Adam Faith was an English singer, actor and financial journalist. He was born in Acton in West London, and was unaware that his real surname was Nelhams-Wright until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate. He was known as Terry Nelhams in early life.Adam Faith was one of Britain's most significant early pop stars. His first hit "What Do You Want", came in 1959 and hit number one on the UK Singles Chart, and with subsequent songs like "Poor Me" (another chart topper), "Don't That Beat All" and "Someone Else's Baby" he established himself as a serious rival to Cliff Richard in British pop music. His style and looks were in complete contrast to Cliff's, offering a real alternative for the teenage market. Like most contemporary pop singers, he did not write his own material, and much of his early success was attributable to his partnership with John Barry. He gave a credible account of himself on the TV interview series Face to Face with John Freeman in December 1960.Faith's brand of sometimes rather twee pop ("Lonely Pup (In a Christmas Shop)") became less popular through the 1960s in the face of competition from groups like The Beatles, and he began an alternative career as an actor. While still a musician he had appeared in films such as Beat Girl (1961), but now he concentrated on acting in the theatre. In the 1970s he went into music management, notably managing Leo Sayer among others.He appeared in the 1970s television series Budgie, about an ex-convict, but after a car accident as a result of which he almost lost a leg, his career suffered something of a decline. It restarted in 1975 when he landed a major role as the manipulative manager of rock star David Essex in the film 'Stardust'. In the early 1990s, Faith had another hit TV series in Love Hurts co-starring with Zoe Wanamaker.In the 1980s Adam Faith's interests moved from show business to finance, and he became an astute financial investments advisor. In 1986 he was hired as a financial journalist, by the Daily Mail and its sister paper the Mail on Sunday. Adam Faith was declared bankrupt owing a reported £32 million. He had had heart problems since 1986 when he underwent open heart surgery. He became ill after his stage performance in Stoke on Trent on the Friday evening, and died in hospital of a heart attack early on Saturday morning, March 8, 2003.