Stephanie de Sykes
Encyclopedia
Stephanie de Sykes is a British
singer, and was once a girlfriend of Angus Deayton
.
in 1974 with the Simon May
penned "Born With a Smile on My Face" which reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart
. She also recorded the theme tune to the television program
me The Golden Shot
with the group 'Rain' that same year. The theme song, "Golden Day" was written for them by Lynsey De Paul
and Barry Blue
. Around this time, the television company, ATV Midlands
started each day's broadcasting with a short film accompanied by another song performed by Rain with de Sykes singing vocals, "Odyssey" (often incorrectly referred to as "Life is a Beautiful Book"). De Sykes returned to the UK
Top 20 a year later as a solo
artist
with the song
"We'll Find Our Day" from Crossroads, which was featured at Meg Mortimer's wedding in the UK TV soap opera
in 1975. De Sykes appeared in the show as singer 'Holly Brown'. She also had a starring role in the comedy Side by Side.
De Sykes lived with Stuart Slater (born Stuart Leslie James Slater, 14 July 1945, Liverpool
), lead singer of The Mojos
, with whom she had two children. De Sykes and Slater wrote
two UK Eurovision Song Contest
entries, Co-Co
's "The Bad Old Days
" and Prima Donna
's "Love Enough for Two
" in 1978 and 1980
respectively. In 1981, she teamed up with Angus Deayton to record
a parody
of that year's Eurovision winner "Making Your Mind Up
" by Bucks Fizz
. The song "We're Doing A Send Up" by 'Brown Ale' did not make the UK Singles Chart. De Sykes and Slater had one other song in the UK final, "All Around The World" in 1983
, which was performed by Slater, ostensibly as a soloist, but with five musicians, including De Sykes on keyboards
and vocals. The song placed fifth of the eight submissions. Notably, they were introduced by Terry Wogan
in all of the broadcasts as "...the husband and wife team of..."
She was one of the 'Birds of Paris', a combination of backing singers
, used throughout the 1970s to add vocals to a number of disco
groups, and artists. The other members of the Birds of Paris included Madeline Bell
, Joanne Stone, Kay Garner, Sunny Leslie, Sue Glover
, Vicki Brown
and Katie Kissoon
.
She was once a member of Love & Kisses
, a group started by Demis Roussos
' producer Alec R Costandinos. She also sang with the group 'Sphinx' and with 'Voyage'.
De Sykes provided background vocals for Meat Loaf
's 1984 album Bad Attitude
, which included the single
"Nowhere Fast
".
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...
singer, and was once a girlfriend of Angus Deayton
Angus Deayton
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
.
Biography
She attended Brays Grove School in Harlow, Essex; she returned to the school for a final reunion in June 2008 as guest of honour. She had a hitHit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in 1974 with the Simon May
Simon May
Simon May is a British musician and composer, best known for composing some of British television's best known theme tunes, including EastEnders and Howards' Way, and for composing the music for the 1988 film The Dawning....
penned "Born With a Smile on My Face" which reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. She also recorded the theme tune to the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me The Golden Shot
The Golden Shot
The Golden Shot is a British television game show produced by ATV for ITV between 1 July 1967 and 13 April 1975, based on the German TV show Der goldene Schuss. It is most commonly associated with host Bob Monkhouse, though, three other presenters also hosted the show during its lifetime...
with the group 'Rain' that same year. The theme song, "Golden Day" was written for them by Lynsey De Paul
Lynsey De Paul
Lynsey de Paul is an English singer-songwriter. Allmusic journalist, Craig Harris stated, "one of the first successful female singer-songwriters in England, de Paul has had an illustrious career".-Early life:De Paul was born to Meta and Herbert Rubin, a property developer...
and Barry Blue
Barry Blue
Barry Blue is a singer / producer / songwriter from the United Kingdom. He is best known for his hit songs, "Dancin' " , which he co-wrote with Lynsey de Paul, and "Do You Wanna Dance" .At 14 he signed to record producer Norrie Paramor whose erstwhile assistant was one Tim Rice - the producer of...
. Around this time, the television company, ATV Midlands
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
started each day's broadcasting with a short film accompanied by another song performed by Rain with de Sykes singing vocals, "Odyssey" (often incorrectly referred to as "Life is a Beautiful Book"). De Sykes returned to 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...
Top 20 a year later as a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
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....
with the song
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...
