|
The Real McCoy (TV Series)
''The Real McCoy'' was a BBC Television sketch comedy show that ran from 1991 to 1996 featuring an array of black and Asian comedy stars and featured many famous guest appearances, including Leo Muhammad, Ian Wright, Linford Christie and Frank Bruno. Development The producer of the first two series, Charlie Hanson, was the co-founder of the Black Theatre Co-operative (now NitroBeat) and had produced '' No Problem!'' and ''Desmond's'' before creating ''The Real McCoy''. He was working with a double act named Curtis and Ishmael (Curtis Walker and Ishmael Thomas) at the 291 Club at the Hackney Empire and suggested making a television version. However, the BBC opted for a totally new sketch series, launching ''The Real McCoy''. Llewella Gideon and Collette Johnson, who were also the double act Short, Sharp and Shocking, made up the main initial quartet of writer-performers. Soul II Soul frontman Jazzie B co-wrote the title theme. Casting Walker, Thomas, Gideon and Johnson were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Walker
Curtis Walker is a British actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He starred in BBC comedy shows ''Paramount City'', CBBC sitcom ''Kerching!'', ''The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...'' and '' Blouse and Skirt''. Walker was the pre-show warm up act for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Curtis Living people British male television actors Black British male actors Black British male comedians British stand-up comedians English people of Senegalese descent 1961 births Comedians from London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Hanson
Charlie Hanson is a British producer and director. His award-winning work includes television shows such as ''Desmond's'', ''Chef!'', ''The Big Impression'', ''The Sketch Show'' and ''Whites'', and the 2003 feature film '' A Way of Life''. Career Hanson's work as a producer spanned more than two decades of television drama and comedy. His work included BBC Television's '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Birds of a Feather'', Channel 4's ''Desmond's'', ''Chef!'', starring Lenny Henry for the BBC, '' Kelsey Grammer Presents The Sketch Show'' for Fox Television, both ''The Harry Hill Show'' and an episode of ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' for Channel 4, Alistair McGowan's ''The Big Impression'', winner of the BAFTA award for Best Comedy Programme in 2003, and ITV's ''The Sketch Show'', winner of the BAFTA award for Best Comedy Programme in 2002. In 2003 Hanson produced his first feature film, Amma Asante's BAFTA award-winning '' A Way of Life''. The film, which had its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruby Turner
Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North America. She is also known for her work as a session backing vocalist, with artists including Bryan Ferry, UB40, Steel Pulse, Steve Winwood, Jools Holland, and Mick Jagger. She has also written songs that have been covered by musicians including Lulu, Yazz and Maxi Priest. Turner achieved the rare feat, for a British singer, of reaching #1 on the US R&B chart, with " It's Gonna Be Alright" in February 1990. Between 1986–1995, eight of her singles appeared in the UK Singles Chart with "I'd Rather Go Blind" being the most successful, reaching #24 in 1987. Turner performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat 86 concert, which featured George Harrison, and also has sung on BBC Television's ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny'', from 2007–2021 inclusive. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Real Thing (UK Band)
The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and " Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of ''Mojo'' magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success. History Founded in 1970 by Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, the Real Thing's live, progressive soul-influenced covers of American hits attracted enough attention for them to secure a recording deal with EMI. The singles they released through EMI in 1972 and 1973 such as "Vicious Circle" were, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jo Martin
Jo Martin (born 29 April) is a British actress. She played Natalie Crouch in the BBC One sitcom ''The Crouches'', which aired between 2003 and 2005. She joined the cast of ''Holby City'' in 2019 as neurosurgeon Max McGerry. Martin portrayed an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor known as the Fugitive Doctor in ''Doctor Who''. Early life Martin was born in Newham, London to a Jamaican mother, who died in 2015. She attended Portway Primary School and Plashet All Girls Secondary School. ''Doctor Who'' Martin first appeared in the Doctor Who (series 12), series 12 episode "Fugitive of the Judoon", playing Ruth Clayton, a tourist guide who is later revealed to be an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor known as the Fugitive Doctor. She reprised her role in the series finale, "The Timeless Children", in the third chapter of Doctor Who: Flux, "Once, Upon Time", and in the Doctor Who (2022 specials), 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor". Martin is curr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overlord X
