|
Len Beadle
Len Beadle (13 February 1932 – 1 June 2000) was an English Music publisher (popular music), music publisher, songwriter, music producer and performer, most famous for writing the theme to the hit children's TV show ''The Adventures of Rupert Bear''. He formed the vocal harmony group The Raindrops together with Jackie Lee (Irish singer), Jackie Lee. Early life Len Beadle was born in Welling, Kent. After leaving school at the age of 14 he learned to play the trombone, and was already performing in Big bands of the day in venues around London and the South East with musicians such as Humphrey Lyttelton and Chris Barber at the age of 15. His music career was briefly interrupted by two years national service from 1950 until 1952. During these years he played the trombone in the RAF Orchestra while stationed at RAF Hornchurch, RAF Padgate and RAF Henlow. After rejoining civviestreet, Beadle played in several travelling jazz and Big bands of the day including Joe Daniels (jazz drumme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welling
Welling is an area of South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Etymology Local legend has it that Welling is so called because in the era of horse-drawn vehicles it could be said you were "well in" to Kent, or had a "well end" to the journey up and down Shooters Hill which, at the time was steep, had a poor road surface and was a notorious haunt of highwaymen. Until the 1800s, most of Welling down to Blackfen was covered in woodland which offered excellent concealment for outlaws and robbers who would prey on vulnerable slow-moving horse-drawn traffic. However, local historians have recently concluded that the origin of the name is most likely from 'Welwyn' (meaning 'place of the spring'), due to the existence of an underground spring located at Welling Corner, or possibly a manorial reference to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment and Support, and the Signals Museum. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed following a consultation. History Henlow was chosen as a military aircraft repair depot in 1917 and was built by MacAlpine during 1918. Four Belfast Hangars were built and are now listed buildings. Henlow Camp, a civilian settlement, grew up around the base at that time. Originally a repair depot for aircraft from the Western Front, the Station officially opened on 18 May 1918 when Lt Col Robert Francis Stapleton-Cotton arrived with a party of 40 airmen from Farnborough. In May 1920, RAF Henlow became the first parachute testing centre and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character and his aquatic friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The fifth-longest-running American animated series, its high popularity has made it a media franchise. It is the highest rated Nickelodeon series and the most profitable property for Paramount Consumer Products, generating over $13 billion in merchandising revenue as of 2019. Many of the series's ideas originated in ''The Intertidal Zone'', an unpublished educational comic book Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life. He began developing ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' into a television series in 1996, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. The network's executives wanted SpongeBob to be a child in school, but Hillenbur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keeping Up Appearances
''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class social climber, Hyacinth Bucket (Patricia Routledge), who insists that her surname is pronounced "Bouquet". The show comprised five series and 44 episodes, four of which are Christmas specials. Production ended in 1995 after Routledge decided to move on to other projects. All episodes and the specials have since been released on DVD. The sitcom follows Hyacinth in her attempts to prove her social superiority, and to gain standing with those she considers upper class. Her attempts are constantly hampered by her lower class extended family, whom she is desperate to hide. Much of the humour comes from the conflict between Hyacinth's vision of herself and the reality of her underclass background. In each episode, she lands in a farcical situati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''Daily Mail'' and ''Daily Mirror''. In 1935, the stories were taken over by Alfred Bestall, who was previously an illustrator for ''Punch'' and other glossy magazines. Bestall proved to be successful in the field of children's literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork into his nineties. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued the series. About 50 million copies have been sold worldwide. The comic strip is published daily in the ''Daily Express'', with many of these stories later being printed in books, and every year since 1936 a Rupert annual has also been released. Rupert Bear is a part of children's culture in the United Kingdom, and appears in several television series based on the character. Characters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Roker
