English actor and singer (born 1958)
Graham Bickley
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Born
| Graham John Bickley
(
1958-05-18
)
18 May 1958
(age 66)
[1]
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Nationality
| British
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Occupation
| Actor
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Years active
| 1978?present
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Television
| Bread
(1989?91)
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Website
| Official site
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Graham John Bickley
(born 18 May 1958) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for playing the role of Joey Boswell in
Bread
from 1989 until 1991, taking over from
Peter Howitt
, who played him from 1986 until 1989.
Early life
[
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]
Bickley was born into a
Welsh
family in Liverpool, England. His father was a primary school deputy headmaster and his mother was a
special needs
teacher. His older sister
Susan Bickley
is an opera singer with the
English National Opera
and the
Welsh National Opera
. Bickley and his sister first began singing in church as children, accompanied by their father on the organ.
[2]
Bickley attended the
Liverpool Blue Coat School
,
[3]
and studied at The Liverpool Theatre School.
[4]
Career
[
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]
Bickley made his
West End theatre
debut in 1981 in
They're Playing Our Song
. He went on to perform in the ensemble cast of the
Pirates of Penzance
in 1982. Since then, he has appeared in West End musicals such as
Jukebox
,
Metropolis
(1989),
Which Witch
(1992),
Maddie
(1997),
The Pajama Game
(Best Actor nomination, Toronto),
Les Miserables
,
Miss Saigon
and
Sunset Boulevard
(playing opposite
Petula Clark
). He played Tateh in the 2003 revival of
Ragtime
and was nominated for the
Laurence Olivier
and The
Whatsonstage Award
for Best Actor in a Musical.
In 1989, Bickley replaced Peter Howitt in the role of Joey Boswell on the BBC sitcom
Bread
. He played the role for three series, appearing in 35 episodes.
[5]
Bickley has also appeared in regional theatre productions, including
Sleuth
,
No Trams to Lime Street
(Best Actor nomination, Manchester), the UK premiere of
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
and the world premiere of
Black Goes With Everything
. His revues include
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
and
It's Better With a Band
.
On the concert platform, Bickley has performed with orchestras throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and South America, including The
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
, The
London Symphony
, The
City of London Sinfonia
, The
National Symphony
, The
Northern Sinfonia
, The
Royal Scottish National
,
The Halle
, The
City of Birmingham Symphony
, The
RTE Concert
, The
Gothenburg Symphony
, The
Iceland Symphony
and The
Sao Paulo Symphony
. With conductor
Carl Davis
, Bickley performed a series of concerts with The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Halle, The City of Birmingham Symphony, the
Bergen Philharmonic
in Norway and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has appeared in concert performances of
Leonard Bernstein
’s
Wonderful Town
playing the role of The Wreck with The
Rotterdam Philharmonic
, and
Guys and Dolls
, playing Nathan Detroit with The
Vienna Konzerthaus
, both conducted by
Wayne Marshall
. Bickley has also appeared in concert arena productions of
Jesus Christ Superstar
and
Evita
.
Bickley has also sung in the studio casts for
Phantom of the Opera
(1995) and
Kiss Me, Kate
(1996).
[6]
Bickley regularly appears with the
BBC Concert Orchestra
. His concerts include
Guys and Dolls
, playing Nathan Detroit,
On The Town
, playing Chip, and a new musical version of
Peter Pan
, all at The
Royal Festival Hall
and recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio. Other live concert performances for BBC Radio include
Bitter Sweet
,
Radio Rhapsody
, and
Big Band Special
with the
BBC Big Band
, and many appearances as guest vocalist on BBC Radio 2’s
Friday Night is Music Night
. In 2000, Bickley made his debut at
the BBC Promenade Concerts
at The
Royal Albert Hall
, performing in
Kurt Weill
’s
Street Scene
and a 70th birthday tribute for
Stephen Sondheim
.
Bickley completed two seasons for
Grange Park Opera
: Billy Crocker in
Cole Porter
’s
Anything Goes
(2002), and Robert Baker in Leonard Bernstein’s
Wonderful Town
(2004).
He was a guest artist for a gala concert in Leeds with
Lesley Garrett
and the
Opera North Orchestra
, and with orchestrator
Martin Koch
, he produced a concert to celebrate the work of
Nelson Riddle
, with The BBC Concert Orchestra and transmitted live on BBC Radio 2.
Throughout 2005?06 Bickley undertook a national tour of Cole Porter’s
High Society
playing the role of C.K. Dexter Haven,
[7]
culminating in a season at The
Shaftesbury Theatre
in the West End.
His concert engagements in 2007 included
Good Thing Going
, a celebration of the music of Stephen Sondheim at
Cadogan Hall
, and
The Best of Broadway
, two concerts at The Royal Albert Hall, both with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
. He also performed in several gala concerts celebrating the music of
Rodgers and Hammerstein
, and was a special guest for
Barbara Cook
's 80th birthday concert at The
London Coliseum
:
Barbara Cook and Friends
.
He is a director of
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane Theatrical Fund
, founded in 1766.
Personal life
[
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]
Bickley has been married to playwright Peggy Riley since 2000.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]