Tommy Steele

Tommy Steele

Source: Film Star Postcards

Born Thomas William Hicks in London on 17 December 1934, Tommy Steele began his career in rockabilly. He is oft credited with transporting rock and roll from the United States to Great Britain, having been a merchant seaman who played banjo and guitar in skiffle coffee houses during leaves. Skiffle translates to folk music in the United Kingdom roughly corresponding to jug band music in the United States. While docked in Norfolk, Virginia, Steele saw a performance by Buddy Holly, whence upon he decided to trade skiffle for rock n roll. Had he performed music at the time on American shores that would have placed him at the avant-garde of the British Invasion. As it is, though Steele would later visit America again it wasn't as a rock musician.

While yet Tommy Hicks, Steele formed his first band, the Cavemen, in 1956. He then changed his name and his band became the Steelmen, making their first record release the same year: 'Rock with the Caveman' backed with 'Rock Around the Town', those followed by 'Doomsday Rock' b/w 'Elevator Rock'. 'Rock with the Caveman' reached #13 on the UK chart in October 1956, 'Singing the Blues' #1 in December, the latter his best-selling title overall. Chart data below is for UK only. Though Steele issued in the States he didn't sell well there. His only title to reach a tier as high as #10 in the US was 'Must Be Santa' in December of 1960, which reached to only #40 in the UK.

'Rock with the Caveman'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Side A of Decca F-10795   #13 Oct 1956

Composition: Lionel Bart / Mike Pratt / Tommy Steele

'Rock Around the Town'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Side B of Decca F-10795   1956

Composition: Tommy Steele

'Doomsday Rock'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Side A of Decca F-10808   1956

Composition: Lionel Bart / Mike Pratt / Tommy Steele

'Elevator Rock'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Side B of Decca F-10808   1956

Composition: Tommy Steele

'Singing the Blues'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Composition: Melvin Endsley

Side A of Decca F-10819   #1 Dec 1956   Steele's #1 best-selling title   Side B: 'Rebel Rock'

Steele rocked for a couple years as he began shifting toward popular showmanship bearing no resemblance at all to rock and roll. Early morphing of his style is illustrated in videos of 1957 below. His last release with the Steelmen is thought have been 'Only Man on the Island' in 1958 with 'I Puts the Lightie On' flip side (Decca F 11041).

'Butterfingers'   Tommy Steele

  From the film 'The Tommy Steele Story' released in the UK 1957

(release date of June at BFI Screenonline would place the film after the soundtrack)

  Titled 'Rock Around the World' in the US

'Butterfingers' issued on London L.1735   #5 May 1957

Composition: Lionel Bart / Mike Pratt

Soundtrack to 'The Tommy Steele Story' issued in May 1957 on Decca LF1288

'A Handul of Songs'   Tommy Steele

Decca F-10923   #5 Aug 1957 flip side of 'Water Water'

Also on 'The Tommy Steele Story' issued in May 1957 on Decca LF1288

'Nairobi'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Decca F-10991   #3 March 1958

Composition: Bob Merrill

'Princess'   Tommy Steele

Composition: Lionel Bart / Mike Pratt / Jimmy Bennett

  From the film 'The Duke Wore Jeans' released in the UK 1958

Soundtrack issued in May 1958 on Decca EP DFE 6472

'I Puts the Lightie On'   Tommy Steele & the Steelmen

Composition: Jimmy Bennett / Lionel Bart

Decca F-11041 flip side to 'Only Man on the Island'   June 1958

Having starred in a couple of films and performed on television by now, Steele visited the first Moscow International Film Festival held from 3 to 17 August 1959. By the time he placed the last of seven titles in the UK Top Ten in May 1960 with 'What a Mouth' at #5 he'd long since made dust of his career in rock, though he maintained a strong audience in the UK as a popular performer in visual media for years to come. Along that vein, in 1966 Steele joined dancer, Gene Kelly, in the filming of 'Gene Kelly in New York, New York'.

'Where's the Birdie'   Tommy Steele w Sid James & Bernard Cribbins

Composition: Bernard Cribbins / Sid James / Tommy Steele

  Film 'Tommy the Toreador' released in the UK 21 Dec 1959

Soundtrack issued in tandem w film on Decca DFE6607 [Discogs]

'What a Mouth'   Tommy Steele

Decca F-11245   #5 Aug 1960

Composition: Robert Patrick Weston

'Two of a Kind'   Television gig by Tommy Steele w Gene Kelly

Composition: Walden Cassotto / Johnny Mercer

CBS Special 'New York, New York' aired 14 Feb 1966

'Bridge Over Troubled Water'   Tommy Steele filmed live on the 'Parkinson Show' 1979

Composition: Paul Simon

'Maple Leaf Rag'   Tommy Steele w Steven Osborne

From 'Some Like It Hot' on First Night Records OCR CD6028 in 1992 [Discogs]

Music: Jule Styne   Text: Bob Merrill

'Rock and Roll Medley'   Tommy Steele filmed live on 'Royal Variety' 2004

Having spent the latter decades of his career in television and theatre, Steele's autobiography, 'Bermondsey Boy: Memories of a Forgotten World', was published by Penguin in 2007 [reviews].