The Vernons Girls
Encyclopedia
The Vernons Girls were an English
musical ensemble
of female vocalists
. They were formed at the Vernons football pools
company in the 1950s in Liverpool
, settling down to a sixteen strong choir
and recorded
an album
of standard
s.
show
Oh Boy! with the house band
between 1958-1959, and made a series of relatively unsuccessful singles
for labels
Parlophone
between 1958-1961. Their 1958 LP released on Parlophone was arranged and conducted by Peter Knight
, with sleeve notes by Eamonn Andrews
. This record is significantly different from their later pop hits, featuring such fifties standards as "We'll Gather Lilacs", "Lonely Ballerina", and the "Cuckoo In the Clock".
Led by Maureen Kennedy, from 1961 the group reduced their membership to between three and five members,, and by 1962 had signed to Decca Records
where they recorded covers
of American
hits
. Their cover of The Drifters
' "Lover Please" and "You Know What I Mean" were both hits; the latter was also originally the 'b' side of "Lover Please". In the U.S.
the group charted with the first Beatles
tribute album
there, We Love The Beatles. As The Carefrees, they also charted with "We Love You Beatles", and made an album only available in the United States.
As session singers
for Decca, the Vernons Girls were the female backing voices on many hit single
s during the 1960s - one of the first being Billy Fury
's "Maybe Tomorrow". The trio
of Jean Owen, Frances Lea, and Maureen Kennedy also appeared on film
in the 1964 TV special Around The Beatles
with The Beatles
plus Long John Baldry
, P. J. Proby
and Millie Small
, in the Billy Fury film, Play It Cool, and in Just For Fun; ex-member Vicky Haseman
also appeared in this, with her group, The Breakaways.
However, by 1964, their chart successes had halted and they disbanded.
ventures:
Lyn Cornell married
session
drummer
Andy White
, (notable for replacing Ringo Starr
on an early take of "Love Me Do
"), and became a successful solo performer; having a chart
hit with the title song to the film "Never On Sunday" in 1960 - and later becoming one of The Pearls
.
Vicky Haseman formed The Breakaways, and married Joe Brown. Their daughter Sam Brown is a well-known singer in her own right.
Baker married Marty Wilde
- they formed a trio
with Justin Hayward
called the 'Wilde Three', and were the parents of singer Kim Wilde
.
Jean Owen had solo success under the name Samantha Jones
.
Other members of the group banded together in various combinations as duets and singing trios; these include the 'Redmond Twins', 'The Pearls', the 'Two Tones' and the 'DeLaine Sisters'. The 'DeLaine Sisters' had a minor hit in Great Britain with the Goffin
& King
song "It Might As Well Rain Until September
".
The longest surviving and best known of the groups, The Ladybirds
, was formed by Maggie Stredder with Gloria George. The Ladybirds are best known for their long association with The Benny Hill Show
, and for performing the backing vocals on BBC
television's Top of the Pops
. They performed the backing vocals on Jimi Hendrix Experience first single, "Hey Joe
".
More recently, Stredder and Sheila Bruce, together with ex-Ladybird Penny Lister, have performed on tour with their friends as part of the 'Solid Gold Rock 'n' Roll Show'. In the later 1990s, they appeared in Cliff Richard
's show, 'Oh Boy', from the Wembley Arena
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
of female vocalists
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. They were formed at the Vernons football pools
Football pools
A football pool, often collectively referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches set to take place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, with the potential to win huge money. Entries were traditionally...
company in the 1950s in 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...
, settling down to a sixteen strong choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and recorded
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...
an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of standard
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
s.
Career
As a 16-piece vocal group, The Vernon Girls appeared on the ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
show
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...
Oh Boy! with the house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
between 1958-1959, and made a series of relatively unsuccessful singles
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...
for labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
between 1958-1961. Their 1958 LP released on Parlophone was arranged and conducted by Peter Knight
Peter Knight (composer)
Peter Knight was an English musical arranger, conductor and composer.-Career:Knight was born in Exmouth, Devon, England. He worked with Independent Television light entertainment stars from 'Spot The Tune' with Jackie Rae and Marion Ryan to the comedy series 'Home to Roost' ...
, with sleeve notes by Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
. This record is significantly different from their later pop hits, featuring such fifties standards as "We'll Gather Lilacs", "Lonely Ballerina", and the "Cuckoo In the Clock".
Led by Maureen Kennedy, from 1961 the group reduced their membership to between three and five members,, and by 1962 had signed to Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
where they recorded covers
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 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hits
Hit 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...
. Their cover of The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
' "Lover Please" and "You Know What I Mean" were both hits; the latter was also originally the 'b' side of "Lover Please". In the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the group charted with the first Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
tribute album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
there, We Love The Beatles. As The Carefrees, they also charted with "We Love You Beatles", and made an album only available in the United States.
As session singers
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...
for Decca, the Vernons Girls were the female backing voices on many hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s during the 1960s - one of the first being Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
's "Maybe Tomorrow". The trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
of Jean Owen, Frances Lea, and Maureen Kennedy also appeared on film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
in the 1964 TV special Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles
Around The Beatles was a 1964 television special, featuring The Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/Rediffusion London. It was broadcast internationally, and aired live from IBC Studios in London 19 April 1964...
with The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
plus Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, P. J. Proby
P. J. Proby
P.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who has portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions as well as enjoying a successful recording career in his own right....
and Millie Small
Millie (singer)
Millie is a Jamaican singer-songwriter, often known as "Little Millie Small", and in the United States as "Millie Small", and is best known as the singer of the 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop".-Career:...
