This is a list of noteworthy bands and musicians from the North East of England.
Groups
* 3 Colours Red — Guitarists Chris McCormack and Paul Grant both from Newcastle upon Tyne.
* Angelic Upstarts — Punk band formed in South Shields.
* The Animals — formed in Newcastle, all members born and grew up in the Newcastle area.
* Ant and Dec — television entertainers, released albums under the guise of PJ & Duncan. Born and grew up in Newcastle.
* AOS3 - formed in Sunderland.
* The Arty Clarke Experience - Formed in Amble By The Sea.
* [Bubble project - Sunderland based band
] - Formed in Middlesbrough
* Backworth colliery band - brass band based in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
* Baghdaddies — gypsy/klezmer/balkan brass-heavy party band, big on the festival circuit.
* Clearway — guitarist and songwriter John Cardill was born and grew up in North Shields.
* China Drum — formed in Ovingham.
* The Denvers — Les Denvers on French Polydor Records. Formed in 1960 in Billingham.
* Dire Straits — the Knopfler brothers grew up in Newcastle. Alan Clarke is from Durham.
* Drill — Industrial noise punk band, later moving into electronica. Released albums on the Abstract label in the early 90s. Still going.
* Dubstar — formed in Newcastle.
* Ever Since The Lake Caught Fire - Formed in Newcastle.
* Field Music — formed in Sunderland.
* The Futureheads — formed in Sunderland.
* Hug — formed in Newcastle signed to Kitchenware Records.
* The Handals - Formed in Newcastle.
* Journey South — runners-up in ITV's The X Factor competition, from Middlesbrough.
* Kenickie — formed in Sunderland.
* Leatherface — formed in Sunderland.
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Lighthouse Family — formed in Newcastle.
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Maxïmo Park — formed in Newcastle.
* Munky Punch — ska-punk band, formed in Durham.
* The Motorettes — formed in Tynemouth.
* Neil...Your Bedroom's on Fire - formed in Tynemouth and Blyth
* Prefab Sprout — formed in the Durham area.
* Rachel Unthank and the Winterset
* Silver Sun - formed in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
* Skip Bifferty
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Sleepy People — formed in Newcastle, members later went on to form Ultrasound.
* The SoundEx — formed in Newcastle.
* Spraydog - formed in Chester-le-Street and Newcastle.
* The Toy Dolls — formed in Sunderland.
* The Tygers of Pan Tang — formed in Whitley Bay.
* This Ain't vegas - Post punk influenced band from Sunderland
* Ultrasound — formed by several members of the early 90s Newcastle-based band Sleepy People.
* Venom — formed in Newcastle.
* - Indie rock band, formed in Washington.
* Voorhees — formed in Durham.
* The Wildhearts — formed in Newcastle.
* The Witches of Elswick - formed in Newcastle.
* yourcodenameis:milo — formed in Newcastle.
* — formed and based in Newcastle.
Individuals
* ]- singer. hit single 'Bobby's Girl' born in Consett, Co. Durham.
* Donna Air — one-time pop singer. Born and raised in Newcastle.
* Don Airey — keyboard player with Rainbow, Deep Purple, Cozy Powell and others. Born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Keith Airey — session player and guitarist for Tom Jones. Born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Gem Archer — of Oasis. Was brought up in County Durham.
* Mark Atkinson — drummer with Middlesbrough punk band The Filth
* Owen Brannigan — opera singer, born in Annitsford, near Newcastle.
* Chas Chandler — bass player for The Animals. Also manager of Jimi Hendrix & Slade. Born in Newcastle.
* Michelle Scott-Lee - of the pop band Liberty X. Born in Gateshead.
* Cheryl Cole (neé Tweedy) - member of girl band Girls Aloud. Born in Newcastle.
* David Coverdale — born in Saltburn; educated in Middlesbrough.
* Neville Clay — bard of Longbenton.
* Pete Doherty — of Babyshambles and formerly of The Libertines. Born in Hexham.
* Bryan Ferry — of Roxy Music. Born and grew up in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
* Vin Garbutt - folk singer/songwriter from Middlesborough.
* Paul Gascoigne — football player and one-time pop singer. Born and raised in Gateshead.
* Janick Gers — Iron Maiden guitarist. Born and grew up in Hartlepool.
* Spike Gray — of The Quireboys. Born and raised in the Newcastle area.
