Tommy Steele

Tommy Steele (born December 17, 1936 in Bermondsey, London, England) is a British entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first pop idol. Born Thomas Hicks in London, his cheeky Cockney image and boy-next-door looks won him success as a singer and actor.

Singer

Before landing a singing career, Steele tried his hand at a number of odd jobs and had a brief spell as a merchant seaman. Like many singers of his era he never did national service, having failed the medical exam because, at 18 years old, he had a weak heart. While on leave or during dock strikes, he sang in The 2 'I's Coffee Bar in Soho and was discovered by manager Larry Parnes, who believed Steele could be Britain's answer to Elvis Presley. Parnes is widely credited with creating the stage name 'Tommy Steele.'

Steele shot quickly to fame in the UK as the frontman for a skiffle band, the Steelmen. His singing career was boosted by a quirky music rule of the 1950s—hit recordings from the United States had to undergo a six-month waiting period before being released in the UK. Steele and other British singers would pick known hits from the United States, record their cover versions of these songs and release them in the UK before the American versions could enter the charts. Most of Steele's 1950s recordings were covers of American hits, such as Singin' the Blues. Although Steele never proved a serious threat to Elvis's popularity in the UK, he did admirably well on the 1950s British pop charts.

Actor

The increase in home-grown musical talent during the 1960s allowed Steele to progress to a career in stage and film musicals, leaving behind his pop idol identity. In the West End he appeared in the title role of Hans Christian Andersen. On film, he recreated his stage role in Half A Sixpence, and played character roles in The Happiest Millionaire and Finian's Rainbow, although many critics found his manic personality to be somewhat overwhelming on screen. In this latter film, probably his best known appearance in the movies, he co-starred with Petula Clark and Fred Astaire.

In 1983, Steele directed and starred in the West End stage production of Singin' in the Rain at the famed London Palladium. In 2003, after a decade-long hiatus, he toured as Ebenezer Scrooge in a production of Scrooge: The Musical, an adaption of A Christmas Carol. Following this triumphant return, he reprised his role at the Palace Theatre, Manchester over Christmas 2004, and brought the production to the London Palladium for Christmas 2005.

Filmography

The Tommy Steele Story (1957)
The Duke Wore Jeans (1957)
Tommy the Toreador (1959)
Light Up the Sky! (1960) known as Skywatch in the US
It's All Happening (1963) known as The Dream Maker in the US
Half a Sixpence (1967)
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Twelfth Night (1969) (made for TV)
Where's Jack? (1969)
The Yeomen of the Guard (1978)
Quincy's Quest (1979)
The Royal Variety Performance 2004 (2004)

Author

In the early 1980s, Steele wrote and published a book titled The Final Run, a novel about World War II and the evacuation of Dunkirk.

He also wrote a childrens novel, entitled Quincy, about a reject toy trying to save himself and his fellow rejects in the basement of a toy store from the furnace the day after Christmas.

Family

Steele was married to Ann Donoghue in 1960. They have one daughter, Emma.

Sources

Tommy Steele | Tommy Steele