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Peter Straker
Peter Straker (born 7 November 1943) is a Jamaican-born British singer and actor. Life and career Straker was born in Jamaica, and moved to London in his early childhood. He first became known in 1968, when he starred as Hud in the original London production of ''Hair''. Over the next three years, he released a succession of singles on the Polydor label, though none became commercially successful. In 1971 (credited mononymously as Straker), he appeared in the comedy-drama film '' Girl Stroke Boy'', co-written and co-produced by Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin.Charles Donovan, "Queen's Consort", ''Record Collector'', No.518, May 2021, pp.84-87 In 1972, he signed with RCA Victor, and had a minor hit with the song "The Spirit is Willing", based on " Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J. S. Bach, and adapted by the songwriting duo of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who also produced the single. Credited to "Peter Straker – The Hands of Dr. Teleny", it entered the charts on 19 Febr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and southeast of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory). With million people, Jamaica is the third most populous English-speaking world, Anglophone country in the Americas and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston is the country's capital and largest city. The indigenous Taíno peoples of the island gradually came under Spanish Empire, Spanish rule after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of Africans to Jamaica as slaves. The island remained a possession of Spain, under the name Colo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy (musical)
''The Who's Tommy'' is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend and a book by Townshend and Des McAnuff. It is based on the 1969 rock opera '' Tommy'' by The Who. Productions The musical opened at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, on 1 July 1992. The Broadway theatre debut was at the St. James Theatre on 29 March 1993 with 27 previews running through 10 April. The show then officially opened on 22 April 1993 and closed on 17 June 1995, after 900 performances. Produced by Sir George Martin and directed by Des McAnuff, with choreography by Wayne Cilento, and groundbreaking iconic projections by Wendall K. Harrington, the original cast included Michael Cerveris (Tommy), Marcia Mitzman (Mrs. Walker), Jonathan Dokuchitz (Captain Walker), Paul Kandel (Uncle Ernie) and Cheryl Freeman (The Gypsy/Acid Queen), plus an ensemble that included Alice Ripley, Christian Hoff, Norm Lewis, Tracy Nicole Chapman, Michael McElroy and Sherie Rene Scott. A Canadian Prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife (Greta Schröder) of his estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) and brings the Plague (disease), plague to their town. ''Nosferatu'' was produced by Prana Film and is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''. Various names and other details were changed from the novel, including Count Dracula being renamed Count Orlok. Although those changes are often represented as a defense against copyright infringement accusations, the original German intertitles acknowledged ''Dracula'' as the source. Film historian David Kalat states in his commentary track that since the film was "a low-budget film made by Germans for German audiences... setting it in Germany with German-named characters makes the story mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casualty (TV Series)
''Casualty'' (stylised as ''CASUAL+Y'' since 1997) is a British medical drama series broadcast on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it first aired in the United Kingdom on 6 September 1986. The show was originally produced by Geraint Morris and has been a staple of British television ever since. ''Casualty'' is recognised as the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world. Initially, ''Casualty'' aired during the autumn for its first six series, before increasing to 24 episodes annually by 1992. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the episode count expanded further, and by 2004, the series was running 48 episodes a year, with breaks around Christmas and major events like sporting competitions and the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television led to a temporary autumn break, but the series resumed its year-round schedule in the following two years. From 2023, ''Casualty'' introduced a regular autumn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gentle Touch
''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police officer as its leading character, ahead of, by four months, the similarly themed BBC series '' Juliet Bravo''. Series history The series starred Jill Gascoine as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes, who has worked her way up through the ranks of the police force and is based at the fictional Seven Dials police station in London. Maggie's husband, a police constable, is murdered during the first episode, leaving her to juggle her career with single parenthood, raising her teenage son. ''The Gentle Touch'' largely dealt with routine police procedures and offered a frank depiction of relevant social issues (including racism, sexism, homosexuality, mental health and euthanasia). It was relatively low on action and violence in compar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connie (TV Series)
