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Light At The End Of The Tunnel (musical Number)
Light at the End of the Tunnel is the gospel-style finale number from the musical '' Starlight Express''. The company (all railway locomotives and cars) perform the number as a glorification to Steam. The solo lines are taken by Poppa, an old Steam Locomotive, (and Belle the Sleeping Car before she was cut). Music The music, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has a gospel feel and starts off in G major. Lyrics The lyrics, by Richard Stilgoe, involve many clever plays on words related to the subject of Railway Travel. :''There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel'' :''There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel'' :''The inside might be as black as the night'' :''But at the end of the tunnel, there's a light'' The title is an old saying, one of many inspired by the railway. Other's include 'On the Right Track' and 'Full Steam Ahead'. Reference to James Watt The lyrics include a verse and a chorus which pay respect the father of steam, James Watt. :It's the power of James Watt, the steaming ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Poppa
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, superstition and philosophy. The seven Classical planets resulted in seven being the number of days in a week. It is often considered lucky in Western culture and is often seen as Symbolism of the Number 7, highly symbolic. Unlike Western culture, in Vietnamese culture, the number seven is sometimes considered unlucky. It is the first natural number whose pronunciation contains more than one syllable. Evolution of the Arabic digit In the Brahmi numerals, beginning, Indians wrote 7 more or less in one stroke as a curve that looks like an uppercase vertically inverted. The western Ghubar Arabs' main contribution was to make the longer line diagonal rather than straight, though they showed some tendencies to making the digit more rectili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Wayne
Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in the Hodge Hill district of the city. Inspired by the American rock'n'roll of Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, he formed the G-Men in the late 1950s, and joined local band the Vikings, where his powerful baritone voice and pink stage suit helped make them one of the leading rock groups in the Midlands. His change of name was inspired by the movie star John Wayne, with the Scandinavian 'Carl' to fit into the 'Vikings' theme. In 1963 they followed in the footsteps of the Beatles and other Liverpool bands by performing in the clubs of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Nuremberg. On returning to Birmingham, in the wake of the Beatles' success, record companies were keen to sign similar guitar bands. The Vikings signed with Pye Records, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songs With Music By Andrew Lloyd Webber
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition and variation of sections. Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics. If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music it is an art song. Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants. Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally "by ear" are often referred to as folk songs. Songs that are composed for professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows to the mass market are called popular songs. These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists. Art songs are composed by trained classical composers fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Shell
Ray Shell (born 22 September 1951) is an American film, TV and stage actor, as well as an author, singer, director and producer. He is known for creating the roles of Nomax in ''Five Guys Named Moe'' (1990) and Rusty in ''Starlight Express'' (1984). He is a Creative Director of the Giant Olive Theatre Company, resident company at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town, London. Shell is the author of the 1993 novel ''Iced''. Early life Born in Wilson County, North Carolina, he moved with his mother to Brooklyn, New York, when he was two years old; in a 2018 interview, he said: "My name should be Ayries Lancaster because James Lancaster Jr. was my biological father. Charles Shell is the name of my father who adopted me at 13. I named myself Ray because I got tired of people murdering my first name." In 1970, Shell went to Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied acting, literature and mass communications, graduating with a BFA in 1974. After graduation, Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephanie Lawrence
Stephanie Lawrence (16 December 1949 – 4 November 2000) was a British musical theatre actress. Background Stephanie Lawrence was born in 1949 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. She was the daughter of a Welsh singer, to whom she credited her voice, and a classically trained dancer. She moved to Hayling Island at the age of four. From an early age she was close friends with another famous Islander, Peter Chilvers, who, in 1958, invented the windsurfer. Career Theatre Having trained at the Arts Educational School, Tring, Hertfordshire (now Tring Park School for the Performing Arts), she made her debut in ''The Nutcracker'' at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1962. She became a member of the corps de ballet at the Royal Festival Ballet at the age of 12 with the intention of becoming a ballerina, however, her plans were disrupted when she was forced to miss a year after contracting pneumonia aged 15. Her West End debut came in April 1971, playing the part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones (born Paul Pond, 24 February 1942) is an English singer, actor, harmonicist, radio personality and television presenter. He first came to prominence