Eve Boswell (born Éva Keleti; 11 May 1922 – 14 August 1998, was a Hungarian pop singer. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Eva's family moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, where they worked with the Boswell Circus. After a few years in South Africa during which she got married, Eve was offered a temporary contract to work with a band in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Eve's success with that contract eventually led to her becoming a popular solo singer in Britain in the 1950s.

Career

Éva Keleti was born in Hungary to professional musician parents who toured worldwide. Educated in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, she studied piano before joining her parents on tour as the juggling act, Three Hugos. When the

was declared, the family left

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

with the Boswell Circus. She married, and as Eve Boswell became a popular singing

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

. In 1949, she was heard by bandleader Geraldo ( Gerald Bright), who persuaded her to return to Britain as a singer in his band, which was widely heard on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

. Boswell was the singing voice of Vera-Ellen in the 1951 British film '' Happy Go Lovely''. She parted with Geraldo in 1951, and launched a solo career. Her first

hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record ...

came the following year with "

Sugar Bush Sugar bush refers to a forest stand of maple trees which is utilized for maple syrup. This was originally an Indigenous camp set up for several weeks each spring, beginning when the ice began to melt and ending when the tree buds begin to ope ...

", partly sung in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

. Starting in March 1952, she toured for several months with comedian

Derek Roy Derek Leonard Roy (born May 4, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the Edmont ...

in a musical revue "Happy-Go-Lucky", before flying to Korea to entertain the armed forces. In 1953, she was with

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, ...

in "Show of Shows" at Blackpool Opera House. She was given her own

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

on the BBC's Light programme called "Time to Dream" in October, 1953, and she appeared in the 1953

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

at the London Coliseum. Boswell played alongside

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and Magic (illusion), magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red Fez (hat), fez when performing. He ...

in "Happy and Glorious" and later with him in pantomime in 1954 in "Humpty Dumpty" at the Dudley Hippodrome. Her major

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

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 ...

came with "Pickin' a Chicken", a South African tune with new words, which rose to No. 9 on 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 ...

at the start of 1956. Her first LP, ''Sugar and Spice'', on which she sang 10 songs in nine different languages, followed later in the year. A continuous programme of radio and TV work and tours followed, leading to more than one

mental 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 remitt ...

. She faded from public view as public tastes for pop music changed through the late 1950s and 1960s. Her husband died in 1970, and she opened her own singing studio in London called “Studio 9” in 1974. Some years she later she returned to South Africa, where she married the radio producer Henry Holloway, who produced her last LP, ''It's a Breeze'', made in 1979.

Discography

Albums

*1956 ''Sugar and Spice'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

) *1957 ''Sentimental Eve'' (Parlophone, with the

Reg Owen Reg Owen (3 February 1921 – 23 May 1978) was an English conductor and arranger. Owen was born George Owen Smith in Hackney, London,

Orchestra) *1958 ''The War Years'' (

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

, with the Reg Owen Orchestra) *1959 ''Following the Sun Around'' (

) *1961 ''At the Mediterranean'' (South Africa) (Continental Records) *1962 ''Goeie Nuus! Good News'' (South Africa) (Brigadiers) *1976 ''Sugar Bush '76'' (

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

) *1979 ''It's a Breeze'' (Sugarbush Records)

Singles

*1949 "Confidentially" (with Geraldo and his orchestra) *1950 " Dear Hearts and Gentle People" (with Geraldo and his orchestra) *1950 "

I Can Dream, Can't I? "I Can Dream, Can't I?," is a popular song written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal that was published in 1937. It was included in a flop musical, '' Right This Way''. Tommy Dorsey released a hit recording of it the same year, but it was ...