* Robson Green — of Robson & Jerome fame. Born in Hexham.
* Toni Halliday — singer with Curve. Born in Sunderland.
* Ronnie Asprey - Alto sax player with Backdoor
* Richard Anthony Hewson — sole member of RAH-Band. Born in Stockton-on-Tees.
* Trevor Horn — producer, songwriter and musician. Born and raised in Durham.
* Eddy Huntington — "Italio Disco" star in the late 1980's. Had top 10 hits across the world - biggest hit USSR. Born and raised in Peterlee.
* Eddie Jobson - multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer. Played with Curved Air, Roxy Music, Jethro Tull et al. Born and raised in Billingham, County Durham.
* Brian Johnson — of Geordie and AC/DC. Born and grew up in Dunston, Gateshead.
* Alex Kapranos — of Franz Ferdinand. Was raised in Sunderland and South Shields.
* Stephen Lawrie — of The Telescopes. Born in Ashington, grew up in East Hartford.
* Jez Lowe — born and raised in County Durham.
* Hank Marvin — born in Newcastle.
* Micky Moody - born and bred in Middlesborough, played in school band with Paul Rodgers
* Jimmy Nail — born and grew up in Newcastle.
* Graeme Nicholls — guitarist in Voorhees, We Be the Echo, Break It Up. Born and raised in Durham.
* Richard Parry — lead singer of Don't Tell Rachel. Born in Middlesbrough.
* Dom P — producer. Released single on Wordplay/Virgin. Produced for Skinnyman, Fallacy and Edo G. Born in North Shields.
* Chris Rea — born and grew up in Middlesbrough.
* Paul Rodgers — of Free, The Firm and Bad Company. Born and grew up in Middlesbrough.
* Martin Stephenson — born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Dave Stewart — of the Eurythmics and The Tourists. Born in Sunderland.
* Sting — born and grew up in Wallsend.
* Andy Taylor — of Duran Duran. Born and grew up in Newcastle.
* Neil Tennant — of The Pet Shop Boys. Born and grew up in North Shields.
* Paul Thompson — Roxy Music's drummer. From Jarrow.
* Kathryn Tickell — born and grew up in Wark.
* Pete Trewavas — of Marillion. Born in Middlesbrough.
* Bruce Welch — grew up in Chester-le-Street.
* Alan White — drummer for 34 years with Yes. Born in Pelton near Chester-le-Street.
(Kev McGuire) singer songwriter with The Candy Ranch brought up in Hartlepool
Groups
* 3 Colours Red — Guitarists Chris McCormack and Paul Grant both from Newcastle upon Tyne.
* Angelic Upstarts — Punk band formed in South Shields.
* The Animals — formed in Newcastle, all members born and grew up in the Newcastle area.
* Ant and Dec — television entertainers, released albums under the guise of PJ & Duncan. Born and grew up in Newcastle.
* AOS3 - formed in Sunderland.
* The Arty Clarke Experience - Formed in Amble By The Sea.
* [Bubble project - Sunderland based band
] - Formed in Middlesbrough
* Backworth colliery band - brass band based in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
* Baghdaddies — gypsy/klezmer/balkan brass-heavy party band, big on the festival circuit.
* Clearway — guitarist and songwriter John Cardill was born and grew up in North Shields.
* China Drum — formed in Ovingham.
* The Denvers — Les Denvers on French Polydor Records. Formed in 1960 in Billingham.
* Dire Straits — the Knopfler brothers grew up in Newcastle. Alan Clarke is from Durham.
* Drill — Industrial noise punk band, later moving into electronica. Released albums on the Abstract label in the early 90s. Still going.
* Dubstar — formed in Newcastle.
* Ever Since The Lake Caught Fire - Formed in Newcastle.
* Field Music — formed in Sunderland.
* The Futureheads — formed in Sunderland.
* Hug — formed in Newcastle signed to Kitchenware Records.
* The Handals - Formed in Newcastle.
* Journey South — runners-up in ITV's The X Factor competition, from Middlesbrough.
* Kenickie — formed in Sunderland.
* Leatherface — formed in Sunderland.
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Lighthouse Family — formed in Newcastle.
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Maxïmo Park — formed in Newcastle.
* Munky Punch — ska-punk band, formed in Durham.
* The Motorettes — formed in Tynemouth.
