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2i's
The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several major stars including Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard were first discovered performing there. History Founding and ownership The name of the 2i's derived from earlier owners, brothers Freddie and Sammy Irani, who ran the venue until 1955. Musicstorytellers: People With 2i’s Retrieved 24 October 2013 It was then taken over by , an Australian |
Paul Lincoln
Paul Lincoln (born James McDonald Lincoln; 3 May 1932 – 11 January 2011), better known by the ring name Dr. Death, was an Australian professional wrestler and promoter. Professional wrestling career After leaving high school, Lincoln began wrestling in showground bouts staged by Roy Bell. He went on to wrestle under the ring name "Elmo Lincoln". During his late teens, he wrestled in Singapore. In 1951, at the age of 19, Lincoln emigrated to the United Kingdom. He initially wrestled as "James Lincoln" and "Paul Lincoln" before George Kidd advised him to wear a mask and adopt the ring name "Dr. Death". As Dr. Death, Lincoln "brought fear to wrestling rings across the South throughout the '50s and '60s." He was known to wrestle on cards as Paul Lincoln and then again as Dr. Death. During the 1960s, he had a heated feud with the heroic White Angel; during one bout in The Metropolitan Theatre, an audience member shot him with an air gun. The feud culminated in a mask versus m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was developed from farmland by Henry VIII in 1536, when it became a royal park. It became a parish in its own right in the late 17th century, when buildings started to be developed for the upper class, including the laying out of Soho Square in the 1680s. St Anne's Church was established during the late 17th century, and remains a significant local landmark; other churches are the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory and St Patrick's Church in Soho Square. The aristocracy had mostly moved away by the mid-19th century, when Soho was particularly badly hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1854. For much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation as a base for the sex industry in addition to its night life and its location for the headquarte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. History The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. The area in general and this street, in particular, became the home of Huguenots, French Protestant refugees who were given asylum in England by Charles II in 1681. The street was known simply as Compton Street until being renamed to Old Compton Street in 1896. By the end of the eighteenth century and until that renaming, the east end of the street between Greek Street and Charing Cross Road (at the time, Crown Street) was known as Little Compton Street. A street sign for Little Compton Street remains on the wall of a utility tunnel that runs beneath Charing Cross Road, and is visible through a street grate on a traffic island. By the end of the 18th century, fewer than ten of the houses were without shop fronts. An 1818 trade directory s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vipers Skiffle Group
The Vipers Skiffle Group – later known simply as The Vipers – were one of the leading British groups during the skiffle period of the mid to late 1950s, and were important in the careers of radio and television presenter Wally Whyton, coffee bar manager Johnny Martyn, wire salesman Jean Van den Bosch, instrument repairer Tony Tolhurst, journalist John Pilgrim, record producer George Martin, and several members of The Shadows. History The group formed in the spring of 1956 in central London, originally as a trio of singer- guitarists comprising Whyton, Johnny Martyn (born John Martyn Booker, 1934–2007), and Jean Van den Bosch, who was replaced in 1958 by Freddy Lloyd. Later that summer they added a rhythm section, Tony Tolhurst ( bass) and John Pilgrim ( washboard), and took up residency at the renowned Soho music venue, the 2i's Coffee Bar. There, they sometimes jammed with jazz musician Mike Pratt and singer Tommy Hicks, later known as Tommy Steele. In September 1956 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vipers Skiffle Group
The Vipers Skiffle Group – later known simply as The Vipers – were one of the leading British groups during the skiffle period of the mid to late 1950s, and were important in the careers of radio and television presenter Wally Whyton, coffee bar manager Johnny Martyn, wire salesman Jean Van den Bosch, instrument repairer Tony Tolhurst, journalist John Pilgrim, record producer George Martin, and several members of The Shadows. History The group formed in the spring of 1956 in central London, originally as a trio of singer-guitarists comprising Whyton, Johnny Martyn (born John Martyn Booker, 1934–2007), and Jean Van den Bosch, who was replaced in 1958 by Freddy Lloyd. Later that summer they added a rhythm section, Tony Tolhurst ( bass) and John Pilgrim ( washboard), and took up residency at the renowned Soho music venue, the 2i's Coffee Bar. There, they sometimes jammed with jazz musician Mike Pratt and singer Tommy Hicks, later known as Tommy Steele. In September 1956 the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours. The Shadows have had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence. The core members from 1958 to present are guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett (who has been with the group since 1961) with various bassists and occasionally keyboardists through the years. Along wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wally Whyton