"We'll Find Our Day" from Crossroads, which was featured at Meg Mortimer's wedding in the UK TV soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
in 1975. De Sykes appeared in the show as singer 'Holly Brown'. She also had a starring role in the comedy Side by Side.
De Sykes lived with Stuart Slater (born Stuart Leslie James Slater, 14 July 1945, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
), lead singer of The Mojos
The Mojos
The Mojos are a British beat group from the 1960s, best known for their hit UK single, "Everything's Alright". In spite of having one of the best reputations among the Liverpool scene, "Everything's Alright" remained their only major hit, with only two other singles charting low in the UK Singles...
, with whom she had two children. De Sykes and Slater wrote
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...
two UK 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...
entries, Co-Co
Co-Co (band)
Co-Co were a five piece British band who represented the UK for the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, staged at the Palais de Congrès in Paris, France, on 22 April 1978, with the song, "The Bad Old Days". The song was written by the husband and wife team of Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater...
's "The Bad Old Days
The Bad Old Days
"'The Bad Old Days" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in English by Co-Co.The song, written by Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater was an uptempo love song, with the narrator recalling 'the bad old days' before they met their current partner.On the night of the...
" and Prima Donna
Prima Donna (band)
Prima Donna were the United Kingdom representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980. The group comprised sisters Kate Robbins and Jane Robbins, Sally Ann Triplett, Danny Finn, Alan Coates and Lance Aston...
's "Love Enough for Two
Love Enough for Two
"Love Enough for Two" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, performed in English by Prima Donna.The song is uptempo and about the love between two people....
" in 1978 and 1980
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980
The 1980 "A Song For Europe" contest was held on March 26, 1980 , at the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush and hosted by a dinner-suited Terry Wogan. An offscreen orchestra was used, under the charge of John Coleman as conductor...
respectively. In 1981, she teamed up with Angus Deayton to record
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...
a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of that year's Eurovision winner "Making Your Mind Up
Making Your Mind Up
"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and a UK Number-one single...
" by Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
. The song "We're Doing A Send Up" by 'Brown Ale' did not make the UK Singles Chart. De Sykes and Slater had one other song in the UK final, "All Around The World" in 1983
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983
The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 by Sweet Dreams with the song "I'm Never Giving Up". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed sixth at Eurovision, receiving 79 points.-A Song for Europe 1983:The...
, which was performed by Slater, ostensibly as a soloist, but with five musicians, including De Sykes on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and vocals. The song placed fifth of the eight submissions. Notably, they were introduced by Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
in all of the broadcasts as "...the husband and wife team of..."
She was one of the 'Birds of Paris', a combination of backing singers
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, used throughout the 1970s to add vocals to a number of 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...
groups, and artists. The other members of the Birds of Paris included Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell
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.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
, Joanne Stone, Kay Garner, Sunny Leslie, Sue Glover
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...
, Vicki Brown
Vicki Brown (singer)
Vicki Brown was an English pop, rock and contemporary classical singer. She is best known for her membership of both The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways, and as one of the UK's most enduring backing vocalists...
and Katie Kissoon
Mac and Katie Kissoon
Mac and Katie Kissoon is a male / female vocal duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon and Katie Kissoon...
.
She was once a member of Love & Kisses
Love & Kisses
Love & Kisses was a 1970s disco group assembled by European producer Alec Costandinos, with a variety of male/female singers.After collaborating on Cerrone's debut album Love In C Minor , Costandinos assembled Love & Kisses in early 1977, and shortly after the group released their first album,...
, a group started by Demis Roussos
Demis Roussos
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...
' producer Alec R Costandinos. She also sang with the group 'Sphinx' and with 'Voyage'.
De Sykes provided background vocals for Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
's 1984 album Bad Attitude
Bad Attitude (album)
- US version :* Mo Foster — bass * Paul Jacobs — piano, keyboards, backing vocals* Steve Rance — Fairlight programming* Ronnie Asprey — saxophone * Wells Kelly — drums, percussion, backing vocals* Curt Cress — drums...
, which included the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Nowhere Fast
Nowhere Fast
"Nowhere Fast" is a song, first performed by Fire Inc. in 1984 for the rock movie Streets of Fire. A cover of the song was later recorded by Meat Loaf. The song was entirely written by Jim Steinman. Laurie Sargent performed the lead vocals. Holly Sherwood and Rory Dodd performed the background...
".