* Neil...Your Bedroom's on Fire - formed in Tynemouth and Blyth
* Prefab Sprout — formed in the Durham area.
* Rachel Unthank and the Winterset
* Silver Sun - formed in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
* Skip Bifferty
* — formed in Newcastle.
* Sleepy People — formed in Newcastle, members later went on to form Ultrasound.
* The SoundEx — formed in Newcastle.
* Spraydog - formed in Chester-le-Street and Newcastle.
* The Toy Dolls — formed in Sunderland.
* The Tygers of Pan Tang — formed in Whitley Bay.
* This Ain't vegas - Post punk influenced band from Sunderland
* Ultrasound — formed by several members of the early 90s Newcastle-based band Sleepy People.
* Venom — formed in Newcastle.
* - Indie rock band, formed in Washington.
* Voorhees — formed in Durham.
* The Wildhearts — formed in Newcastle.
* The Witches of Elswick - formed in Newcastle.
* yourcodenameis:milo — formed in Newcastle.
* — formed and based in Newcastle.
Individuals
* ]- singer. hit single 'Bobby's Girl' born in Consett, Co. Durham.
* Donna Air — one-time pop singer. Born and raised in Newcastle.
* Don Airey — keyboard player with Rainbow, Deep Purple, Cozy Powell and others. Born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Keith Airey — session player and guitarist for Tom Jones. Born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Gem Archer — of Oasis. Was brought up in County Durham.
* Mark Atkinson — drummer with Middlesbrough punk band The Filth
* Owen Brannigan — opera singer, born in Annitsford, near Newcastle.
* Chas Chandler — bass player for The Animals. Also manager of Jimi Hendrix & Slade. Born in Newcastle.
* Michelle Scott-Lee - of the pop band Liberty X. Born in Gateshead.
* Cheryl Cole (neé Tweedy) - member of girl band Girls Aloud. Born in Newcastle.
* David Coverdale — born in Saltburn; educated in Middlesbrough.
* Neville Clay — bard of Longbenton.
* Pete Doherty — of Babyshambles and formerly of The Libertines. Born in Hexham.
* Bryan Ferry — of Roxy Music. Born and grew up in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
* Vin Garbutt - folk singer/songwriter from Middlesborough.
* Paul Gascoigne — football player and one-time pop singer. Born and raised in Gateshead.
* Janick Gers — Iron Maiden guitarist. Born and grew up in Hartlepool.
* Spike Gray — of The Quireboys. Born and raised in the Newcastle area.
* Robson Green — of Robson & Jerome fame. Born in Hexham.
* Toni Halliday — singer with Curve. Born in Sunderland.
* Ronnie Asprey - Alto sax player with Backdoor
* Richard Anthony Hewson — sole member of RAH-Band. Born in Stockton-on-Tees.
* Trevor Horn — producer, songwriter and musician. Born and raised in Durham.
* Eddy Huntington — "Italio Disco" star in the late 1980's. Had top 10 hits across the world - biggest hit USSR. Born and raised in Peterlee.
* Eddie Jobson - multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer. Played with Curved Air, Roxy Music, Jethro Tull et al. Born and raised in Billingham, County Durham.
* Brian Johnson — of Geordie and AC/DC. Born and grew up in Dunston, Gateshead.
* Alex Kapranos — of Franz Ferdinand. Was raised in Sunderland and South Shields.
* Stephen Lawrie — of The Telescopes. Born in Ashington, grew up in East Hartford.
* Jez Lowe — born and raised in County Durham.
* Hank Marvin — born in Newcastle.
* Micky Moody - born and bred in Middlesborough, played in school band with Paul Rodgers
* Jimmy Nail — born and grew up in Newcastle.
* Graeme Nicholls — guitarist in Voorhees, We Be the Echo, Break It Up. Born and raised in Durham.
* Richard Parry — lead singer of Don't Tell Rachel. Born in Middlesbrough.
* Dom P — producer. Released single on Wordplay/Virgin. Produced for Skinnyman, Fallacy and Edo G. Born in North Shields.
* Chris Rea — born and grew up in Middlesbrough.
* Paul Rodgers — of Free, The Firm and Bad Company. Born and grew up in Middlesbrough.
* Martin Stephenson — born and grew up in Sunderland.
* Dave Stewart — of the Eurythmics and The Tourists. Born in Sunderland.
