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Revision as of 17:53, 25 August 2009

Greg London
File:GregLondonSm.jpg
Greg London of The Icons in London
SpouseMonika London
Websitegregorylondon.com

Greg London is an American singer, actor, musician, satirist, comedian, song writer, show writer, producer and impressionist. After a solo hit show in London's West End, he is currently performing in Reno, Nevada and enjoying hit singles.

Biography

Early Life

London was born in Northern California to an English mother and an American father. When he was a young boy he moved with his mother to England where he went to school, but they continued to travel back and forth between England and California. As a child he played the trumpet with his grandfather in the Salvation Army’s local brass band, and later played first chair trumpet in the California Youth Symphony. The godson of English trumpeter Ronnie Hunt, whose claims to fame include the Coronation Street signature tune,[1] London taught himself to play several musical instruments, and regularly performs the trumpet, guitar, piano, harmonica and percussion instruments in his shows.

Life in Performance

He performed in theatre and musical comedy in England and America, beginning as a child in Windsor near London, UK, [2] and in his early twenties south of San Francisco he starred as Billy Crocker in Anything Goes with the Civic Light Opera, opposite stage legend Chita Rivera as Evangeline Harcourt. He auditioned for film and television, gaining several small roles during this same time. His first recording release, Alive Again in Santa Cruz (1979), sold a few thousand copies through East Records, Tokyo, Japan.

London formed a band in 1984, playing many hundreds of dates in clubs all over California, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. He began developing his singing voice, and was discovered in Pebble Beach, California by Jack Welch of General Electric,[3] which led to many opportunities to play at varied events in the corporate world.

By the early 1990s he had become known on America’s corporate entertainment circuit, under the name Greg Franks. He developed The Greg Show,[4] a musical impressions-based comedic performance to showcase his talents. In 2001 London was presented with the Spotlight Award for “Entertainer of the Year” for his dynamic performances in the corporate world.[5]

London then recorded Song of America at A&M Studios. This was a CD of old and new American patriotic music, arranged by Grammy Award-winning pianist and arranger Randy Waldman and mixed by another Grammy Award winner, engineer Jeffrey (Woody) Woodruff.[6][7] After this he went on a two-year tour singing for the American troops; his performances received positive reviews,[8] including

"Inspirational, truly great, emotionally charged performance." - Clint Eastwood

In winter 2007 he returned to England with his own show at The Venue in London's West End.[9] The ICONS in London opened to rave reviews by both media[10][11] and audiences[12] alike.

"Greg London has a rare gift for impersonating the pop world's biggest artists. The Icons in London showcases his uncanny vocal talent... This human jukebox could perform an entire gig in any pop persona of his choosing... It's the music that moves and uplifts. London is the polished conduit for it, and the evening is best appreciated for a winter warm up, thank you to America for giving us the soundtracks to our lives." - Daily Telegraph[13]

He appeared and sang in the 2008 movie The Dukes, directed by Robert Davi.[14] Since July 2007 he has been performing at the Sammy Davis Jr Showroom at Harrah's Entertainment in Reno, Nevada.[15] In January 2008 he was named the "Show of the Year" by the entertainment editor of the Sacramento Bee.[16] By the end of 2008 he had become one of Reno's longest-running solo entertainers ever,[17] and his impressionst show ICONS, renamed ICONMAN, was extended for a fourth run.[18] In July 2009 he won Best Entertainer of Nevada in the Nevada Magazine readers poll, and Best Show of Northern Nevada.[19][20]

Hit singles

Greg London's success as a pop music artist began during the 2008 holiday season, when his rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” debuted as the #2 most added track on FMQB’s AC40 Chart and Radio & Records (Billboard) Adult Contemporary chart during the same week.[21] It peaked at #40 on FMQB.

London followed up with a cover of the David Gates song “Everything I Own” (originally a hit for the soft rock group Bread in 1972). The song was in the Top 30 on the Mediabase and R&R airplay charts for eleven weeks, and reached #25 and #26 respectively;[22] it made number 5 on the FMQB AC40 Chart.[23] London's next single released to radio, a cover of the Glenn Shorrock song “Cool Change” (originally a hit for the soft rock group Little River Band in 1979), entered the Top 30 on the Media Base and R&R airplay charts on August 18, 2009[24]

Personal life

London and his family travel extensively around the world and live where ever he is performing.

Discography

Singles

Year Single US Charts
FMQB AC R&R Mediabase
2008 "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" 40 74 92
2009 "Everything I Own" 5 26 25
"Cool Change" 9 31 29

References

  1. ^ Stan Roderick, A tribute by Ron Simmonds, Jazz Professional, 1994
  2. ^ http://www.sacbee.com/travel/story/1676548.html
  3. ^ Pebble Beach, Calif., Singer a Hit on the Corporate Circuit, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, October 27, 1998
  4. ^ http://www.thegregshow.tv
  5. ^ Spotlight Award 2001
  6. ^ http://www.songofamerica.tv/music.html
  7. ^ Song of America
  8. ^ Cohesive compilation creates inspiring album, Sauk Valley, Tim O’Brien (Entertainment Editor) 21 June 2007. Cited at gregorylondon.com
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdDWLCGIZq8
  10. ^ Review of The Icons in London at The British Theatre Guide
  11. ^ More media reviews in London
  12. ^ Audience reviews in London
  13. ^ "This human jukebox is on the button." Daily Telegraph, Jan 17 2007.
  14. ^ The Dukes at IMDb. See also Official movie website
  15. ^ Media reviews in Reno
  16. ^ Hottest must see show in Reno, Show of The Year 2008, Casino Travel News
  17. ^ Jack Neal, Greg London, Reno's new Mr. Entertainment, is back in town and he's better than ever, Nevada Events, April 3, 2009
  18. ^ Harrah's schedule
  19. ^ Greg London "ICONMAN" , Nevada Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-22
  20. ^ Events & Shows Cover Sept/Oct Greg London, Nevada Magazine. Retrieved 2009-08-22
  21. ^ Press release, Reuters, December 5, 2008
  22. ^ Position 25 on USA TODAY airplay charts as compiled by Mediabase, retrieved April 14, 2009
  23. ^ Position 5 on FMQB AC40, updated April 29, 2009, retrieved May 5, 2009
  24. ^ Position 25 on USA TODAY airplay charts as compiled by Mediabase, retrieved August 20, 2009
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