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Joan Regan (born Joan Bethel or Siobhan Bethel; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English
traditional pop music Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s.


Biography

Regan was born in either
Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, or
West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, (sources disagree) the youngest of six children to Irish parents. She had rheumatic fever as a child which left her with a damaged mitral valve, although this did not cause problems until she was in her seventies. Regan married an American serviceman, Dick Howell, a friend of her brothers who met in the Navy. She and Howell married on her 18th birthday in 1946. For a time they lived in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
. They had three children, one of whom died at an early age. The marriage eventually broke down. Regan, a Catholic, was able to obtain a legal dissolution, rather than a divorce. Before becoming a singer, Regan worked at a number of jobs, including re-touching photographs. Her successful singing career began in 1953, when she made a demo record of " Too Young" and "
I'll Walk Alone "I'll Walk Alone" is a 1944 popular song with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was written for the 1944 musical film '' Follow the Boys'', in which it was sung by Dinah Shore, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...
". The demo came to the attention of
Bernard Delfont Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario. Life and career Delfont was born in Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian ...
, and that helped her sign a
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
. She had a number of
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits for the
label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
, many of them were
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of American hits. Among them were
Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...
's "
Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
", "
Till I Waltz Again with You "Till I Waltz Again with You" is a popular song written by Sid Prosen. Teresa Brewer rendition American singer Teresa Brewer recorded "Till I Waltz Again with You" on August 19, 1952. Rather than a waltz as the title suggests, it is a slow AABA s ...
", and " Jilted",
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
's "
If I Give My Heart to You "If I Give My Heart to You" is a popular song written by Jimmy Brewster (Milt Gabler), Jimmie Crane, and Al Jacobs. The most popular versions of the song were recorded by Doris Day and by Denise Lor; both charted in 1954. The recording by Do ...
" and
Jill Corey Jill Corey (born Norma Jean Speranza; September 30, 1935 – April 3, 2021) was an American popular standards singer. She was discovered and signed on one day when she was 17. She went on to have her own radio shows and to star in a feature film ...
's "Cleo and Me-O" and " Love Me to Pieces". Beginning on November 18, 1953, she became the resident singer on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
producer Richard Afton's television series ''Quite Contrary''. Afton later replaced Regan with
Ruby Murray Ruby Florence Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996) was a Northern Irish singer. One of the most popular singers in the British Isles in the 1950s, she scored ten hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1954 and 1959. She also made pop chart ...
as resident vocalist beginning with the show on June 23, 1954. She appeared on the ''
Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...
'', and was given her own
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television series, ''Be My Guest'', which ran for four series starting in 1959. After being knocked out by a descending
safety curtain A safety curtain (or fire curtain in America) is a fire safety precaution used in large proscenium Theater (structure), theatres. It is usually a heavy fibreglass or iron curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based m ...
during her first appearance in variety, she developed her act to include impressions of
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
, Dame
Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
and Dame
Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...
, to the last of whom she bore a facial resemblance. In the late 1950s, she appeared several times at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
, including the
Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...
in 1955 and also in the show ''Stars in Your Eyes'' with
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
,
Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one ...
and
Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his li ...
which ran for a 6-month season at the Palladium in 1960. In 1958, she appeared as herself in the film ''Hello London''. On leaving Decca in 1958, she signed with
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
's
HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
label, where she had a Top 10 hit with a cover version of the McGuire Sisters' "
May You Always "May You Always" is a popular song by Larry Markes (lyrics) and Dick Charles (pseudonym of Richard Charles Krieg), published in 1958. The biggest hit version in the United States was by the McGuire Sisters where it peaked at No. 11 on the ''Bill ...
". Two years later, she left EMI for
Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
, and had two minor record successes, (" Happy Anniversary" and "Papa Loves Mama"). In July 1957, she married her second husband, Harry Claff, who was the joint general manager and box office manager at the Palladium. In November that year, the '' Daily Herald'' reported Regan was to have a baby in February 1958, seven months after the wedding. After receiving "abusive and wounding letters from people who were personally unknown to her", Regan successfully sued the newspaper for libel; her daughter, Donna, was actually born in April 1958. Claff and Regan divorced in 1963 after Claff was sentenced to prison for embezzlement of £62,000. He served five years in prison. His defence was that he had only "borrowed" some money from the London Palladium, where he was box-office manager, and would have paid it back. By this time, the hits had dried up and she suffered a
nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
. Regan married her third and last husband, Dr. Martin Cowan, a medical doctor, at Caxton Hall, London on September 12, 1966. After Dr. Cowan's retirement, they moved to Florida in 1982. In the United States, Regan recorded two
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
for Columbia (one of which, "Don't Talk To Me About Love", went on to become a Northern soul classic). In 1984 she slipped in the shower, hit her head on the tiles and suffered a
brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
. After an emergency operation she was left paralysed and speechless. Her recovery, which entailed much physical and speech therapy, was aided by her
miming A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
to her old records. It took many months of treatment before she regained the ability to sing. In 1987, some of those old tracks, together with others by
Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine ha ...
,
Lita Roza Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to hav ...
and Jimmy Young, were issued on the
double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
, ''Unchained Melodies''. In 1988, she returned to the UK where, with the help and encouragement of
Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one ...
, who had been her rehearsal pianist in the early 1950s, she returned to the stage. She recorded for Nectar Records from 1989 to 1996, for whom she recorded a single "
You Needed Me "You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number one hit single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. ...
" and two albums, ''The Joan Regan Collection'' and ''Remember I Love You''.


Later years and death

Regan continued singing, entertaining and supporting her charities (including the
Not Forgotten Association The Not Forgotten Association (known as 'The Not Forgotten') is a British Armed Forces registered charity for serving and ex-servicemen and women that operates throughout the United Kingdom. The Not Forgotten combats isolation and loneliness in the ...
) to the age of 82. She died on 12 September 2013, aged 85. She was survived by her three children.


Discography


Albums

*''The Girl Next Door'' (Decca, 1954) *''Just Joan'' (
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
, 1956) *''Joan and Ted'' (with
Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his li ...
) ( Pye-Nixa, 1961) *''The World of Joan Regan'' (Decca, 1976) *''Remember I Love You'' (Nectar Music, 1996) *''The Best of Joan Regan'' (
Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
, 1999) *''The Best of Joan Regan'' ( Spectrum Music, 2001) *Soft Sands – Decca Singles (Vocalion, 2004)


Singles


Songs

Regan recorded a number of other songs, including " It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World" and " That Old Feeling".


See also

*
List of artists under the Decca Records label Decca Records is a recording label. A division of Universal Classics, it is also known as ''Decca Music Group''. Classical Vocal artists * Roberto Alagna * Ada Alsop * Elly Ameling * Arleen Auger * Janet Baker * Cecilia Bartoli * Teresa Berga ...


References


External links


Joan Regan at the Robert Farnon Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Joan 1928 births 2013 deaths Traditional pop music singers English women singers English stage actresses Musicians from Kent Pye Records artists People from Romford Northern soul musicians English people of Irish descent Decca Records artists Musicians from London Actresses from Kent The Squadronaires members