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EspañolKATHY KIRBY
'Kathy Kirby' (born 'Kathleen O'Rourke', 20 October 1940 in Ilford, Essex [1]) was a popular English singer of the 1960s.
Convent educated[2], Kirby's soprano voice became apparent early in life and she was thought to be good enough for opera. She became a professional singer after meeting the bandleader, Ambrose at the Ilford Palais. She remained with Ambrose's band for three years and he remained her manager and mentor until his death in 1971.
She adopted the look of a 'blonde bombshell', and was compared to Marilyn Monroe. Her looks, lip-gloss and her powerful, pitch-perfect voice became her trademarks. She had a string of Top 20 hits between 1963 and 1965, the best known of which is probably her cover version of "Secret Love". That year (1963), she won Top British Female Singer in the New Musical Express poll. [3]
Kirby became one of the biggest stars of the mid 1960s, appearing in the Royal Command Variety Performance and three television series for BBC TV. She represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965, and came second with the song "I Belong". She also sang the theme tune of the BBC television series ''Adam Adamant Lives!''.
Kirby's star faded in the late 1960s. She recorded twelve singles and an album between 1967 and 1973, but did they did not achieve her previous success. She continued to make television appearances, and her 1974 appearance on ''The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'' TV variety show is available to watch on YouTube.
During the 1970s Kirby endured bankruptcy and some health problems, but she made occasional television appearances and performed a few live gigs on the "nostalgia circuit". In December 1983 [4], although only still in her early forties, she retired from show business altogether. She now lives away from the public eye in the Kensington area of London, and shuns publicity.
Her music is now attracting some renewed interest after the publication of a biography in 2005 entitled ''Secrets, Loves and Lip Gloss'' by James Harman, and the launch of an official website. There have been unconfirmed reports of plans to dramatise her life story based on the biography, and for some live performances.[5]
★ List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
★ List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
★ List of performers on Top of the Pops
★ List of artists under the Decca Records label
★ Royal Variety Performance
★ United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965
★ United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
★ Eurovision Song Contest 1965
★ Official website
★ Authorised tribute website
★ Kathy Kirby at 45-rpm.org
★ Kathy Kirby unofficial website
★ Gramophone records listings
| Contents |
| Career |
| Singles |
| See also |
| External links |
Career
Convent educated[2], Kirby's soprano voice became apparent early in life and she was thought to be good enough for opera. She became a professional singer after meeting the bandleader, Ambrose at the Ilford Palais. She remained with Ambrose's band for three years and he remained her manager and mentor until his death in 1971.
She adopted the look of a 'blonde bombshell', and was compared to Marilyn Monroe. Her looks, lip-gloss and her powerful, pitch-perfect voice became her trademarks. She had a string of Top 20 hits between 1963 and 1965, the best known of which is probably her cover version of "Secret Love". That year (1963), she won Top British Female Singer in the New Musical Express poll. [3]
Kirby became one of the biggest stars of the mid 1960s, appearing in the Royal Command Variety Performance and three television series for BBC TV. She represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965, and came second with the song "I Belong". She also sang the theme tune of the BBC television series ''Adam Adamant Lives!''.
Kirby's star faded in the late 1960s. She recorded twelve singles and an album between 1967 and 1973, but did they did not achieve her previous success. She continued to make television appearances, and her 1974 appearance on ''The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'' TV variety show is available to watch on YouTube.
During the 1970s Kirby endured bankruptcy and some health problems, but she made occasional television appearances and performed a few live gigs on the "nostalgia circuit". In December 1983 [4], although only still in her early forties, she retired from show business altogether. She now lives away from the public eye in the Kensington area of London, and shuns publicity.
Her music is now attracting some renewed interest after the publication of a biography in 2005 entitled ''Secrets, Loves and Lip Gloss'' by James Harman, and the launch of an official website. There have been unconfirmed reports of plans to dramatise her life story based on the biography, and for some live performances.[5]
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | ||||||||||
| 1963 | "Dance On" | 11 | ||||||||
| "Secret Love" | 4 | |||||||||
| 1964 | "Let Me Go, Lover!" | 10 | ||||||||
| "You're The One" | 17 | |||||||||
| 1965 | "I Belong" | 36 | ||||||||
See also
★ List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s
★ List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
★ List of performers on Top of the Pops
★ List of artists under the Decca Records label
★ Royal Variety Performance
★ United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965
★ United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
★ Eurovision Song Contest 1965
External links
★ Official website
★ Authorised tribute website
★ Kathy Kirby at 45-rpm.org
★ Kathy Kirby unofficial website
★ Gramophone records listings
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psst.. try this: add to faves
