1960 in British music

This is a summary of 1960 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Summary

A major event of the year was the West End première of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!, an immediate success which made stars of Ron Moody and Georgia Brown.

The Official UK Singles Chart

Charts

Classical music: new works

• William Alwyn - Piano Concerto No. 2
• Malcolm Arnold - Symphony No. 4
• Alun Hoddinott - Concerto no. 2
• William Walton - Symphony No. 2

Opera

• Arwel Hughes - Serch yw’r Doctor

Musical theatre

• Lionel Bart - Oliver! (first performance at the New Theatre, London, June 30)

Events

Births

• February 3 - Malcolm Martineau, pianist
• February 19 - Holly Johnson, singer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
• April 23 - Steve Clark, rock guitarist (died 1991)
• April 26 - Roger Taylor (Duran Duran)
• April 29 - Phil King, bassist
• May 19 - Yazz, singer
• June 1 - Simon Gallup, bassist (The Cure)
• June 2 - Tony Hadley, singer (Spandau Ballet)
• June 8 - Mick Hucknall, singer and songwriter (Simply Red)
• June 10 - Mark-Anthony Turnage, composer
• June 20 - John Taylor (Duran Duran)
• July 3 - Vince Clarke, songwriter (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure)
• August 14 - Sarah Brightman, soprano singer and actress
• September 8 - David Steele (Fine Young Cannibals)
• October 2 - Django Bates, composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader
• November 18 - Kim Wilde, singer
• December 2 - Rick Savage, bassist (Def Leppard)

Deaths

• January 2 - Leila Megane, operatic mezzo-soprano (b. 1891)
• January 25 - Rutland Boughton, composer (b. 1878)
• May 7 - Mai Jones, songwriter (b. 1899)
• May 12 - Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, composer (b. 1889)
• October 20 - Denise Orme, music hall singer (b. 1885)