* Sting — born and grew up in Wallsend.
* Andy Taylor — of Duran Duran. Born and grew up in Newcastle.
* Neil Tennant — of The Pet Shop Boys. Born and grew up in North Shields.
* Paul Thompson — Roxy Music's drummer. From Jarrow.
* Kathryn Tickell — born and grew up in Wark.
* Pete Trewavas — of Marillion. Born in Middlesbrough.
* Bruce Welch — grew up in Chester-le-Street.
* Alan White — drummer for 34 years with Yes. Born in Pelton near Chester-le-Street.
(Kev McGuire) singer songwriter with The Candy Ranch brought up in Hartlepool
Cheetahmen II was a video game produced by Active Enterprises as a sequel to one of the many games on its multi-game cartridge Action 52. It was not sold commercially at first, but finally went on sale in 1997; all 1,500 known copies of the game were located by Sean Roche in a warehouse in 1997; all were reused Action 52 cartridges with some having a small gold sticker reading "Cheetamen II." Thus the cartridge is very hard to come by. ROM images exist on the Internet.
There are three "Cheetahmen" in the game. They are named after figures from Greek mythology – Ares, Apollo and Hercules.
In Cheetahmen II the player assumes the role of one of the three Cheetahmen, and upon defeating an enemy boss at the end of the second level, they switch to the next Cheetahman for the following two levels as in the Action 52 version. Due to a bug it is impossible to gain access to the levels in which one assumes the role of the cheetahman Ares without altering the ROM image or being the lucky recipient of a glitch that very rarely starts the game on these two levels.
Cheetahmen II is famous for its lack of quality; it is reputed by many in the gaming community to be nearly unplayable. It is rumored to have been produced extremely quickly, with no debugging attempted.
Boom in Japan
Cheetahmen series (especially Cheetahmen II) has recently been gaining popularity in Japan since a movie file was posted to NicoNico-Douga, a streaming video website, because of its extraordinarily poor quality and disproportionately cool music. Many users are arranging its BGM for various kinds of music. These postings on the website amounted to more than 100 works within a few days after the first one.
There are three "Cheetahmen" in the game. They are named after figures from Greek mythology – Ares, Apollo and Hercules.
In Cheetahmen II the player assumes the role of one of the three Cheetahmen, and upon defeating an enemy boss at the end of the second level, they switch to the next Cheetahman for the following two levels as in the Action 52 version. Due to a bug it is impossible to gain access to the levels in which one assumes the role of the cheetahman Ares without altering the ROM image or being the lucky recipient of a glitch that very rarely starts the game on these two levels.
Cheetahmen II is famous for its lack of quality; it is reputed by many in the gaming community to be nearly unplayable. It is rumored to have been produced extremely quickly, with no debugging attempted.
Boom in Japan
Cheetahmen series (especially Cheetahmen II) has recently been gaining popularity in Japan since a movie file was posted to NicoNico-Douga, a streaming video website, because of its extraordinarily poor quality and disproportionately cool music. Many users are arranging its BGM for various kinds of music. These postings on the website amounted to more than 100 works within a few days after the first one.
Tom Rabstenek (born in January 17, 1949 in New York, died on May 13, 2005) was a major player in the recording industry in the 1970s. Later he became a driving force in youth soccer in New York. Rabstenek was a graduate of Fordham University and held a Masters Degree in Communications. On August 16, 1970, he married Diane Peterson in St. Kevin's Church (Flushing, NY).
Record Plant
In 1973, he worked as an associate engineer at Record Plant Studios in New York City. Initially he was hired by , who was the director of Remote Recording, to work live concerts on the road in the Wally Heider recording truck. In a short while he moved on to the tenth floor where he became a mastering engineer at The Master Cutting Room (a part of Record Plant) also known as The Cutting Room. There along with the legendary Greg Calbi (later of ), he transferred the master tapes from the studio sessions onto lacquer discs which were then used to produce records on vinyl. Many of the recording artist who were at the Record Plant spent countless hours in that small room with him mastering their discs. Most notably he spend a great deal of time working one on one with John Lennon.
Mastering engineer credits:
*John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band, Walls and Bridges, 1975, Capitol Records.
*Yoko Ono, Feeling the Space, 1973 Rykodisc.
*Three Dog Night, Hard Labor, 1974 .
*Kansas - Song For America, 1974 - Kirschner Records .
