1961 in British music
This is a summary of 1961 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. Summary Popular music in the UK was still dominated by American acts. Skiffle and traditional jazz were still popular. Events 9 February – The Beatles at The Cavern Club: Lunchtime – The Beatles perform under this name at The Cavern Club for the first time following their return to Liverpool from Hamburg, George Harrison's first appearance at the venue. 18 March – The Allisons represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, held at Cannes in France. They finish second with "Are You Sure?", a song the duo wrote themselves. The song sells a million copies and goes to number 2 in the official UK singles chart (#1 in some charts). 21 March – The Beatles at The Cavern Club: The Beatles – John, Paul, George and Stu – play the first of nearly 300 regular performances at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. June–July – Stu Sutcliffe leaves The Beatles to resume his art studies in Hamburg. 29 July – William Glock is now controller of music for the BBC and the Proms. One of his first commissions is of Symphonies,