David Essex

Essex has nevertheless continued to act and sing and enjoys a large fan base in the UK. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. However, by the time of his West End musical flop, Mutiny, based on the Mutiny on the Bounty story, in 1985, his appeal was on the wane. In 1988, "Indestructible" became their last charting single. In 1978, Essex was Che Guevara in the original production of Evita, and in the same year appeared in the film Silver Dream Racer, all the while continuing his successful singing career. Unusually, the Four Tops enjoyed a renaissance in 1981, with "When She Was My Girl". A number one hit and a follow-up film turned him into one of the UK's biggest stars. The hits continued througout the 1960s and early 1970s, including 1973's "Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got", but had essentially ended with "Catfish" (1976).

It took a couple of years for his career to take off, which it did with his appearance in the film, That'll Be The Day (1973) and a major hit, "Rock On" (which he wrote himself), in the same year. Perhaps their most well-remembered song is 1966's "Reach Out, I'll Be There". His big break came when he was selected to play the lead in the musical Godspell in 1971. This was followed by a series of massively successful songs, including the number 1 hit "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honeybunch)", "Something About You", "Standing In The Shadows of Love", "Bernadette", and "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever". Born in London, real name David Cook, he failed in his first attempt at stardom. Later that year their follow-up record, "Without The One You Love," barely made the charts. David Essex (born July 23, 1947) is a British actor and singer who has enjoyed a varied career. In 1964, The Four Tops released their first hit, "Baby I Need Your Loving," a top ten record.

After brief, unsuccessful periods with Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records, the Four Tops signed with Motown. They changed their names to The Four Tops to avoid confusion with The Ames Brothers. Payton had a cousin named Roquel Davis, a songwriter and occasional singer, who helped the group sign to Chess Records in 1956. Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir met Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton in 1953 and began calling themselves The Four Aims.

Their sound was unique for having a deep-voiced lead singer, Levi Stubbs -- most groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. The Four Tops are an American musical group, who helped define the Motown sound of the 1960's.