''Connie'' is a 1985 British television drama series. Produced by Central Television for the ITV Network, it starred Stephanie Beacham in the title role. 13 episodes were made which were broadcast throughout the summer of 1985. Series history Written by Ron Hutchinson as a dry commentary on Thatcherite values in the 1980s, the series was set in the East Midlands garment industry and tells the story of a woman returning to the United Kingdom from Greece after eight years in self-imposed exile. She is determined to claw back control of her chain of high street clothes shops that are now controlled by her stepsister, and also get her foot back into the "House of Bea", a family-owned garment factory run by her father and stepmother, which is now losing money. The series is chiefly memorable for the high-octane performance of Stephanie Beacham as the eponymous Connie, snarling her way through such camp, metaphorical 1980s capitalistic dialogue as "My spoon is going into the gravy, m ... [...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] |
Destiny Of The Daleks
''Destiny of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 17th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 September to 22 September 1979. The story introduces Lalla Ward as the newly regenerated Romana. It is set on the planet Skaro centuries after events of the 1975 serial '' Genesis of the Daleks''. The Daleks arrive on Skaro to find their creator Davros ( David Gooderson) in suspended animation. They seek his guidance to help them beat the Movellan race with whom the Daleks are in a stalemated war. Plot K9 has lost his voice, and the Fourth Doctor is confused as to why a robot would have laryngitis. Romana, for reasons unknown, regenerates, choosing the form of Princess Astra of the planet Atrios, in spite of the Doctor's initial disapproval of it. The TARDIS lands on a rocky planet. The Doctor and Romana see a group of ragged-looking humans burying one of their dead, followed b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling Spacecraft, spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating List of Doctor Who villains, foes. The Doctor usually travels with Companion (Doctor Who), companions. Beginning with William Hartnell, List of actors who have played the Doctor, fourteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; the most recent being Ncuti Gatwa, who portrayed the Fifteenth Doctor from 2023 to 2025. The transition between actors is written into the plot of the series with the Regeneration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Measure For Measure
''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for Measure), Angelo, a deputy entrusted to rule the city of Vienna in the absence of Duke Vincentio, who instead disguises himself as a humble friar to observe Angelo's regency and his citizens' lives. Angelo persecutes a young man, Claudio, for the crime of fornication, sentencing him to death on a technicality, only to fall madly in love with Claudio's sister Isabella, a chaste and innocent nun, when she comes to plead for her brother's life. ''Measure for Measure'' was printed as a comedy in the First Folio and continues to be classified as one. Though it shares features with other Shakespearean comedies, such as word play, irony, and disguise and substitution as plot devices, it also features tragic elements such as Capital punishment, ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar (play)
''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''(First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar''), often shortened to ''Julius Caesar'', is a history play and Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus the Younger, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Mark Antony, Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Roman Empire, Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war. Synopsis The play opens with two tribunes Flavius and Gaius Epidius Marullus, Marullus (appointed leaders/officials of Rome) discovering the plebeians, commoners of Rome celebrating Julius Caesar's Roman triumph, triumphant return from Battle of Munda, defeating the sons of his military rival, Pompey. The tribunes, insulting the crowd for their change in loyalty from Pompey to Caesar, attempt to end the festivities and break up the commone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruby Turner
Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North America. She is also known for her work as a session backing vocalist, with artists including Bryan Ferry, UB40, Steel Pulse, Steve Winwood, Jools Holland, and Mick Jagger. She has also written songs that have been covered by musicians including Lulu, Yazz and Maxi Priest. Turner achieved the rare feat, for a British singer, of reaching No. 1 on the US R&B chart, with " It's Gonna Be Alright" in February 1990. Between 1986 and 1995, eight of her singles appeared in the UK Singles Chart with "I'd Rather Go Blind" being the most successful, reaching No. 24 in 1987. Turner performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat 86 concert, which featured George Harrison. She is a regular guest on BBC Television's ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny'', performing every y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
