David Essex
David Essex OBE (born
David Albert Cook on 23 July 1947) is an
English musician,
singer-songwriter and
actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones), and sixteen Top 40 albums. He has also had an extensive career as an actor performing on stage and screen.
Biography
Essex was born in
Plaistow, which was at that time in
Essex (hence his stage name), but now falls within the borders of
Greater London. His father, Albert, was an
East End dock worker and his mother, Olive (née Kemp), was a self-taught
pianist and an
Irish Traveller. His grandfather, Thomas Kemp, was named 'Philimore' which was the anglicised version of 'Philly Mor' - being Irish for 'Big Philly'. Essex was two years old when his parents moved out of the overcrowded home the family was sharing with relatives, to
Canning Town where he grew up. Essex attended Star Lane Primary School, he loved playing
football and did not answer any of the questions in the
Eleven plus exam for entry into a
Grammar School, so that he could ensure he attended Shipman County Secondary School where he knew they played the game. He was also a member of
West Ham United Juniors for a while and dreamed of one day being a professional player. He then also became interested in music and played drums with a local band, before becoming a singer.
He made his first record entitled "And The Tears Came Tumblin' Down" for the
Fontana label in 1963. He then toured with a band called 'David Essex and the Mood Indigo' for two years. His first notable acting role aside from small appearances in the films
Assault and
All Coppers Are... was the lead in the
stage musical,
Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23. Two years later, he starred in the film
That'll Be The Day (1973) and recorded his only international hit single, the self penned "
Rock On", in the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc by the
R.I.A.A. in March 1974. A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the
Top 10 in the
UK Singles Chart.
In the 1970s, Essex emerged as a performer of some note. His biggest
hits during this decade included two UK
Number One singles: "
Gonna Make You a Star" (1974), and "
Hold Me Close" (1975). He also appeared in
Stardust, a 1974 sequel to
That'll Be The Day; the title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the
Beatles song, “
Yesterday”, for the musical documentary
All This and World War II.
Essex's
pop idol looks gave him a strong female
fan base and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of
Beatlemania. According to
The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade.
Musical roles
In December 1973, Essex appeared in the stage version of
Tommy at London's Rainbow Theatre.
In 1978, he appeared on
Jeff Wayne's
concept album, a
musical version of The War of the Worlds, as the Artilleryman. In the UK the two-record set remains a
bestseller.
In the same year, Essex played the character Che, loosely based on
Che Guevara, in the original production of the
Andrew Lloyd Webber musical
Evita, and his recording of the show's "
Oh What a Circus" reached Number 3. Two years later, he starred in the film
Silver Dream Racer; and the
soundtrack song "Silver Dream Machine" was yet another Top 10 hit in the
UK Singles Chart.
In 1985, he co-wrote and starred as
Fletcher Christian in the
West End musical
Mutiny!, based on the novel
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The score produced two more hit singles, including "Tahiti," his tenth Top 10 success.
Essex continued to perform in all areas of
show business, to varying degrees of success. A 1988 sitcom, "
The River", achieved good ratings. In 1991, a compilation entitled
His Greatest Hits reached Number 13; a 1993 album,
Cover Shot, featuring a cover version of the
Buzz Cason/
Mac Gayden song "
Everlasting Love", peaked at Number 3. His autobiography,
A Charmed Life, was published in 2002, and became a bestseller.
In 1999, Essex was named an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He still tours the UK every year and releases albums through his website. Despite his long and successful British career, he remains largely unknown in the United States. "
Rock On" reached Number 5 in 1974, and was his only US
Billboard Top 40
hit single.
Essex, who comes from a family of
Irish Travellers, played a kind-hearted nomad in one episode of
ITV1's 1960s
Yorkshire-based drama
Heartbeat in 2000. Essex told Jake Bowers of the BBC's
Rokker Radio, a programme for Gypsies and Travellers, on 30 July 2006, that he has always been openly proud of his Traveller roots, but that having moved to the US, Essex has said he feels it inappropriate for him to continue as Patron of Britain's National Gypsy Council, which works for equal rights, education, and services for
Romany and
Irish Travellers.
Essex was due to join the cast of
soap opera EastEnders, in early 2006, as new character
Jack Edwards. However, the role was expanded beyond the three weeks planned, and Essex was unable to commit the time. The role instead went to
Nicky Henson.
A model and recording of Essex is featured in the museum of
West Ham United Football Club. In the recording, he explains his reasons for supporting West Ham and his love of the team.
Essex spent six years as an ambassador for
Voluntary Service Overseas, which earned him an OBE in 1999. "That was a big day. I took my two eldest kids, and me mum even went out and bought a hat".