*The Chambers Brothers, Unbonded, 1973 Avco Records .
*Rick Derringer, Spring Fever, 1974 Blue Sky.
*Return to Forever featuring Chick Corea, Where I Have Known You, 1974 - Polydor Records .
*Return to Forever, No Mystery, 1975, Polydor Records .
*Lou Christie, Beyond the Blue Horizon, 1973 .
*Raspberries, Starting Over, 1974 Capitol Records, Inc. .
Holography and blinking lights
After leaving Record Plant in 1976, holographic pioneer , who had worked with him at Record Plant Studios in New York, recruited him to work at Sapan Engineering producing and marketing holograms and laser light shows. There he organized a traveling laser light show and hologram show for the Alan Parsons Project through people he knew at Arista Records. He also participated in shooting holograms of Andy Warhol and Pierre Cardin.
In 1978 he started a business with a partner producing red blinking LEDs on pins that were known as "blippers".
Man from Maglite
Soon thereafter he began a profitable and long term relationship with Anthony Maglica of Mag Instruments, Inc. marketing their Maglite flashlights. He became a key man in their marketing efforts. Rabstenek continued at this for the rest of his life.
New York Youth Soccer
To many families in Manhattan, the most important phase of Rabstenek's life came after the birth of his children, Thomas and Christine. When his son was old enough to play soccer, Tom discovered there was no organized group in Manhattan. First he built the West Side Soccer League into a major program that enabled thousands of Manhattan kids to play soccer. He became a founding President of the Manhattan Soccer Club. He also helped spread soccer to Westchester County to the north. He was affiliated with the Westchester Youth Soccer League. There he was League First Vice President, Chairman, as well as a member of the Arbitration, Seedings, and Sportsmanship Committees. Today he is honored for this work as a . Most of the people Tom worked with on soccer never knew of his previous professional credits. The Manhattan Soccer Club has created the Tom Rabstenek Soccer Citizenship Award for an outstanding graduate of their club.
Record Plant
In 1973, he worked as an associate engineer at Record Plant Studios in New York City. Initially he was hired by , who was the director of Remote Recording, to work live concerts on the road in the Wally Heider recording truck. In a short while he moved on to the tenth floor where he became a mastering engineer at The Master Cutting Room (a part of Record Plant) also known as The Cutting Room. There along with the legendary Greg Calbi (later of ), he transferred the master tapes from the studio sessions onto lacquer discs which were then used to produce records on vinyl. Many of the recording artist who were at the Record Plant spent countless hours in that small room with him mastering their discs. Most notably he spend a great deal of time working one on one with John Lennon.
Mastering engineer credits:
*John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band, Walls and Bridges, 1975, Capitol Records.
*Yoko Ono, Feeling the Space, 1973 Rykodisc.
*Three Dog Night, Hard Labor, 1974 .
*Kansas - Song For America, 1974 - Kirschner Records .
*The Chambers Brothers, Unbonded, 1973 Avco Records .
*Rick Derringer, Spring Fever, 1974 Blue Sky.
*Return to Forever featuring Chick Corea, Where I Have Known You, 1974 - Polydor Records .
*Return to Forever, No Mystery, 1975, Polydor Records .
*Lou Christie, Beyond the Blue Horizon, 1973 .
*Raspberries, Starting Over, 1974 Capitol Records, Inc. .
Holography and blinking lights
After leaving Record Plant in 1976, holographic pioneer , who had worked with him at Record Plant Studios in New York, recruited him to work at Sapan Engineering producing and marketing holograms and laser light shows. There he organized a traveling laser light show and hologram show for the Alan Parsons Project through people he knew at Arista Records. He also participated in shooting holograms of Andy Warhol and Pierre Cardin.
In 1978 he started a business with a partner producing red blinking LEDs on pins that were known as "blippers".
Man from Maglite
Soon thereafter he began a profitable and long term relationship with Anthony Maglica of Mag Instruments, Inc. marketing their Maglite flashlights. He became a key man in their marketing efforts. Rabstenek continued at this for the rest of his life.
