| First Name |
Tommy
|
| Last Name |
Steele
|
| Full Name at Birth |
Thomas William Hicks
|
| Alternative Name |
Thomas Hicks, ''The evergreen Man Of Steele'', ''Britain’s answer to Elvis Presley''
|
| Birthday |
17th December, 1937
|
| Birthplace |
Bermondsey, London, England
|
| Height |
5' 7" (170 cm)
|
| Build |
Average
|
| Eye Color |
Blue
|
| Hair Color |
Salt and Pepper
|
| Distinctive Feature |
Cheeky Grin..., Smoker..., Overlarge front incisor teeth..., Bright blue eyes..., Only 5 foot 7 inches..., ''The only thing I did know about was history as I’d read loads of books''..., Avid reader..., His mother Betty loved showbiz..., His sister was runover and killed during The Blitz..., ''The police had to hold 6,000 girls back when I married dancer Ann Donoghue, and we’re still happily together. Marriages are wonderful, provided they’re happy''..., One of the earliest British rock & roll heartthrobs, along with Cliff Richard..., ''I started painting by accident...and I realised I really enjoyed art..., The first person in Britain to pick up a guitar, walk on a stage and play Elvis Presley songs..., The British song-and-dance man par excellence who is still working, still has the bottomless grin that made him an overnight star in 1956..., He starred in films and musicals and has made more appearances at the London Palladium than any other artist..., Career has spanned 9 decades..., Steele’s early home life was frugal but very happy..., “When I’m not doing it [performing] I’m thinking about it. I’m proud of what I do. I’m not doing it for the dosh. I stopped doing that years ago. I do it for the kick. It’s the most wonderful thing in the world''..., Working class cockney accent (in a middle-class profession)..., Grammatical errors in speech common amongst the working class: ''we wasn’t'' instead of ''we weren't'' etc..., Tommy’s mother, Betty, worked as a cleaner and at a biscuit factory..., Tommy's father, Darbo Hicks, sold tips at the racetrack by day and by night worked as a doorman..., His mother and sister were both called Betty..., Tommy's father was also a wartime double for Winston Churchill and impersonated the prime minister at the Savoy Grill..., Young Tommy survived the Blitz and serious illness, which claimed the lives of two of his six siblings..., Young Tommy wanted to be a sailor: “When I was 12 or 13 I wasn’t rehearsing in front of a mirror. I wanted to be a sailor“..., At the age of 15 he joined the Merchant Navy..., Steele saw Buddy Holly perform & saw Carl Perkins singing 'Blue Suede Shoes' in New York and this inspired him to sing in a similar style when he returned to Britain..., He became the first British pop star to be mobbed by adoring fans when he went on a national tour..., With his clean-cut image Steele became a favourite across the land..., Britain’s first rock ‘n’ roll star may have been a teen idol but his lifestyle was one which the older generation would have approved of (in particular a 60 year marraige)..., “Tommy Steele’s greatest talent is that he is an ordinary, likeable British kid who obviously gets a kick out of life''..., “He is the archetypal cheery Cockney and clearly stemmed more from the vaudeville tradition than from an imported rock ‘n’ roll milieu''..., Tommy never forgot his roots. He bought houses for his parents and paid for them to go on cruises..., He admits to feeling blessed that he is still able to work and be in demand. “I love doing this job,” he explained..., Little could Tommy have thought, when he was taken to see Glenn Miller at the age of eight by his parents, that one day he would play the great bandleader..., ''I’m 75 and my London Palladium [theatre] comeback shows that I’ll never retire''...
|
| Zodiac Sign |
Sagittarius
|
| Sexuality |
Straight
|
| Ethnicity |
White
|
| Nationality |
British
|
| High School |
Bacon’s School for Boys, Bermondsey, London
|
| Occupation Text |
Singer, Actor, Musicals Performer
|
| Occupation |
Actor
|
| Claim to Fame |
Quincy`s Quest
|
| Music Genre (Text) |
Rock and roll, British rock and roll, Skiffle music, Theatre Musicals, Theatre Musicals Adapted For The Screen, Painting, One-Man Shows, The Merchant Navy, Mobbed popstardom, Teen idol, Vaudeville background, West End theatre plays
|
| Music Genre |
Blues
|
| Year(s) Active |
1956–present
|
| Instrument (text) |
Guitar, Banjo, Vocalist
|
| Record Label |
Decca, Columbia, RCA Victor
|
| Associated Acts |
The Steelmen
|
| Pets |
Judy Garland (fan), Betty Hicks (mother), Betty Hicks (sister), The Queen Mother (royal), Princess Margaret (royal), Ethel Merman (actress), Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Benny Goodman (jazz musician), Elvis Presley, Bill Kenwright (theatre producer & colleague), Darbo Hicks (father), Buddy Holly, Larry Parnes (discoverer / manager), Sid James, Eric Sykes, Hattie Jacques
|
| Favorite Bands |
Elvis Presley, Glenn Miller
|
| Favorite Places |
London Palladium
(theatre), V&A
(London museum), The 2i’s Coffee Bar, Soho, London, Tower Bridge Road and Bermondsey Street
(London)
|
| Favorite Foods |
Coca-Cola
|
Tommy Steele, OBE (born Thomas Hicks, 17 December 1936) is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. He reached number one with "Singing the Blues" in 1957, and The Tommy Steele Story was the first album by a UK act to reach number one in his native country.
