Biography
Born in Plaistow, Essex, England on July 23, 1947 as David Albert Cook, the performer later known as David Essex relocated with his family at age two to Canning Town in central London. Football initially captured his imagination, fueling ambitions to play for West Ham United, yet a visit at fourteen to Soho’s Flamingo Jazz Club ignited a lasting interest in music. He took up drums and performed with several blues ensembles until manager Derek Bowman discovered him and steered his focus toward vocals. In 1965 David Cook adopted the stage name David Essex, issuing his debut Fontana single “And the Tears Came Tumbling Down” backed with “You Can’t Stop Me from Loving You.” He subsequently fronted the ensemble billed as David Essex & the Mood Indigo, playing U.K. nightclubs while, under Bowman’s direction, he began accumulating acting experience through a small role in the 1967 feature Smashing Time and work in repertory theater. Additional film appearances followed in 1971’s In the Devil’s Garden, also titled Assault, and 1972’s All Coppers Are … .
His profile rose sharply in 1971 when he secured the lead in London’s original stage mounting of Godspell; fellow cast member Jeremy Irons would later achieve screen fame. The production succeeded, earning Essex the Variety Club of Great Britain’s Most Promising Newcomer award, and Bell Records documented it with an Original Cast Recording released in 1972 and reissued on CD in 2019. That theatrical breakthrough led to the starring part in the rock-era drama That’ll Be the Day opposite Ringo Starr. While filming, Essex composed “Rock On,” which appeared in the picture and served as the title track for his debut solo album, issued in 1973 by Columbia in the United States and CBS in Britain. The movie resonated in England and garnered critical praise across the Atlantic, while the single climbed to the top five on both U.K. and U.S. charts. Although “Rock On” remained his sole American Top 40 entry, the 1974 album David Essex reached number two on the British album survey and yielded the U.K. hits “Gonna Make You a Star,” “America,” and “Stardust.” The last also anchored the soundtrack to the box-office hit sequel Stardust, which itself peaked at number three on the U.K. album chart, and the single “Hold Me Close” attained the summit. Further releases included the 1976 live set On Tour plus the studio albums Out on the Street (1976) and Gold and Ivory (1977), sustaining his stature among Britain’s leading rock acts. In 1978 he contributed to Jeff Wayne’s conceptual work The War of the Worlds and returned to the West End stage as Che Guevara in the original London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita.
After Evita reinforced his prominence, Essex switched to Polygram and debuted on the label with 1979’s Imperial Wizard; the title track climbed to number 32, yet punk and new wave had already reshaped the local landscape. The 1980 album Hot Love incorporated several numbers echoing Ian Dury & the Blockheads, while 1981’s Be-Bop: The Future emphasized synthesizer-driven dance rhythms. That same year he starred in Silver Dream Racer, portraying a motorcycle competitor, composing the score and releasing its theme as his strongest single in two years. Stage work continued with the title role in the non-musical Childe Byron. Produced by Mike Batt, 1983’s The Whisper contained the seasonal composition “A Winter’s Tale,” co-written by Batt and Tim Rice, which became an enduring holiday favorite. In 1985 Essex co-authored the musical Mutiny, drawn from Mutiny on the Bounty, casting himself as Fletcher Christian opposite Frank Finlay’s Captain Bligh; the show enjoyed a sixteen-month London run and spun off the Top Ten single “Tahiti.”
By 1988 Essex had shifted his acting focus to television, headlining the BBC series The River. Following the conclusion of his Polygram contract, he established Lamplight Records and inaugurated the imprint with 1989’s Touching the Ghost. From the nineties onward, recording assumed a secondary place behind acting engagements that encompassed a forty-nine-episode stint on EastEnders and a London production of Footloose, alongside fresh theatrical ventures such as an ice-ballet version of Beauty and the Beast and a stage adaptation of All the Fun of the Fair, as well as a 2012 reunion tour comprising thirty-six dates with his seventies backing band. He issued the memoir A Charmed Life in 2002, the poetry collection Travelling Tinker Man and Other Rhymes in 2012, and the novel Faded Glory in 2016. Queen Elizabeth II appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the performing arts. Reflections appeared in 2013, presenting semi-acoustic reinterpretations of earlier successes, and late 2016 brought the “I’ll Be Missing You Tour,” a career-spanning trek whose final performance yielded a two-CD/one-DVD package released in April 2017.
