Lonnie Donegan
| Lonnie Donegan MBE |
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Lonnie Donegan in the 1970s
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony James Donegan |
| Also known as | The King of Skiffle |
| Born |
29 April 1931 Bridgeton, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 3 November 2002 (aged 71) Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, England, UK |
| Genres | Skiffle, traditional pop music, blues, folk, country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, banjo |
| Years active | 1949–2002 |
| Labels | Oriole, Decca, Nixa, Pye, London, Atlantic, Columbia, Parlophone, RCA, Philips, Chrysalis, United Artists, Virgin |
| Associated acts | Tony Donegan Jazz Band Chris Barber's Jazz Band Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Group |
Anthony James Donegan MBE (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the King of Skiffle, who influenced 1960s British pop musicians. The British Hit Singles & Albums lists him as "Britain's most successful and influential recording artist before the Beatles".
He had 31 UK Top 30 single hits, 24 being successive and three at number one. He was the first British male singer with two US Top 10 hits. Donegan received an Ivor Novello lifetime achievement award in 1997 and in 2000 he was made an MBE.
Lonnie Donegan was born Anthony James Donegan in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, on 29 April 1931. He was the son of an Irish mother and a Scots father, a professional violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra. In 1933, he moved with his family to East Ham in East London. Donegan was evacuated to Cheshire to escape the Blitz in the Second World War and attended college in Altrincham.
Donegan married three times. He had two daughters by his first wife, Maureen Tyler (divorced 1962), a son and a daughter by his second wife, Jill Westlake (divorced 1971), and three sons by his third wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1977.
Donegan died on 3 November 2002, aged 71, after a heart attack in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire mid-way through a UK tour and before he was due to perform at a memorial concert for George Harrison with the Rolling Stones. He had had cardiac problems since the 1970s and had several heart attacks.
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