HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Ladybirds were a British female vocal
harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
trio, most famous for their appearances on ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
''. 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 performers.


Career

The Ladybirds had their origins in an earlier vocal group,
the Vernons Girls The Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists. They were formed at the Vernons football pools companyLarkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 461 in the 1950s in Liverpool, settling ...
.
The original troupe disbanded at the start of the 1960s, but a smaller unit carried on, headed by Maureen Kennedy. Most of the other members performed as duet (music), duets and singing trios. Amongst them were the Redmond Twins,
the Breakaways The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premier session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little-known girl group singles. Career The original members were Vicki Has ...
,
the Pearls The Pearls were an English 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons (née O'Brien). They released a total of 12 singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Char ...
, the DeLaine Sisters, and the longest surviving and best known, the Ladybirds. Founding member Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" Stredder and Jean Ryder, billed as the Two Tones, appeared at
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
bases in Germany, before returning to the UK to join
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 ...
on stage. In 1962, following an appearance on the ''
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 Un ...
TV Special'', Marian Davies had replaced Ryder, plus Gloria George was added, and The Ladybirds were born. After signing to
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 ...
in August 1965,
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...
recorded his debut single. The Ladybirds sang backing vocals, while apart from Bolan's vocals, all other music was created by studio
session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s. "The Wizard" was released on 19 November 1965. In 1966, the Ladybirds were recruited to provide vocal backing on
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
's ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' programme. They continued in this role until 10 August 1978, when they were replaced a week later by the Maggie Stredder Singers. They also appeared on a number of
Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...
's television shows. The same year, they sang as backing singers on the
Mood Mosaic Mark Philipp Wirtz (3 September 19437 August 2020) was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completed ''A Teenage Opera'' concept album, a project he devis ...
track "A Touch of Velvet – A Sting of Brass" – later to become
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
disc jockey
Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey, radio presenter and television presenter. Travis began his broadcasting career on the pirate radio station Radio Caroline in 1965. He ...
' (DLT) signature tune. The Ladybirds sang backing vocals on
Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (1879 ...
's 1967 British
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
" Puppet on a String", joining Shaw for live performances in Vienna, Austria, when the song won the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, as well as on
records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...
by
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
,
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 ...
and many other hits and misses. In 1969, when
Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...
joined
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...
, he recruited them to ''The Benny Hill Show''. The Ladybirds' first number was "
Goin' Out of My Head "Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied th ...
". In 1971, Hill did a spoof of ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'', titled "Top of the Tops", but unusually, the Ladybirds were not on that programme. Instead, one of the musical guests, Petticoat & Vine, appeared in the sketch. The Ladybirds' later Broadway medley was unique in that each member sang independently, i.e. Stredder ("
Don't Bring Lulu "Don't Bring Lulu" is a 1925 Dixieland jazz song. Background ''Don't Bring Lulu'' was first published by Jerome H. Remick, based in Detroit and New York City, United States, in 1925. It is the 63rd most covered song from 1925. "Lulu" in the son ...
"), George ("
I Won't Dance "I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimmy ...
"), and Davies (" I Wanna Be Loved by You"). After that point, George left the trio. On the May 1973 album release ''
Rigor Mortis Sets In ''Rigor Mortis Sets In'' is the third solo studio album by English rock musician John Entwistle, who was the bassist for the Who at that time. Distributed by Track Records, the album was named ''John Entwistle's Rigor Mortis Sets In'' in the US ...
'' by
John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...
, the Ladybirds were credited as the backing vocalists. Up until 1973, the Ladybirds remained as a working trio of Gloria George, Maggie Stredder and Marian Davies. Penny Lister was then recruited for a short tenure. From the mid-1970s until 1986, the regular members became Stredder, Ann Simmons, who was another former Vernons Girl, and Laura Lee. Simmons later joined
the Pearls The Pearls were an English 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons (née O'Brien). They released a total of 12 singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Char ...
. The Ladybirds also returned to Eurovision, backing
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
, singing on " Long Live Love", in the
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
contest staged in Brighton, England. However, Ann Simmons was misidentified as her predecessor Gloria George. The Ladybirds appeared on many light entertainment shows on UK TV; the first series of '' Cilla'' in 1968, ''
Lulu's Back in Town "Lulu's Back in Town" is a popular song and jazz standard written in 1935 by Al Dubin (words) and Harry Warren (music). First performances "Lulu's Back in Town" was performed in the 1935 film ''Broadway Gondolier'', directed by Lloyd Bacon, wh ...
'', ''
The Les Dawson Show ''The Les Dawson Show'' was a variety show that aired on BBC1 intermittently from 1978 through 1989. The show starred comedian Les Dawson (1931–1993), who had previously starred in the ITV sketch comedy programme ''Sez Les'' (1969–76), fo ...
'', ''
The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...
'', ''
Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...
'', '' The Tommy Cooper Show'', ''
Little and Large ''Little and Large'' were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020). Comedy duo They formed their p ...
'', ''
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
'', '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', ''
The Generation Game ''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's m ...
'' and '' Children in Need'', as well as an appearance on ''
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' was an American music and comedy television variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 29, 1969, to June 13, 1972, on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for ' ...
'' in the United States. However, by 1978, when they returned to ''The Benny Hill Show'' purely as backing vocalists rather than actual performers, they also had stopped appearing on ''Top of the Pops''. In 1977, the Ladybirds recorded songs for a low budget covers album. Tracks featured included "
Chanson D'Amour "Chanson D'Amour" (; ) is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. A 1977 recording by The Manhattan Transfer was an international hit, reaching #1 in the UK Singles Chart, and Australia. Original version In 1958 the husband and wife te ...
", "
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 hit single by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara. Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja, and produced by Soja, this song was a hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the United Kingdom, spendi ...
" and "
Don't Cry for Me, Argentina "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album ''Evita'', later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they we ...
". The music compelled the all-female group to tackle songs made famous by male singers. On occasion, Tracy Miller and Joan Baxter boosted the Ladybird ranks. In 1979, they all provided backing vocals work on the
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 ...
album, ''Discolongamax''. The Ladybirds also sang on several orchestral albums by Benny Hill's Thames TV musical director,
Ronnie Aldrich Ronald Frank Aldrich (15 February 1916 – 30 September 1993) was a British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, conductor and composer. Early life He was born Ronald Frank Aldrich on 15 February 1916 in Erith, England, the only son o ...
. In 2005, they appeared one more time on
Mark Wirtz Mark Philipp Wirtz (3 September 19437 August 2020) was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completed '' A Teenage Opera'' concept album, a project he devi ...
's Ear Theatre album ''Love Is Eggshaped: The Soundtrack''. The track "Withdrawal" had vocals by the Ladybirds (by this time comprising Stredder, Kay Garner and Vicki Robinson). The Vernons Girls reformed as a trio after being invited to appear on the
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 ...
30th Anniversary Concert at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, playing over the two evenings to an audience of 144,000. In more recent times, Stredder, Sheila Bruce and Penny Lister, reappeared billed as the Vernons Girls. Stredder later launched a successful career as an after dinner speaker, recalling her life in show business. She died on 9 March 2018, aged 82.


