Tommy Steele was undoubtedly Britai n'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.

By the end of the 1950s Tommy Steele had been urged to move away almost completely from his Rock and Roll beginnings and instead concentrate on recording novelties, and his stage act. He soon became established as a family entertainer, broadening from- probably mostly dispensing with- his original teenage following. He became a master of the stage musical and an archetypal performer of the British pantomime. He continued successfully in this role for more than three decades, but faded somewhat from the scene during the 1990s. Most of Tommy's later recorded work concerned his stage and film 'Musicals' which included 'Half A Sixpence', 'Finian's Rainbow', 'The Happiest Millionaire' and 'Hans Anderson' -for which Tommy later received an award from the Danish government.

SINGING THE BLUES WAS TOMMY'S ONLY NUMBER ONE HIT REACHING THE NUMBER ONE SPOT ON 11th JAN 1957 (54 YEARS AGO!)

Well, I never felt more like singin' the blues
'cause I never thought that I'd ever lose
Your love dear, why'd you do me this way
Well, I never felt more like cryin' all night
'cause everythin's wrong, and nothin' ain't right
Without you, you got me singin' the blues

The moon and stars no longer shine
The dream is gone I thought was mine
There's nothin' left for me to do
But cry-y-y-y over you

Well, I never felt more like runnin' away
But why should I go 'cause I couldn't stay
Without you, you got me singin' the blues

Well, I never felt more like singin' the blues
'cause I never thought that I'd ever lose
Your love dear, why'd you do me this way
Well, I never felt more like cryin' all night
'cause everythin's wrong, and nothin' ain't right
Without you, you got me singin' the blues

The moon and stars no longer shine
The dream is gone I thought was mine
There's nothin' left for me to do
But cry-y-y-y over you

I never felt more like runnin' away
Why should I go 'cause I couldn't stay
Without you, you got me singin' the blues