Greg London

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greg London

Greg London of The Icons in London
Background information
Birth location: Northern California, USA
Official site: thegregshow.tv
Spouse(s): Monika London

Greg London is an American singer, actor, musician and impressionist.

[edit] Biography

London was born into modest means in Northern California to an English mother and an American father. They moved to England when he was a young boy where he went to school, but they continued to travel back and forth between England and California. As a child he played the trumpet in his grandfather’s band, and later played first chair trumpet in the California Youth Symphony. He taught himself to play several musical instruments, and regularly performs the trumpet, guitar, piano, harmonica and percussion instruments in his shows.

He performed in theatre and musical comedy in England and America, beginning as a child in Windsor near London, UK, and in his early twenties south of San Francisco he starred opposite stage legend Chita Rivera with the Civic Light Opera. He auditioned for film and television, gaining several small roles during this same time. His first recording release, Alive Again in Santa Cruz 1979 has sold thousands of units 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,[1] 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,[2] 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.[3]

London then recorded Song of America,[4] a CD of American patriotic music, both old and new, and went on a two-year tour singing for the American troops. His performances received positive reviews, 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. The ICONS in London opened to rave reviews by both media[5][6] and audiences[7] 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[8]

London and his family have traveled extensively. He appeared in the 2007 movie The Dukes, directed by Robert Davi .[9] Since July 2007 he has been performing at the Sammy Davis Jr Showroom at Harrah's Entertainment in Reno, Nevada.[10]. In January 2008 he received the "Show of the Year" Award from the entertainment editor of The Sacramento Bee.

He lives with his accountant wife, Monika London, who is his business manager, and their children Jessika and Jason.

[edit] References