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Festival Of British Popular Songs
The Festival of British Popular Songs 1956 was a song contest organised by BBC Television and the inaugural edition of the ''Festival of British Popular Songs'', which became the United Kingdom's national selection process for the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest. Held from May to October, the contest featured 36 songs performed twice through 6 heats. The contest was made to promote British music, as an answer to claims that the BBC favoured American music. The eventual winner was "Everybody Falls in Love With Someone", written and composed by Peter Hart and Norman Newell. Though not recorded by any of its performers at the contest, the winning song went on to be recorded by Matt Monro and Dickie Henderson. The contest is notable for inspiring changes in the Eurovision Song Contest, most notably introducing a scoreboard to the voting sequence. The competition Format The competition consisted of six heats held every four weeks starting on 7 May 1956. Each heat had six songs co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013. The services are funded by a television licence. As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content. History of BBC Television The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there is generally very little distincti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill McGuffie
Bill McGuffie (11 December 1927 – 22 March 1987) was a British pianist, who went on to become a film composer and conductor. He also made several television appearances, most notably in '' Softly, Softly'' as a pub pianist. Biography Bill McGuffie was born in Carmyle near Glasgow, Scotland. After three years studying the piano he had an accident as a child which caused the loss of his second finger of his right hand. Despite the accident, he started playing again and modified his technique to cope with the handicap. Aged 11, he was awarded the Victoria Medal for his piano proficiency by the Victoria College, Glasgow. He found it difficult and decided to stop playing until it was suggested by friends and colleagues that he tried playing dance music which was new to him. In 1944, aged 17, he moved to London from Glasgow and began a career in 1946 playing in the Teddy Foster Orchestra at the Lyceum. Additional work with other top bands followed until, in October 1952, he got his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Lee
Benny Lee (11 August 1916 – 9 December 1995) was a Scottish comedy actor and singer. He started his career in stage roles, and developed a television and film career. Early life Lee was born on 11 August 1916 to a Jewish family in The Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland. He began his singing career as tenor in the school choir. Leaving school at 14, he became a tailor's apprentice, but soon left to join an all-purpose act, which sang, danced and performed acrobatics all around one of the main variety circuits of Britain. Lee's acrobatic days lasted for only one evening on account of a nose injury. He was back in Glasgow, tailoring shirts and in his spare time playing drums for his own semi-professional dance-band. He also worked as a song-plugger for Essex Music Publishers. Wishing to return to the stage full-time he joined the Princess's Theatre (now the Citizens Theatre) in the Gorbals), where he gained experience in straight acting. This led to his first BBC radio audition in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Lawrence
Lee Lawrence (born Julius Leon Sirota, 1 September 1920 – 25 February 1961)The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Consulates, Netherlands Antilles and Surinam: Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages; Class: FO 907; Piece: 29 was a British singer who was popular in the 1950s. He was born in City of Salford, Salford. Biography by Rovi at Allmusic.com Retrieved 18 December 2012 Both his parents sang with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, and at the age of 16 he went to Italy to study opera for three years. After returning to England, he enlisted in the Royal Tank Regiment and sang with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), where he was noticed after the end of the war by BBC radio producer Roy Spear. He sang on Spear's programme ''Beginners Plea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathie Kay
Kathie Kay (20 November 1918 – 9 March 2005) was a singer from Lincolnshire, known for her radio and television appearances in the ''Billy Cotton Band Show'' during the 1950s and 1960s. Her best known recordings are "We Will Make Love" and "A House With Love in It". Biography Kathie Kay was born Kathleen Thornhill in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. She began her career as a tot with the famous Corona Babes Stage School as Connie Wood, then moved on to appear with Hughie Green as head girl in his gang show; he was later best man at her wedding. She was spotted by Billy Cotton, and first performed with him on radio in 1949, making the move to television and remaining until the show ended in 1968. She also worked with Harry Lauder and George Formby.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com – accessed February 2011 For many years she presented her own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Hilton
