Peter Edward Cook was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s.
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs "Après un rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his most highly regarded works in his later years, in a more harmonically and melodically complex style.
Isaac Sidney Caesar was an American actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: Your Show of Shows (1950–1954), which was a 90-minute weekly show watched by 60 million people, and its successor, Caesar's Hour (1954–1957), both of which influenced later generations of comedians. Your Show of Shows and its cast received seven Emmy nominations between the years 1953 and 1954 and tallied two wins. He also acted in films; he played Coach Calhoun in Grease (1978) and its sequel Grease 2 (1982) and appeared in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Silent Movie (1976), History of the World, Part I (1981), Cannonball Run II (1984), and Vegas Vacation (1997).
Joseph Roger Brown, MBE is an English musician. As a rock and roll singer and guitarist, he has performed for more than six decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and has primarily been a recording star since the early 1960s. He has made six films, presented specialist radio series for BBC Radio 2, appeared on the West End stage alongside Dame Anna Neagle and has written an autobiography. In recent years he has again concentrated on recording and performing music, playing two tours of around 100 shows every year and releasing an album almost every year.
Alternative TV are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules".
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity when he starred in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S. Army post in which he played Master Sergeant Ernest (Ernie) Bilko. He also starred in the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). He was a winner of two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Phil Silvers Show and two Tony Awards for his performances in Top Banana and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He also wrote the original lyrics to the jazz standard "Nancy ".
Stephanie De Sykes is an English singer and actress.
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, achieved chart success. King's career in the music industry was effectively ended in 2001, when he was convicted of sexually abusing five teenage boys.
Nicholas Nickleby, or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is the third novel by Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.
Simon May is a British composer. He has composed many British television theme tunes, including EastEnders and Howards' Way, and the music for the 1988 film The Dawning.
Smike is a pop musical adaptation of a small part of Charles Dickens' 1839 novel Nicholas Nickleby, that was televised for the BBC in 1973. The musical is based on the character Smike from that novel. The TV production starred Beryl Reid as Mrs Squeers, Andrew Keir as Mr Squeers, Leonard Whiting as Nicholas, and Ian Sharrock as Smike. The original cast also featured DJ Neil Fox, a pupil at Kingston Grammar, as one of the schoolboys. A cast album was released on Pye records, including the songs from that production, but not all of the songs used in the stage version. The complete score was re-recorded in 1983 and released on a double album featuring Jill Gascoine, Oliver Tobias and Mike Holoway.
Mad Not Mad is the sixth studio album by the English ska and pop band Madness. It was released on 30 September 1985, their first release on their own label Zarjazz, a sub-label of Virgin Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months in 1985 at Westside Studios and at AIR Studios, both in London. The album was their last recording of original material until they officially reformed in 1992.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an 8½ hour-long adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1839 novel, performed in two parts. Part 1 was 4 hours in length with one interval of 15 minutes. Part 2 was 4½ hours in length with two intervals of 12 minutes. It was originally presented onstage over two evenings, or in its entirety from early afternoon with a dinner break. Later it was presented on television over four evenings.
Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist.
Christine McKenna is a British actress active during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for playing Christina in the television series Flambards.
Len Beadle was an English music publisher, songwriter, music producer and performer, most famous for writing the theme to the hit children's TV show The Adventures of Rupert Bear. He formed the vocal harmony group The Raindrops together with Jackie Lee.
Derek Thomas Scott was a British film, television and stage musical director, film and television composer and musician. He started his career as a double act with both Terry-Thomas and Tony Hancock before becoming a composer for film and television and "one of Britain's best known light entertainment musical directors."
Johnnie Spence, born John Spence Abrahams, sometimes spelt Johnny Spence, was a British musical arranger, director, and orchestra leader. He is credited with the arrangements and musical direction of numerous records and television light entertainment works throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction of a Variety, Musical or Dramatic Program for his work on the 1969 television series This Is Tom Jones.
"Born with a Smile on My Face" is a popular song written by Roger Holman and Simon May. Included as the first track on the 1974 album Rain Featuring Stephanie De-Sykes, the single peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and number 19 in Australia.
"We'll Find Our Day" is a popular song written by Roger Holman and Simon May. It was recorded by Stephanie De-Sykes for her self-titled 1975 album. The single peaked at number 17 in the United Kingdom.
