Denis King

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Denis Andrew King (born July 25, 1939 in Hornchurch , England ) is a British composer and actor. His best-known production in Germany is probably the theme song for Black Beauty .

Denis King began his musical career at the age of six as a banjolele singer in children's matinees and by the age of thirteen he was part of The King Brothers , a successful pop group of the 1950s and with his two older brothers Mike and Tony 1960s. The group has been referred to in part as the first of his UK boy band; Denis played the piano, Mike the guitar, Tony the bass guitar. At that time, the King Brothers toured in the so-called "Twice-Nightly Variety" (the equivalent of America's Variety) through Great Britain and usually had two appearances in one city before moving to the next location in the next week. Denis attended a different school in a different city almost every week for two years. In addition to concerts and tours across Europe, The King Brothers played summer shows, television appearances and even a season at the famous Windmill Theater . In 1956, the group was the youngest Variety Act to play at the London Palladium. Within a year, their songs were in the hit lists. A White Sport Coat and “Standing On The Corner” were her greatest successes. They performed with Peter Sellers , Harry Secombe , Frankie Vaughan , Roy Castle, Shirley Bassey , Alma Cogan , Ronnie Corbett , Bruce Forsyth , Morecambe and Wise , as well as the American stars Bobby Darin , Howard Keel , Sammy Davis Jr. , Judy Garland , Lena Horne , Sarah Vaughan , Sophie Tucker and Frank Sinatra .

When the group broke up in 1970, Denis studied music and composition at the Guildhall School of Music in London and received his first television commission for composing the film music for Black Beauty , for which he won the Ivor Novello Award . To date, he has created themes and incidental music for over two hundred television series, including Within These Walls , If It Moves File It , Dick Turpin , Two's Company , Lovejoy , We'll Meet Again, and Hannay, as well as over a hundred jingles for radio and television commercials. King has also worked on films and the music for Simon (1970) , Not Tonight , Darling (1971) , Holiday in the Buses (1973) , Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973) , Sweeney! (1977) , If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981), and Privates on Parade (1982) .

As a musician, he has appeared with Edna Everage , Albert Finney , Benny Green , Maureen Lipman (in their successful stage show Re: Joyce) and with Dick Vosburgh in Theicomic Revues .

In 2012 he directed an amateur version of his own musical Wind in the Willows .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1972–1974: Black Beauty (TV series, 36 episodes)
  • 1973: A crazy trip on the Wahnsinnsbus (Holiday on the Buses)
  • 1977: Code name Sweeny (Sweeney!)
  • 1978: Son of Hitler
  • 1979–1982: Dick Turpin (TV series, 31 episodes)
  • 1980: Together (TV series, 26 episodes)
  • 1981: Smuggler (miniseries, 13 episodes)
  • 1983: Hey, soldier - your bag is on fire (Privates on Parade)
  • 1986–1994: Lovejoy (TV series, 73 episodes)
  • 1987–1989: Ffizz (TV series, 12 episodes)
  • 1988–1989: Hannay (TV series, 8 episodes)
  • 1990–1993: The New Adventures of Black Beauty (TV series, 30 episodes)
  • 1993: The Last Dance (Sista dansen)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Artist biography at allmusic.com, accessed on March 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ The Black Beauty Composer at eadt.co, accessed on March 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ Wind In The Willows staged by Denis King in Walberswick at bbc.com, accessed March 3, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME King, Denis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES King, Denis Andrew (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British composer and actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Hornchurch , England