Ronnie Hilton (born Adrian Hill; 26 January 1926 – 21 February 2001) was an English singer and radio presenter. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, "For a time Hilton was a star – strictly for home consumption – with nine Top 20 hits between 1954 and 1957, that transitional era between 78 and 45rpm records. A quarter of a century later he became the voice of BBC Radio 2's '' Sounds of the Fifties'' series". A true Yorkshireman, Hilton always remained loyal to his roots – especially to Leeds United. He composed, sang and recorded several anthems as tribute to the club. Biography Born Adrian Hill in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, Hilton left school at 14 and worked in an aircraft factory at the beginning of the Second World War, then was part of the Highland Light Infantry. Following demobilisation in 1947, he became a fitter in a Leeds sewing plant. Career Whilst singing with local dance bands in his spare time, he made a private recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hanson (singer)
John Hanson (August 31, 1922 – December 4, 1998) was a Canadian-born British tenor and actor, who starred in several West End musicals during the 1950s and 1960s. Born John Stanley Watts in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, of English parents, who moved back across the Atlantic three years later. He was educated at Dumfries Academy in Dumfries, Scotland. His headmaster recognized his talent as a boy soprano, and recommended him to the Scottish Broadcasting Corporation. It was there that he made his debut, at the age of 12. His 1960 album, ''The Student Prince / The Vagabond King'' peaked at Number 9 in the UK Albums Chart. Hanson was most famous for his role as the "Red Shadow", the hero of the musical ''The Desert Song'', which enjoyed a record-breaking revival at the Palace Theatre in 1967. He also appeared in the 1973 Christmas Special of the BBC's ''Morecambe and Wise'' Show in which he sang "Stout-Hearted Men". He also appeared on BBC TV's long running variety show, '' The Good ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Hale (vocalist)
Dennis Hale ( 1922 1960), born Dennis Godfrey Hoare, was a vocalist with a number of bands and performers, including the Oscar Rabin Band, Jack Parnell, Johnny Douglas, Teddy Foster (1945 to 1946), and Eric Winstone (1946 to 1948). Hale left the army in 1945, where he had been a sergeant major. At the time, he was the youngest sergeant major in the Royal Artillery. In 1948 Dennis set up his own orchestra and had a resident berth at the Brighton Aquarium ballroom. In 1955 Dennis changed recording label from Parlophone to Decca Records. Recordings Parlophone * " Anytime"/"Weaver of Dreams" (March 1952) Note: Page 4 of website. * "Devil Eyes" (February 1954) * "Blowing Wild" (April 1954) * "The Bandit" (June 1954) Note: Page 9 of website. * "The Butterscotch Mop" (1955) Decca * " Chee Chee-Oo Chee (Sang the Little Bird)" (June 1955) * "Sweet and Gentle" (July 1955) * "Walk With Me Forever" (July 1955) * "The Longest Walk" (October 1955) * " Tina Marie" (October 1955) Note: Page ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Decker
Diana Decker (born Isabella Charlotte Diana Decker, 9 January 1925 – 4 January 2019), was a British/American actress, singer, and television personality, who was popular from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Early life Decker was born to an American father and British mother in Hollywood, California. GlamourGirlsoftheSilverScreen.com Retrieved 17 March 2013 At the age of four, she moved to Britain with her mother. Professional life Her first film appearance was in 1943, an uncredited role in '''', and the following year she appeared in the musical comedy ''[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alma Cogan
Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Childhood and early musical career Cogan was born on 19 May 1932 in Whitechapel, London. She was of Russian-Romanian Jewish descent. Her father's family, the Kogins, arrived in Britain from Russia, while her mother's family were refugees from Romania. Cogan's parents, Mark and Fay Cogan, had another daughter, the actress Sandra Caron, who went on to play "Mumsey" in ''The Crystal Maze'', and one son, Ivor Cogan. Mark's work as a haberdasher entailed frequent moves. One of Cogan's early homes was over his shop in Worthing, Sussex. Although Jewish, she attended St Joseph's Convent School in Reading. Her father was a singer, but it was Cogan's mother who had showbusiness aspirations for both her daughters (she had named Cogan after silent sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dora Bryan
Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television."Feted Brighton actress Dora, 90, to make rare public appearance" ''The Argus'', 2 September 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013. Early life Bryan was born in , Lancashire. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire. Her career began in |
Tony Brent
Tony Brent (born Reginald Hogan Bretagne, 26 August 1927 – 19 June 1993) was a British traditional pop music singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven Top 20 chart hits in the UK over an almost six-year period, starting in December 1952. Biography Brent was born Reginald Hogan Bretagne of Anglo-Indian descent and lived at Ebrahim Terrace, Spence Road, Byculla, Bombay, India. During the 1950s Brent became a popular UK-based vocalist, having relocated there in 1947. Two years after his move, Brent entered and won in a talent show held at the Regal Theatre in Kingston. He had sung a version of "Some Enchanted Evening", and this led him on to work with Ambrose and Cyril Stapleton's BBC Showband. His subsequent chart hits included "Walkin' to Missouri", "Cindy, Oh Cindy" and "Dark Moon". Brent's hits were all released on the Columbia label. He enjoyed iconic status in South Asia, where his hits topped the music charts on Radio Ceylon. He resumed his travels in 1961 and le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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