Wallace Victor "Wally" Whyton (23 September 1929 – 22 January 1997) was a British musician, songwriter and radio and TV personality. Biography Born in London, England, Whyton grew up listening to jazz, blues and folk music, and learned to play first the piano, then trombone, and finally guitar. In 1956, while working in advertising, he formed the Vipers Skiffle Group, which became the resident band at the The 2i's Coffee Bar, 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho. After a number of hit records produced by George Martin, including Whyton's song "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O", the group split up in 1960, and Whyton moved into television work. Photogenic and with a soft-spoken voice, Whyton normally wore a cardigan as he presented the children's television, children's programmes, ''Small Time'', ''Lucky Dip'', ''Tuesday Rendezvous'' (on which The Beatles made their second television appearance, performing "Love Me Do"), ''Five O'Clock Club'', ''Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club'' and ''Five O'C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Steele
Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recorded a string of hit singles including "Rock with the Caveman" (1956) and the chart-topper "Singing the Blues" (1957). Steele's rise to fame was dramatised in ''The Tommy Steele Story'' (1957), the soundtrack of which was the first British album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. With collaborators Lionel Bart and Mike Pratt, Steele received the 1958 Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year for "A Handful of Songs". He starred in further musical films including '' The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) and ''Tommy the Toreador'' (1959), the latter spawning the hit "Little White Bull". Steele shifted away from rock and roll in the 1960s, becoming an all-round entertainer. He originated the part of Kipps in ''Half a Sixpence' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Bennett (musician)
Brian Laurence Bennett, (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band member Warren Bennett. Biography Bennett was born in Palmers Green, North London, England. Educated at Hazlewood Lane School, Palmers Green, London and Winchmore Council School, he finished school at the age of sixteen to play drums in a Ramsgate skiffle group performing for holiday makers. After returning to London he became the in-house drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho and was a regular performer on Jack Good's TV show '' Oh Boy!'' He then became a member of Marty Wilde's Wildcats in 1959. After a successful period with the Wildcats, during which he appeared on their instrumental record without Wilde (recorded as the Krew Kats), "Trambone", he backed Tommy Steele for some of his London stage performances, and then in October 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the backing band for Cliff Richard, and subsequently for Marvin, Welch & Farrar. Early life and career Hank Marvin was born Brian Robson Rankin in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As a child he played banjo and piano. After hearing Buddy Holly he decided to learn the guitar and also adopted Holly-style dark-rimmed glasses. He chose his stage name while launching his career. It is an amalgamation of his childhood nickname, Hank, which he used to differentiate himself from friends also named Brian, and the first name of Marvin Rainwater, the country and rockabilly singer. He moved to London in April 1958 after persuading his parents to let him do so in pursuit of a career in the music business. Sixteen-year-old Marvin and his Rutherford Grammar S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rory Blackwell
Rory Blackwell (born 22 June 1933 in Battersea, London, England, died 19 December 2019 in Devon, England), was an English former rock and roll musician, bandleader of The Blackjacks, singer, drummer and songwriter. Biography Blackwell founded the first British rock and roll band, and put on rock and roll at Studio 51 in September 1956, and at The 2i's Coffee Bar and on 24 January 1957 gave his first job to Terry Dene, then Terry Williams, fronting him at the Razzle Dazzle Club billed as "the new singing sensation Terry Williams". Rory and his Blackjacks starred in the 1957 film ''Rock You Sinners''. In 1959, Blackwell spotted the 16-year-old pianist Clive Powell (Georgie Fame) in a summer holiday camp in Wales, where he offered him a job as a piano player with The Blackjacks. After the season ended, Powell left as new opportunities arose. They recorded " Bye Bye Love", later covered by The Everly Brothers. Blackwell had a number of successes with " Bony Moronie", "Red Roses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiffle
Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, it became extremely popular in United Kingdom in the 1950s, where it was played by such artists as Lonnie Donegan, The Vipers Skiffle Group, Ken Colyer, and Chas McDevitt. Skiffle was a major part of the early careers of some musicians who later became prominent jazz, pop, blues, folk, and rock performers, The Beatles and Rory Gallagher amongst them. It has been seen as a critical stepping stone to the second British folk revival, the British blues boom, and the British Invasion of American popular music. Origins in the United States The origins of skiffle are obscure but generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in the early 20th century. Skiffle is often said to have developed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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