, in the Billy Fury film, Play It Cool, and in Just For Fun; ex-member Vicky Haseman
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...
also appeared in this, with her group, The Breakaways.
However, by 1964, their chart successes had halted and they disbanded.
Later careers
Some of the girls continued in show businessShow business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
ventures:
Lyn Cornell married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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...
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...
Andy White
Andy White (drummer)
Andrew "Andy" White is a Scottish drummer, best known for replacing Ringo Starr on drums on The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do". White featured on the American 7" single release of the song, which also appeared on the band's debut British album, Please Please Me. He also played drums on the...
, (notable for replacing Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
on an early take of "Love Me Do
Love Me Do
"Love Me Do" is The Beatles' first single, backed by "P.S. I Love You" and released on 5 October 1962. When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number seventeen; in 1982 it was re-issued and reached number four...
"), and became a successful solo performer; having a 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....
hit with the title song to the film "Never On Sunday" in 1960 - and later becoming one of The Pearls
The Pearls
The Pearls were a 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons. They released a number of singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1974.-Career:...
.
Vicky Haseman formed The Breakaways, and married Joe Brown. Their daughter Sam Brown is a well-known singer in her own right.
Baker married Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
- they formed a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
with Justin Hayward
Justin Hayward
Justin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...
called the 'Wilde Three', and were the parents of singer Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author and television presenter who burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On"...
.
Jean Owen had solo success under the name Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones (singer)
-External links:*...
.
Other members of the group banded together in various combinations as duets and singing trios; these include the 'Redmond Twins', 'The Pearls', the 'Two Tones' and the 'DeLaine Sisters'. The 'DeLaine Sisters' had a minor hit in Great Britain with the Goffin
Gerry Goffin
Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
& King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
song "It Might As Well Rain Until September
It Might As Well Rain Until September
"It Might As Well Rain Until September" is a 1962 song originally written for Bobby Vee by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. King recorded the demo version of the song, however Vee's management baulked at releasing the song as a single, instead using it only as an album track...
".
The longest surviving and best known of the groups, The Ladybirds
The Ladybirds
The Ladybirds are a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances in The Benny Hill Show. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many established artists, and perennial television ...
, was formed by Maggie Stredder with Gloria George. The Ladybirds are best known for their long association with The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
, and for performing the backing vocals on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television's Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. They performed the backing vocals on Jimi Hendrix Experience first single, "Hey Joe
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
".
More recently, Stredder and Sheila Bruce, together with ex-Ladybird Penny Lister, have performed on tour with their friends as part of the 'Solid Gold Rock 'n' Roll Show'. In the later 1990s, they appeared in Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
's show, 'Oh Boy', from the Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
.
Main personnel
- Maggie Stredder (born Margaret Elizabeth Stredder, 9 January 1936, BirkenheadBirkenheadBirkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
) - later in The Ladybirds - married writer Roy Tuvey - Vicki BrownVicki 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...
(born Victoria Mary Haseman, 23 August 1940, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool 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...
- died 1992) - later in The Breakaways - married Joe BrownJoe Brown (singer)Joe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer.He has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and a UK recording star in the early 1960s... - Joyce Smith (born Joyce Baker, 1941) - married Marty WildeMarty WildeMarty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
- Lyn Cornell - later in The PearlsThe PearlsThe Pearls were a 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons. They released a number of singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1974.-Career:...
- married Andy WhiteAndy White (drummer)Andrew "Andy" White is a Scottish drummer, best known for replacing Ringo Starr on drums on The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do". White featured on the American 7" single release of the song, which also appeared on the band's debut British album, Please Please Me. He also played drums on the... - Maureen Kennedy - married comedian Mike Hope - died in a car accident in the early 1970s
- Jean OwenSamantha Jones (singer)-External links:*...
(born 17 November 1943, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool 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...
) - performed under her real name with the group before going solo and changing her name into Samantha JonesSamantha Jones (singer)-External links:*...
. She married her long term adviser, showbiz accountant Jose Goumal] - Francis Lea
- Eileen Byrne - (born in 1934, in Bootle, Liverpool, died in 1981 from breast cancer). She married Bill Homewood.
- Ann O'Brien (Simmons) - later in The PearlsThe PearlsThe Pearls were a 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons. They released a number of singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1974.-Career:...
- Sybil Richardson -still singing and performing in 2011
Discography
The Vernons Girls(1958) LP Parlophone PMC 1052- "Lover Please" / "You Know What I Mean" (1962) - UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#16 - "Loco-MotionThe Loco-Motion"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song is notable for appearing in the American Top 5 three times – each time in a different decade: for Little Eva in 1962 ; for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 ; and for Kylie Minogue in 1988 "The...
" (1962) - UK #47 - "Funny All Over" (1963) - UK 31
- "Do The Bird" (1963) - UK #44
External links
- Whatever became of the stars of Oh Boy
- [ The Vernons Girls biography at the Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
]