as the original lead singer and harmonicist of the rock band Manfred Mann (1962–66) with whom he had several hit records including "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" ( UK #1, US #1) and "Pretty Flamingo" (UK #1). After leaving the band, Jones established a solo career and notably starred as a deified pop star in the film '' Privilege'' (1967). He presented ''The Blues Show'' on BBC Radio 2 for thirty-two years, from 1986 to 2018, and continues to perform alongside former Manfred Mann bandmates in the Blues Band and The Manfreds. Career Paul Jones was born as Paul Pond in Portsmouth, Hampshire. As "P.P. Jones" he performed duets with Elmo Lewis (better known as future founder member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones) at the Ealing Club, home of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, whose singers included Long John Baldry and Mick Jag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jess Conrad
Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a drama teacher who was a fan of writer Joseph Conrad suggested the stage name of "Jess Conrad". Biography Conrad was born in Brixton, South London and started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, before being cast in a television play, ''Bye, Bye Barney'', as a pop singer. He was noticed by Jack Good, who included him in his TV series '' Oh Boy!''. Conrad then was signed to Decca Records and had a number of chart hits, including "Cherry Pie", "This Pullover", "Mystery Girl" and "Pretty Jenny"; also recording for Columbia, Pye President and EMI. Between the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Conrad appeared in a number of films such as '' Serious Charge'' (uncredited), '' The Boys'', '' Rag Doll'', (filmed in 1960, and released in 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiona Hendley
Fiona Hendley (born 1959) is a British actress and latterly Christian speaker, married to the former Manfred Mann singer and actor Paul Jones. Career Stage She has appeared in a number of musical theatre productions. In 1982, she played Jenny Driver in ''A Beggar's Opera'' at the National Theatre having been part of the original cast of its highly successful production of ''Guys and Dolls''. Both were directed by the Theatre's future artistic director Richard Eyre. She later played Bianca in ''Kiss Me Kate'', opposite Jones, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1987 production. She performed in the 1988 production of the play ''Woman Overboard'' at the Palace Theatre, Watford. She played Mary Magdalene in a 1990 concert version of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the Barbican Centre, London. In 1993, she appeared in the original production of the musical ''City of Angels''. Television Hendley played Shirley in both series of Lynda La Plante's ITV television drama series '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings). He was the opening act at Woodstock, and also the voice-over for the GeoSafari toys. Early life Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Havens was the oldest of nine children. He was of Native American ( Blackfoot) descent on his father's side and of the British West Indies on his mother's. His grandfather was Blackfoot of the Montana/South Dakota area. Havens's grandfather and great-uncle joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, moved to New York City thereafter, and settled on the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island. Havens's grandfather married, then moved to Brooklyn. As a youth, Havens began organizing his neighborhood friends into a street corner doo-wop group. At age 16, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starlight Express
''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of impressing a first-class observation car, Pearl. Famously, the actors perform on roller skates. ''Starlight Express'' is the ninth-longest-running West End show and the most successful musical in Germany, where it has been performed in a purpose-built theatre since 1988, holding the Guinness World Record for most visitors to a musical in a single theatre. Background ''Starlight Express'' has its roots in three abandoned projects: an animated TV series based on Thomas the Tank Engine, a novelty pop single, and an animated film based on Cinderella. In 1974, Lloyd Webber approached author Reverend W. Awdry about adapting Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories as an animated TV series. Following the meeting, Lloyd Webber started composin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lon Satton
Lon Satton (born Alonzo Louis Lee Staton; February 11, 1927 – October 30, 2020) was an American singer and actor based in the United Kingdom. He is widely-known for originating the role of Poppa in the Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ''Starlight Express,'' for which he received a 1984 Olivier Award nomination for an Best Actor in a Musical. He is sometimes credited as Lonnie Sattin. Early life One of nine children, Satton was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1927, the son of Church of God in Christ minister C.T. Staton. His family moved to Philadelphia at an early age. Satton attended Temple University, and initially considered following in his father's footsteps as an evangelist, but developed an interest in entertainment after winning a singing contest. Career As a singer, Satton performed in many jazz clubs, and for a time was a vocalist under Earl Hines and the Cotton Club Revue. In Chicago, he joined a theatre troupe that saw him begin a career in Off-Broadway and Broa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Watt
James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually, he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Watt attempted to commercialise his invention, but experienced great financial di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
