This Is Your Life: David Essex

David ESSEX (1947-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - David Essex, singer-songwriter and actor, was surprised by Michael Aspel at the curtain call of the charity premiere performance of the world's first ever ice ballet with songs, Beauty and the Beast, at London's Royal Albert Hall.

David, who was born in Plaistow, Essex, played the drums in bands on his local pub circuit while working as an apprentice mechanical engineer. Having been talent spotted by his future manager, his break came when cast as the lead in the musical Godspell in 1971.

David combined a pop career with acting, achieving chart success with 19 singles, notably Rock On, Gonna Make You a Star and Hold Me Close, while on film he appeared in That'll Be the Day, Stardust and Silver Dream Racer and on stage he starred as Che in the original production of musical Evita in 1978 and Fletcher Christian in the musical Mutiny in 1985, which he co-wrote.

programme details...

Edition No: 935
Subject No: 911
Broadcast date: Wed 13 Dec 1995
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Tue 5 Dec 1995
Venue: BBC Television Centre
Series: 36
Edition: 15
Code name: County

on the guest list...

The Skating Russian Allstars
Carlotta - partner
Verity - daughter
Danny - son
Maureen - former wife
Tim Rice
Doll - mother
Frank Lampard
Mike Batt
Adam Faith
Kenny Jones
Sara Kestelman
Shaun Scott
David Green
Billy - son
Kit - son
Geoff Hurst
Jeremy Irons
David Puttnam
Paul Nicholas
Elaine Paige
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Peter Hall

production team...

Researcher: Elizabeth Ross
Writer: Roy Bottomley
Director: Brian Klein
Associate Producer: John Graham
Executive Producer: Peter Estall
Producer: Malcolm Morris

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

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Press speculation on the future of This Is Your Life

Screenshots of David Essex This Is Your Life

David Essex recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, A Charmed Life...

On 5 December 1995 the curtain went up on the troublesome portable ice rink that had a habit of melting in rehearsals nearly submerging the skater, and the first-night charity audience clapped enthusiastically. I was dead tired so I watched through a stressed-out haze. All went well, the skaters were brilliant, the ice remained frozen, the reception was tremendous and as the Russians took their final bow, I was ushered with the Russian choreographer on to the stage to take a bow. Apparently this is what ballet folk do - the composer and choreographer take a bow. We walked onto the stage to loud applause, which was followed, oddly, by louder applause and cheers. I looked behind me and was amazed to see Michael Aspel carrying that famous Big Red Book. He walked over to me and said "David Essex –This Is Your Life."

I was dead beat, and, now that the ballet was actually on, really just wanting to go home, but no, it was just like being taken prisoner. I was driven to BBC Television Centre and locked in a dressing-room. Soon a secretive make-up lady came in to stick a bit of make-up on me, then I was led to the studio. It was now about one in the morning. I couldn't believe it – all around the stage area were family and friends, some I hadn’t seen for years.

In the past if the subject of this programme ever came up I always told Mel and Derek that I didn’t want to have my life done, so the prospect of being done was something that I wasn't looking forward to, but actually it was good. I had my fair share of knights of the realm putting in an appearance: Sir Tim Rice, Sir Peter Hall, Sir David Putnam and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. But my favourite bit was a filmed clip of my twins, at the age of seven, running out at Upton Park with the West Ham United football team, doing tricks and scoring goals. Bill went past Rio Ferdinand like he wasn’t there –it was brilliant. At the end of the recording, after many good things had been said about me, England's World Cup hero and West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst let the twins on.

Strangely, a few years later, Bill and Kit would actually play for West Ham’s under elevens, just as I did many years ago. I was so proud when I saw them running out in their West Ham shirts to play an end of season match at Upton Park.

So, this was my life. Perhaps it should have been lives. My mentor and dear friend Derek was too ill to attend the programme, and declined to do a message from his hospital bed. He always had so much dignity.

Within months, dear Derek died.

David Essex recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Over The Moon...

The night of the Albert Hall grand charity gala opening came round far too quickly, and with our monkey-up-a-rope music still in a state of flux, Ian and I got virtually no sleep in the week leading up to it. On the big night my fatigue battled with nerves, not least because the troublesome portable ice rink had lately developed a habit of melting in rehearsals, nearly submerging the skaters.

Thankfully, the ice remained frozen, the skaters were poetry in motion and the score seemed to go down well. A Russian TV crew even compared it to Tchaikovsky. The reception at the end was tremendous and Tatiana and I were ushered out on a red carpet on the rink to take a bow, which is apparently the normal etiquette in ballet circles.

The deafening applause ran its course and then for no obvious reason rose in intensity again, augmented with whooped cheers, which baffled me. I glanced behind me and was perturbed to see TV host Michael Aspel stepping gingerly over the ice towards me carrying a big red book.

I knew what he was going to say before he said it: 'David Essex - This Is Your Life.'

I had always told Derek and Mel that I did not want to be the subject of this programme in the unlikely event that I was ever asked, but my managers had clearly overruled me and now there was nothing I could do about it. The die was cast. Feeling mildly delirious from sleep deprivation, I was whisked to a waiting car and on to BBC Television Centre, where I was locked in a dressing room.

As midnight passed and I sat secluded in this bare cell, the thought occurred that it was not unlike being taken prisoner. My wait ended after a couple of hours when a make-up lady arrived to hide the lines and bags under my eyes and I was led to the studio.

As I walked into the brightly lit room, the experience was akin to my whole life flashing before my eyes in one shifting mosaic. My family and friends were arranged all round the studio, including some people I had not seen for years. I might have always been sceptical about this programme but clearly this was going to be quite a night.

The first people on were my mum, Verity, Dan and Carlotta, which was how it should be. My old West Ham youth team pal Frank Lampard was one of the next guests up. He recalled our kickabouts under Avondale Court and said that he reckoned I could have made it as a professional footballer had rock 'n' roll not come along. I was far from convinced but it was a lovely compliment.

Michael Aspel slickly led the studio audience through my life and career, with Sir David Puttnam appearing on video to reminisce about That’ll Be the Day and Stardust. I got a goodly selection of knights of the realm, with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber praising my performance in Evita. Even good old Sir Peter Hall put in an appearance.

Yet the night's highlight by far was a surprise pice of film footage. Following in their father's footsteps, Kit and Bill had recently joined the West Ham academy, and the This Is Your Life producers had filmed them nutmegging Rio Ferdinand and skinning Frank Lampard Junior before Billy curled the ball around goalie Ludek Miklosko and into the top corner of the net. It was so cool, and I had the world’s broadest beam at the end of the show when Kit and Bill appeared in the studio on the shoulders of World Cup-winning former Hammer Geoff Hurst.

There was one major omission from the show. Derek Bowman, the mentor who had shown such faith in me right from the days when I was the wet-behind-the-ears drummer in an East End pub band called the Evertons, and who had opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities of show business, was not there.

Derek had been spasmodically ill for quite some time, suffering from high blood pressure and a range of other ailments, and was in hospital, where his dignity counselled against sending This Is Your Life a video message from his sickbed. He was not to leave that bed. On 1 June 1995, he died.

Producer Malcolm Morris recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is My Life...

David Essex has the perfect This Is Your Life story, with a hard beginning, perseverance and enormous talent that has taken him across several decades from the sixties right up to 1995.

We knew that he had just written all the music for a two-and-a-half hour ice spectacular based on Beauty and the Beast. He had also starred in many films and played a leading role as Che Guevara in Evita. His was an excellent story, but where could we spring the surprise; he was another person who was not easy to pin down.

Mel Bush was the producer of the show and he told us that David was rehearsing the show with a team of top star Russian ice skaters in Moscow, so did we want to spring the surprise there?

In a flash we were off to Russia for our survey, just to see if it was possible.

After a bleak dark entrance and further cold bureaucracy at Moscow Airport we were finally driven into the centre of Moscow and to our hotel in Red Square. It should have been all very exciting except that I had been to Moscow 25 years before and to e there was a very depressing greyness about the place and the people. This was not helped by the fact that the rehearsals were held in the darkest, bleakest and dirtiest ice rink that I have ever seen.

The team of dancers were young and very exciting, but we just could not shake off the gloom that was surrounding the place. I decided I didn't want to shoot the opening of our programme in such a depressing location.

What about Red Square? We all trooped off to see it. It was mostly covered in a dull green tarpaulin held by endless scaffolding. If possible, it looked worse than the ice rink.

'What about...' The question was never finished because at that moment someone decided to fire a missile at the American Embassy, blasting a hole clean through one of its stone walls. Since the Embassy was only half a mile away at the other end of the square, this did rather disrupt our thoughts at that time. It had cost us many thousands of pounds to survey Moscow but the explosion had made up my mind. Someone is trying to tell us not to do the opening here and I think we should go straight home.

Which is why we found ourselves outside the Albert Hall in December 1995, with Michael about to gate-crash the ice rink at the end of Beauty and the Beast. The Albert Hall is a spectacular looking place and the interior with its ice stage covered by dazzling lights gave it a magical appearance.

David Essex took his bow from the 3000 strong audience at the finale and sang one of his numbers from the production. The young dancers in their fantastic costumes applauded with the audience as Michael came on the stage where a special carpet had been laid down by two dancers to say to David Essex: 'This Is Your Life.'

It was a wonderful evening. I think I'll leave Moscow to the politicians and the green scaffolding.

Series 36 subjects