Peter Straker

Peter Straker (born 7 November 1943) is a Jamaican born singer and actor, best known for appearances in Doctor Who (in the 1979 serial Destiny of the Daleks) and the 1985 ITV series Connie. He also had a long-standing professional and personal relationship with Freddie Mercury.He first shot to fame in 1968 when he starred as Hud in the original London production of Hair. Straker has starred in countless West End productions since, including Pete Townsends Tommy, Ken Hills The Original Phantom of the Opera, Hot Stuff, Blues in the Night, The Rocky Horror Show, The Rat Pack, One Love and Holding On; both with Ruby Turner. His classical roles include Cassius in Julius Caesar at Bristol Old Vic, and Lucio in Measure for Measure at the National Theatre.In 1972 he had a minor hit with a song, based on Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring by J.S.Bach & adapted by the song writing duo of Ken Howard & Alan Blaikley, who also produced the 45. It was titled The Spirit is Willing and the record label quotes the artist as Peter Straker - The Hands of Dr. Teleny. Released on RCA it entered the charts on 19 February 1972, had a chart life of 4 weeks & peaked at No.40.Straker also originated the title role of Nosferatu in the British premiere production of Bernard J. Taylors musical at the Eastbourne Hippodrome in 1995.Recently he reprised his role in The Wiz with Birmingham Rep, and starred in The Hackney Empires Cinderella, The Landor Theatres The Glorious Ones and returned to the Edinburgh Festival with a brand new musical show, Peter Strakers Brel which later played at the St James Theatre in London. More recently, Straker has performed in The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, in a concert performance of Piaf with The Matthew Jones Orchestra.He most recently was announced to be returning to the Whos musical Tommy, which began a UK Tour in 2017.

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