Tony Brent (born Reginald Hogan Bretagne, 26 August 1927 – 19 June 1993)
was a British
traditional pop music singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven
Top 20 chart
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...
in the UK over an almost six-year period, starting in December 1952.
Biography
Brent was born Reginald Hogan Bretagne
of
Anglo-Indian descent and lived at Ebrahim Terrace, Spence Road,
Byculla
Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai.
Location
Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to the no ...
,
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, India. During the 1950s Brent became a popular UK-based vocalist, having relocated there in 1947. Two years after his move, Brent entered and won in a talent show held at the Regal Theatre in
Kingston. He had sung a version of "
Some Enchanted Evening", and this led him on to work with
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...
and
Cyril Stapleton's
BBC Showband. His subsequent
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
hits included "
Walkin' to Missouri", "
Cindy, Oh Cindy" and "
Dark Moon". Brent's hits were all released on the
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
label.
He enjoyed iconic status in South Asia, where his hits topped the music charts on
Radio Ceylon
Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...
.
He resumed his travels in 1961 and left the UK to live in Australia. He owned a succession of
Indian food restaurants whilst maintaining his singing career. Brent died in Sydney at the age of 65 of a heart attack in June 1993. His
ashes
Ashes may refer to:
* Ash, the solid remnants of fires.
Media and entertainment Art
* ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch
Film
* ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda
* ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...
were scattered in the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
.
Chart single discography
All entries relate to 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 ...
*"
Walkin' to Missouri" (1952) – no. 7
*"Make It Soon" (1953) – no. 9
*"Got You on My Mind" (1953) – no. 12
*"
Cindy, Oh Cindy" (1956) – no. 16
*"
Dark Moon" (1957) – no. 17
*"The Clouds Will Soon Roll By" (1958) – no. 20
*"Girl of My Dreams" (1958) – no. 16
*"Why Should I Be Lonely?" (1959) – no. 24
See also
*
List of Anglo-Indians
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
References
External links
*
British Pathé footage of Brent with Mike and Bernie Winters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brent, Tony
1927 births
1993 deaths
Traditional pop music singers
20th-century British male singers
English expatriates in Australia
Columbia Records artists
English people of Indian descent