David Essex

David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he had nineteen Top-40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and sixteen Top-40 albums. Internationally, he had the most success with his 1973 single "Rock On".

Essex has also had an extensive career as an actor, which includes a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for the film That'll Be the Day (1973) and a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Musical for Evita in 1978.

Essex was born in Plaistow, Essex (now an area in the London Borough of Newham, included within Greater London) on 23 July 1947. His father, Albert, was an East End docker and his mother, Olive (née Kemp), was a self-taught pianist and an Irish Traveller. His grandfather, Thomas Kemp, was nicknamed "Philimore", which was the anglicised version of "Philly Mor" – being Irish for "Big Philly". Essex was two years old when his parents moved out of the overcrowded home the family was sharing with relatives, to Canning Town where he grew up.

Essex attended Star Lane Primary School. He loved playing football and did not answer any of the questions in the Eleven plus exam for entry into a grammar school, so that he could ensure he attended Shipman County Secondary School where he knew they played the game. He later attended The Warren secondary modern in Whalebone Lane, Chadwell Heath, when his parents moved to Marks Gate Estate. He was also a member of West Ham United Juniors for a while, and dreamed of one day being a professional player. He then also became interested in music and played drums with a local band (China Plates), before becoming a singer.

Essex made his first record, titled "And the Tears Came Tumbling Down", for the Fontana label in 1965. He then toured with a band called 'David Essex and the Mood Indigo' for two years, and released a further seven singles in the 1960s. He also recorded two songs, "A Rose" and "Leon and John and Billy and Me" which remain unreleased, but exist as acetates. His first notable acting role, aside from small appearances in the films Assault and All Coppers Are…, was the lead in the stage musical Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.