Tommy Steele - Best of Tommy Steele (2000)

Born: December 17, 1936 // Bermondsey, London, United Kingdom.
Tommy Steele was undoubtedly Britain's first great Rock and Roll idol. Like many who followed him Tommy started his musical career by playing in a skiffle group. He was also the first of the London based artists who would precurse their fame by singing at the 2 'I's Coffee Bar- a venue which later hosted the virtually unknown Adam Faith and Cliff Richard. Although Tommy's brand of Rock and Roll was nearer to 'easy listening' than that of some of his American contemporaries he more than made up for it with his personality. His manager, Larry Parnes, once said "Tommy Steele was the greatest entertainer that I ever had on my books", and Tommy Steele's rise as a teenage star was probably attributable to charisma rather than simple sex appeal.