His profile rose sharply in 1971 when he secured the lead in London’s original stage mounting of Godspell; fellow cast member Jeremy Irons would later achieve screen fame. The production succeeded, earning Essex the Variety Club of Great Britain’s Most Promising Newcomer award, and Bell Records documented it with an Original Cast Recording released in 1972 and reissued on CD in 2019. That theatrical breakthrough led to the starring part in the rock-era drama That’ll Be the Day opposite Ringo Starr. While filming, Essex composed “Rock On,” which appeared in the picture and served as the title track for his debut solo album, issued in 1973 by Columbia in the United States and CBS in Britain. The movie resonated in England and garnered critical praise across the Atlantic, while the single climbed to the top five on both U.K. and U.S. charts. Although “Rock On” remained his sole American Top 40 entry, the 1974 album David Essex reached number two on the British album survey and yielded the U.K. hits “Gonna Make You a Star,” “America,” and “Stardust.” The last also anchored the soundtrack to the box-office hit sequel Stardust, which itself peaked at number three on the U.K. album chart, and the single “Hold Me Close” attained the summit. Further releases included the 1976 live set On Tour plus the studio albums Out on the Street (1976) and Gold and Ivory (1977), sustaining his stature among Britain’s leading rock acts. In 1978 he contributed to Jeff Wayne’s conceptual work The War of the Worlds and returned to the West End stage as Che Guevara in the original London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita.
After Evita reinforced his prominence, Essex switched to Polygram and debuted on the label with 1979’s Imperial Wizard; the title track climbed to number 32, yet punk and new wave had already reshaped the local landscape. The 1980 album Hot Love incorporated several numbers echoing Ian Dury & the Blockheads, while 1981’s Be-Bop: The Future emphasized synthesizer-driven dance rhythms. That same year he starred in Silver Dream Racer, portraying a motorcycle competitor, composing the score and releasing its theme as his strongest single in two years. Stage work continued with the title role in the non-musical Childe Byron. Produced by Mike Batt, 1983’s The Whisper contained the seasonal composition “A Winter’s Tale,” co-written by Batt and Tim Rice, which became an enduring holiday favorite. In 1985 Essex co-authored the musical Mutiny, drawn from Mutiny on the Bounty, casting himself as Fletcher Christian opposite Frank Finlay’s Captain Bligh; the show enjoyed a sixteen-month London run and spun off the Top Ten single “Tahiti.”
By 1988 Essex had shifted his acting focus to television, headlining the BBC series The River. Following the conclusion of his Polygram contract, he established Lamplight Records and inaugurated the imprint with 1989’s Touching the Ghost. From the nineties onward, recording assumed a secondary place behind acting engagements that encompassed a forty-nine-episode stint on EastEnders and a London production of Footloose, alongside fresh theatrical ventures such as an ice-ballet version of Beauty and the Beast and a stage adaptation of All the Fun of the Fair, as well as a 2012 reunion tour comprising thirty-six dates with his seventies backing band. He issued the memoir A Charmed Life in 2002, the poetry collection Travelling Tinker Man and Other Rhymes in 2012, and the novel Faded Glory in 2016. Queen Elizabeth II appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the performing arts. Reflections appeared in 2013, presenting semi-acoustic reinterpretations of earlier successes, and late 2016 brought the “I’ll Be Missing You Tour,” a career-spanning trek whose final performance yielded a two-CD/one-DVD package released in April 2017.
Albums
