Our Top 10 David Essex Songs list features the best David Essex songs, including “Rock On,” “Gonna Make You a Star,” “Hold Me Close,” and more. Born David Albert Cook on July 23, 1947, the English actor, singer, and songwriter is better known by his fans as David Essex. He is the same man who earned international success as a recording artist, winning over a flurry of fans in the 1970s. Long before becoming David Essex, the young man grew up in East London, hoping to become a professional soccer player one day. For a while, he played for the West Ham United Juniors’ football team. What North Americans call soccer is what the rest of the world calls football.
Becoming David Essex
In addition to his interest in playing his favorite sport, he also became a music fan. He played drums for a local band before he chose to become a singer. As a teenager, he moved out before making his first record in 1965. He adopted Essex as part of his professional name. As David Essex and the Mood Indigo, he embarked on a two-year tour that saw seven additional singles released during this time.
Adding to Essex’s resume as an entertainer, he also took up acting in 1971. First, it was a small role in Assault as well as in All Coppers Are… This led to a starring role in the stage musical Godspell. After this, he starred in 1973’s That’ll Be the Day. While working on this film, he recorded his big international single, “Rock On.”
Essentially Essex
The 1970s saw David Essex at the height of his career. After “Rock On,” he released a few more hit singles, including the UK’s chart-topping “Gonna Make You a Star” and “Hold Me Close.” These, combined with additional movie roles between 1974’s Stardust and the 1978 Jeff Wayne musical The War of the Worlds, kept the man at the top as a shining superstar.
It also didn’t hurt Essex to have a pop-idol image that could woo female fans like butter. This status stuck with him for a decade, especially among the British fan base, which was just as hysterical about him as it was about The Beatles. This came in handy in 1978 when Essex played the lead character Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita musical.
For Essex, his reign of success wasn’t simply limited to the 1970s. In 1981, he continued to act and sing for a variety of productions. This included the stage performance of Childe Byron in 1981, as well as the stage production of Mutiny! in 1985. Then, starting in 1988, he starred in a British sitcom called The River.
David Essex Legacy
In 1999, David Essex was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He still continues to tour in the U.K., with a major 2026 tour scheduled. As popular as he has become in his home nation, the North American audience isn’t quite as familiar with his work as a world-class actor, singer, and songwriter. As an independent recording artist, David Essex used to release his music through his own label, Lamplight. He has since changed the name to Joseph Webster Ltd., after his first grandchild.
As devoted as Essex has been as a performer, he hasn’t left behind his love of football (soccer), either. In the West Ham United Football Club’s museum, there is a model of David Essex, along with a recording that explains why he supports the team with the level of devotion he has.
David Essex is also a family man with five children. As of September 20, 2010, he’s been married to his third wife, Susan Hallam-Wright. Interestingly enough, she was born the same year his hit single, “Rock On,” came out. The two first met in 2008 while she was at an audition for All the Fun of the Fair, a musical of his own creation he took on the road until 2009.
Essex has released twenty-six studio albums, nineteen compilation albums, and five live albums. While mainstream music in the United States may consider David Essex a one-hit wonder, he has been anything but that. His music has also appeared on five soundtrack albums and eight cast recording albums.
Top 10 David Essex Songs
#10 – Yesterday
In 1976, David Essex covered The Beatles’ classic “Yesterday” for the musical documentary All This and World War II. Although the 1965 classic from Help! remains an impossible Paul McCartney vocal performance to beat, Essex delivered a pretty decent take. It was perfect as a slow number to share the history of the Second World War and what had since become of Britain since then. For music fans that also happen to be history buffs, this version of “Yesterday” is worth it.
#9 – Everlasting Love
David Essex’s cover of “Everlasting Love” appeared on his 1993 album Cover Shot, which became a number three hit on the UK Albums Chart. This incredible love song first became a hit for Robert Knight in 1967. It remains one of the most beloved love songs of all time. So many artists have covered this song, turning it into chart-topping hits. For Essex, his performance of “Everlasting Love” was a synth-heavy gem that certainly did Knight’s original justice.
#8 – Silver Dream Machine
In 1980, David Essex starred in the motorcycle racing movie Silver Dream Racer. Its soundtrack featured “Silver Dream Machine,” which became a number four hit on the UK Singles Chart and a number three hit on the Irish Singles Chart. For Essex, this was a great experience as he was already a motorcyclist. As a reward for his participation in the film, he was given a brand-new 1980 Triumph Bonneville. This electric-start motorcycle was used as part of a contract to advertise on behalf of Triumph’s motorcycle workers’ cooperative. Where the movie itself failed to deliver, “Silver Dream Machine” made up for it as a commercial success.
