Tommy Steele

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

Tommy Steele, really Thomas Hicks, was born in 1936 in Bermondsey, London, and is regarded as the first British teen idol and rock-and-roll star. He worked as a seaman on a Cunard Line ship and learned to play guitar along the way, with country and calypso as his first repertoire. In the summer of 1956 he met the writer Lionel Bart and the actor Mike Pratt in Soho. Together they formed the loose band The Cavemen. A performance at the 2i's Coffee Bar drew the attention of the publicist John Kennedy, who arranged a contract with Decca within two weeks.

Music and breakthrough

His first single Rock with the Caveman reached number 13 in the British charts in November 1956, and Singing the Blues reached number one in January 1957. His 1957 film The Tommy Steele Story produced the first British number one on the album chart by a British artist, and A Handful of Songs won an Ivor Novello Award in 1958. The press called him Britain's Elvis, although his stage presence was friendlier than Presley's. In 1958 he was injured when fans stormed him at a concert in Dundee, after which he turned mainly to the theatre.

Influence

In the 1960s he became an all-round entertainer. He played Kipps in Half a Sixpence, first in the West End and on Broadway, and in 1967 in the film. He also appeared in Singin' in the Rain. He wrote books and made sculpture. In 2020 he was knighted. His importance lies in the fact that he showed that a British boy could achieve stardom in a world that mainly looked to America.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1958The Duke Wore Jeans
• 1968Half a Sixpence (soundtrack)
• 1984Singin’ in the Rain (Original Cast Recording) (soundtrack)