Adam Faith dies at 62
Actor and pop star Adam Faith died from a heart attack early today, his agent said.
The 62-year-old was staying at a hotel in Stoke-on-Trent in England where he was starring in the
Regent Theatre’s Love and Marriage.
He was taken ill at the hotel after last night’s performance, an ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital.
Doctors fought in vain to resuscitate the actor who has a history of heart trouble, his agent Alan Field said.
Faith, who lived in the village of Tudeley in Kent, leaves a wife, Jackie, and daughter Katya, aged 32.
Mr Field said: “He had a major heart attack and died around 2am.
“He completed last night’s show. In the early hours of this morning he got into difficulties. The emergency services were called and he was taken to hospital. He was in cardiac arrest at the hospital and he never regained consciousness.”
In tribute to the man he considered a good friend as well as his client, Mr Field said: “Terry, or Tel, as we called him was one of the best communicators that I ever knew. It could be a taxi driver in the street or a member of royalty - he was able to communicate with everybody at every level and he was respected and loved by them all.
“He came through in the pioneering days of pop music and he really was a big icon along with Cliff Richard – they were the first wave of the British version of the pop music world.”
Born Terry Nelhams in June 1940 on a council estate in Acton, west London, Faith was the third of five children.
He left school aged 15 to work as a messenger at Rank Screen Services.
In 1956 he and some friends formed a skiffle group called The Worried Men.
The band was playing in Soho in London’s West End when he was spotted by television producer Jack Good who directed the BBC pop show 6-5 Special.
He adopted his stage name, Adam Faith, and went on to have a series of chart hits including number one singles What Do You Want and Poor Me.
During the 1960s, Faith was one of Britain’s top three pop stars alongside Cliff Richard and Billy Fury.
At the same time he launched his acting career, featuring in films Beat Girl and Mix Me A Person.
By 1967, Faith had amassed a small fortune in property and married his long-standing girlfriend, professional dancer Jackie Irving.
In the 70s he starred as the chirpy cockney, just out of prison, in the television series Budgie, written by Keith Waterhouse and now regarded as a classic.
But Faith went into semi-retirement for almost a year after a serious car crash in 1973 when he was seriously injured, almost losing a leg.
He made his come back in 1975 when he played a rock star manager in the film Stardust alongside David Essex.
His music career continued apace with a new album in 1975 called Survive with contributions from Paul McCartney.
Throughout his career, Faith worked alongside stars such as Ringo Starr, Elton John, Brian May, Lonnie Donegan, Roger Daltrey and Jodie Foster.
Faith moved away from the world of show biz in the early 80s when he became a financial investments advisor.
