About Gary Shail
Born 1959. Gary Shail is a British actor, composer and television actor.
Gary Shail (born 10 November 1959) is an English actor, director, producer and musician.
Career Gary Shail began work in TV and film in 1977 and is best known for his roles as Spider in the 1979 film Quadrophenia and as Steve, the punky teenager in The Metal Mickey TV Show, he is also known as the "young walking boy" in an alternate version of the video clip True, by Spandau Ballet.
Shail appeared in the 1980 series The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist, portrayed Oscar Drill in Shock Treatment, the 1981 follow-up to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and portrayed Guy Raines in the 1983 BBC production Johnny Jarvis. He wrote the original songs and theme music for this production, for which he received a nomination for the Ivor Novello Awards. In 1988 Shail appeared as the pimp "Billy White" in the TV mini-series of Jack the Ripper, starring Michael Caine. He has made appearances in the TV series The Bill, Casualty, and The Professionals.
In 1995, Shail began working with music production company Natural Sound Source in London, producing music for television, film, and advertising. In 2004, he produced the Arabic fusion album Infinity in Dubai.
In 2010, Shail was back in the recording studio working on his autobiographical self-penned album Daze Like This. A collection of new songs interspersed with some re-workings of some Johnny Jarvis themes.
In October 2015, Shail's memoir I Think I'm On The Guest List was published.
In 2016, Shail returned to acting with a cameo role in the film Stranger, where he was cast as a psychopathic cowboy. In 2019 Shail starred in the film 'To be someone' which also featured many of the original cast of Quadrophenia. Gary Shail now lives in Dorset where he continues to compose and produce music in his own residential recording studio.
Filmography Selected films include: Quadrophenia (1979) - Spider The Music Machine (1979) - Aldo Shock Treatment (1981) - Oscar Drill Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) - Apache Dancer The Bride (1985) - First Circus Hand Jack the Ripper (1988) - Pimp Jekyll & Hyde (1990) - Sailor Day of the Stranger (2020) - Loomweather
TV: The Professionals (1980) Episode "Take Away" - Jimmy Metal Mickey (1980–1983) - Steve
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Important facts
People in Gary Shail's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Gary Shail's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Gary Shail?
actor
When was Gary Shail born?
Gary Shail was born on 10 November 1959.
What is Gary Shail's occupation?
Gary Shail is an actor, composer and television actor.
What nationality is Gary Shail?
Gary Shail is British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Gary Shail. https://biography.guide/gary-shail/
MLA: "Gary Shail." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/gary-shail/.
Chicago: "Gary Shail." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/gary-shail/.
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