George Mileham

George Ernest Thomas Mileham RY (adopted Chinese name: 喬治米勒漢) (September 14, 1939 - May 8, 2008) was a English singer, songwriter, actor, entertainer and social activist who lived a great part of his adult life in Tseng. Nicknamed the Elvis of the South China Sea, Mileham began his career with the band the Assistants, who were famous in Tseng in the 1960s, and he was one of the best-selling performers in Tseng for much of his life, with his songs often topping the local charts, and millions of his records were sold in the Sinosphere alone. He never renounced his English citizenship and always claimed his life-long faithfulness to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, and his songs often reflected his fondness for his homeland. While known as an adult contemporary/yacht rock singer for much of his career, especially in the 70s and 80s, the Tsengge sound used on his 90s albums, such as MILEHAM 108 (1994) and Magik (1996), would revitalize his career. During the 2000s, his albums such as Tornado (2002) turned previously obscure EDM producers such as Kurtiz Xiong, G. Allen, Rickie McGlothin, Tustin Wang and 3.omg into prominent producers/remixers in the Tsengge genre virtually overnight.

Early life and education
George Mileham was born in,. His father was a organist's assistant at, and his mother ran a pastry shop in. He attended. After completing school, he moved to and earned money singing rock 'n roll and skiffle music in pubs.

The Assistants
In 1960, Mileham and schoolmate Sam Webley came together over a mutual love for American rock 'n roll music and formed a cover band named The Rockets (playing mostly covers of, and  classics). A friend, Ian Murnan, joined as a drummer, and -born emigrant Jacob Shi responded to the band's advert in a local guitar store looking for a bassist interested in American rock 'n roll. A year later, the band decided to start playing original songs, and changed their name to "The Assistants". In 1962, the band moved to in an attempt to get a record deal. They recorded "Does She Love Me?" for as a one-off single to see if reaction to it would justify a full contract. Pye did not offer a contract, but later that year The Assistants signed a long-term recording contract with.

The Assistants never achieved musical success in the UK, where their debut album A Day with The Assistants only sold 2,450 copies. However, the album and the band's singles proved to be very popular in East Asia, especially Tseng. In March 1963 Columbia sent The Assistants on a tour of Tseng,, , and. While in Tseng, the band spoke out against oppression, intolerance, civil unrest and poverty. The band performed free shows in poor neighborhoods and orphanages. Mileham learned Mandarin, Hokkien and Hakka, and he and Jacob Shi helped stage the band's concerts and recording sessions. Many of their Tseng-exclusive albums consisted of a mix of original songs from the group and Chinese-language covers of songs by popular American and British recording acts.

In 1972, the band broke up, citing creative differences and familial tensions.

Solo career
In 1967, Mileham appeared in his first film, the western Brothers Under the Sun (陽光下的兄弟), directed by Gaw Weiguo and written by Mileham and Lee Tiamzon. He, Mareks Liepiņš and Gan Mingxia were the leads. A major success at the box office despite the relatively unknown cast aside from Mileham and Mingxia, it led to two sequels, Voyage from El Paso (從埃爾帕索出發的航程) (1970) and Cannonball (炮弹) (1972), also directed by Weiguo.

Mileham's first solo album was the 1972 album George Mileham Sings For The World (喬治米勒漢為世界歌唱). Mileham's band during the 70s comprised Thom Morris (keyboards), Kam Haitao (bass), Hong Baoshan (lead guitar), Chester Xia (rhythm guitar), Jabari Fernandez (saxophone) and Tao Bingwen (drums). Thom Morris was a Englishman, while Fernandez was an African-American. Both were found by Mileham playing in expatriates' clubs and were invited to play in his band.

The most successful film out of all of Mileham's 1970s films was The Nephew (侄子) (1976), directed by Jesse Toh and written by Hom Guoqiang and Chin Zehao.

In 1988, Mileham portrayed the military leader Dr. Richard O'Dell in Cho Sin: An International Mission (Chinese: 長津使命; Italian: Chosin: Una missione internazionale), an international co-production between and Tseng that was shot on location in eastern Tseng's Meihua state. Mileham butted heads with director over the decision to dub him over in post-production, so Mileham flew to  to perform his own over-dubs in English and Italian.

Personal life and death
Mileham died on May 8, 2008 from osteoarthritis-related complications at the Central Hospital, Tseng City.

Solo albums

 * George Mileham Sings For The World (1972)
 * Move Your Body, Everybody! (1974)
 * George Mileham Plays His Favorites (1975)
 * Love for London (1977)
 * Love Songs & Other Ballads (1978)
 * Pennies from Heaven (1980)
 * Tough Kids (1982)
 * Candy (1984)
 * Butterflies & Sunny Skies (1985)
 * The Night Owl (1986)
 * After-School Rock (1988)
 * George Mileham (1990)
 * Dance Magic (1992)
 * MILEHAM 108 (1994)
 * Magik (1996)
 * Hello There (1998)
 * Orion (2000)
 * Tornado (2002)
 * Into the Club (2004)
 * You're Getting Old (2005)
 * Symphonies (2007)