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Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be
''Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be'' is a 1960 West End theatre, West End musical comedy about Cockney low-life characters in the 1950s, including spivs, prostitutes, teddy-boys and corrupt policemen. The work is more of a Play (theatre), play with music than a conventional musical theatre, musical. The original play, by Frank Norman, who though born in Bristol lived his adult life in London, was intended to be a straight theatrical piece, but was supplemented with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, who also grew up in London's East End. Production background Norman initially wrote the piece as a play (with no music), but after Joan Littlewood read it, she asked Bart to write the music and lyrics. It was first performed by Theatre Workshop, produced and directed by Littlewood in February 1959 at their home, the Theatre Royal Stratford East. It subsequently played at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End theatre, West End, starting on 11 February 1960. It ran for 886 performances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End theatre, West End. Best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for ''Oliver!'', Bart was described by Andrew Lloyd Webber as "the father of the modern British musical". In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for ''Oliver!'', and the Oliver! (film), 1968 film version of the musical won a total of 6 Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Some of his other songs include the theme song to the James Bond film ''From Russia with Love (film), From R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2003) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, he was brought up in the Lancashire town of County Borough of Bolton, Bolton. After boarding at St Bees School, Cumberland, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, winning the 1954 Bancroft Gold Medal, graduating in 1955 with an Acting (RADA Diploma). In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had two children. She died in 1999, three years before he did. Theatre work Pringle started as a member of the Old Vic company between 1955 and 1957, appearing with Coral Browne, John Neville (actor), John Neville, Claire Bloom and others in several Shakespeare plays and touring with four of them - ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Richard II (play), Richard II'', ''Troilus and Cressida'' and ''Macbeth''. He then moved to Nottingham Playhouse, where he ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Newell
Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer and lyricist, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians such as Shirley Bassey, Dalida, Claude François, Vera Lynn, Russ Conway, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Jake Thackray, Malcolm Roberts, Bobby Crush and Peter and Gordon. Newell was particularly known for his recorded productions of West End musicals. His songs have been covered by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin. In 1999, Newell's song, " Portrait of My Love", originally recorded by Matt Monro in 1960, was honoured at the BMI Awards in London for having two million radio plays. Early life Newell was born in Plaistow, Essex (now part of Greater London) to a poor family. He aspired to be an actor, but expected to work for London Transport. During the Second World War, Newell befriended th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Standard Theatre Award
The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway's Drama Desk Awards. Trophies The trophies take the form of a modelled statuette, a figure representing Drama, designed by Frank Dobson RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Categories Three of the awards are given in the names of former ''Evening Standard'' notables: *Arts editor Sydney Edwards (who conceived the awards, and died suddenly in July 1979) for the Best Director category. *Editor Charles Wintour (who as deputy-editor in 1955, launched the awards after a nod from the proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook') for Most Promising Playwright. *Long-serving theatre critic Milton Shulman (for several years a key member of the judging panel) for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallmark Records
Hallmark Records is a British record label. History Hallmark Records was founded in the 1960s and was the first budget label in the United Kingdom. The revived company has since become a major publisher of budget CDs in the UK, issuing both public domain and copyrighted material. The company has also re-issued some of its albums from the 1960s and 1970s, such as ''The Best of Top of the Pops '74''. Since copyrights for audio recordings in the UK last 50 years, Hallmark is one of many British record labels which have re-issued Elvis Presley's first album. Hallmark became a brand of Carlton records/communications and continued to sell CDs under that brand including many tribute albums by Steve Deakin-Davies (Neil Diamond, Tina Turner, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder) plus numerous "Pan Pipe" versions of hits. Following the shake up forced by the amalgamation of Carlton TV and its merger with Granada TV to become ITV plc, the Hallmark back catalogue was sold to ABM music. See also * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Bygraves
Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Royal Variety Performance'' appearances and presented numerous programmes, including '' Family Fortunes'' between 1983 and 1985. His catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" became an integral part of his act, although it had originated with comedian Mike Yarwood impersonating Bygraves. Early life Bygraves was born to Henry and Lillian ( McDonnell) Bygraves (who wed in 1919) in Rotherhithe in London, where he grew up in a two-room council flat in Park Buildings, Paradise Street with his five siblings, his parents and a grandparent. His father was a professional flyweight boxer, known as Battling Tom Smith, and a casual dockworker. Brought up Catholic, he attended St Joseph's School, Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, and sang with his school choir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teddy Boy