#7 – Tahiti
In 1983, David Essex was part of the Mutiny! concept album when “Tahiti” was recorded and released as a single. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number eight. On the Irish Singles Chart, it was a number five hit. In the Netherlands, it peaked at number forty-seven.
#6 – Stardust
Written in 1974 by David Essex, “Stardust” became a number seven hit on the UK Singles Chart after its release as a single. This was the theme song behind That’ll Be the Day‘s sequel movie, Stardust, in which Essex starred. In the movie, “Stardust” was not performed the same way as it was on the album. It was faster and grittier than the album version, but it also left out the heartbeat heard on the soundtrack. Both versions of this song have a fan following, but the album version earned greater recognition.
For Essex, playing the character of Jim Maclaine as a successful star who crashes due to adulation and excess was an experience of a lifetime to remember. This was a follow-up to That’ll Be the Day, in which Essex had also starred. According to Essex, the timing of “Stardust” and the movie, as well as That’ll Be the Day, was really close to home. Like his character, Essex was at the height of his career as a star that had it all. He also knew it could fade to dust at a moment’s notice when bad life choices led to unfortunate circumstances.
#5 – Oh What a Circus
Evita began as a 1976 concept album from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice before opening as a stage musical in London in 1978. “Oh What a Circus” was a song from the production that featured David Essex as the singer, and it was released as a single in 1978 via Mercury Records. The song was performed from the point of view of Che, the character Essex played in this original London production. According to Che, the musical’s title character, Eva Perón was living her life as a fraudster. The song shared its melody with the infamous “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”
On the UK Singles Chart, “Oh What a Circus” became a number three hit for Essex. Since then, an impressive roster of recording artists, including Antonio Banderas and Ricky Martin, has recorded it many times. For Essex, “Oh What a Circus” also peaked at number eight on the Irish Singles Chart. In the Netherlands, this became a number twenty hit. It peaked at number twenty-six in Belgium and was a number seventy-two hit in Australia.
#4 – A Winter’s Tale
Released as a single in 1982, “A Winter’s Tale” was later included on the 1983 album The Whisper. This gem of a tune peaked as high as number two on the UK Singles Chart, at number three on the Irish Singles Chart, and at number four in the Netherlands. It was also a number thirty-three hit in Australia. Essex requested the song, and Mike Batt and Tim Rice wrote it near the end of 1982. Batt later described the song as being inspired by a relationship that was difficult because of geographical distance.
#3 – Lamplight
1973’s “Lamplight” peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart after it was released as a single. On the Irish Singles Chart, it peaked at number twenty. In Australia, it was a number fifty-three hit. On the US Billboard Hot 100, “Lamplight” peaked as high as number seventy-one. This was a follow-up single after the immensely successful “Rock On.” Although it didn’t make the same impact among the fan base outside David Essex’s home turf, it’s still among the best songs coming from the man’s incredible talent.
#3 – Hold Me Close
After “Hold Me Close” was released as a single in 1975, it became a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart, as well as a number two hit on Australia’s Kent Music Report. This love song won over more than just fans of Essex’s music. Essex was earning a name for himself as an idol who would lodge arrows into the hearts of the ladies who also adored the man from head to toe.
#2 – Gonna Make You a Star
“Gonna Make You a Star” became the first song from David Essex to become a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart. Released in 1974, it was a synthesizer-heavy song that became a jukebox favorite in dance clubs. The song’s popularity peaked even higher after Lee Mead performed it in 2007, then again on BBC America in 2009. This led to Mead starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the lead character.
Written by Essex, “Gonna Make You a Star” has also become a favorite feature in his jukebox musical, All the Fun of the Fair.
#1 – Rock On
In 1973, “Rock On” became more than just a big hit for David Essex. This became a cult classic that’s been covered many times over by an impressive list of recording artists. On the US Cash Box chart and Canada’s Top Singles chart, “Rock On” peaked at number one. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it became a number five hit and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was a number three hit on the U.K. Singles Chart, as well as a number eight hit in Australia. In Ireland, it peaked at number fifteen.
A 1988 rerecorded version of this song was later remixed by Shep Pettibone. That version became a number ninety-three hit on the same UK Singles Chart. As impressive as that recording was, Michael Damian’s 1989 version turned “Rock On” into a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as again on the US Cash Box and Canada’s Top Singles chart.
“Rock On” was more than just an immortalized song for the ages. This has also become a favorite catchphrase, both as everyday dialogue and in other songs recorded by other artists.
Top 10 David Essex Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