Ronald Ernest Alfred Roker (born 23 January 1941) is an English songwriter, singer and record producer Roker has written UK chart hits for Jackie Lee, The Fortunes, Barry Blue, Tina Charles, Polly Brown, The Pearls, The Real Thing and Sweet Dreams. Career Roker first worked as a song-plugger. His first taste of chart success was provided by the theme music to children's TV programme '' The Adventures of Rupert Bear''. The song "Rupert", co-written with Len Beadle and recorded by Beadle's wife Jackie Lee, made the UK Singles Chart in 1971. He also wrote the theme for ''Inigo Pipkin'' (later renamed ''Pipkins''). Further success was attained when Roker met up with Lynsey Rubin (who was about to change her name to Lynsey de Paul). Together they penned " Storm in a Teacup" for The Fortunes, which landed them a Top Ten hit single; "When You've Gotta Go" which made the Dutch Tipparade (peak number 17) in late 1972, as well as the lower reaches of the Australian Aria chart in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Chart
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for songs and ''Billboard'' 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales. The weekly sales and streams charts are monitored on a Friday-to-Thursday cycle since July 2015; previously it was on a Monday-to-Sunday cycle. Radio airplay song charts, however, follow th ... [...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] |
Benny Hill
Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment. Hill was a prominent figure in British television for several decades. His show was among the most-watched programmes in the UK, with the audience peaking at more than 21 million in 1971. ''The Benny Hill Show'' was also exported to many countries around the world. He received a BAFTA Television Award for Best Writer and a Rose d'Or, and was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Variety. In 2006, Hill was voted by the British public number 17 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. Outside television, Hill starred in films including the Ealing comedy '' Who Done It?' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drumbeat (TV Series)
''Drumbeat'' was a BBC television series that aired every Saturday from 4 April to 29 August 1959. It was the BBC's answer and rival to ITV's TV series '' Oh Boy!'', though as the latter finished on 30 May 1959, for most of its run ''Drumbeat'' had no comparable competition. It launched the careers of singer Adam Faith and composer John Barry, songwriters Les Reed, Johnny Worth (alias Les Vandyke) and Trevor Peacock. Among its guest stars were Petula Clark, the Lana Sisters (including Dusty Springfield), Billy Fury, Dickie Valentine, Paul Anka, Cliff Richard and Anthony Newley. The show had a number of resident bands and singers: Emile Ford, Bob Miller and the Millermen, the John Barry Seven, Vince Eager, Sylvia Sands and Adam Faith. Danny Williams, the Raindrops (featuring Jackie Lee), the Kingpins, and Roy Young also appeared regularly and Trevor Peacock Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Vandyke
John Worsley (21 June 1931 – 6 August 2021), more widely known under the pseudonyms Les Vandyke and Johnny Worth, was an English popular music songwriter from the 1950s to the 1980s, who started his career as a singer. As "Les Vandyke", he wrote the UK No.1 hits "What Do You Want?", "Poor Me" (both for Adam Faith), and " Well I Ask You" (for Eden Kane). He also wrote hit singles as "John Worth", notably " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse" a number 8 UK hit in 1973 for Jimmy Helms and "To Have and To Hold", a #17 UK hit for Catherine Stock in 1986; and had notable industry success under his real name of John Worsley (especially with "Jack in the Box", a #4 UK hit for Clodagh Rodgers in 1971.) His songs were recorded by various artists, including Petula Clark, Vince Hill, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anthony Newley, Bobby Vee, Shirley Bassey, Herman's Hermits, Marty Wilde, Bobby Rydell, Cleo Laine, Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Justice, John Leyton, Freddie and the Dreamers, Sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Worth
John Worsley (21 June 1931 – 6 August 2021), more widely known under the pseudonyms Les Vandyke and Johnny Worth, was an English popular music songwriter from the 1950s to the 1980s, who started his career as a singer. As "Les Vandyke", he wrote the UK No.1 hits "What Do You Want?", "Poor Me" (both for Adam Faith), and " Well I Ask You" (for Eden Kane). He also wrote hit singles as "John Worth", notably " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse" a number 8 UK hit in 1973 for Jimmy Helms and "To Have and To Hold", a #17 UK hit for Catherine Stock in 1986; and had notable industry success under his real name of John Worsley (especially with "Jack in the Box", a #4 UK hit for Clodagh Rodgers in 1971.) His songs were recorded by various artists, including Petula Clark, Vince Hill, Engelbert Humperdinck, Anthony Newley, Bobby Vee, Shirley Bassey, Herman's Hermits, Marty Wilde, Bobby Rydell, Cleo Laine, Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Justice, John Leyton, Freddie and the Dreamers, Sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