The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly United Kingdom, British youth subculture originating in the early 1950s to mid-1960s and then revived in the 1970s who were interested in rock and roll and Rhythm and blues, R&B music, wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by Dandy, dandies in the Edwardian period, which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after the World War II, Second World War. History A mainly British phenomenon, the Teddy Boy subculture started among teenagers in London in the early 1950s, and rapidly spread across the UK, becoming strongly associated with American rock and roll music. After World War II, male youths in delinquent gangs who had adopted 1900s in Western fashion, Edwardian-era fashion were sometimes known as ''Cosh Boys'', or ''Edwardians''. The name ''Teddy Boy'' was coined when a 23 September 1953 ''Daily Express'' newspaper report headline shortened ''Edwardian'' to ''Teddy'' (which can be a diminutive form of e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiv
A spiv is a petty criminal in the United Kingdom who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. Spivs were particularly active during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According to Peter Wollen, "the crucial difference between the spiv and the classic Hollywood gangster was the degree of sympathy the spiv gained as an intermediary in the transfer of black market goods to ... a grateful mass of consumers."Peter Wollen (2002) ''Paris Hollywood - Writings on Film'' pp185–6 Origins The origin of the word is obscure. "Spiv" was the nickname of Henry Bagster, an early 1900s small-time London crook who was frequently arrested for illegal street trading and confidence tricks. National newspapers reported his court appearances between 1903 and 1906 and his nickname from 1904. The term spiv first appeared in print in a non-fiction crime paperback (C. G. Gordon's ''Crooks of Underworld'') in a horseracing context in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thieves' Cant
Thieves' cant (also known as thieves' argot, rogues' cant, or peddler's French) is a cant (language), cant, cryptolect, or argot which was formerly used by thieves, beggars, and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries. It is now mostly obsolete and used in literature and fantasy role-playing, although individual terms continue to be used in the criminal subcultures of Britain and the United States. History Cant (language), Cant is a common feature of rogue literature of the Elizabethan era in England, in both pamphlets and theatre. It was claimed by Samuel Rid to have been devised around 1530 by two vagabond leaders – Giles Hather, of the gypsies, "Egyptians", and Cock Lorell, of the "Quartern of Knaves" – at Peak Cavern, The Devil's Arse, a cave in Derbyshire, "to the end that their wiktionary:cozening, cozenings, wiktionary:knavery, knaveries and wiktionary:villainy, villainies might not so easily be perceived an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhyming Slang
Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang. In the US, especially the criminal underworld of the West Coast of the United States, West Coast between 1880 and 1920, rhyming slang has sometimes been known as Australian slang. The construction of rhyming slang involves replacing a common word with a phrase of two or more words, the last of which rhymes with the original word; then, in almost all cases, omitting, from the end of the phrase, the secondary rhyming word (which is thereafter implied), Bryson, a humourist, states that there is a special name given to this omission: "the word that rhymes is almost always dropped... There's a technical term for this process as well: hemiteleia". Given that this is a genus of plant species, and appears in no readily available sources a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Sewell
George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films. Early life and early career The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age of 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses. He then trained as a Royal Air Force pilot, though too late to see action during the Second World War. Following his demob, Sewell joined the Merchant Navy. He worked for the Cunard Line as an oil trimmer in the engine rooms of the and during their Atlantic crossings to New York. He worked as a street photographer, assisted a French roller-skating team, and was drummer and assistant road manager of a rumba band. He also travelled Europe as a motor coach courier for a holiday company. Acting career Theatre Sewell had not considered acting until, aged 35, he met the actor Dudley Sutton by chance in a pub. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and its spin-off '' George and Mildred'' (1976–1979). Early life Yootha Joyce Needham was born in Wandsworth, London, the only child of musical parents Percival "Hurst" Needham, a singer, and Jessie Maud (née Revitt), a concert pianist. She was named "Yootha" after a New Zealand dancer in her father's touring company, a name she would later say she "loathed and detested". Joyce's biography states that her heavily pregnant mother went for a walk on Wandsworth Common during an interval of one of her husband's performances and began feeling contractions; searching for a house to call an ambulance, she came across a nursing home where she gave birth. The family lived in a basement flat at Bennerley Road, Wandsworth, although Joyce spent much time living with he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
