David Stuart English,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(4 March 1946 – 12 November 2022) was a British charity fundraiser, cricketer, actor, writer and former president of

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several maj ...

. He was appointed MBE in the

2003 Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

, and CBE in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

for services to cricket and charity. English founded the Bunbury Cricket Club, through which he raised £14m for charity. He was involved in the creation of the Bunbury Festival, a British under-15s cricket tournament that has helped the careers of over 1000 first-class cricketers, and over 125 international players. English was a journalist on the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' and then worked for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. At Decca he was press officer, handling publicity for artists including the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

and Tom Jones. He became President of

, signing artists including the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

. English had a career in acting, appearing in the films '' A Bridge Too Far'' and ''

Lisztomania Lisztomania or Liszt fever was the intense fan frenzy directed toward Hungarian composer Franz Liszt during his performances. This frenzy first occurred in Berlin in 1841 and the term was later coined by Heinrich Heine in a feuilleton he wrote on ...

''. He wrote a series of children's books called ''Bunbury Tails'' and a spin off animated series called ''The Bunbury Tails''.

Early life

English was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 4 March 1946, and grew up in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

. After leaving school, he worked on the ground staff at

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. He later played cricket for the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

Bunbury cricket club

English set up Bunbury cricket club as a vehicle to raise funds for charity through which he raised £14m. The club recruited celebrities and former cricketers to play matches. English was appointed CBE in the

for services to cricket and charity. He had previously been appointed MBE in the

for services to charity.

Bunbury Festival

In 1987, English was asked to fund the ECB annual schools cricket competition. In return the competition was renamed The Bunbury Festival after his series of children's books. In 2019, the England cricket team won the one day world cup and had ten players who had attended the Bunbury Festival as youths. The festival supported the careers of over 1000 first-class cricketers, and over 125 international players.

Music, media and acting career

English was a journalist on the ''

'' and worked for

. At Decca he was press officer, handling publicity for artists including the

and Tom Jones. He became President of

, signing artists including the

and

. English had a career in acting, appearing in the films '' A Bridge Too Far'' and ''

''.

''Bunbury Tails''

''Bunbury Tails'' is a series of children's books written by David English. The plot for the books focussed on the exploits of a rabbit cricket team. The characters from the books were later used for an animated series called ''The Bunbury Tails''. The characters in the books are rabbit puns on sporting personalities, mainly but not exclusively cricketers. Characters include: Ian Buntham (

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one ...

), Goldenhare Gower (

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...

), Dennis Lettuce (

Dennis Lillee Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".

), Viv Radish (

Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

), Frank Buno (

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

) and Rajbun (

Rajendrasinh Jadeja Rajendrasinh Jadeja, also spelt as Rajendra Raisinh Jadeja aka Rajendra Jadeja (29 November 1955 – 16 May 2021), was an Indian cricketer, coach and former BCCI official referee. He played first-class cricket representing Saurashtra, West Z ...

''The Bunbury Tails''

''The Bunbury Tails'' is a 1992 children's British animated TV series based upon the books. It was created by David English and Jan Brychta, and broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. Five episodes were made, with a theme song by David English and

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

and additional music by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, who contributed the track "

Ride Rajbun "Ride Rajbun" is a song by English musician George Harrison. It was released in 1992 on the multi-artist charity album ''The Bunbury Tails'', which was the soundtrack to the British animated television series of the same name. Harrison co-wrote t ...

". An album of the music was also released with the same name with proceeds going to charity.

Death

English died of a heart attack on 12 November 2022, at the age of 76. The following day the England cricket team playing in the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final wore black armbands as a mark of respect. The

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...

wrote: "The ECB is saddened to learn of the loss of David English CBE. He did so much for the game, and for charity, and he played a part in the rise of many England Men’s cricketers. Our thoughts at this time are with his friends and family."

Autobiographies

English wrote two autobiographies; * *

References

External links

* *
Oil painting of English
by Bingham Brothers {{DEFAULTSORT:English, David 1946 births 2022 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English cricketers Cricketers from Greater London 20th-century English male actors Male actors from London People from Hendon English film actors English children's writers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers