To celebrate the Nation's favourite soap turning 40, we take a look back at the 'Enders musical talent over the years. Plenty of the Eastenders stars have wowed us with their singing voices over the last four decades, and we don't mean at the Queen Vic karaoke night!
Who can forget Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) the first Landlady of the Vic. In 1986 Anita Dobson got to #4 in the charts with a sung version of the EE theme written by Simon May (more on him later) with lyrics by the legendary Don Black.
In the same year, the teens of Albert Square decided to form a band called, The Banned, as part of a Battle of the Bands. It featured Ian Beale on drums (yes really!) Sharon Watts and Kelvin Carpenter on vocals and Simon Wicks (Wicksy) on keyboards. After making girls swoon with his version of 'Every Loser Wins' in the show, actor Nick Berry went on to have a number-one hit with the song knocking Queen of Pop - Madonna off the top spot.
Letitia Dean Aka Sharon and Paul Medford (Kelvin Carpenter) also released a song based on her on-screen performance, the funky 80s tune 'Something Outa Nothing' and got to number 12.
Sean Maguire (Adian Brosnan) released his first album in 1994 and had a couple of hit singles including the teenybop song 'Someone To Love' which got to #14 and his biggest hit 'Good Day' which peaked at #12. The bad news is his musical career was short-lived, the good news is he's doing lots of acting stuff these days.
Michelle Gayle (Hattie Tavernier) did have some moderate success as an R&B/pop artist, with the #4 hit 'Sweetness' being the best known. She was also nominated for 3 Brit Awards too.
Martine McCutcheon ( Tiffany Mitchell) had a huge #1 hit with 'Perfect Moment' 1999. The song was pretty theatrical and considering Martine has a love of musicals, this was a perfect song for her. She also released a cover of this Donna Summer disco track.
Shane Richie (Alfie Moon) had a #2 hit with 'I'm Your Man' in 2003 as a Children In Need charity song. He's also released 2 albums. his cheeky chap image was perfect for the role of Danny in Grease. He's not got the best voice in the World, but he's got bags of personality and in the biz that counts for a lot!
Wendy Richards (AKA original Walford matriarch Pauline Fowler) was credited on this song by Mark Sarne, replying to his romantic advances to come outside with 'get lost' and 'you are a one' and other humorous interjections. It got to #1 in 1962.
Eurovision is as much of a Brit fave as the soap opera. In 1991 long before she rolled up on the square as Ronnie Mitchell, Samantha Janus (now Womack) represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 with 'Message To Your Heart' which got to #30. As far as Eurovision songs go, it's not a bad effort, it's catchy, has a serious universal message which although is a bit over gushy it's not nearly as kitch as some of the entries.
David Essex, hearthrob and star of stage and screen , is the most renowned singer to have appeared in Eastenders. He's had 25 top 60 hits, 12 of them have been top 20 - impressive! He also recorded a track with Sam Womack for his 'All the Fun At The Fair' album.
If you are still doubting Walford's finest vocal talent? Check out the Children In Need videos below for performances from Maria Friedman, Johnny Partridge, Shona McGarty and Jessie Wallace!
2023 saw some more of Walford's finest: Emma Barton, Heather Peace, Clair Norris, Matthew Morrison, Angela Wynter and Sid Owen take on a Tamla classic for ITV's Get Britain Singing.
Did you know that current 'Ender's star, Heather Peace (Eve Panesar-Unwin) is a classically trained pianist who released a version of 'The Rose' and recorded a jazz album 'Fairytales' before putting her music career on hold to concentrate on acting. (She also does a terrific version of Rhianna's Ti Amo which you can watch here)
And who remembers Eastenders composer, Simon May's solo hit from 1976?
Anita Dobson wasn't the only one to record the theme tune. In 1993 R and B singer Sharon Benson and Simon May teamed up to give the classic theme a makeover.
The original cast also took part in a good old-fashioned cockney knees-up and released a sing-a-long album.
Comentarios