaim, particularly in the United States.[27]Passenger (real name Mike Rosenberg) achieved success in folk-alternative rock genre, both with the bandPassenger and as a solo artist. Singer-songwriterMary Hampton has been critically acclaimed,[28] as haveHatful of Rain[29][30][31][32][33] who combine folk music withbluegrass music. In 2016 Shirley Collins releasedLodestar, her first new studio album in 38 years[34] and the following year a documentary film about Collins' return to performing,The Ballad of Shirley Collins, was released.
The county has over twenty folk clubs and other venues hosting folk music.[citation needed] There are also annual folk music festivals atEastbourne,Crawley,Bognor Regis[35] andLewes.[36] In 2012, Sussex's traditional folk songs were being taught to new generations as part of a project by the South Downs Society,[37] with money from theHeritage Lottery Fund.[38] Following the end of this project in March 2013, the South Downs Folk Singers were formed to carry on singing the old songs in regular pub sessions and festivals throughout the Downs.[39]
Since 2015 a cultural charity, Sussex Traditions, has created a public database of thousands of records, relating particularly to traditional song but also to Sussex traditions generally.[40]
Sussex has also been home to many composers of classical music. It is highly likely that two of the three Englishchoirbooks that survive from the early Tudor period originated in Sussex.[41] TheCaius Choirbook was presented from the Master ofArundel College toSt Stephen's Chapel in Westminster; theLambeth Choirbook (or Arundel Choirbook) remained at Arundel as a working choirbook.[41] The Arundel choirbook contains works by several composers includingWalter Lambe, a former lay clerk at Arundel.[42] The Caius choirbook includes work byEdmund Turges.[43] A tradition of performingpolyphonic music was probably firmly entrenched by the end of the fifteenth century.[44]
In 1588 Lewes-born[45] singerNicholas Yonge published theMusica transalpina, a collection of Italianmadrigals with their words translated into English. These works were played by another Sussexian,Thomas Weelkes. Sometimes considered one of England's finest composers,[46] Weelkes was better known as a drunkard than for his music.[2]
ComposerRalph Vaughan Williams went to school inRottingdean and married Adeline Fisher, daughter of historianHerbert William Fisher and cousin of writerVirginia Woolf and painterVanessa Bell, inHove in 1897. After collecting folk songs in Sussex, Vaughan Williams wroteSussex Carol, which was the last of three carols he used in hisFantasia on Christmas Carols. Vaughan Williams used five folk songs he found in Sussex for the basis of hisFantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes. During the 1890sGustav Holst played the trombone in the White Viennese Band on Brighton Pier under Stanislaus Wurm.[47] Holst's ashes rest in the North transept of Chichester Cathedral.At the start of the Second World WarArnold Bax moved to Storrington, where he lived at the White Horse Inn.
Perhaps more than any other composer,John Ireland found inspiration for his music in the Sussex countryside, particularly the downland aroundChanctonbury Ring. On his first visit he stayed in Ashington and over the next 30 years stayed frequently in Amberley, Ashington, Shipley and Steyning. Ireland's works inspired by the Sussex countryside includeA Downland Suite,Amberley Wild Brooks,Legend for Piano and Orchestra (referring to a legend of ghostly children from a leper colony to be seen onHarrow Hill); Piano Sonata and Cello Sonatas inspired by theDevil's Jumps barrows.[48]
SirHubert Parry, composed the music for anthemJerusalem at hisRustington home.[49] The words toAnd did those feet in ancient time had also been written in Sussex over a hundred years earlier byWilliam Blake whilst living inFelpham.[49] At Knights Croft House in Rustington, Parry wrote theSymphonic Fantasia '1912' (also calledSymphony No. 5), theOde on the Nativity and theSongs of Farewell. Parry also wroteShulbrede Tunes after his daughter, Dorothea, and son-in-law,Arthur Ponsonby, moved to medieval Shulbrede Priory inLinchmere.[49]
SirEdward Elgar lived nearFittleworth from 1917 and while there wrote some of his finestchamber music including theA minor Piano Quintet[2] andCello Concerto before moving to Kempsey in Worcestershire.[2] Debussy completedLa mer in Eastbourne and wroteReflets dans l'eau about an ornamental pond in Eastbourne's Devonshire Park.[2] SussexcontraltoClara Butt was the first person to perform Elgar'sLand of Hope and Glory.
