List of British Jews

The first Jews arrived in Britain with the Romans but it wasn't until the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organized Jewish communities first appeared. These existed until 1290 when the Jewish population was expelled by Edward I. (Hence plays such as The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice were written when England was essentially devoid of Jews.) Jews were readmitted in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell, and emancipation took place in 1858. In the late 19th century there was mass Jewish immigration from anti-semitic Russia, and the 1930s saw an influx of refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth rate, intermarriage and emigration. The current population according to the 2001 Census is around 240,000 (though many experts consider this an underestimate), most of whom live in London. The following is a list of some prominent British Jews.

Musicians

Popular musicians

• Ambrose, bandleader
• Nicole, Natalie Appleton & Melanie Blatt, members of All Saints (Appletons Jewish mother)
• Marc Bolan, member of T. Rex (Jewish father; raised Jewish)
• Elkie Brooks, singer, member of Vinegar Joe
• Ian Broudie, member of The Lightning Seeds
• Johnny Clegg, South African musician (UK-born; Jewish mother)
• Alma Cogan, singer
• Anthony Costa, member of Blue
• Jamie Cullum, jazz pianist of Jewish/Burmese heritage
• Craig David, R&B musician (Jewish maternal grandparent)
• Victor Feldman, jazz musician
• Justine Frischmann, member of Elastica
• Graham Gouldman, Lol Crème & Kevin Godley, members of 10cc
• Mick Green, guitarist for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
• Peter Green, member of Fleetwood Mac
• Terry Hall, member of The Specials
• Mick Hucknall, member of Simply Red (Jewish mother)
• Jason Kay, member of Jamiroquai
• David Knopfler & Mark Knopfler, members of Dire Straits (Jewish father)
• Paul Kossoff, member of Free
• Keith Levene, guitarist of Public Image Ltd.
• Ron Mael, Russell Mael, members of Sparks, (British parents)
• Jon Moss, member of Culture Club
• Manfred Mann, R&B keyboardist
• Oi Va Voi, klezmer/electronica band
• Keith Reid & Matthew Fisher, founding members of Procol Harum
• Gavin Rossdale, member of Bush (Jewish father; raised somewhat Jewish)
• Ronnie Scott, saxophonist & jazz club owner
• Helen Shapiro, singer
• Shlomo, beatboxer
• Derek, Ray & Phil Shulman, members of Gentle Giant
• Nancy Spungen, U.S.-born girlfriend of Sid Vicious
• Rachel Stevens, singer & former member of S Club 7
• Sharon Tandy, singer
• Lewis Taylor, singer/songwirter
• Frankie Vaughan, singer
• John Weider, member of Eric Burdon & the New Animals
• Louise Wener, member of Sleeper
• Amy Winehouse, singer/songwriter
• Eric Woolfson, member of The Alan Parsons Project

Producers/managers

• Don Arden, music-promoter and former Black Sabbath manager
• Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records (Jewish mother)
• Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles
• Harvey Goldsmith, rock impressario
• Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols (Jewish mother; raised Jewish)
• Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records
• Andrew Loog Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones (Jewish mother)
• Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records

Classical musicians

• Norbert Brainin, violinist
• Harriet Cohen, pianist
• Frederic Hymen Cowen, composer
• Solomon Cutner, known as Solomon, pianist
• Jacqueline du Pré, cellist (convert)
• Gerald Finzi, composer
• Benjamin Frankel, composer
• Isidore Godfray, conductor
• George Henschel, singer & conductor
• Myra Hess, pianist
• Steven Isserlis, cellist
• Yehudi Menuhin, Lord Menuhin of Stoke d'Abernon; conductor & violinist (UK-based)
• Benno Moiseiwitsch, pianist
• Yfrah Neaman, violinist & teacher
• Siegmund Nissel, violinist
• Michael Nyman, composer
• Murray Perahia, pianist (UK-based)
• Landon Ronald, conductor & composer
• Peter Schidlof, violist
• Sir Georg Solti, conductor
• Lionel Tertis, cellist
• Benjamin Zander, music director

Songwriters

• Lionel Bart, musicals writer
• Don Black, lyricist
• Eric Maschwitz, lyricist, writer & broadcaster
• David Rose, songwriter & composer
• Jule Styne, songwriter (UK-born)