1957 in British music

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 as a jazz club.
• 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 of The Beatles first meet at a garden fete at St. Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool, at which Lennon's skiffle group, The Quarrymen, is playing.
• 7 August – The Quarrymen first play at The Cavern Club in Liverpool in an interlude spot between jazz bands; when John Lennon starts the group playing Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", the club's owner at this time hands him a note reading "Cut out the bloody rock 'n roll".

Charts

• ''See UK No.1 Hits of 1957''

Classical music: new works

• Malcolm Arnold – The River Kwai March, Toy Symphony
• Arthur Bliss – Discourse for orchestra
• Benjamin Britten – Songs from the Chinese Op. 58, for soprano or tenor and guitar
• Gordon Jacob – Piano Concerto No. 2
• Robin Orr – Rhapsody for string orchestra
• Edmund Rubbra – Symphony No 7
• Michael Tippett – Symphony No. 2
• William Walton – Partita for Orchestra
• Grace Williams – Symphony No 2

Opera

• Benjamin Britten – Noye's Fludde.

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
• 13 February – Tony Butler English bass player
• 28 February – Phil Gould, drummer, singer and songwriter
• 21 March – John Whitfield, conductor
• 26 March – Paul Morley, music journalist
• 20 May – Sid Vicious, punk musician
• 27 May – Siouxsie Sioux, singer
• 29 May – Big George, composer, bandleader, and broadcaster
• 7 June – Paddy McAloon, English singer-songwriter
• 21 June – Mark Brzezicki, drummer
• 24 June – Astro, rapper
• 3 July – Poly Styrene, punk musician
• 11 July – Peter Murphy, singer-songwriter
• 18 July – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 31 August – Glenn Tilbrook, singer, songwriter and guitarist
• 11 September – Jon Moss, drummer
• 11 November – Tony 'Gad' Robinson, singer
• 20 December – Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 5 January – Gertie Gitana, music hall entertainer, 69
• 21 January – 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
• 20 October – Jack Buchanan, singer, dancer, actor and director, 66
• 19 November – Gordon Bryan, pianist, 62
• 21 December – Eric Coates, composer, 71
• date unknown
• *William Henley, violinist, composer and arranger
• *Jack Robson, songwriter