New York Youth Soccer
To many families in Manhattan, the most important phase of Rabstenek's life came after the birth of his children, Thomas and Christine. When his son was old enough to play soccer, Tom discovered there was no organized group in Manhattan. First he built the West Side Soccer League into a major program that enabled thousands of Manhattan kids to play soccer. He became a founding President of the Manhattan Soccer Club. He also helped spread soccer to Westchester County to the north. He was affiliated with the Westchester Youth Soccer League. There he was League First Vice President, Chairman, as well as a member of the Arbitration, Seedings, and Sportsmanship Committees. Today he is honored for this work as a . Most of the people Tom worked with on soccer never knew of his previous professional credits. The Manhattan Soccer Club has created the Tom Rabstenek Soccer Citizenship Award for an outstanding graduate of their club.
This article provides a selection of instances where Balliol College, Oxford appears in fiction.
*Dorothy L. Sayers attributes a Balliol undergraduateship to her fictional character, Lord Peter Wimsey where he obtained a "double first" in history. Lord Peter's physical appearance is said to have been modelled on that of Roy Ridley.
*In Yes Minister, Sir Humphrey Appleby, the wily civil servant, went to Balliol (renamed Baillie in the television programme) from where he got an MA. He went on to join the Civil Service. Having served in the War Office and seconded to the Scottish Office, he joined the Department for Administrative Affairs, eventually becoming Permanent Secretary. When Sir Arnold retired, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary. He went on to become Master of Balliol College when he retired from the Service. Sir Arnold Robinson, also a Balliol man, was Sir Humphrey's predecessor as Cabinet Secretary. After stepping down as Cabinet Secretary, he joined the Campaign for Freedom of Information, to ensure that that freedom was not abused. In a number of episodes Sir Humphrey appears wearing the striped Balliol tie.
*“I know I'd sooner win two School-house matches running than get the Balliol scholarship any day." (Frantic cheers.). Pater Brook extolling the virtues of fellowship and teamwork in Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days (1857).
*In ', one of the Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, Balliol College is a ship captained by John Charity Spring. Although an Oriel man, Spring so named the ship because he "hate(d) the B----y place!" where his father and brothers had gone.
*In Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, Jude Fawley, who dreams of studying for a university degree at Christminster (Oxford), is rejected by Biblioll college (Balliol).
* In Novel Notes by Jerome K. Jerome the boundary between fiction and reality is indistinct:
:"He was a Balliol man," said MacShaughnassy, "and his Christian name was Joseph. He was a member of the 'Devonshire' at the time I knew him, and was, I think, the most superior person I have ever met. He sneered at the Saturday Review as the pet journal of the suburban literary club; and at the Athenaeum as the trade organ of the unsuccessful writer. Thackeray, he considered, was fairly entitled to his position of favourite author to the cultured clerk; and Carlyle he regarded as the exponent of the earnest artisan. Living authors he never read, but this did not prevent his criticising them contemptuously. The only inhabitants of the nineteenth century that he ever praised were a few obscure French novelists, of whom nobody but himself had ever heard. He had his own opinion about God Almighty, and objected to Heaven on account of the strong Clapham contingent likely to be found in residence there. Humour made him sad, and sentiment made him ill. Art irritated him and science bored him. He despised his own family and disliked everybody else. For exercise he yawned, and his conversation was mainly confined to an occasional shrug.
:"Nobody liked him, but everybody respected him. One felt grateful to him for his condescension in living at all.
*Herman Charles Merivale, himself a Balliol man, wrote a novel called Faucit of Balliol (1882).
*In The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, one of the main characters, James Dunworthy, is a professor and tutor at Balliol College.
*In Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan the protagonist, Father David Anderton, is educated at Ampleforth College and Balliol College.
*In Barchester Towers, Mr. Arabin had been entered as a commoner at Balliol, but failed to become a fellow. Arabin subsequently became a fellow at the fictional Lazarus College in Oxford.
*In The God of Small Things, Chacko, father of Sophie Mol and beloved uncle of Rahel and Estha, goes away from Kerala to study at Balliol. "Then Chacko came home for a summer vacation from Oxford. He had grown to be a big man, and was, in those days, strong from rowing for Balliol" (page 47). After the book's final tragedy, "The God of Small Things died, he returned to Ayemenem with his Bharat bottle-sealing machine, his Balliol oar and his broken heart" (page 236).
*In Stalky & Co., Stalky questions Kipling alter ego Beetle about his poems lambasting the master King. ""Dunno," said Beetle, struggling out of the skirt. "There was one about his hunting for popularity with the small boys, and the other one was one about him in hell, tellin' the Devil he was a Balliol man. I swear both of 'em rhymed all right.""
