Curated playlist
Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Jack ScarisbrickHistorian Jack Scarisbrick argued that most English people did not want the Reformation.
- John LennonJohn Lennon was ordered to leave the United States in 1973. His anti-war activities had alarmed President Nixon.
- AdeleA friend posted Adele's three-song class demo on Myspace, and a record label phoned.
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney traded a trumpet for a guitar and wrote his first song on it. His father had given him the trumpet.
- Ed SheeranEd Sheeran bought a thirty-pound guitar two days after hearing Eric Clapton. He was eleven years old.
- M.I.A. (rapper)M.I.A. arrived in London as an eleven-year-old refugee speaking no English. She later became a Grammy and Oscar nominee.
- Mark MillarAt four, Mark Millar drew a spider web on his face with indelible marker.
- George HarrisonGeorge Harrison mortgaged his home to save Monty Python's Life of Brian. EMI Films had pulled its funding in 1978.
- Ringo StarrRingo Starr's first drum was a cotton bobbin used to tap the cabinets by his hospital bed.
- Bonnie TylerBonnie Tyler's trademark rasp began with a scream. In the spring of 1977, the Welsh singer had surgery to remove nodules from her vocal cords. Her doctor ordered six weeks of rest for her voice. One day she lost patience and screamed in…
- Jeremy Black (historian)Historian Jeremy Black wrote a book on Sherlock Holmes and another on Poirot in 2022.
- Paul HollywoodIn 2008, Paul Hollywood made a loaf that was said to be the most expensive bread in Britain. It was an almond and roquefort sourdough. The roquefort came from a French specialist at £15 per kilo, and the flour came from a miller in…
- Emilia ClarkeEmilia Clarke could not say her own name in February 2011. A ruptured brain aneurysm had left her with aphasia.
- Iain Stewart (geologist)Geologist Iain Stewart once let scientists cut the oxygen around him from 20 to 12 percent.
- D. P. Roy ChoudhurySculptor D. P. Roy Choudhury never opened his studios to a public exhibition in his lifetime.
- Harry KaneArsenal's academy released Harry Kane at eight for being "a bit chubby". He became England's top goalscorer.
- Jackie ChanOn the 25th of June 2013, Jackie Chan had to announce that he was still alive. A hoax Facebook page, created a few days earlier, had claimed that he was dead. Several people contacted him to congratulate him on a recent engagement. Soon…
- Cynthia ErivoCynthia Erivo, whose surname is pronounced uh-REE-voh, belongs to a very small group. She has been nominated for an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. She has won every one of them except the Oscar. That set of four honors is known…