Born of a working-class family in Brighton in 1879,Frank Bridge attended the Brighton School of Music, then joined the Royal College of Music in London, where he received the highest praise from Sir Hubert Parry. Bridge bought land on theSouth Downs atFriston where he had a cottage built.[2]It was here that he wrote the orchestral suiteThe Sea, the Piano Sonata dedicated to composerErnest Farrar, who was killed in action in France in World War One,Enter Spring (originally entitledOn Friston Down),Oration for Cello and Orchestra,Phantasm for Piano and Orchestra, the Piano Trio No. 2, theRebus Overture, the Violin Sonata No. 2, and the third and fourth String Quartets.[2]
Probably Sussex's best-known native female composer,Ruth Gipps produced several orchestral works, including five symphonies and two piano concertos. Her clarinet sonata, Op 45, won the 1956Cobbett Prize of theSociety of Women Musicians.[50]
TheChichester Psalms is achoral work byLeonard Bernstein for boy treble or countertenor, solo quartet, choir and orchestra. Commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals' Festival at Chichester Cathedral by the cathedral's organist, John Birch, and the Dean, Walter Hussey, the world premiere took place in thePhilharmonic Hall, New York.[2]
As a child, the composerJohn Tavener spent his summer holidays at Lady Birley's Sussex house, Charleston Manor where the grand piano was at his disposal and from where he visited Glyndebourne.[51] From 1991 to 2000, Tavener lived with his family nearHurstpierpoint.[52]
ComposerOrlando Gough is best known for works written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. The composersJonathan Harvey,[53]Michael Finnissy[54] andMartin Butler[55] have all taught at Sussex University.
Major performers include violinist and violistNigel Kennedy and the tenorJonathan Ansell whose pop-opera boybandG4 were discovered in 2004 on the talent showThe X Factor before embarking on a solo career in 2007.
Glyndebourne Festival Opera was founded in 1934 byJohn Christie and his wife, the sopranoAudrey Mildmay in 1934 atGlyndebourne, one of the world's best known opera houses, and Britain's only unsubsidised opera house.[56] The county is also home to professional orchestras the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra,[57] Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra[58] and theWorthing Symphony Orchestra.[59] Established in 2010, Worthing is the home of theSussex International Piano Competition.[60]
Possibly the oldest surviving music from Sussex is the 14th centuryRobertsbridge Codex which contains six pieces of music. This manuscript contains one of the earliest pieces of music specifically written for the keyboard. The Robertsbridge Codex is also the earliest evidence of two handed, polyphonic organ music and dates from around 1325.[61]
Former vicar of Crawley and warden ofSackville College inEast Grinstead,John Mason Neale is best known for writing theChristmas carol "Good King Wenceslas".[62] The words to the hymn "Morning Has Broken", later a hit forCat Stevens, were written byEleanor Farjeon from herAlfriston home, inspired by the Sussex countryside.[63] The village ofWadhurst gives its name to a hymn written byMichael Tippett.[64]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic of 2020—2021 an album released by thePoor Clares ofArundel became the UK's best-selling classical artist debut of 2020[65] and reached number 5 in the UK album chart in 2021.[66]
Inspired by the view across the English Channel fromSelsey towardsBognor Regis, "By the Sleepy Lagoon" byEric Coates has been used by BBC Radio 4 as the opening theme music forDesert Island Discs since 1942.[67] Coates lived on theManhood Peninsula, initially at Selsey and later atSidlesham.[67][68] Best known for his theme tunes forDoctor Who,[69]Steptoe and Son,[69]Tales of the Unexpected[69] andThe Prisoner,[69] Australian-born composerRon Grainer moved to Brighton in the 1970s[69] and later died inCuckfield.[69]
The winner of aBAFTA Award andOscar nomination for "Walking in the Air",[70]Howard Blake grew up in Sussex[71] and continues to live in the county. The song was used for the 1982 animated filmThe Snowman of the Sussex-based authorRaymond Briggs.[72] Blake also wrote the orchestral works in the film score for the filmFlash Gordon.[73]
Nat Gonella was part of the Brighton jazz scene and also a resident ofSaltdean.[2] In 2005, jazz pianist and vocalistLiane Carroll won twoBBC Jazz Awards,[74] while jazz composer and pianistZoe Rahman received a Mercury Prize nomination for her 2006 albumMelting Pot.[75] Brighton-based singerClaire Martin has won the Best Vocalist award in the British Jazz Awards five times.[2]
Singer oftraditional pop music,Alma Cogan's career began with singing with a band attea dances onWorthing Pier[76] while atart college in the town.[77] Cogan would appear in the UK Singles Chart eighteen times in the 1950s, with "Dreamboat" reaching no. 1. Other hits from this period include "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", "Sugartime" and "The Story of My Life".
