He gave many premiere performances of works by composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Hans Werner Henze, Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett, and Andrew Ford, often under their own direction.

He also performed in concerts in America, as well as in cities like Brussels, Rome, Cologne, Stockholm, Lisbon, Amsterdam or Rio de Janeiro.

In 1952 he sang Boyce's The Heavens Declare and Purcell's Bell Anthem, besides Thomas Tallis's Mode III Hymn Tune, in St Sepulchre's, London, with the Deller Consort.

[1][3] From 1961 to 1977, he sang 26 times in the BBC Proms, his debut being Britten's Les Illuminations under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent.

[3] He performed alongside Forbes Robinson and April Cantelo in Der Barbier von Bagdad, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1965.

[8] English received good notices for his interpretations in works by contemporary composers such as Tippett,[1][6] Richard Rodney Bennett (who had requested him for the title role in The Ledge),[1] Stravinsky,[6] Luigi Dallapiccola, and Henze.

[1][6] He appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival 1962–1964 (where he sang in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea),[1][4] and in 1963 at the Grand Opéra Paris (as Andres in Alban Berg's Wozzeck).

[1] English sang Leoš Janáček's song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared as part of the 1992 Melbourne International Festival,[1][6] and in the same year premiered Andrew Ford's Harbour with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

[3] The composers who contributed included; Tony Bremner, Roger Smalley, Richard David Hames, Gordon Kerry, Nigel Butterley, Wilfrid Mellers, Stephen Cronin, Andrew Ford,[6] Michael Finnissy, George Tibbits, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards and Martin Wesley-Smith.

[1][2] Premiere performances include Benjamin Britten's Nocturne with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé Orchestra,[6] Henze's We Come to the River directed by the composer at Covent Garden,[1][6] Dallapicolla's Ulisse conducted by the composer in Rome, and Luciano Berio's Opera for the Florence Festival.

[1][6] The one-man music-theatre piece Night and Dreams: the death of Sigmund Freud was commissioned by the 2000 Adelaide Festival, when he was 74 years old.

Other composers he recorded include Andrew Ford,[6] Peggy Glanville-Hicks,[6] Vaughan Williams (The Pilgrim's Progress),[4] Henry Purcell (Te Deum),[4] John Dowland,[4] and Robert Schumann.