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Alan Braden
Robert Alan Braden (5 February 1927 – 6 April 2021) was an English composer and musical director who composed the theme tunes for several British sitcoms and light entertainment shows of the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Braden was born Robert Alan Braden in Manchester. Together with his elder brother, Edwin Braden, he started performing on the stage at five years old and became a member of his brother's "Edwin Braden (Later Eddy and the HornBlowers) and the Royal Sequence Dance Band", playing in it until Edwin was drafted into the Army at the outset of World War II as a reservist Sgt. in the Royal Engineers and served in Norway and through the Italy campaign. Wartime At the outbreak of war, Braden was 13 years old but with his father, a railway signalman supervisor (a reserved profession), and his brother of fighting age, he found himself and his mother mostly alone. Already a very accomplished musician, he now found himself much in demand and spent many evenings playing g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92 million, and the largest in Northern England. It borders the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The city borders the boroughs of Trafford, Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Stockport, Tameside, Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Oldham, Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Rochdale, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Bury and City of Salford, Salford. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort (''castra'') of Mamucium, ''Mamucium'' or ''Mancunium'', established on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers River Medlock, Medlock and River Irwell, Irwell. Throughout the Middle Ages, Manchester remained a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armchair Theatre
''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canadian-born producer Sydney Newman was in charge of ''Armchair Theatre'' between September 1958 and December 1962, during what is generally considered to have been its best era, and produced 152 episodes. History Intent ''Armchair Theatre'' filled a Sunday-evening slot on ITV, Britain's only commercial network at the time, in which contemporary dramas were the most common form, though this was not immediately apparent. The series was launched by Howard Thomas, head of ABC at the time, who argued that "Television drama is not so far removed from television journalism, and the plays which will grip the audience are those that face up to the new issues of the day as well as to the problems as old as civilisation." The original producer o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danny La Rue
Danny La Rue (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an entertainer best known for on-stage theatrical productions, television shows and films where he customarily performed in drag. Early life Born Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork City, Ireland, in 1927, La Rue was the youngest of five siblings. The family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Covent Garden, Central London. When the family home was destroyed during the Blitz, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to Kennford, a Devon village where young Daniel developed an interest in dramatics. "There weren't enough girls, so I got the pick of the roles ... My Juliet was very convincing," La Rue recalled. He served in the Royal Navy as a young man, following in his father's footsteps, and for a time worked delivering groceries. He became known as a female impersonator, or "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called, in the United Kingdom and was featu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née Barham) and Harry Hudd. His father was a carpenter who left the family shortly after the Second World War, and his mother, who had a history of mental health problems, committed suicide by gas when Hudd was nine years old. Hudd was primarily brought up by his grandmother, and attended Tavistock Secondary Modern School in Croydon and Croydon Secondary Technical School. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, he studied commercial art at the Regent Street Polytechnic. He then worked as a messenger for an advertising agency, as a window dresser, and as a commercial artist, working under Harry Beck. He made his professional debut as a comedian at the Streatham Hill Theatre on 27 October 1957, in a show in aid of the Sir Phi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cilla Black
Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart (song), Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World" both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between then and 1971 and an additional eight hits that made the top 40. In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s. "You're My World" reached No. 14 in CHUM Chart, Canada and was also a modest hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own BBC variety show, ''Cilla (1968 TV series), Cilla'' (1968–1976). After a brief time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a dancer and entertainer on British television. He also presented the quiz programme ''Name That Tune (British game show), Name That Tune'', and was a team captain on the televised charades gameshow ''Give Us a Clue''. Early life Henry Lionel Ogus was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was born to Jewish parents, Myer Ogus and Debora "Della" Greenbaum. His father, a barber, emigrated from Russia to Canada to start a new life, and his wife joined him shortly afterwards. Blair came to Britain when he was two years old, and the family settled at Stamford Hill in north London, where his father continued to work as a barber. Although his parents were Jewish they were not Orthodox Judaism, orthodox; they would eat chicken on a Friday night. Due t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom O'Connor (comedian)
Thomas Patrick O'Connor (31 October 1939 – 18 July 2021) was a British comedian, television presenter, and actor. Originally a comedian in working men's clubs, he progressed to hosting TV game shows such as '' Crosswits'', '' The Zodiac Game'', '' Name That Tune'', '' Password'' and '' Gambit''. Early life O'Connor was born in Bootle, and attended St Mary's College, Crosby, and Saint Mary's College, Twickenham. He became a mathematics and music teacher at the St Joan of Arc School, Bootle, and was also assistant headmaster. After work he appeared as a comedian in working men's clubs. Television career His television debut came when he appeared on '' The Comedians'', and had a minor acting role in the Granada TV play, Roll on Four O’Clock, but it was talent show '' Opportunity Knocks'' that shot him to national fame; he won the show three times. During the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the most popular faces on British TV. He was a subject of the television programm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born Thomas John Woodward; 7 June 1940) is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has been described by AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone". Jones's performing range has included pop, Rhythm and blues, R&B, show tunes, country music, country, dance, soul music, soul, and gospel music, gospel. In 2008, the ''New York Times'' called him a "musical shapeshifter [who could] slide from soulful rasp to pop croon, with a voice as husky as it was pretty". He has sold over 100 million records, with 36 Top 40 hits in the UK and 19 in the US, including "It's Not Unusual", "What's New Pussycat? (song), What's New Pussycat?", the Thunderball (soundtrack)#Title theme change, theme song for the James Bond film ''Thunderball (film), Thunderball'' (1965), "Green, Green Grass of Home", "Delilah (Tom Jones song), Delilah", "Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petula Clark
Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 years. Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio."War Stories From Petula Clark." ''Weekend Edition Saturday'', 21 December 2013. ''Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/A353945140/OVIC?u=nash87800&sid=primo&xid=58216c1d. Accessed 15 October 2023. In 1954, she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I, ''Prends mon cœur''", "Sailor (song), Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo (Petula Clark song), Romeo", and "I Will Follow Him, Chariot". Hits in German, Italian and Spanish followed. In late 1964, Clark's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John was the 19th EGOT winner in history. He has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time. John learned to play piano at an early age, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. In the 1960s, he formed the blues band Bluesology, wrote songs for other artists alongside Taupin, and worked as a session musician, before releasing his debut album, ''Empty Sky'' (1969). Throughout the next six decades, John cemented his status as a cultural icon with Elton John albums discography, 32 studio albums, including ''Honky Château'' (1972), ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' (1973), ''Roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band in Western popular music and were integral to the development of Counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat music, beat and 1950s rock and roll, rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from Folk music, folk and Music of India, Indian music to Psychedelic music, psychedelia and hard rock. As Recording practices of the Beatles, pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the Baby boomers, era's youth and soc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed the King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz band, jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
