BBC Television Theatre
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally built in 1903 as a music hall for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham; among its early performers was Charlie Chaplin. In 1953 it became the BBC Television Theatre. Since 1994, it has operated as a music venue. It is a Grade II listed building. History Origins The Shepherd's Bush Empire was built in 1903 for impresario Oswald Stoll, designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham.Denny, p.93 Ashly's Circus performed at Shepherd's Bush Empire and presented to George Strong a trophy for riding The Bucking Mule "Sloper' on 8 September 1905. The first performers at the new theatre were The Fred Karno Troupe including Charlie Chaplin (1906). The Empire staged music-hall entertainments, such as variety performances ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shepherd's Bush Green
} Shepherd's Bush Green (also known as Shepherd's Bush Common) is an approximately triangular area of open grass surrounded by trees and roads with shops in Shepherd's Bush, an area of west (London sub region), west London which takes its name from the Green. The Green is also a ward of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 12,175. History The origins of the name ''Shepherd's Bush'' are obscure. The name may have originated from the use of the common land as a resting point for shepherds on their way to Smithfield Market in the City of London. There appears to have been an ancient custom of pruning a hawthorne bush to provide a shelter for shepherds protecting them from the elements as they watched their flocks. Alternatively the Green may simply be named after a local landowner. In any event, in 1635 it was recorded as "Sheppards Bush Green". At the turn of the 20th century Hammersmith MP Sir William Bull, 1st Baronet, S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shepherd's Bush Pavilion
The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion is a Grade II listed building, currently a hotel, formerly a cinema and bingo hall, in Shepherd's Bush, London. Built in 1923 as a cinema, it was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944. In 1955, it was restored and re-opened, but it changed ownership a number of times, and eventually in 1983 became a bingo hall. The Pavilion closed its doors for good in 2001, and remained empty and disused for much of the next decade. In 2009, planning permission was granted for conversion into a luxury hotel. Demolition work began in 2012, with only a part of the building's façade retained. The re-built hotel, the Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London, opened in 2014. History Origins The Pavilion was originally built as a cinema, designed by Frank Verity for Israel Davis. It opened in August 1923, when it won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade. The panel noted the "imposing structure of brick and stone in which the former material especia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known as the "Forces sweetheart, Forces' Sweetheart", having given outdoor concerts for the troops in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, British Raj, India, and British rule in Burma, Burma during the war as part of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). The songs most associated with her include "We'll Meet Again", "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover", "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and "There'll Always Be an England". She remained popular after the war, appearing on radio and television in the United Kingdom and the United States and recording such hits as "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart" and her UK number-one single "My Son, My Son". Her last single, "I Love This Land", was released to mark the end of the Fal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than one - Bassey is one of the most popular vocalists in Britain. Born in Cardiff, Bassey began performing as a teenager in 1953. In 1959, she became the first Welsh person to gain a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. In the following decades, Bassey amassed 27 top 40 hits in the UK, including two number ones ("As I Love You" and the double A-side "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"/"Reach for the Stars (Shirley Bassey song), Reach for the Stars") plus a number one on the Dance Chart ("History Repeating (song), History Repeating"). She became well known for recording theme songs of the James Bond films ''Goldfinger (film), Goldfinger'' (1964), ''Diamonds Are Forever (film), Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), and ''Moonraker (film), Moonraker'' (1979). ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, pop and dramatic Sentimental ballad, ballads, with Chanson, French chanson, Country music, country, and jazz also in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak, she ranked among the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic. Her image–marked by a Blond#Varieties, peroxide blonde bouffant/Beehive (hairstyle), beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup (thick black eyeliner and eye shadow) and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances–made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties. Born in West Hampstead in London to a family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. In 1958, she joined her first professional group, the Lana Sisters. Two years later, with her brother Dion O'Brien ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie; 3 November 1948) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, actress and television personality from Lennoxtown, Scotland. Her career has spanned six decades. Her debut single, a cover version of The Isley Brothers song "Shout (Isley Brothers song), Shout", reached the top ten of the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1967, she rose to international prominence after appearing in the film ''To Sir, with Love'', singing the To Sir with Love (song), theme song, the melody written by Mark London, which topped the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States for five consecutive weeks and became the America's biggest-selling single of 1967. During the 1960s, she achieved another five top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, including "Boom Bang-a-Bang", which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, Eurovision Song Contest in 1969. With a powerful voice, in 1974, she sang the The Man with the Golden Gun (soundtrack), title s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Richard was originally marketed as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the style of Presley and Little Richard. With his backing group, the Shadows, he dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s to early 1960s. His 1958 hit single "Move It" is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song. In the early 1960s, he had a successful screen career with films including ''The Young Ones (1961 film), The Young Ones'', ''Summer Holiday (1963 film), Summer Holiday'' and ''Wonderful Life (1964 film), Wonderful Life'' and his own television show at the BBC. Increased focus on his Christian faith and subsequent softening of his music led to a more M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jim'll Fix It
''Jim'll Fix It'' is a British television series broadcast by the BBC, presented by Jimmy Savile and running for almost two decades, between May 1975 and July 1994. Devised by Bill Cotton, the show encouraged children to write a letter to Savile with a "wish" that would come true at the end of each episode, upon which the child would be granted a medal. Famous people who appeared on the show included Muhammad Ali, ''Doctor Who'' stars Tom Baker and Colin Baker, Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter, Margaret Thatcher and Peter Cushing. ''Jim'll Fix It'' was briefly revived in 2007 as ''Jim'll Fix It Strikes Again'' and a television special aired in 2011 following Savile's death. A year after Savile's death, allegations of child sex abuse against him arose relating to the television series. Development The idea for a show based on viewers' requests came from the BBC's head of light entertainment, Bill Cotton, and the idea was originally offered to Harry Secombe, but he turned it down. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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This Is Your Life (British TV Series)
''This Is Your Life'' is a British biographical television series, based on the 1952 American series. In the show, the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life in a studio, with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities were featured on the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It briefly returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald. The surprise element was an important part of the show; if the guest heard about the project beforehand, it would be cancelled. History The British version of the show was launched in 1955 on the BBC and was first presented by Ralph Edwards to the first subject, Eamonn Andrews, who was the presenter from ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juke Box Jury
''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American series, which was televised, aired from 1953 to 1959 and was hosted by Peter Potter, Suzanne Alexander, Jean Moorhead, and Lisa Davis. The series featured celebrity showbusiness guests on a rotating weekly panel who were asked to judge the hit potential of recent record releases. By 1962 the programme was attracting 12 million viewers weekly on Saturday nights.Mundy, John: "Popular music on screen: from the Hollywood musical to music video" (Manchester University Press, 1999) , pp204-5 The concept was later revived by the BBC for one series in 1979 and a further two series in 1989/1990. Format ''Juke Box Jury'' took a format where a guest panel reviewed new record releases in a 25-minute programme, extended to an hour for some Christmas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Generation Game
''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's meet the eight who are going to generate" used in earlier series by Bruce Forsyth. The couples were a generation apart and in later series, but not originally, of different genders. Most of the time it was mother/son, father/daughter. Sometimes aunt/nephew and uncle/niece played. In the first two rounds, two couples compete against each other in two games. One game usually involves first seeing a skilled professional construct or perform something, such as pottery or dancing. The contestants attempt to do the same, and a score is given by the professional. The other game usually involves more of a quiz element, such as identifying pieces of music. At the end of each of the first two rounds, the couple with the lower score is eliminated. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |