England Famous Musicians Part II
Elton John (born 1947)
The singer Sir Elton Hercules John, whose real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight, is one of the most successful musicians in the world. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 and received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music in London. His albums include Empty Sky, Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water, Honky Château and Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, and he wrote the soundtracks of several films and musicals such as for The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida (musical), The Muse (soundtrack), The Road to El Dorado (soundtrack) and Billy Elliot (musical). At the funeral service of Princess Diana on September 6, 1997 in Westminster Abbey, he sang his song: “Candle in the wind”.
Lemmy Kilmister ( 1945-2015)
rock musician and founder of the rock band Motörhead and their singer and bassist. Lemmy Kilmister was born on December 24, 1945 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Kilmister attended elementary school in Madeley, a village near the town where he was born. At the age of 10 his family moved to Benllech on the island of Anglesey in Wales. In 1957 he began to play his mother’s guitar by himself. The first band he played in was called The Sundowners. At the age of 15 he had to leave school without a degree and lived from various jobs until he left his parents’ house at 16 and went to Manchester. Here he was hired by various bands – including The Rainmakers and then he played for about three years with The Motown Sect. In 1965 he finally became guitarist for Reverend Black and The Rockin ‘Vicars. He left the band in early 1967 and went to London, where he earned his living doing odd jobs, as a roadie with Jimi Hendrix. In 1968 he began as a singer with Sam Gopal – after the failure of the band he was a member of Opal Butterfly for a short time, which he left in 1970. In the early 1970s he joined the space rock band Hawkwind as a bassist, but was kicked out of it in 1975.
Shortly thereafter, Kilmister founded the band Motörhead, of which he was the figurehead and band leader until his death. Motörhead played on June 21, 1989 in Hamburg on the Reeperbahn.
In 1990 he moved to Los Angeles, where he lived until his death. In addition to Motörhead, he also appeared in the rockabilly band The Head Cat, founded in 2000. Kilmister died of cancer on December 28, 2015 in his apartment in Los Angeles, California. He found his final resting place on January 9, 2016 in the local Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Note
He was considered a collector of Nazi souvenirs. His collection included an ashtray by Eva Braun and a hunting knife by Hermann Göring. And he strictly rejected religion or belief in any god, which he expressed in some of his texts, for example in Bad Religion, God Was Never on Your Side or Get Back in Line.
The Flying Pickets
The Flying Pickets are a British a cappella singing group that has been in alternating line-up since 1982. The founding members were David Brett, Ken Gregson, Brian Hibbard, Rick Lloyd, Red Stripe and Gareth Williams. They had chosen their name based on the mobile English pickets, as they too traveled around and sang their songs in numerous places.
Their first release was a live recording of “Live at the Albany Empire”. Because of their success, the label “Virgin Records” offered them a record deal in 1983. The video of the performance takes getting used to, however.
In 1984 the group landed a huge success with “Only You”. However, the song was not a separate composition but the cover version of a song by the British band Yazoo.
With “When You’re Young and in Love” or “What a wonederfull world”, the group made more hits. The Flying group traditionally consists of five members, but more often they also performed with six singers.
In 1986 Brian Hibbard and Red Stripe left the band and when Garreth Williams left the group in 1991, they were no longer a founding member.
The band has been subject to member changes again and again, but still releases new albums and often tours Europe. The Flying Pickets repertoire consists mainly of cover versions and a few of their own compositions. The album Blue Money was released in 1990.
Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695)
Despite his short life, Purcell was a formative composer of the 17th century. As organist at Westminster Abbey, he wrote a number of very varied works such as the opera “Dido and Aeneas”.
The Beatles
(founded 1956, Liverpool) was the most successful band of the 20th century. The pop icons became the undisputed role model of Brit pop culture. Led by two frontmen, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, they released unforgettable albums like “The White Album” and “Yellow Submarine”. With a total of 17 No. 1 hits in the British and international charts, they conquered the whole world with the new beat of Brit-Pop. After the band broke up, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney started solo careers. John Lennon was shot dead on his doorstep in New York in 1980. Paul McCartney is the only one of the Beatles today who is still active and present in the music world. He was raised to the nobility by the Queen.
The Rolling Stones
(founded 1963, London) has been the epitome of rock’n roll for 40 years. Founded by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the band was the counter model to the Beatles in the 1960s; it was the bad guys band of the music business. Since their beginnings in the mid-1960s, the band has produced an unbelievable number of hits that are now world-famous, and at their concerts in front of sold-out stadiums, they were always accompanied by screaming crowds of fans. Today family men and rock’n roll veterans, the Stones are still touring the world in the same tight leggings and with their original charm in the original line-up.
Andrew Lloyd Webber (born 1948)
The composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber produced numerous musicals and film scores over the course of his career, which enjoyed great success all over the world. He received countless high awards and prizes for his work, in 1992 he was made a knight of art and the queen elevated him to the nobility in the same year. In 1997 he became a member of the House of Lords for life as Baron Lloyd Webber of Sydmonton. His most important works include the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), By Jeeves (1975), Evita (1976), Cats (1981), Starlight Express (1984) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986).
