Vicki Heather Wickham (born 1939) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

talent manager, entertainment producer, and songwriter.

Career

Wickham was an assistant producer of the 1960s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

'', and was fashion consultant for the short-lived ''The Mod's Monthly'' magazine, first issued in March 1964 by Albert Hand Publications, and edited by Mark Burns. However she is probably best known as the manager of well-known pop/soul acts

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

and Labelle. Wickham co-wrote (with

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

) the English lyrics to Springfield's only British No. 1 hit, "

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song, '"Io che non vivo (senza te)", by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini) is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, ...

", adapted from the Italian song "Io che non vivo senza te". With

Penny Valentine Penelope Ann Valentine (13 February 1943 – 9 January 2003) was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality. Biography Penny Valentine was born in London, of Jewish and Italian ancestry. In 1959 she became ...

, she co-wrote ''Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield''. Wickham is gay, but has said that her sexuality was never a problem, stating that she "wasn't out in the 60s. I didn't know what I was, really. Everyone knew I was gay, but we were so unpolitically conscious". In 2012 she told BBC radio listeners: "I found somebody in 1970 and have been with her ever since. I wouldn't swap it for the world." Her long-term partner is the musician

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

Awards

Wickham was given a Music Industry "Woman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1999, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Queen's

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

List, for services to music.

References

Bibliography

*Valentine, Penny; Wickham, Vicki (April 2000). ''Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield''. London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. p. 320.

External links

*
Discography
at Discogs

''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 30 November 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Vicki 1939 births Living people English songwriters Officers of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing (living people) LGBT people from England