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Anthony Newley

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 to 14 April 1999) was an English actor, director, comedian, singer and composer, born in Hackney, London. He left school at fourteen and worked as an errand boy for an advertising agency, but through a newspaper advertisement he ended up at the Italia Conti stage school. As a boy he appeared in Vice Versa in 1948 and played the Artful Dodger in David Lean's Oliver Twist. In the 1950s he made twenty-seven films for J. Arthur Rank. His breakthrough then came in the musical film Idol on Parade in 1959, in which he played a rock singer who has to do his military service.

Music and breakthrough

From 1959 to 1962 he had twelve entries in the British charts, including two number ones. With his writing partner Leslie Bricusse he created the musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off, which contains the song What Kind of Fool Am I?, winner of the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1963. Next came The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd, with Who Can I Turn To, and the songs for Doctor Dolittle. With Bricusse he received an Oscar nomination for Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), with Pure Imagination. With John Barry he wrote the title song of the Bond film Goldfinger. His television series The Strange World of Gurney Slade has cult status.

Influence

Newley was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989. He shows how a British pop singer of the early rock 'n' roll years grew into a performer of musicals and cabaret.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Pure Imagination, written by Newley and Bricusse, and notice the gentle melody and the dreamy lyrics. Can you hear how the song sounds like an invitation?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists