Tommy Steele
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Steele was regarded as Britain's first pop star. Born Thomas Hicks in London, his cheeky Cockney image, combined with boy-next-door looks, won him success as a singer after starting out as an actor and variety entertainer.
of Steele's 1950s recordings were covers of American hits, such as "Singin' the Blues". The increase in home-grown musical talent during the 1960s allowed him to progress to a career in stage and film musicals. In the West End he appeared as Hans Christian Andersen. On film, he recreated his stage role in Half A Sixpence, and played character roles in Disney's The Happiest Millionaire and Finian's Rainbow with Petula Clark and Fred Astaire, although many critics found his manic personality to be somewhat overwhelming for the screen. He also starred in the movie musical Tommy the Toreador, which yielded the hit single "Little White Bull".In 1983 he directed and starred in the West End stage production of Singin' in the Rain at the famed London Palladium.
In 2003, he toured in a production of the musical Scrooge, an adaption of A Christmas Carol.
He has one daughter, Emma.
