Tommy SteeleBorn 1936
 Legendary, singer, actor and stage show performer, Tommy Steele OBE was born Thomas Hicks on December 17 1936 in Bermondsey.
He served with the merchant navy but left to form a Skiffle group called The Cavemen with Lionel Bart (who later wrote the stage show hit Oliver!) and Mike Pratt (who was best known for his role as Randall in Randall and Hopkirk).
He was discovered at the now famous 2 Is coffee bar in Soho, and soon made his name as one of England’s first rock and roll stars. Hits included Rock with the Caveman and Singing the Blues, which topped the charts in 1956 as well as the still-loved Little White Bull.
By the 1960s Steele’s career took a more theatrical turn with lead roles in musicals such as Half a Sixpence (1963) and Finian’s Rainbow (1968). His role in Hans Andersen won him The Hans Andersen Award from the Danish Government in 1993.
His contribution to entertainment was recognised with an OBE and, in 1980 The Variety Club of Great Britain named him Entertainer of the Year.
He published his novel The Final Run, exhibited one of his paintings at the Royal Academy and was commissioned by Liverpool Council to design a statue of Eleanor Rigby in tribute to The Beatles. |