Personnel

*Maggie Stredder (born Margaret Elisabeth Stredder, 9 January 1936,
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
– died 9 March 2018) She married writer Roy Tuvey on 1 October 1966 *Marian Davies (born 23 November 1937,
Crynant Crynant ( cy, Y Creunant) is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
– died 24 January 2008, London) – often misspelled Marion Davies *Gloria George *Penny Lister (born in
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, currently living in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
). Also appeared in the 1977 episode of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', "
The Talons of Weng-Chiang ''The Talons of Weng-Chiang'' is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the serial ...
" as a singer *Ann Simmons (born Ann O'Brien, 20 November 19xx) *Laura Lee (born Isabella McIntyre, 11 May 1937,
Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
– died July 2007 at home in Musselburgh) *Tracy Miller *Barbara Moore (born 1932 – died 26 August 2021,
Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...
) *Joan Baxter *Kay Garner (born 4 October 1943, Hull, Yorkshire – died 16 July 2007) *Vicki Robinson *Sylvia King (real name Sylvia Rosen)


See also

*
Mood Mosaic Mark Philipp Wirtz (3 September 19437 August 2020) was a German-French pop music record producer, composer, singer, musician, author, and comedian. Wirtz is best known for the never-completed ''A Teenage Opera'' concept album, a project he devis ...


References


External links

*
The Ladybirds mini biography
at the
IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
website
The Ladybirds Who's Who
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladybirds, The English vocal groups English session musicians English girl groups British musical trios Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 1962 establishments in England 2005 disestablishments in England