*Charters, a character in The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich, mentions that he and Dickie Randall were both Balliol men (in the latter film).
*In novel The Devil In Amber, the villain, Olympus Mons is described as, "Yankee-born, Balliol-educated. Anglophile..."
*Dorothy L. Sayers attributes a Balliol undergraduateship to her fictional character, Lord Peter Wimsey where he obtained a "double first" in history. Lord Peter's physical appearance is said to have been modelled on that of Roy Ridley.
*In Yes Minister, Sir Humphrey Appleby, the wily civil servant, went to Balliol (renamed Baillie in the television programme) from where he got an MA. He went on to join the Civil Service. Having served in the War Office and seconded to the Scottish Office, he joined the Department for Administrative Affairs, eventually becoming Permanent Secretary. When Sir Arnold retired, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary. He went on to become Master of Balliol College when he retired from the Service. Sir Arnold Robinson, also a Balliol man, was Sir Humphrey's predecessor as Cabinet Secretary. After stepping down as Cabinet Secretary, he joined the Campaign for Freedom of Information, to ensure that that freedom was not abused. In a number of episodes Sir Humphrey appears wearing the striped Balliol tie.
*“I know I'd sooner win two School-house matches running than get the Balliol scholarship any day." (Frantic cheers.). Pater Brook extolling the virtues of fellowship and teamwork in Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days (1857).
*In ', one of the Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, Balliol College is a ship captained by John Charity Spring. Although an Oriel man, Spring so named the ship because he "hate(d) the B----y place!" where his father and brothers had gone.
*In Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, Jude Fawley, who dreams of studying for a university degree at Christminster (Oxford), is rejected by Biblioll college (Balliol).
* In Novel Notes by Jerome K. Jerome the boundary between fiction and reality is indistinct:
:"He was a Balliol man," said MacShaughnassy, "and his Christian name was Joseph. He was a member of the 'Devonshire' at the time I knew him, and was, I think, the most superior person I have ever met. He sneered at the Saturday Review as the pet journal of the suburban literary club; and at the Athenaeum as the trade organ of the unsuccessful writer. Thackeray, he considered, was fairly entitled to his position of favourite author to the cultured clerk; and Carlyle he regarded as the exponent of the earnest artisan. Living authors he never read, but this did not prevent his criticising them contemptuously. The only inhabitants of the nineteenth century that he ever praised were a few obscure French novelists, of whom nobody but himself had ever heard. He had his own opinion about God Almighty, and objected to Heaven on account of the strong Clapham contingent likely to be found in residence there. Humour made him sad, and sentiment made him ill. Art irritated him and science bored him. He despised his own family and disliked everybody else. For exercise he yawned, and his conversation was mainly confined to an occasional shrug.
:"Nobody liked him, but everybody respected him. One felt grateful to him for his condescension in living at all.
*Herman Charles Merivale, himself a Balliol man, wrote a novel called Faucit of Balliol (1882).
*In The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, one of the main characters, James Dunworthy, is a professor and tutor at Balliol College.
*In Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan the protagonist, Father David Anderton, is educated at Ampleforth College and Balliol College.
*In Barchester Towers, Mr. Arabin had been entered as a commoner at Balliol, but failed to become a fellow. Arabin subsequently became a fellow at the fictional Lazarus College in Oxford.
*In The God of Small Things, Chacko, father of Sophie Mol and beloved uncle of Rahel and Estha, goes away from Kerala to study at Balliol. "Then Chacko came home for a summer vacation from Oxford. He had grown to be a big man, and was, in those days, strong from rowing for Balliol" (page 47). After the book's final tragedy, "The God of Small Things died, he returned to Ayemenem with his Bharat bottle-sealing machine, his Balliol oar and his broken heart" (page 236).
*In Stalky & Co., Stalky questions Kipling alter ego Beetle about his poems lambasting the master King. ""Dunno," said Beetle, struggling out of the skirt. "There was one about his hunting for popularity with the small boys, and the other one was one about him in hell, tellin' the Devil he was a Balliol man. I swear both of 'em rhymed all right.""
*Charters, a character in The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich, mentions that he and Dickie Randall were both Balliol men (in the latter film).
*In novel The Devil In Amber, the villain, Olympus Mons is described as, "Yankee-born, Balliol-educated. Anglophile..."