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Stevie Riks (born in
Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
, Cheshire, England) is a comedian, impressionist, comedy writer and performer, artist who paints acrylic on canvas artwork of the artists he impersonates, voice-over artist and musician.


Career

Stevie Riks began his career as a solo artist, performing locally. He has since built a large internet following, attracting more than 50 million views and 100,000 subscribers on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and over 130,000
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
Followers. Riks fronted various bands before going solo, following his performance on Central Television's ''
New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...
'' in 1988. where he won the highest score ever recorded on the show. More TV appearances followed, and in 1995 while filming ''Who Do You Do'' for Sky TV Riks was approached by the manager representing the 1960s band
The Rockin' Berries The Rockin' Berries are a beat group from Birmingham, England, who had several hit records in the UK in the 1960s. A version of the group, emphasising comedy routines as well as music, continues to perform to the present day. History The Rockin ...
, who enlisted him as their front man. He then toured the world for five years, working venues throughout Europe, Hong Kong and the Middle East. Riks returned to his solo career, launching his self-written one-man performance "The Stevie Riks Show" in 2000. Over the next few years, he toured clubs and theatres. In his career, he has performed at some of the United Kingdom's most prestigious venues – including
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...
, London's
Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, originally named the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. The hotel is managed by JW Marriott Hotels, which is a brand of Marriott Internat ...
, The
Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
and The Savoy as well as appearing in ''The
Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...
Laughter Show'' and ''
Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular cha ...
's Variety Show''. In 2005 Stevie Riks was the voice of "Pondlife" on the single " Ring Ding Ding" – which reached No. 11 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
– in competition with
Crazy Frog Crazy Frog (originally known as The Annoying Thing) is a Swedish CGI-animated character and Eurodance musician created in 2003 by actor and playwright Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the character was originally created ...
on the track. By 2008 Riks was featured and interviewed on the BBC television magazine programme '' Inside Out'' – as he had become the most-viewed comedian on YouTube in the UK. Also in 2008 Riks worked with Bob Mortimer of
Pett Productions ''Pett Productions'' was an independent production company, established by Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark in 2001. The company was based at the Maidstone Studios in Maidstone, Kent and has produced several television shows in comedy, ...
, writing and performing on the ITV programme ''The All Star Impressions Show''. He portrayed
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady MBE DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, very popular in ...
,
Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
, Russell Brand and Tom Jones for ITV. Stevie Riks continues work as a voice-over artist, and has provided celebrity and character vocals for clients including
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...
, Opera Telecom, Alton Towers (character voices), Flamingo Land Resort as well as radio voice-over work and international radio advertisements.


Career detail and highlights

Riks hosted "The Liverpool Beatles Mathew Street Festival" from 2009 through 2012, where he compered and performed as John, Paul, George and Ringo. He has branded himself as "The One-Man Beatles" as his video impersonations incorporate each of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
together, as well as individually. Riks released a self-penned album titled ''Songs from the Parlour'' and was a co-writer on a 2008 Christmas single performed by Davy Jones of
The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...
. In 2011 Riks was interviewed by the ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...
'' about his childhood home in
Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
. In May 2016 Riks' vocals on his take of
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
singing "
My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...
" – Bowie's attempt to write the song for Frank Sinatra and re-creating it on " Life on Mars?" were featured newspapers and trade magazines including ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' and '' Billboard''. The confusion caused in the music world began with Riks' vocals being replaced by pictures of Bowie on a YouTube video by an unknown source, credited as Bowie's "newly discovered, unreleased music" and had to be subsequently retracted by the media outlets. Also in 2016, Riks recorded several video comedy sketches on the streets of London with producer and cameraman Tony Briggs for
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
.


Advocacy

Riks is additionally an avid
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
activist who's taken part in protests to protect wildlife and spends his time advocating for animals as well as creating and selling acrylic and pastel artwork of the rock and pop personalities he respects and impersonates.


References


External links

* *
Stevie-Riks
at dangerousminds.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Riks, Stevie British comedians Living people 1967 births People from Ellesmere Port