This is a summary of2012 in music in the United Kingdom.In 2012, dance music continued to dominate the charts.

• 1 January – Musicians honoured in the Queen'sNew Year Honours list include conductorAntonio Pappano (knighthood), record producerSteve Lillywhite (CBE), composer and conductor RevRonald Corp (OBE) andRalph Allwood (MBE), former director of music atEton College.
• 4 June – ADiamond Jubilee Concert is held outsideBuckingham Palace onThe Mall, London, organised byGary Barlow as part of QueenElizabeth II'sDiamond Jubilee celebrations.^[1][2][3] Performers include Gary Barlow,Robbie Williams, SirElton John, SirPaul McCartney,Grace Jones,Alfie Boe, SirCliff Richard, SirTom Jones, DameShirley Bassey andStevie Wonder.
• 8-10 June –Download Festival 2012 takes place atDonington Park inLeicestershire. The Jim Marshall main stage is headlined byThe Prodigy,Metallica andBlack Sabbath, the Zippo encore stage bySlash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators,You Me at Six andRise Against, the Pepsi Max Stage byDevin Townsend Project,The Mission andPeriphery, the Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage byCancer Bats,Cockney Rejects andWilliam Control, and the Jägermeister Acoustic stage byYashin, Tyla andSaint Jude.
• 16 June – Musicians honoured in the Queen'sBirthday Honours list include Gary Barlow (OBE), violinistTasmin Little (OBE) andGareth Malone (OBE).
• 27 July – On the opening day of the2012 Summer Olympics, at 8.15,Martin Creed's controversial work "All The Bells", is performed by the bells of London.
• 12 August – The2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, also known by the title "A Symphony of British music",^[4] takes place atLondon's Olympic Stadium. Performers includeTake That,One Direction,The Spice Girls,Madness,George Michael,Julian Lloyd Webber,Pet Shop Boys,Ray Davies,Annie Lennox,Kaiser Chiefs andEmeli Sandé.
• 9 December –James Arthur wins theninth series ofThe X Factor.Jahméne Douglas is named runner-up, whileChristopher Maloney andUnion J finish in third and fourth place respectively.

• Spice Girls
• 911
• Atomic Kitten
• B*Witched
• Five
• Honeyz
• Kitchens Of Distinction
• Liberty X
• Six By Seven
• The Supernaturals

• Westlife
• Jet
• Viva Brother
• The King Blues
• SoundGirl
• Pendulum
• Chumbawamba
• Does It Offend You, Yeah?

• Peter Maxwell Davies –Symphony No. 9
• Howard Goodall –Every Purpose Under the Heaven (The King James Bible Oratorio)
• Karl Jenkins –The Peacemakers
• Philip Ledger –This Holy Child (cantata)
• Philip Moore – "I will lift up mine eyes"

• George Benjamin –Written on Skin
• Stephen Crowe –The Francis Bacon Opera
• Neil Hannon –Sevastopol^[5]

The2012 BRIT Awards were held on 21 February 2012 atThe O2 Arena, London and hosted byJames Corden. The most notable winners wereAdele andEd Sheeran, both winning two awards.^[6][7]

• British Male Solo Artist:Ed Sheeran
• British Female Solo Artist:Adele
• British Breakthrough Act: Ed Sheeran
• British Group:Coldplay
• British Single: "What Makes You Beautiful" –One Direction
• MasterCard British Album:21 – Adele
• International Male Solo Artist:Bruno Mars
• International Female Solo Artist:Rihanna
• International Group:Foo Fighters
• International Breakthrough Act:Lana Del Rey
• British Producer:Ethan Johns
• Critics' Choice:Emeli Sandé
• Outstanding Contribution to Music:Blur

The 57thIvor Novello Awards were held on 17 May 2012 at theGrosvenor House Hotel, London.^[8][9]

• Best Contemporary Song: "Video Games" –Lana Del Rey (written by Lana Del Rey andJustin Parker)
• PRS for Music Most Performed Work: "Rolling in the Deep" –Adele (written by Adele Adkins andPaul Epworth)
• Best Television Soundtrack:The Shadow Line (composed byMartin Phipps)
• The Ivors Jazz Award:Stan Tracey
• Album Award:Let England Shake –PJ Harvey (written by PJ Harvey)
• Outstanding Song Collection:Gary Kemp
• The Ivors Inspiration Award:Siouxsie Sioux
• Best Original Film Score:The First Grader (composed byAlex Heffes)
• PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music:Gary Barlow,Howard Donald,Jason Orange,Mark Owen andRobbie Williams (Take That)
• Best Song Musically and Lyrically: "The A Team" –Ed Sheeran (written by Ed Sheeran)
• Lifetime Achievement:Mark Knopfler
• Songwriter of the Year: Adele Adkins
• PRS for Music Special International Award:Jimmy Webb
• BASCA Fellowship:Andrew Lloyd Webber

The 2012Classic BRIT Awards were held on 2 October 2012 at theRoyal Albert Hall, London and were hosted byMyleene Klass.^[10]

• Female Artist:Nicola Benedetti (Italia)
• MasterCard Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award:Miloš Karadaglić (Latino)
• Composer:John Williams (War Horse,The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn)
• International Artist of the Year in association withRaymond Weil:Andrea Bocelli
• Critics' Award:Benjamin Grosvenor (Chopin/Liszt/Ravel)
• Male Artist:Vasily Petrenko (Shostakovich/Symphony No. 1 & 3,Shostakovich/Symphony No. 6 & 12,Shostakovich/Symphony No. 2 & 15,Rachmaninov/Piano Concertos 1 & 4,Rachmaninov/Symphony No. 3)
• Classic BRITs Single of the Year in association withiTunes: "Wherever You Are" –Military Wives withGareth Malone
• Lifetime Achievement Award: John Williams
• Classic FM Album of the Year in association with MasterCard:And The Waltz Goes On –André Rieu

The 2012BarclaycardMercury Prize was awarded on 1 November 2012 toAlt-J for their albumAn Awesome Wave.^[11][12]

The 2012Popjustice £20 Music Prize was awarded on 1 November 2012 toWill Young for his single "Jealousy".

The 10th British Composer Awards were held on 3 December 2012 atGoldsmiths' Hall, London and hosted bySara Mohr-Pietsch and Andrew McGregor.

• Instrumental Solo or Duo:Learning Self-Modulation – Christian Mason
• Chamber:The Four Quarters –Thomas Adès
• Vocal:No Man's Land –Colin Matthews
• Choral:Airplane Cantata –Gabriel Jackson
• Wind Band or Brass Band:A Symphony of Colours –Simon Dobson
• Orchestral:Concerto for Violin and Orchestra –Harrison Birtwistle
• Stage Works:DESH –Jocelyn Pook
• Liturgical:Missa Brevis –Francis Grier
• Sonic Art:The Ethometric Museum – Ray Lee
• Contemporary Jazz Composition:Sailing to Byzantium –Christine Tobin
• Community or Educational Project:The Chimpanzees of Happytown – Paul Rissmann
• Making Music Award:Mesmerism for Piano and Chamber Orchestra –Emily Howard
• International Award:Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra –Thomas Larcher

The 2012Record of the Year was awarded to "Somebody That I Used to Know" byGotye featuringKimbra. This was the final year that The Record of the Year was awarded.

^[169][170]

^[171][172]

Notes:

• 3 January –Bob Weston, guitarist withFleetwood Mac, 64 (gastrointestinal haemorrhage and cirrhosis of the liver)^[173]
• 4 January –Kerry McGregor, contestant on thethird series ofThe X Factor, 37 (bladder cancer)^[174]
• 11 January –David Whitaker, English composer and conductor, 81^[175]
• 27 January –Ted Dicks, composer, 83^[176]
• 6 February –Jim King, saxophonist withFamily, 69
• 9 February –Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter withNero and the Gladiators, 73
• 15 February –Clive Shakespeare, English-Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer withSherbet, 64 (cancer)^[177]
• 21 February –John Charles Winter, organist, 88
• 29 February –Davy Jones, singer and percussionist withthe Monkees, 66 (heart attack)^[178]
• 1 March –Peter Graeme, oboist, 90^[179]
• 20 April –Bert Weedon, guitarist, 91^[180]
• 11 May –Roland Shaw, composer, arranger, and bandleader, 91^[181]
• 14 May –Derek Hammond-Stroud, operatic baritone, 86^[182]
• 20 May –Robin Gibb, singer and songwriter withthe Bee Gees, 62 (liver cancer)^[183]
• 3 June –Andy Hamilton, Jamaican-born jazz saxophonist and composer, 94^[184]
• 17 June –Brian Hibbard, singer withthe Flying Pickets and actor, 65 (prostate cancer)^[185]
• 7 July – Alf Pearson, singer and variety performer as one half of the double actBob and Alf Pearson, 102^[186]
• 10 July –Lol Coxhill, saxophonist, 79^[187]
• 11 July –Jean Allister, opera singer, 80^[188]
• 16 July –Jon Lord, musician withDeep Purple andWhitesnake, and classical composer, 71 (pancreatic cancer)^[189]
• 23 July –Graham Jackson, conductor, 45 (cancer)^[190]
• 17 August –Lou Martin, keyboard player, 63
• 31 August –Max Bygraves, singer and variety performer, 89 (Alzheimer's disease)^[191]
• 2 September –John C. Marshall, jazz musician, 71
• 4 September –Ian Parrott, composer and academic, 96^[192]
• 15 September –George Hurst, conductor, 86^[193]
• 2 October –Big Jim Sullivan, guitarist, 71 (heart disease and diabetes)^[194]
• 12 October –Geraldine Mucha, composer, 95^[195]
• 18 November – SirPhilip Ledger, composer and academic, 74^[196]
• 26 October – Jo Dunne, guitarist withWe've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It, 43 (cancer)^[197]
• 6 November –Clive Dunn, actor and singer, 92^[198]
• 18 November
  • Stan Greig, pianist, drummer, and bandleader, 82 (Parkinson's disease)^[199]
  • SirPhilip Ledger, English organist, composer, and academic, 74^[200]
• 20 November –Michael Dunford guitarist and songwriter withRenaissance (cerebral haemorrhage)^[201]
• 24 November –Ian Campbell, folk musician, 79 (cancer)^[202]
• 4 December –Jonathan Harvey, composer, 73 (motor neurone disease)^[203]

• 2012 in British radio
• 2012 in British television
• 2012 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 2012

• 2012 in British music
• British music by year

• Use dmy dates from January 2020
• Use British English from April 2013
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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards