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Marion Ryan
Marion Ryan (4 February 1931 – 15 January 1999) was a British singer in the 1950s in the early years of British Independent Television. She was once called "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song". Early life Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, she attended Notre Dame Collegiate School for Girls in Leeds, now Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College. Career Marion Ryan was working in a hosiery shop in Leeds and she broke into show business when she approached Ray Ellington who was performing at the Locarno in Liverpool in July 1953 and asked to sing with his quartet. He allowed her to do so and the audience reaction was so good he signed her up to work with the quartet. She made her debut with them at the Locarno, Glasgow in September 1953. Her first radio appearance took place on the show "Stepping Out at Radio Roadhouse" on the Light Programme on 27 October 1953 when the Ellington quartet were the guest band. She continued to tour with Ellington until 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV Network
ITV, legally known as Channel 3, is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It is branded as ITV1 in most of the UK except for central and northern Scotland, where it is branded as STV (TV channel), STV. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been Legal name, legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time: BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4. ITV was, for decades, a network of separate companies that provided regional television services and also shared programmes among themselves to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: ITV plc, which runs ITV1, the ITV1 cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Platt
Ken Platt (born Kenneth Platt, 17 February 1921, Leigh, Lancashire – 2 October 1998, Blackpool, Lancashire) was a British northern comedian. Early life Platt decided to become a comedian at the age of 15. He bought a ukulele and performed at local concert parties where he was billed as "George Formby the second", in homage to his idol. He joined the Army in 1942 and was posted to North Africa where he appeared in a concert party, "The Forest Mummers". His flair for comedy performances eventually won him a transfer to CSE, the Combined Services Entertainment unit. The rest of his war service was spent touring North Africa, Corsica, Scandinavia, Italy and Greece. After the war he could be found entertaining the armed forces in Austria and Germany. Subsequently he tried his hand at show business with little success. Disillusioned, he bought a grocery store in Leigh. Radio and TV Working in a grocer's shop in Leigh, his home town, he was spotted by Ronnie Taylor, a BBC scriptw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a market town in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production and trading centre (mainly with wool) in the 17th and 18th centuries. Leeds developed as a mill town during the Industrial Revolution alongside other surrounding villages and towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was also known for its flax industry, iron foundries, engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving Victorian era arcades, such as Kirkgate Market. City status was awarded in 1893, and a populous urban centre formed in the following century which absorbed surrounding villages and overtook t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Ryan (singer, Born 1948)
Paul Ryan (born Paul Sapherson; 24 October 1948 – 29 November 1992) was an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Biography Early life Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Paul and his twin brother Barry were the sons of singer Marion Ryan. Career Ryan's success came as a singing duo, with his twin brother Barry Ryan during the 1960s, known simply as "Paul & Barry Ryan". However, the stress of public attention caused Paul to retreat into the background, while Barry went solo. Later career Paul Ryan wrote Barry's 1968 hit " Eloise", the 1971 hit "Who Put the Lights Out?" for Dana and another of his songs, "I Will Drink the Wine", was a top-20 hit on the UK Singles Chart for Frank Sinatra. In the 1970s Ryan relocated to the United States, and in 1976 released an album, ''Scorpio Rising'', but later left the music industry. After returning to the UK in 1985, he earned his living from operating a chain of hairdressing salons. The gothic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Ryan (singer)
Barry Ryan (born Barry Sapherson; 24 October 1948 – 28 September 2021), also known as Barry Davison, was an English pop singer and photographer. He achieved his initial success in the mid 1960s in a duo with his twin brother Paul. After Paul ceased performing to concentrate solely on songwriting, Barry became a solo artist. His most successful hit, " Eloise", reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1968. In the mid-1970s, he began his 40-year career as a fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for magazines such as '' Italian Vogue'' and David Bailey’s '' Ritz''; he sold six photographs to the National Portrait Gallery; and he made portraits of celebrities such as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Stephen Hawking, Sting, Paul McCartney, and Björk. Early life Barry Ryan and his twin brother Paul were born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to pop singer Marion Ryan and antiques dealer Fred Sapherson. Fred left when the twins were two and they were brou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. Crosby was a leader in record sales, network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons. Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. Yank, the Army Weekly, ''Yank'' magazine said that Crosby was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and feature films, starring in 54. These included a series of seven ''Road to ...'' musical comedy films with Bing Crosby as his partner. Hope hosted the Academy Awards ceremony a record 19 times. He also appeared in many stage productions and television roles and wrote 14 books. The song "Thanks for the Memory" was his signature tune. He was praised for his comedic timing, specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes that were often self-deprecating. Between 1941 and 1991, he made 57 tours for the United Service Organizations (USO), entertaining military personnel around the world. In 1997, Congress passed a bill that made him an honorary veteran of the Armed Forces. Hope was bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Steele
Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recorded a string of hit singles including "Rock with the Caveman" (1956) and the chart-topper "Singing the Blues#Marty Robbins and Tommy Steele versions, Singing the Blues" (1957). Steele's rise to fame was dramatised in ''The Tommy Steele Story'' (1957), the soundtrack of which was the first British album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. With collaborators Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt, Steele received the 1958 Ivor Novello Awards, Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year for "A Handful of Songs". He starred in further musical films including ''The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) and ''Tommy the Toreador'' (1959), the latter spawning the hit "Little White Bull". Steele shifted away from rock and roll in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's All Happening (film)
''It's All Happening'' (also known as ''The Dream Maker'') is a 1963 British musical film directed by Don Sharp and starring Tommy Steele, Michael Medwin and Angela Douglas. It was written by Leigh Vance. Premise A talent scout for a record company is frustrated by his lack of progress with his career. When the orphanage where he was brought up is threatened with closing, he decides to organize a concert featuring all the most up-to-date singers and bands. Selected cast * Tommy Steele as Billy Bowles * Michael Medwin as Max Catlin * Angela Douglas as Julie Singleton * Jean Harvey as Delia * Bernard Bresslaw as Parsons * Walter Hudd as J.B. Magdeburg * John Tate as Julian Singleton * Janet Henfrey as April * Richard Goolden as Lord Sweatstone * Keith Faulkner as Mick * Edward Cast as Hugh * Anthony Dawes as Cyril Bong Production Produced for $430,000, the film was shot and ready for release in cinemas in only six weeks. Director Don Sharp had made a similar musical ''The G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonight At The London Palladium
''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' from 25 September 1955 until the name was changed to ''The London Palladium Show'' from 1966 to 2 February 1969. It underwent three revivals, first from 28 October 1973 to 28 October 1974 where it retained its ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' title, second in 2000 under the title ''Tonight at the London Palladium'', and third from 2014 until 2015 under the title ''Sunday Night at the Palladium'', dropping ''London''. From 2016, the show is called ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' and is presented by Bradley Walsh. A one-off ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' was screened to mark Bruce Forsyth's 70th birthday in February 1998. History The regular hosts of the show were Tommy Trinder (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live variety show, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts. The ''Royal Variety Performance'' traditionally begins with the entrance of the members of the royal family followed by the singing of the national anthem, "God Save the King", which was also performed by the participating acts as a traditional end to Royal Variety Performances; with the exception of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which, " As If We Never Said Goodbye" opened that year's show instead, sung by that year's host, Jason Manford. After each performance, the performer bows twice, one to the audience ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six-Five Special
''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. Its title was derived from its broadcast time, as it aired at 6:05 on Saturday evening. It began immediately after the abolition of the Toddlers' Truce, in which programming ceased between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. so that children could be put to bed. Jack Good and Josephine Douglas were the show's initial producers, with Douglas and (initially) disc jockey Pete Murray as its presenters, with Murray using the catchphrase "Time to jive on the old six five." Its resident band was Don Lang and His Frantic Five. The show opened with film of a steam train accompanied by the programme's theme song, played and sung by the Bob Cort Skiffle Group, which began with the words "The Six-Five Special's comin' down the line, The Six-Five Special's right ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
