Helen Terry (born 25 May 1956) is a British singer and television producer, known for her backing vocal work with

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New ...

. As a solo performer, she scored a

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hit single 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' ...

in 1984 with "Love Lies Lost", and released one album in 1986, ''Blue Notes''. Terry changed careers, with a focus in film and television production, and moved behind the scenes in the music industry. She has been a producer and executive producer for the TV broadcast of the

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

since 2001.

Recording career

Terry was asked to perform on

's debut album, '' Kissing to Be Clever'', after lead singer

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

met her at a London club. Her soulful vocals became a key element of the Culture Club sound on the group's debut album and its follow-up, ''

Colour by Numbers ''Colour by Numbers'' is the second album by the British new wave group Culture Club, released in October 1983. Preceded by the hit single "Karma Chameleon", which reached number one in several countries, the album reached number one in the UK ...

''. She is featured in several of the band's videos, including " Time (Clock of the Heart)", " Church of the Poison Mind", " It's a Miracle", "Black Money", "That's the Way", " Victims", and often appeared on television with them. Her solo career began in 1984 on Culture Club's label

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

with the single "Love Lies Lost" (which she wrote in collaboration with group members Boy George and Roy Hay). The single went to No. 34 in the UK, reached the same position in Australia, and was a No. 28 hit in Ireland. That year she also co-wrote and recorded "Now You're Mine" with producer

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had ...

for the soundtrack to the film, '' Electric Dreams'', and released the single "Stuttering". In 1985, she recorded "

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" for the multi-artist tribute album ''Performance - The Very Best Of Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber''. She also guested on backing vocals on the track "Take Me Home" on

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

' ''

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''. Terry's album ''Blue Notes'' was released in 1986, and was produced by

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced so ...

with contributions from

Stewart Levine Stewart Levine (born 1946) is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Hugh Masekela, Dr. John, Randy Crawford, B.B. King, Huey Lewis and the News, Patti LaBelle ...

and

Christopher Neil Christopher Neil (born 1948) is an Irish-born British record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. He has produced records for A-ha, Amazulu, Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion, Cher, Dollar, Edyta Górniak, Gerry Rafferty, Jennifer Rush, José C ...

. It spawned three singles, "Stuttering", "Act Of Mercy" and "Come On And Find Me". Also in 1986 she recorded "One Summer Day/Duelling Bikes" with Ray Parker Jr. for the 1986 Kevin Bacon movie " Quicksilver"; it reached #96 on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

. Her involvement with Culture Club was minimal after 1985, although she made a guest appearance during Boy George's 1987 UK solo tour and would appear on background vocals on various Boy George projects up until 1990's '' The Martyr Mantras''. Terry and Boy George had a falling out after he wrote about their relationship in his memoir, but have reconciled. In 1989, after signing to Parlophone, she released an EP, ''Fortunate Fool'', featuring three new songs. Two of these, "Fortunate Fool" and "Lessons in Loneliness", were also released as singles, but differences with her record company led to a deadlock over plans for an album and she abandoned the contract. ''Blue Notes'' has been re-released as a remastered limited edition CD with bonus tracks in 2009. Terry contributed all the backing vocals to the track "Whole New Way" on the 2010

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album '' Night Work''.

Media production career

Terry moved into film and television production, beginning as a children's TV researcher in 1990, and as a producer for the

TV broadcast since 2001, becoming the executive producer in 2005. The 2008 broadcast attracted 6.1 million viewers.

Discography

Singles

Album

* ''Blue Notes'' (1986) Track listing # "Act Of Mercy" (

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

) # "Come On And Find Me" (Helen Terry, George O'Dowd, Roy Hay) # "Love Money And Sex" (Terry, Willis) # "Right In Front Of You" (Helen Terry, Raymond Jones) # "Forbidden Fruit" (Phil Pickett, Robertson) # "All Night Makes It Right" (Raymond Jones) # "The Perfect Kiss" (Terry, Dudley) # "Feelin' Your Heart" (Helen Terry, George O'Dowd, Roy Hay) # "Close Watch" (

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

) # "Stuttering" (Terry, Matkosky, Prestopino) # "The River" (Dudley, Bell) (on tape and CD only) * ''Blue Notes (Special Edition)'' (2009) Bonus tracks # "Love Lies Lost" (Helen Terry, George O'Dowd, Roy Hay) # "Laughter On My Mind (Live Version)" (Helen Terry, George O'Dowd, Roy Hay) # "Now You're Mine" (Moroder, St John, Lemorande) # "Stuttering (Club Mix)" (Terry, Matkosky, Prestopino) # "Act Of Mercy (12" Mix)" (

) # "Reach Out" (Terry, Saisse, Frederix) # "Come On And Find Me (Alternative Mix)" (Helen Terry, George O'Dowd, Roy Hay)

References

External links

*
My Life in Media: Helen Terry – ''The Independent'' February 2008Partial Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Helen 1956 births Living people British women singers British pop singers British session musicians British film producers British television producers British songwriters Culture Club British women television producers