Present
Essex used to record and release records on his own 'Lamplight'
record label. He has since changed the name of his company to Joseph Webster Ltd, named after his first grandchild. He tours regularly and still treads the boards, appearing in
Boogie Nights 2,
Footloose and
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical
Aspects Of Love. From September 2008 to the summer of 2009 he took his own musical,
All The Fun Of The Fair, on a tour of the United Kingdom. He followed this in the autumn with a sell out tour of the UK, named the Secret Tour. Essex has released a
DVD on his website of the last night of the tour, filmed in
Bournemouth. He returned to London's West End with
All The Fun Of The Fair.
In 2010, Essex married Welsh actress Susan Hallam-Wright, his third wife, at St Cross Church, Talybont, near
Bangor, Wales. He had previously been married to Maureen Neal (in 1971) and Carlotta Christy (in 1997).
In January 2011, it was announced that Essex had finally joined the cast of
EastEnders as
Eddie Moon, five years after he was initially supposed to appear in the show. His first on-screen appearance was on 3 June 2011. Eddie left the square on Thursday, 6 October 2011.
Discography
Singles
- "Rock On" - 1973 - UK #3, US #5
- "Lamplight" - 1973 - UK #7, US #71
- "America" - 1974 - UK #32
- "Gonna Make You A Star" - 1974 - UK #1
- "Stardust" - 1974 - UK #7
- "Rolling Stone" - 1975 - UK #5
- "Hold Me Close" - 1975 - UK #1
- "If I Could" - 1975 - UK #13
- "City Lights" - 1976 - UK #24
- "Coming Home" - 1976 - UK #24
- "Cool Out Tonight" - 1977 - UK #23
- "Stay With Me Baby" - 1978 - UK #45
- "Oh What A Circus" - 1978 - UK #3
- "Brave New World" - 1978 - UK #55
- "Imperial Wizard" - 1979 - UK #32
- "Silver Dream Machine (Part 1)" - 1980 - UK #4
- "Hot Love" - 1980 - UK #57
- "Me And My Girl (Night-Clubbing)" - 1982 - UK #13
- "A Winter's Tale" - 1982 - UK #2
- "The Smile" - 1983 - UK #52
- "Tahiti (From 'Mutiny In The Bounty')" - 1983 - UK #8
- "You're In My Heart" - 1983 - UK #59
- "Fishing For The Moon" - 1984 - UK #76
- "Welcome" - 1984 - UK #80
- "Fallen Angels Riding" - 1985 - UK #29
- "Friends" - 1985
- "Myfanwy" - 1987 - UK #41[24]
- "The River" - 1988
- "Rock On" (remix) - 1989
- "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" - 1989
- "True Love Ways" - 1994 (with Catherine Zeta-Jones) - UK #38
EP
Albums
- Rock On - 1973 - UK #7, US #32
- David Essex - 1974 - UK #2
- All The Fun Of The Fair - 1975 - UK #3
- On Tour - 1976 - UK #51
- Out On The Street - 1976 - UK #31
- Gold and Ivory - 1977 - UK #29
- The David Essex Album - 1979 - UK #29
- Imperial Wizard - 1979 - UK #12
- Hot Love - 1980 - UK #75
- Silver Dream Racer - 1980
- Be-Bop the Future - 1981
- Stage-Struck - 1982 - UK #31
- The Very Best Of David Essex - 1982 - UK #37
- Mutiny - 1983 - UK #39
- The Whisper - 1983 - UK #67
- This One's For You - 1984
- Centre Stage - 1986 - UK #82
- Touching The Ghost - 1989
- His Greatest Hits - 1991 - UK #13
- Cover Shot - 1993 - UK #3
- Back To Back - 1994 - UK #33
- Living In England - 1995
- Missing You - 1995 - UK #26
- A Night At The Movies - 1997 - UK #14
- Greatest Hits/The Very Best Of David Essex - 1998 - UK #31
- I Still Believe - 1999
- Thank You - 2000
- Wonderful - 2001
- Theatre Of Dreams - 2001
- Forever - 2002
- Sunset - 2003
- It's Gonna Be Alright - 2004
- Greatest Hits - 2006
- Beautiful Day - 2006
- Happy Ever After - 2007
- All The Fun Of The Fair - Greatest Hits - 2008 - UK #23
Selected filmography
So you see the amount of great work that David Essex has done,Makes him a legend in his own right'
David Essex in later years.
Paul Burns Music Blog http://paulburns07.blogspot.com
E-mail paulburns07@hotmail.co.uk
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