It’s not just professional musicians who master the guitar, piano or clarinet. Here are just a few famous faces who have a secret talent for playing music…
1. James Corden, Cornet
The Gavin and Stacey star played the cornet in The Salvation Army band in his younger days, although he admits that his playing wasn’t very good. He famously had an impromptu jamming session on The Rob Brydon Show, with Mark Ronson on the stylophone and host Brydon playing the kazoo.
2. Robert Pattison, Guitar, Vocals + Piano
Pattison didn’t just provide the film Twilight with its smoldering leading man, he also co-wrote and sang two of the songs for its soundtrack: Never Think and Let Me Sign. Having mastered both the guitar and piano, Pattison famously said “music is my back-up plan if acting fails”.
3. Tony Blair, Guitar
When he wasn’t busy running the country as Prime Minister, Blair was jamming on his guitar, which he played in the band Ugly Rumours during his student days at Oxford University.
4. Cat Deeley, Clarinet
When a successful presenting career was just a pipe dream, a teenage Deeley was accomplished on the clarinet, which she played in Sandwell Youth Concert Band. Appearing on a TV chat show several years later, Deeley was presented with a clarinet and gave an impressive live performance.
5. Professor Brian Cox, Keyboard
Several decades before presenting his popular BBC science programmes, the professor was a big hit on Top of the Pops, playing the keyboards with popular 90s band D-Ream.
6. Emily Blunt, Cello
The acclaimed British actress, who has starred alongside the likes of Tom Cruise, Matt Damon and Jason Segal, is also Grade 8 on the cello, which she learned to play at school. She was able to showcase her musical talents in the film My Summer of Love in which her character, Tamsin, is also a cellist.
7. Albert Einstein, Violin
Another famous scientist with a passion for music, Einstein’s mother was a pianist and encouraged a reluctant Einstein to learn the violin, which he eventually grew to love and played for the rest of his life.
8. Ewan McGregor, French Horn
The Scottish actor recently paid tribute to his music teacher George Annan, who taught him to play the French horn in his home town in Perthshire. Before he found fame, a young McGregor made his television debut playing the instrument on Scottish TV show A Touch of Music.
9. Melanie Sykes, Baritone Horn
There’s more to this daytime TV presenter and pin-up girl than meets the eye. In her youth Sykes played baritone horn with the Ashtonian Brass Band, which her parents and two sisters were also members of.
10. Anthony Hopkins, Piano + Composition
In 2012, The Silence of the Lambs star released an classical music album called Composer, which was performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He also learned to play the piano as a child, mastering Beethoven and Chopin by the time he was 10.
Also published on Medium.