Karen Kay (born Adrianne Judith Pringle;''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com 18 July 1947) is a British former jazz singer, cabaret singer, comedian and impressionist. She is the mother of English

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creatio ...

singer-songwriter

Jay Kay Jay Kay (born Jason Luís Cheetham; 30 December 1969) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the acid jazz and funk band Jamiroquai, which was formed in 1992. Early life Jay Kay was bo ...

Life and career

Kay was born Adrianne Judith Pringle in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, England, the daughter of Ethel (Hesmondhalgh) and James S. Pringle. Her mother died when she was young, and after living briefly with her cousin's family, she was adopted by the Cheetham family of Preston, Lancashire. Karen's adoptive father Victor (Vic) Cheetham was a fighter pilot in World War II; he served in Burma with

No. 113 Squadron RAF No. 113 Squadron began service in 1917 with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force commanded by General Edmund Allenby. Initially, the squadron was a unit of the Royal Flying Corps, serving during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and as a reconnaissance ...

flying Hurri-bombers, supporting infantry action around

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...

and Palel in 1944. Kay made her professional debut in the

Black and White Minstrel Show ''The Black and White Minstrel Show'' was a British light entertainment show that ran for twenty years on BBC prime-time television. Running from 1958 to 1978, it was a weekly variety show that presented traditional American minstrel and count ...

, Blackpool, when she was 16, adopting the stage name Karen Kay at around that time. On 30 December 1969, while living in Blackburn,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, she gave birth to twin boys, Jason and David, fathered by Luís Saraiva. David died a few weeks after birth. Jason went on to become the vocalist and frontman of British acid jazz group

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...

in 1992, under the stage name

. Kay was a regular guest at the Starlight Club in

Little Harwood Little Harwood is a suburb of Blackburn in Lancashire, England, situated at the northern edge of the town. Use of land Located within the ward are areas of mixed housing, industrial units and open land, including Blackburn Cemetery. Culture ...

, and was tipped as The Face of 1979. She worked with

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

and

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

on a TV series entitled ''Six of a Kind'', which was produced without her under the title '' Three of a Kind''. Kay appeared and acted in ''Lennie and Jerry'' (1979), ''

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 a ...

Tonight'' (1981), ''

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

Side by Side'' (1982), ''

The Bob Monkhouse Show Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including '' The Golden Shot'', ''Celebrity Squares'', ''Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Earl ...

'' (1983) and ''Aspel and Company'' (1985). She had her own television series, ''Karen Kay'', in 1983.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Karen 1947 births Living people English impressionists (entertainers) People from Blackburn English adoptees