Overlord X (born Benjamin Balogun, in Hackney) was one of the earliest British hip hop artists to receive national acclaim in the UK, with his most well known song still being his second single release, "14 Days in May" (Westside Records, 1988) about Edward Earl Johnson. He worked with DJ Sir Preme T as well as other members of the "X Posse". He runs a music and creative production company. History Overlord X first began rapping at the age of 14, before which he practised DJing – something which helped him in his later career to produce and record his own music for his songs. He first came to attention on one of John Peel's sessions, with three tracks recorded on 24 November 1988. He returned to the show on 2 August 1988, by now having joined Sir Preme T to record four further tracks. Overlord X's first release was the song "Let There Be Rock" on the first of the ''Hard as Hell'' compilations in 1987. This was followed by his break-through single, "14 Days in May" (Westside R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Towers
Alan Towers (1934 – 24 May 2008) was a presenter of ''Midlands Today'', BBC Midlands' regional news programme. Career After stints as a newsreader with ITN and Granada Television in Manchester, Towers joined BBC Midlands in 1972 as a main presenter on ''Midlands Today'' and was also seen nationally as a presenter of features from the English Midlands on ''Nationwide''. His most famous item was the infamous "skateboarding duck" story. He regularly presented the programme with Kay Alexander. Following a heart attack during the late 1980s, Towers left his role as main presenter but continued on ''Midlands Today'' as a sports presenter and reporter. During this time, he also raised thousands of pounds for charity by walking the Great Wall of China and riding a motorbike across Canada. He appeared in a few episodes of the BBC's medical drama ''Dangerfield'' as a local TV news reporter. In 1997, Towers announced his resignation from the BBC on-air and left viewers with a disparagin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Magda on the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012), as well as her frequent collaborations with fellow comedian Harry Enfield. For her portrayal of Valerie in the 1997 film '' Nil by Mouth'', she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Burke made her film debut in the 1982 drama '' Scrubbers'', and played Queen Mary Tudor in the award-winning biographical film '' Elizabeth'' (1998). Her other film appearances include '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' (1998), '' This Year's Love'' (1999), ''Kevin & Perry Go Large'' (2000), '' The Martins'' (2001), ''Anita and Me'' (2002), and '' Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'' (2002). From 1999 to 2001, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Benson
Perry Benson (born 9 April 1961) is a British character actor best known for his regular roles in British television sitcoms ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' (1988–1993), ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' (1995–1997) and ''Operation Good Guys'' (1997–2000). His first television appearance was as "Boy on Stairs" in the second episode of the BBC Children's drama, Grange Hill, in 1978. Film career Benson has appeared in the British films ''Quadrophenia'' (1979), '' Scum'' (1979), ''Love, Honour and Obey'' (2000), ''Alien Autopsy'' (2006), ''This Is England'' (2006), '' Somers Town'' (2008) and '' Mum & Dad'' (2008). He had a lead role in ''Stars of the Roller State Disco'', a 1984 made-for-TV play by Alan Clarke. Benson also appeared as Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook in the 1986 biopic ''Sid And Nancy''. In 1987, he played Trevor in the ''Hi De Hi'' episode "Tell It to the Marines". Benson appears as a policeman in the video for Goldie Looking Chain's single "Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazzie B
Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE, (born 26 January 1963) better known as Jazzie B, is a British DJ and music producer. He is the founder of Soul II Soul. Life and career Jazzie was born in London UK to parents of Antiguan descent in Hornsey, London, the ninth of ten children, several of whom began running sound systems in the 1960s and 1970s. At age 18, Jazzie was working for cockney pop skiffle legend Tommy Steele, as a tape operator. He had his first gig in 1977 working with friends under the Rastafari name Jah Rico. He changed their working name to Soul II Soul in 1982. Soul II Soul was originally an umbrella name for several of his projects - the sound system, a clothing line and Camden record shop, a record imprint, as well as the group itself. From 1985 to 1989, Jazzie and Soul II Soul would hold what would be regarded as a legendary night at the Africa Centre in Covent Garden. The Soul II Soul track "Fairplay" was recorded there just before the group started to find wide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to Life". They have won two Grammy Awards, and have been nominated for five Brit Awards—twice for Best British Group.Soul II Soul BRITS Profile . BRIT Awards Ltd. Retrieved 26 January 2013 Career 1988–1989: Beginnings and club classics The group initially attracted attention as a sound system some years prior to 1988 run by founder Jazzie B, playing at nights including ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in London’ it is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. History Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building. The theatre was built as a music hall in 1901, designed by the architect Frank Matcham. Architecture scholar Nicholas Pevsner described the "splendid Hackney Empire, with its ornate terracotta exterior and sumptuous seventy-seven galleried auditorium" as a key example of Victorian and Edwardian architecture. There is a statue of Thalia, the Greek muse of comedy, on the roof of the theatre: this was removed in 1979, but later reinstalled. Charlie Chaplin, W. C. Fields, Stanley Holloway, Stan Laurel, Marie Lloyd and Julie Andrews all performed there, when the Hackney Empire was a music hall. ATV bought the theatre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Hackney Empire")