Madeline Bell
Encyclopedia
Madeline Bell is an American
soul
singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom
during the 1960s, having arrived from the US
in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.
, and can be found on early Donna Summer material as well. Her first major solo
hit was a cover version
of Dee Dee Warwick
's single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
", which performed better on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
than the original.
Madeline then joined contemporary pop
combo Blue Mink
, with whom she had a number of Top 20 hits with Philips Records
in the UK
, including "Melting Pot", "Our World", "Randy", "Banner Man", "Good Morning Freedom", "Sunday", "By The Devil I Was Tempted" and "Stay With Me". Before joining Blue Mink in late 1969 she sang solo
, and her cover version
of "Picture Me Gone" is still a Northern Soul
favourite today, as is "What Am I Supposed To Do", from 1968, a two-minute B-side
tune
co-written
with future Led Zeppelin
member John Paul Jones
, then working as one of London
's most in-demand session
bassist
s (Bell also sang backup on Joe Cocker's "Bye Bye Blackbird
" in 1969, which featured a guitar solo from another Led Zeppelin member, Jimmy Page
) Jones later arranged, produced and recorded Bell's 1973 RCA album Comin' Atcha. She also contributed to the soundtrack of the romance film A Touch of Class (1973).
Bell has also provided backing vocals
on a number of other artists'
recordings
notably Tom Parker's neo-classical arrangements and in 1975 performed with Sunny and Sue
(originally members of Brotherhood of Man
) at the Eurovision Song Contest
in Stockholm
, Sweden
, providing backing vocals for the German entry "Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein
", performed by Joy Fleming
. She worked with Kiki Dee and Lesley Duncan. In 1976 she sang backing vocals on We Can't Go on Meeting Like This, the second album by the band Hummingbird.
She also joined the French
disco
group Space providing lead vocals on two of their albums. One of the songs she provided lead vocals on was "Save Your Love For Me" from 1978 which charted high in many countries. She also provided backing vocals for another French artist; Cerrone
. Madeline also appears on Giorgio Moroder
's 1979 album, E=MC2.
Since the 1970s, Bell has continued singing solo and also performed in a number of stage shows. She continues to live in Spain
since her husband, drummer
Barry Reeves (once of The Ferris Wheel
) died in February 2010 and regularly tours Europe
singing jazz
and popular
songs. In 1982, she added background vocals to the fantasy film Alicja. She then again teamed up with John Paul Jones in 1985, contributing performances ("Take It or Leave It" and "Here I Am") to the soundtrack album Scream for Help
.
Madeline was the voice behind the 1980s advertising campaign for Brooke Bond D, a brand of tea bag in the UK. The music was composed by Ronnie Bond. She also provided vocals on the jingles of another 1980s advertising campaign, British Gas
' Wonderfuel Gas, which began in 1982.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the 1960s, having arrived from the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.
Career
She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty SpringfieldDusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, and can be found on early Donna Summer material as well. Her first major solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
hit was a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick, she was the sister of Dionne Warwick, niece of Cissy Houston and cousin of Whitney Houston....
's single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song most popularly released as a joint single performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations for the Motown label...
", which performed better on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
than the original.
Madeline then joined contemporary pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
combo Blue Mink
Blue Mink
Blue Mink was a British five-piece pop group, that existed from 1969 to 1974. Over that period they had six Top 20 hit singles in the UK Singles Chart, and released five studio based albums...
, with whom she had a number of Top 20 hits with Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, including "Melting Pot", "Our World", "Randy", "Banner Man", "Good Morning Freedom", "Sunday", "By The Devil I Was Tempted" and "Stay With Me". Before joining Blue Mink in late 1969 she sang solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
, and her cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Picture Me Gone" is still a Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
favourite today, as is "What Am I Supposed To Do", from 1968, a two-minute B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
tune
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
co-written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
with future Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
member John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
, then working as one of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's most in-demand session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
s (Bell also sang backup on Joe Cocker's "Bye Bye Blackbird
Bye Bye Blackbird
"Bye, Bye, Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926.- Song information :...
" in 1969, which featured a guitar solo from another Led Zeppelin member, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
) Jones later arranged, produced and recorded Bell's 1973 RCA album Comin' Atcha. She also contributed to the soundtrack of the romance film A Touch of Class (1973).
Bell has also provided backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on a number of other artists'
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
notably Tom Parker's neo-classical arrangements and in 1975 performed with Sunny and Sue
Sue and Sunny
Sue and Sunny were a vocal duo and session singers operating in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although sisters, their full stage names were Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie...
(originally members of Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
) at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, providing backing vocals for the German entry "Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein
Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein
"Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975, performed primarily in German by Joy Fleming. The song was composed by Rainer Pietsch, who would go on to co-write several of French disco queen Amanda Lear's hits in the late 70s and early 80s, and the...
", performed by Joy Fleming
Joy Fleming
Joy Fleming is a German singer who is probably best-known for her performance in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975...
. She worked with Kiki Dee and Lesley Duncan. In 1976 she sang backing vocals on We Can't Go on Meeting Like This, the second album by the band Hummingbird.
She also joined the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
group Space providing lead vocals on two of their albums. One of the songs she provided lead vocals on was "Save Your Love For Me" from 1978 which charted high in many countries. She also provided backing vocals for another French artist; Cerrone
Cerrone
Marc Cerrone is a French disco drummer, singer-songwriter and record producer.Marc Cerrone has sold over thirty million albums and has often performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people at huge concerts and events such as The 2005 Dance Party Live in Versailles and The 2000 Los Angeles...
. Madeline also appears on Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
's 1979 album, E=MC2.
Since the 1970s, Bell has continued singing solo and also performed in a number of stage shows. She continues to live in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
since her husband, drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Barry Reeves (once of The Ferris Wheel
The Ferris Wheel (band)
The Ferris Wheel were a British rock and soul band, who have been described as "one of England's great lost musical treasures of the mid- to late '60s" and as "one of the most popular club acts" of the time. They released two albums, Can't Break the Habit in 1967 and Ferris Wheel in 1970, the...
) died in February 2010 and regularly tours Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
singing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
songs. In 1982, she added background vocals to the fantasy film Alicja. She then again teamed up with John Paul Jones in 1985, contributing performances ("Take It or Leave It" and "Here I Am") to the soundtrack album Scream for Help
Scream for Help (album)
2000 Compact disc editionSame track listing and order as the vinyl release.- Personnel :* John Paul Jones - Keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar, guitars, backing vocals, producer* Jimmy Page - Electric guitars...
.
Madeline was the voice behind the 1980s advertising campaign for Brooke Bond D, a brand of tea bag in the UK. The music was composed by Ronnie Bond. She also provided vocals on the jingles of another 1980s advertising campaign, British Gas
British Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
' Wonderfuel Gas, which began in 1982.
Solo discography
- Bell's a Poppin' (1967)
- Doin' Things (1968)
- I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (1968)
- Madeline Bell (1971)
- Comin' Atcha (1973)
- This Is One Girl (1976)
- Beat out That Rhythm on a Drum (1998)
- Blessed (2000)