David Essex OBE, was born David Albert Cook, in Plaistow, County Borough of West Ham within Essex. This area officially became part of Greater London in 1965. He is an English actor and singer, who has enjoyed a varied show business career. His father was an East End dock worker and his mother was a self-taught pianist and the daughter of Irish Travellers.

Essex was two years old when his parents moved out of the overcrowded home the family was sharing with relatives, to Canning Town, County Borough of West Ham (now Greater London), where he grew up. He attended Star Lane Primary School, and he loved playing football. He was a member of West Ham United Juniors for a while and dreamed of one day being a professional player.

David Essex's first notable acting role was the lead in the stage musical, Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23. Two years later, he starred in the film That'll Be The Day (1973) and recorded a major hit single, "Rock On" (which he wrote himself), in the same year. A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the British Top 10.

In the 1970s, Essex emerged as one of the UK's top performers. His biggest hits during this decade included two Number One singles: "Gonna Make You a Star" (1974), a satirical look at his success; and "Hold Me Close" (1975), a cheerful singalong. He also appeared in Stardust, a 1974 sequel to That'll Be The Day; the title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the Beatles song, “Yesterday”, for the musical documentary All This and World War II.

Essex's pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade.

In 1978, he appeared on Jeff Wayne's concept album, a musical version of The War of the Worlds, as the Artilleryman. The two-record set remains a bestseller.

In the same year, Essex played the character Che, loosely based on Che Guevara, in the original production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita, and his recording of the show's "Oh What a Circus" reached Number 3. Two years later, he starred in the film Silver Dream Racer; and the soundtrack song "Silver Dream Machine" was yet another Top 10 hit in the UK singles chart.

In 1985, he co-wrote and starred as Fletcher Christian in the West End musical Mutiny!, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The score produced two more hit singles, including "Tahiti," his tenth Top 10 success.

Essex has continued to perform in all areas of show business, to varying degrees of success. A 1988 sitcom, "The River", achieved good ratings. In 1991, a compilation entitled His Greatest Hits reached Number 13; a 1993 album, Cover Shot, peaked at Number 3. His autobiography, A Charmed Life, was published in 2002, and became a bestseller.