SongwriterMitch Murray wrote several number one singles including two 1963 songs forGerry and the Pacemakers — "How Do You Do It?" (which was initially given tothe Beatles) and "I Like It". Another songwriter,Ken Howard co-wrote "Have I the Right?" forThe Honeycombs and "The Legend of Xanadu" forDave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, both number one singles.Worthing was home in the late 1960s to theWorthing Workshop, a group of artists and musicians who includedLeo Sayer,[78]Brian James ofThe Damned,Billy Idol andSteamhammer, whose guitarist,Martin Quittenton, went on to co-writeRod Stewart's UK number one hits "You Wear It Well"[79] and "Maggie May".[80]Leapy Lee's 1968 single "Little Arrows" reached number two in the UK singles chart.
The 1970s were significant in Sussex as a field outside Worthing hostedPhun City, the UK's first large-scale free music festival.[81] TheBrighton Dome hosted the1974 Eurovision Song Contest,[82] won by the Swedish groupABBA for their song "Waterloo", which propelled them to worldwide fame.The Cure formed in Crawley, beginning their long career in gothic indie rock. October 1976 sawLeo Sayer's song "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" reach number one on the United StatesBillboard Hot 100 chart,[83] making it his first number-one single in United States, also winning aGrammy Award for the song in1978 in the categoryBest R&B Song. Sayer's first UK number one followed in 1977 for his version of "When I Need You"[84]1979 saw the release ofOne Step Beyond..., the debut album ofMadness, a band formed in London by the Hastings-born singer-songwriterSuggs (real name Graham McPherson).
Sussex bands achieved only limited success in the 1980s, withThe Popguns being one of the best-known andThese Animal Men achieving minor fame as part of the so-calledNew wave of new wave andThe Levellers began their careers merging folk with punk music. Punk bandThe Piranhas had a top 10 hit single in 1980 with their cover version of the South Africankwela song "Tom Hark". 1983 saw The Cure get their first UK top ten hit, "The Love Cats". Their 1987 albumKiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me saw them move into the mainstream and their 1989 albumDisintegration was released to critical acclaim, reaching number three in the UK album chart.Brett Anderson[85] andMat Osman[86] fromHaywards Heath helped formSuede in 1989 and were hailed as "the best new band in Britain",[87] winning the 1993Mercury Prize for their debut albumSuede and kick-starting theBritpop movement.[87] GuitaristRichard Durrant also began his career in the 1980s; thehouse music of DJJohn Digweed also rose to prominence in the 1980s.
The 1990s saw an increase in bands from Sussex includingKeane,The Feeling,Toploader andClearlake.Bob Stanley helped form London-based indie dance-pop bandSaint Etienne, which had some success in the 1990s including a Mercury award nomination for their 1991 albumFoxbase Alpha. Brighton-basedBeats International had a number one single in 1990 with "Dub Be Good to Me".Phats & Small also achieved some success in dance music, particularly with their 1999 single "Turn Around".Samantha Janus finished 10th in the 1991Eurovision Song Contest withA Message to Your Heart having won the UK national finalA Song for Europe. The Cure released their most commercially successful album,Wish in 1992 which reached number one in the UK and number two in the United States, where it sold more than 1.2 million copies.[88][89] In the 1990s, Suede had released three albums that went to number one in the UK album chart. These wereSuede, the Mercury-nominatedComing Up andHead Music. 1995'sZeitgeist was the Levellers' most commercially successful album, reaching number one in the UK album chart. Songwriter and record producer,Barry Upton co-created withSteve Crosby the million-selling pop bandSteps in 1997.Simon Fuller, who grew up in Hastings, managed several acts including in theSpice Girls in the mid 1990s, where he first came to significance,[90] going on create theIdol franchise, which was first seen in the UK under the namePop Idol.Billboard magazine has since been certified Fuller as the most successful British music manager to date.[91]
