Ayshea (born Ayshea Hague, 12 November 1948) is a British singer, actor and television presenter.

Biography

Born in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

, London, and educated at Arts Educational School, London, Ayshea was trained in ballet, music, drama and dance. She made her film debut at the age of nine as an uncredited extra in the film, ''

Tom Thumb Tom Thumb is a character of English folklore. ''The History of Tom Thumb'' was published in 1621 and was the first fairy tale printed in English. Tom is no bigger than his father's thumb, and his adventures include being swallowed by a cow, tan ...

'' (1958). At sixteen, she was signed to her first record label, for the Fontana label, who released her debut single, "Eeny Meeny" in 1965. She made appearances on television shows such as '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' and ''Discotheque''.

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

's producer

Muriel Young Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer. Early life Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family i ...

hired Ayshea to host her own pop show, ''

Lift Off with Ayshea ''Lift Off with Ayshea'' is a British TV show, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, and starring Ayshea Brough, which ran for 122 editions spanning eight series, between November 1969 and December 1974. Preceded by the show ''D ...

'' in 1969. The series ran for 122 episodes lasting until 1974. After being romantically linked with

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, she married

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

' record producer, Chris Brough (the son of ventriloquist

Peter Brough Peter Brough (26 February 1916 – 3 June 1999) was an English radio ventriloquist who became a well-known name to audiences in the 1950s. He is associated with his puppet Archie Andrews. Early career Peter Brough’s father, Arthur Broug ...

), who produced her records and was her manager. Ayshea was a regular on quiz shows such as ''

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, but three other ...

'' and ''

Celebrity Squares ''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show ''The Hollywood Squares, Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Mon ...

''. As an actress, she appeared on '' Jason King'' and had a recurring role on ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'', the

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

live-action series. After starring in pantomimes and summer shows all over the UK, Ayshea then built up a large following for her live cabaret performances. Ayshea and Chris Brough divorced in the 1970s. In 1975, she represented Great Britain at the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989. The first ed ...

in Tokyo with a song written for her by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, entitled "The Flowers Will Never Die". Following an engagement to

Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a n ...

, who wrote and produced her single "Farewell", she later married Steve Alder who had the lead role in the London stage production of the musical ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. Ayshea moved to Los Angeles and appeared in the movies ''

Gotcha Gotcha, a colloquial contraction for "got you" (got ya), may refer to: Film and TV * ''Gotcha!'' (film), a 1985 film starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino * "Gotcha!" (''Adventure Time''), an episode of ''Adventure Time'' * "Gotcha" ...

'' (1985) and '' Demolition Man'' (1993). Married to the CBS Sportsline founder, Mike Levy, Beverly Hills became her permanent home. For many years, she was a Beverly Hills socialite and ran a property development and interior design business. In 2000, Ayshea moved back to the UK (in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, Lincolnshire) to be close to her mother, Rose.

Discography

Albums

*''Ayshea'' (1970) *''Lift Off with Ayshea'' (1974)

Singles

*"Eeny Meeny / Keep My Love" (1965), Fontana *"Celebration of the Year / Only Love Can Save Me Now (1968), Polydor *"Another Night / Taking the Sun from My Eyes" (1969), Polydor *"Mister White's White Flying Machine / Ship of the Line" (1970), Polydor *"Who's Gonna Rescue Jesus? / Flowers Are Mine" (1970), Polydor *"

Master Jack "Master Jack" is a song written by David Marks and performed by Four Jacks and a Jill. It reached #1 in South Africa and Canada, #3 on the US adult contemporary chart, and #18 on both the ''Billboard'' chart and in Australia in 1968. The song ...

/ Both Sides Now" (1971), RCA *"An Old Fashioned Love Song / The Family of Man" (1972), MAM *"Farewell / The Best Years of My Life" (1973), Harvest *"Another Without You Day / Moonbeam" (1974), DJM *"Don't Wait Till Tomorrow / Moonbeam" (1975), DJM *"The Flowers Will Never Die / The Best Years of My Life" (1975), DJM *"Golden Oldie / "Keep Me from Blowing Away (1977), DJM

References

External links

* *
Lift Off with Ayshea – personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayshea 1948 births Living people People from Highgate Singers from London Actresses from London English people of South Asian descent English actresses of South Asian descent English television presenters English women pop singers