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The 2i's Coffee Bar
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 |
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] |
Tony Meehan
Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005), professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and the Shadows hits and on early Shadows instrumentals. Meehan was professionally nicknamed "The Baron" by his many admirers and friends within the British pop-rock music industry. He is reckoned to have influenced many thousands of teenage boys and adolescents to take up music as a career, including Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, as a result of his iconic film performance in Cliff Richard's film ''The Young Ones''. His drumming style (cf. "Bongo Blues", "Apache") is noticeably different from that of other drummers that the Shadows employed during 1958–2010 such as Brian Bennett, Clem Cattini and Trevor Spencer. In his contribution to the 1961 book ''The Shadows by Themselves'', Meehan gives ad ... [...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] |
Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch (born 2 November 1941 as Bruce Cripps) is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows. Biography Welch's parents (Stan Cripps and Grace Welch) moved him to 15 Broadwood View, Chester-le-Street, County Durham. Welch's mother died when he was aged six, and he grew up with his Aunt Sadie. After learning to play the guitar, he formed a Tyneside skiffle band called the Railroaders when he was fourteen. His Rutherford Grammar School friend Brian Rankin (later to be known as Hank Marvin) joined the group, and they travelled to London in 1958 for the final of a talent competition. Although they did not win, they joined with members of other entrant bands and formed the Five Chesternuts with Pete Chester (born 1942), son of comedian Charlie Chester, on drums. Upon moving to London, Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin briefly operated as the Geordie Boys before enlisting in an outfit called the Drifters. In Sept ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
Look At Life (film Series)
''Look at Life'' was a regular British series of short documentary films of which over 500 were produced between 1959 and 1969 by the Special Features Division of the Rank Organisation for screening in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. The films always preceded the main feature film that was being shown in the cinema that week. It replaced the circuit's newsreel, ''Universal News'', which had become increasingly irrelevant in the face of more immediate news media, particularly on television with the launch of ITN on the Independent Television service, which began broadcasting in parts of the United Kingdom in 1955. Presentation Produced on 35mm film and in Eastmancolor, these ten-minute 'featurettes' melded a light-hearted magazine format with a more in depth documentary approach and depicted aspects of life, mainly in Britain, but sometimes further afield. The films often depicted elements of the 'push button' or 'jet age', demonstrating advances in technology and a reflection ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa from 1899 to 1902. Following the discovery of gold deposits in the Boer republics, there was a large influx of "foreigners", mostly British from the Cape Colony. They were not permitted to have a vote, and were regarded as "unwelcome visitors", invaders, and they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed and, in the opening stages of the war, the Boers launched successful attacks against British outposts before being pushed back by imperial reinforcements. Though the British swiftly occupied the Boer republics, numerous Boers refused to accept defeat and engaged in guerrilla warfare. Eventually, British scorched e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six-Five Special
''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. Its title was derived from its broadcast time, as it aired at 6:05 on Saturday evening. It began immediately after the abolition of the Toddlers' Truce, in which programming ceased between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. so that children could be put to bed. Jack Good was the show's original producer, and Josephine Douglas and (initially) disc jockey Pete Murray were its presenters, with Murray using the catchphrase "Time to jive on the old six five." Its resident band was Don Lang and His Frantic Five. The show opened with film of a steam train accompanied by the programme's theme song, played and sung by the Bob Cort Skiffle Group, which began with the words "The Six-Five Special's comin' down the line, The Six-Five Special's right on time . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
