Edward Tudor-Pole | |
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Cardiff 2013
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Born |
Edward Felix Tudor-Pole 6 December 1955 Lambeth, London, England, UK |
Other names | Eddie Tenpole |
Occupation | Television presenter and actor |
Edward Felix Tudor-Pole (born 6 December 1955) is an English musician, television presenter and actor. Originally gaining fame in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the punk rock band Tenpole Tudor, Tudor-Pole began an acting career following the group's split in 1982. Outside of his music career Tudor-Pole is probably best known in the UK as the presenter of the game show The Crystal Maze from 1993 to 1995 and in the US for his roles as Enaros in the 1997 fantasy film Kull the Conqueror and Mr. Borgin in The Harry Potter film series.
In interview with Phil Singleton, Tudor-Pole explained the history of his unusual name and said that it is "a bit bogus really." His family's original name was Pole, going back to the Norman Conquest. When his great-grandfather did some genealogical research and unearthed a connection to the royal house of Tudor, Tudor was added with the complete surname thereafter becoming "Tudor-Pole".
Tudor-Pole formed the band Tenpole Tudor in 1977, and eventually came to prominence after appearing in the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle as a possible replacement for Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols. He sang "Who Killed Bambi?", "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" and a cover version of "Rock Around the Clock" in the film and on the soundtrack. Tenpole Tudor returned in 1980, signing to Stiff Records and releasing two successful albums, Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary and Let the Four Winds Blow. They had three hit singles, one of them UK Top 10 hit "Swords of a Thousand Men".