Yvonne Ann Burgess (6 September 1940 – 21 March 2015), better known by her stage name Jackie Trent, was an English singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for co-writing (with

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

) several hits for

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

in the 1960s and the

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at som ...

to the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'' in 1985.

Career

Early years

Trent was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, the daughter of coal-miner Les Burgess and his wife Lily. Her first stage appearance was as an eight-year-old ingenue in the pantomime ''

Babes in the Wood Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...

'' and at the age of nine she won first prize in a national poetry competition. At the age of 11 she won the ''Carrol Levis and His Discoveries'' talent show and thereafter changed her stage name to "Jackie Trent", having lived in Stoke-on-Trent for the few years previous. She sang at local venues and was known as "the Vera Lynn of the Potteries". Her first single, "Pick Up the Pieces", was released in 1962 on the Oriole label, but it was not until

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 Brotherho ...

and three years later that she scored her first hit with " Where Are You Now", written by

and Trent, who at that time were involved in a successful professional collaboration with

. The song was featured in the popular TV series ''It's Dark Outside''. "Where Are You Now" reached number one in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1965, topping the chart for one week. The song was written and recorded in just four days after Hatch was asked by

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 its ...

to produce a song for the female lead in the programme to be seen on screen playing to herself. The lyrics were written by Trent on Christmas 1964, just before she embarked on a three-month tour of South Africa. When the song first hit the TV screen, people contacted ''

TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

'' to ask where they could buy the record with sales accelerating. The song went to number one in May 1965, replacing the Beatles' " Ticket to Ride". Petula Clark's 1966 hit, " I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" was inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and Hatch, and they subsequently went public with their relationship. In August 1967 they were married in Kensington. Their duet "The Two Of Us" topped the Australian charts and created a demand for concert and cabaret performances earning the duo the nickname of "Mr & Mrs Music". Although she recorded several singles and albums, both as a solo artist and with her husband, Trent was more successful as a songwriter than a singer. In addition to their compositions for Clark, over the years she and Hatch wrote extensively for other artists, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jack Jones, Nancy Wilson,

Des O'Connor Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with '' The Des O'Connor Show'' in 1963, which ran for ten years. He ...

Val Doonican Michael Valentine Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening, and novelty songs, who was noted for his warm and relaxed style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in the ...

, Shirley Bassey, and

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...

. In 1968 the couple also wrote the song "

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice ...

", a hit for Scott Walker. In the late 1960s, Trent returned to the stage with a UK tour of the musical ''Nell'', playing Gwynne opposite

Hermione Baddeley Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted ...

as the title character. The show opened at the Richmond Theatre for a season in 1970.

1970s

In 1970, Trent recorded the

Les Vandyke John Worsley (21 June 1931 – 6 August 2021), more widely known under the pseudonyms Les Vandyke and Johnny Worth, was an English popular music songwriter from the 1950s to the 1980s, who started his career as a singer. As "Les Vandyke", he wr ...

-composed "I'll Be Near You" and in March that year she appeared on the

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. The 1970s saw Hatch and Trent diversify into the world of musical theatre. The first of their projects, ''

The Card ''The Card'' is a comic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911 (entitled ''Denry the Audacious'' in the American edition). It was later made into a 1952 movie, starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark. Like much of Bennett's best work, it i ...

'', based on

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

's novel, with book by

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...

and Willis Hall, ran in London's West End with

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In Britis ...

and

Millicent Martin Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer, and comedian. She was the lone female singer of topical songs on the weekly BBC Television satire show ''That Was the Week That Was'' known as TW3 (1962–1963), a ...

in the starring roles. (Coincidentally, Clark had starred in the 1952 film version with Sir Alec Guinness). An original cast album was released in 1975. A rewritten version of the show, starring Peter Duncan and Hayley Mills, played the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...

in the 1990s and spawned a new cast album. The second Hatch/Trent musical was ''Rock Nativity'', with book and lyrics by David Wood. Initiated and produced by

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

, it first played in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. An updated version of the show toured nationally in 1976, and was broadcast nationally by Scottish TV. A full-length concert version was also recorded at the

Cork Opera House Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the Nort ...

for transmission by RTÉ. In 1972, the couple wrote the song "We'll Be With You", a celebration of Trent's home town football club Stoke City reaching the final of the Football League Cup. Released under the name 'The Potters' (the club's nickname), the song was recorded using Pye Records' outside broadcast unit and featured the team and supporters. Some 40 years on it is still played at all Stoke City home games and reached number 34 on the UK chart. The couple wrote the theme for the game show '' Mr and Mrs'' for

Border Television ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 service provided by ITV (TV channel), ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Anglo-Scottish border, England/Scotland border region, ...

which was used from 1975.

Theme to ''Neighbours''

After Trent and Hatch relocated to Australia in the 1980s, they were asked to write the theme song for the television soap-opera '' Neighbours''. The soap opera was going to be called ''Ramsay Street'', before the couple penned the song. Trent told Jessie Stoelwinder from ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

'', "We wrote the song as ''Neighbours'' because we said Ramsay Street was too close to '' Coronation Street'', which was the major soap in Britain." The theme was written and recorded in a day and Trent said "We called in

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian character actor, televisio ...

at about 10pm to put his voice on it and it was on the producer's desk by 10am the following morning. And they loved it, so the series was then called ''Neighbours''."

Recording career

In a recording career spanning 1962–1990, Trent issued a total of twelve albums, five compilations and 51 singles.

Later years

After returning to the UK, Trent toured with the musical ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'', in 1995. In 2015 Trent worked with two writers, Tim Wedgwood and Jonathan Fernyhough, on a stage show of her life. Prior to her death, she had been scheduled to appear in ''Jackie'' in May 2015.Profile
, stoksentinel.co.uk; accessed 20 November 2015.

Personal life

When Trent and Hatch married in August 1967, Hatch already had two daughters from his first marriage. The couple went on to have a son and daughter together. They separated in 1995 and divorced in 2002. Trent married Colin Gregory in November 2005, living with him in Spain. Trent died in hospital on 21 March 2015, aged 74, in Menorca, Spain, after a long illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trent, Jackie 1940 births 2015 deaths English women singers English songwriters English stage actresses People from Newcastle-under-Lyme English expatriates in Spain Pye Records artists English expatriates in Australia