St Winifred's School Choir

Last updated

St Winifred's School Choir
Origin Stockport, Greater Manchester, England
Years active1968 (1968)–2009 (2009)

St Winifred's School Choir, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, was a choir of children whose single entitled "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in 1980 became that year's British Christmas number one single.

Contents

Career

Formation

The choir had formed in 1968 and been recording songs since 1972, [1] when Miss Terri Foley played the guitar with the choir and the conductor was Miss Olive Moore. In 1978, they were the uncredited backing vocalists on the number one hit "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" by Brian and Michael (actually Kevin Parrott and Michael Coleman). The single concerned the paintings of L.S. Lowry and gave the choir their first appearance on the BBC One show Top of the Pops . [2]

"There's No One Quite Like Grandma"

Their first major single under their own name came in November 1979. During this time, Foley trained and conducted the choir. In 1980, the choir signed to Music for Pleasure, an EMI associated label also known as MFP and released "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in time for the Christmas market. [3] The song was written for the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 1980 by record producer Gordon Lorenz and sold one million copies, most of them Christmas presents from grandchildren. It spent two weeks at number one, and 11 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in total. [4] It was also the only UK No. 1 single for the MFP record label.

Over the next ten years, they would release nine albums [5] including in 1982, Christmas for Everyone; and in 1986 Children's Party Time, which included 32 arrangements of songs including ABBA's "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen".

1990s–2000s

In 1990, St Winifred's School Choir teamed up with Ziba Banafsheh and recorded "A Better World" [6] in aid of Mother Teresa of Calcutta's charity, for BMG's Ariola label. In 1993, they recorded the single "One Voice" with Bill Tarmey (better known as Jack Duckworth from Coronation Street ), but ended up being uncredited on the release. [2] This Barry Manilow [7] cover would be produced by Mike Stock and Pete Waterman from 1980s hitmaking production team S/A/W and would reach number 16 on the UK Singles Chart for Tarmey (and BMG's Arista label). [8]

In November 2009, 14 of the original choir members reunited to record a new version of "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in association with Innocent Drinks to raise money for the Age Concern charity. [9]

Notable members

One of the children who appeared on television in the 1980 recording was Sally Lindsay, who has gone on to become an actress, [10] appearing in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and the BBC sitcom The Royle Family . Another, Jennifer Hennessy, is also a television actress and has appeared in the BBC drama Doctor Who and the BBC comedy The Office . [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(Just Like) Starting Over</span> 1980 single by John Lennon

"(Just Like) Starting Over" is a song written and performed by John Lennon from the 1980 album, Double Fantasy. It was released as a single on 24 October 1980 in the United Kingdom, with Yoko Ono's "Kiss Kiss Kiss" as the B-side. It reached number one in both the US and UK after Lennon was murdered on 8 December 1980. It was Lennon's final single released in his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Tarmey</span> English actor and singer

Bill Tarmey was an English actor and singer, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera Coronation Street. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played it continually from 1981 to 2010.

Sally Jane Lindsay is an English actress and television presenter. She rose to fame playing Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2001–2006). Her other roles include Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy-drama Mount Pleasant (2011–2017), Alison Bailey in the ITV police procedural Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), and Kath Agnew in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Since 2021, she has starred as Jean White in Channel 5's The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021–present), which she co-created and produces.

Music for Pleasure and Classics for Pleasure (CFP) were British record labels that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music respectively. Albums were subsequently released under the MFP label in Australia (MFP-A) and South Africa. MFP was set up in 1965 as a joint venture between EMI, which provided the source material, and the publisher Paul Hamlyn, which handled distribution in so-called non-traditional outlets, such as W.H. Smith, the booksellers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian and Michael</span> British music duo

Brian and Michael were a British music duo best known for their 1978 UK number one hit single, "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs". Without further chart entries, they remain one-hit wonders in the UK. They comprised two members: Michael Coleman and Kevin Parrott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper Dolls (group)</span> English musical group

The Paper Dolls were a late 1960s British female vocal trio from Northampton, comprising lead vocalist Susie 'Tiger' Mathis, Pauline 'Spyder' Bennett and Sue 'Copper' Marshall. They were one of the few British girl groups of the late sixties.

Claire and Friends were an English music group, consisting of schoolgirl Claire Usher and her friends, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in Stockport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday</span> 1973 Single by Wizzard

"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There's No One Quite Like Grandma</span> 1980 single by St Winifreds School Choir

"There's No One Quite Like Grandma" is a song by the Stockport-based primary school choir St Winifred's School Choir, released as a single in November 1980. It was number-one on the UK Singles Chart from 21 December 1980 to 3 January 1981. The song was written by Gordon Lorenz.

Jennifer Hennessy is an English actress. She has made numerous television appearances, including as Mrs. Brazendale in the BBC TV series Lilies.

Gordon Albert Lorenz was an English songwriter and record producer, who made his fame by writing the 1980 UK Christmas number one hit "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma" for St Winifred's School Choir. After the song's release, Lorenz became one of the most prolific record producers in the music industry, producing over 750 albums selling eight million records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"</span> Chart-topping childrens song

"Teletubbies say 'Eh-oh!'" is a hit single recorded by the Teletubbies. It is mostly a remix of the theme song from the hit BBC children's television series Teletubbies. The song contains two nursery rhymes: the Teletubbies hum along to "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" and the flowers from Teletubbyland sing "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wherever You Are (Military Wives song)</span> 2011 single by Military Wives featuring Gareth Malone

"Wherever You Are" is a song written by Paul Mealor and performed by the Military Wives Choir, sung by ladies from Chivenor and Plymouth under the direction of Gareth Malone. It is a spin-off of the BBC Two television series The Choir: Military Wives. It was released on 19 December 2011 following a campaign to make it the 2011 UK Christmas number one. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1, claiming the Christmas number 1 – selling more than 556,000 copies in the week, more than the rest of the Top 12 combined. The song also claimed the status of the biggest first week sales since "A Moment Like This" by Leona Lewis sold over 571,000 copies in its first week in 2006. The song was included on their debut studio album In My Dreams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Wives</span> Musical artist

The Military Wives Choir is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network is tri-service and any woman with a military connection can join including those currently serving, veterans, mothers, sisters, and daughters, empowering women from across the military community. The organisation is also a subsidiary charity of SSAFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Bridge over You</span> 2013 single by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir

"A Bridge over You" is a charity single recorded and released independently by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, the choir of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust located in south-east London. It is a mashup of "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel and Coldplay's 2005 single "Fix You", with additional arrangement by the choir's conductor, Peter Mitchell. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart at Christmas 2015.

The Children of Tansley School was a school choir from the village of Tansley in Derbyshire.

References

  1. ↑ "Invisiblegirl Archive". Invisiblegirl.co.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "A new milestone for 'Miss Music'". 10 April 2005.
  3. ↑ "ST. WINIFRed's SCHOOL CHOIR | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com .
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 479. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  5. ↑ "'And one day when we're older...' | OMM | the Observer". TheGuardian.com .
  6. ↑ "St. Winifred's School Choir featuring Ziba Banafsheh - A Better World - hitparade.ch". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Artist: Bill Tarmey | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
  8. ↑ "BILL TARMEY | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com .
  9. ↑ Jamieson, Alastair (22 November 2009). "St Winifred's choir reunites for charity version of 'There's No-one Quite Like Grandma'". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Sally Lindsay at IMDb
  11. ↑ Jennifer Hennessy at IMDb
  12. ↑ "Who Remembers Claire and Friends? Do You Remember the One Hit Wonder Song?". 9 May 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.