" / "Mamma Knows Best" *1950 "

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

" / If I Loved You *1950 "Your Heart and My Heart" / "I Remember the Cornfields" *1950 "Beloved, Be Faithful" / "Yes! I'll Be There" *1950 "All My Love" *1951 " My Heart Cries for You" / "All My Life" *1951 "Transatlantic Lullaby" /" "Broken Heart" *1951 "Would You" / "I'm in Love Again" *1951 " I'll Be Around" / "The Way That the Wind Blows" *1952 "We Won't Live in a Castle" / "

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

" *1952 "

Please, Mr. Sun "Please, Mr. Sun" is a song written by Ray Getzov and Sid Frank and performed by Johnnie Ray featuring The Four Lads and the Jimmy Carroll Orchestra. It reached number 6 on the U.S. pop chart in 1952. It was featured on his 1955 album '' I Cr ...

" / "Love's Last Word Is Spoken" *1952 "

" / " I'm Yours" *1952 "

Here in My Heart "Here in My Heart" is a popular song written by Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson, and Bill Borrelli, first published in 1952. A recording of the song by Italian-American singer Al Martino made history as the first number one hit on the UK Singles Chart, ...

" / "I Ain't Gonna Marry" *1952 "Old Johnnie Goggabee" / "Your Mother and Mine" *1953 "

Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" is a popular song with music by Bronislau Kaper, and lyrics by Helen Deutsch. The song was published in 1952. The song was featured in the film, '' Lili'', starring Leslie Caron. Recorded versions *Dinah Shore with Frank De Vo ...

" / " Everything I Have Is Yours" *1953 " I Believe" / "Tell Me You're Mine" *1953 " If You Love Me (I Won't Care)" / Why? *1953 "A Million Stars" / "Don't Ever Leave Me" *1954 "Crystal Ball" / "Romany Violin" *1954 "

" / "Playing with Fire" *1954 "Du Bist Mein Liebchen" / "

The Little Shoemaker The Little Shoemaker" is a popular song based on the French song, "Le petit cordonnier", by Rudi Revil. The original French lyric was written by Francis Lemarque (page in French). The English language lyrics were written by Geoffrey Claremont P ...

" *1954 "Skokiaan" / "On the Waterfront" *1955 "These Are the Things We'll Share" / *1955 " Ready, Willing, and Able" / "Pam-Poo-Dey" *1955 "The Heart You Break" / "Tika Tika Tok" *1955 "Pickin' A-Chicken" / " Blue Star (The "Medic" Theme)" *1956 "

Young and Foolish "Young and Foolish" is a popular song with music by Albert Hague and lyrics by Arnold B. Horwitt, published in 1954. The song was introduced in the musical ''Plain and Fancy'' (1955–56), and has since been recorded by many singers since. ...

" / "Where You Are" *1956 " It's Almost Tomorrow" / "Cookie" *1956 "Keeping Cool with Lemonade" / "Down By the Sugar Cane" *1956 "Saries Marais" / "Come Back My Love" *1956 " True Love" / "Where in the World Is Billy?" *1957 "Rock Bobbin' Boats" / "Tra La La" *1957 " Chantez, Chantez" / "She Said" *1957 "With All My Heart" / "Sugar Candy" *1957 "Stop Whistlin' Wolf" / " The Gypsy in My Soul" *1957 "Swedish Polka" / Tell My Love *1958 "Bobby" / " (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" *1958 "I Do" / "Love Me Again" *1958 "Voom - Ba - Voom" / " Left Right Out of My Heart" *1958 " More Than Ever" / " I Know Why" *1958 "The Christmas Tree" / "Christmas Lullaby" *1959 "Piccaninny" / "If I Had a Talking Picture of You" *1959 " Wimoweh Cha Cha" / "Beogoeberg Se Dam" *1959 "Once Again" / "You Are Never Far Away from Me" *1959 "Turnabout Heart" / " Misty" *1962 "Love Me" / " You're My Thrill" *1963 "Never Too Late" / "Let's Get Away" *1969 "This Is My Love" / "Lonely in a Crowd" *1974 "One God" / "Love Song" *1976 "Sugar Bush '76" / "This Time"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Eve Traditional pop music singers Musicians from Budapest 1922 births 1998 deaths 20th-century British women singers Hungarian expatriates in Switzerland Hungarian emigrants to South Africa Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom British emigrants to South Africa 20th-century South African women singers