Pretty Boy Floyd

Born in Barrow County, Georgia, in 1904, Charles Arthur Floyd, alias "Pretty Boy", participated in the Kansas City Massacre in 1933 when four law enforcement officers, including one FBI Special Agent, were killed.  A leading light in the classic age of American gangsters, Pretty Boy was up there with John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde and… Continue reading Pretty Boy Floyd

John L Sullivan

Recognised as the first heavyweight boxing champion of the world, John Lawrence Sullivan was born in Boston, USA, in 1858.  Son of a quick-tempered Boston Irishman, he at first attempted to learn a trade, being for a while an apprentice plumber, tinsmith and stonemason.  However, as some journeymen colleagues of Sullivan painfully found out, John… Continue reading John L Sullivan

Arthur Haynes

Born in Hammersmith in May 1914, Arthur Haynes was the only son of a baker.   Although remembered today only by Nissan Micra drivers, Haynes was an immensely popular television comedian throughout the middle of the last century, winning awards and acclaim from all quarters.  His eponymous show, The Arthur Haynes Show regularly topped the… Continue reading Arthur Haynes

Matt Monro

Britain’s answer to Frank Sinatra.  Okay, Matt was no Ol’ Blue Eyes but he carved out a successful career as a romantic ballad singer both in Britain and America in an age dominated by raucous pop singers.  His rise to fame against the Elvis Presley tide was a singular achievement for a small man with… Continue reading Matt Monro

Ronnie Laine

Ronnie Laine, bassist and founder member of The Small Faces, was born in Plaistow, East London, on April 1, 1946, son of a lorry driver.  At 16 he left school and began working as a plumber’s mate then, aged 17, he bought his first guitar and began playing in a band called The Outcasts with… Continue reading Ronnie Laine

Charles Dance

Walter Charles Dance was born in Birmingham, England, in 1946, son of a parlour maid and a civil engineer who died when he was four.  When the son was four that is, not the father.  Dance junior dropped Walter from his name because he didn’t fancy having the initials WC.  He was a nervous child… Continue reading Charles Dance

Russ Conway

He was the pianist who brought joy with his tinkling fingers and his twinkling smile.  This attractive combination brought Russ Conway huge success in live concert and on record, and made him one of Britain’s biggest-selling artists of the 1950s and 1960s.  From his first chart success in 1957 with a medley of other artists’… Continue reading Russ Conway