The 21st century saw an increase in popular bands from Sussex, and Brighton in particular, as well as seeing the formation of theBrighton Institute of Modern Music, in collaboration with theUniversity of Sussex.[92] Popular artists includeEd Harcourt, whose 2001 albumHere Be Monsters was nominated for a Mercury Prize,[93]British Sea Power (nominated for a Mercury Prize forDo You Like Rock Music?),The Go! Team (nominated for a Mercury Prize forThunder, Lightning, Strike),The Kooks,The Electric Soft Parade (nominated for a Mercury Prize forHoles in the Wall),The Ordinary Boys,The Pipettes,Brakes,Architects,Blood Red Shoes andDead Swans. Keane's 2004 debut albumHopes and Fears won aBrit Award and a Mercury Prize nomination, and went to number one in the UK album chart. Keane's follow up albumsUnder The Iron Sea andPerfect Symmetry also rose to the top of the UK album chart. 2004 saw Brett Anderson reunite with ex-Suede bandmate Bernard Butler inThe Tears. The band was short-lived, disbanding in 2006, after the critically acclaimed debut albumHere Come The Tears.[94] 2004 also saw Haywards Heath-born singer-songwriter,Natasha Bedingfield's debut albumUnwritten as well as the single "These Words" both reach number one in the UK charts. The 2005 Mercury Music Prize winnerAntony Hegarty, whose bandAntony and the Johnsons won withI Am a Bird Now was born and grew up in Chichester.[95] In 2002, Brighton-basedNorman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) held a concert on Brighton beach, attended by 250,000.[96] Since 2006, Brighton has been home to a major festival of new music,The Great Escape Festival.[97] The Kooks' second album,Konk reached number one in the UK album chart in 2008.
Hip hop duoRizzle Kicks released their first album,Stereo Typical, in 2011 and as of May 2012 had sold over 1 million singles and over 600,000 albums in the UK.[citation needed]DJ Fresh achieved two number one UK singles in 2012 including "Louder", the first from the genre ofdubstep[98] and "Hot Right Now", the firstdrum and bass number one.[99]Conor Maynard's debut albumContrast reached number one in the UK album charts in 2012.[100] Also in 2012, Keane's albumStrangeland reached number one in the UK chart. Drawing comparisons with fellow Sussex artists, Keane, and known for emotive piano-led songs,Tom Odell became the first male artist to win theBRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013.[101]Passenger (real name Michael Rosenberg) was nominated forBritish Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards for "Let Her Go" which topped the charts in several countries. In 2014,Royal Blood's eponymous debut albumRoyal Blood reached number one in the UK album chart, the fastest-selling British rock debut album in the UK in three years.[102] The album was nominated for a Mercury prize and won Royal Blood aBrit Award for best British group. Royal Blood's 2017 follow-up albumHow Did We Get So Dark? also reached number one in the UK album chart. In 2016,Anohni became the second openlytransgender person nominated for anAcademy Award, for the song "Manta Ray" in the filmRacing Extinction.[103] Her debut solo album,Hopelessness, was released in May 2016 to wide critical acclaim, and was nominated for the 2016 Mercury Music Prize. Tom Odell's second albumWrong Crowd charted at number 2 album in the UK. Singer-songwriterRag'n'Bone Man won the 2017Critics' Choice (Brit Award) as well as a nomination for the 2017Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act. His albumHuman was a number one hit in several European countries including Germany, and reached number two in the UK. His album, also calledHuman, debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart on sales of 117,000, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a male artist during the 2010s.[104]Indie rock bandBlack Honey also achieved some success with their self-titled 2018 albumBlack Honey.
Saltdean soul singerCeleste was tipped for success in 2020 after winning the2020 Brit Award forRising Star, the BBC'sSound of 2020 music poll as well as theBBC Music Award forIntroducing Artist of the Year.[105] She was included in lists of artists to watch by publications such asThe Guardian,Vogue,NME,GQ,MTV,Vevo andAmazon Music. She was described by Nick Reilly ofNME as "the finestBritish soul singer to emerge in years".[106] WithNot Your Muse, Celeste became the first British female artist in five years to have a number one debut album on theUK Albums Chart[107] and received a nomination for the 2021 Mercury Prize.[108]
Porridge Radio's 2020 albumEvery Bad was nominated for the 2020Mercury Prize.[109]
In addition to Celeste's debut album, 2021 saw the release of several albums from Sussex artists includingArchitects'For Those That Wish to Exist, Royal Blood'sTyphoons and Rag'n'Bone Man'sLife by Misadventure (all number 1 in the UK charts); Passenger'sSongs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted andMaisie Peters' debut album,You Signed Up for This (both number 2 in the UK charts);Black Honey'sWritten & Directed andSquid's debut album,Bright Green Field.
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