Maggie Stredder Marian Davies Barbara Moore Gloria George Penny Lister Ann Simmons Laura Lee Tracy Miller Joan Baxter Kay Garner Vicki Robinson Sylvia King
The Ladybirds were a British female vocal harmonytrio, most famous for their appearances on The Benny Hill Show. 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.
The Ladybirds had their origins in an earlier vocal group, the Vernons Girls.[1] The original Vernons Girls disbanded at the start of the 1960s, but a smaller unit carried on, headed by Maureen Kennedy. Most of the other members performed as duos and singing trios. Amongst them were the Redmond Twins, the Breakaways, the Pearls, the DeLaine Sisters, and the longest surviving and best known, the Ladybirds.[2]
Founding member Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" Stredder and Jean Ryder, billed as the Two Tones, appeared at United States Air Forcebases in Germany, before returning to the UK to join Max Bygraves on stage. In 1962, following an appearance on the Val Doonican TV Special, Marian Davies had replaced Ryder, plus Gloria George was added, and The Ladybirds were born.[3]
After signing to Decca Records in August 1965, Marc Bolan recorded his debut single. The Ladybirds sang backing vocals, while apart from Bolan's vocals, all other music was created by studio session musicians. "The Wizard" was released on 19 November 1965.[4]
In 1966, the Ladybirds were recruited to provide vocal backing on BBC Television's Top of the Pops programme.[5] (They continued in this role until 10 August 1978, when they were replaced a week later by the Maggie Stredder Singers.)[6] They also appeared on a number of Twiggy's television shows. Also in 1966, they were backing singers on the Mood Mosaic track "A Touch of Velvet – A Sting of Brass" – later to become Radio Caroline disc jockey Dave Lee Travis' (DLT) signature tune.
In 1969, when Benny Hill joined Thames Television, he recruited them to The Benny Hill Show. The Ladybirds' first number was "Goin' Out of My Head". In 1971, Hill did a spoof of Top of the Pops, 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"), George ("I Won't Dance"), and Davies ("I Wanna Be Loved by You"). After that point, George left the trio.
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.[9]
The Ladybirds also returned to Eurovision, backing Olivia Newton-John, singing on "Long Live Love", in the 1974 contest staged in Brighton, England. However, Ann Simmons was misidentified as her predecessor Gloria George.[10]
On occasion, Tracy Miller and Joan Baxter boosted the Ladybird ranks. In 1979, they all provided backing vocals work on the Max Bygraves album, Discolongamax. The Ladybirds also sang on several orchestral albums by Benny Hill's Thames TV musical director, Ronnie Aldrich.
In 2005, they appeared one more time on Mark Wirtz'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).[12]
The Vernons Girls reformed as a trio after being invited to appear on the Cliff Richard 30th Anniversary Concert at Wembley Stadium, playing over the two evenings to an audience of 144,000.[1] In more recent times, Stredder, Sheila Bruce and Penny Lister, reappeared billed as the Vernons Girls.[2]
Stredder later launched a successful career as an after dinner speaker, recalling her life in show business.[3] She died on 9 March 2018, aged 82.[13]
Personnel
Maggie Stredder (born Margaret Elisabeth Stredder, 9 January 1936, Birkenhead – died 9 March 2018)[13] She married writer Roy Tuvey on 1 October 1966[14]
Marian Davies (born 23 November 1937, Crynant, Wales – died 24 January 2008, London) – often misspelled Marion Davies[15][16]
Walter William "Max" Bygraves was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty Royal Variety Performance appearances and presented numerous programmes, including Family Fortunes between 1983 and 1985. His catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" became an integral part of his act, although it had originated with comedian Mike Yarwood impersonating Bygraves.
Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) are a family of beetles.
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A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used in a broad range of popular music, traditional music, and world music styles.
The Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists. They were formed at the Vernons football pools company in the 1950s in Liverpool, settling down to a sixteen strong choir and recording an album of standards.
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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.
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and double entendre.
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Gloria Williams was an American singer notable for being the original lead singer of an early incarnation of Martha and the Vandellas under the name The Del-Phis.
Sue Bond is a British actress, cabaret singer and comedian, best remembered for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show in the early 1970s. She appeared with Benny Hill for three years between 1970 and 1973, making her one of the longest serving female cast members of the pre-Hill's Angels era. In the mid-1970s, Bond appeared increasingly in sitcoms.
"Transistor Radio" is a comic song written by Benny Hill and Mark Anthony, and performed by Hill. The song revolves around the story of a man whose attempts at intimacy with his girlfriend are constantly thwarted by music played from the girl's transistor radio. The song spoofs the Chipmunks, Elvis Presley's "Wooden Heart", the BBC Shipping Forecast and Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man".
Judith Glory Hill is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She has provided backing vocals for such artists as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Josh Groban. In 2009, Hill was chosen as Jackson's duet partner for the song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" during his This Is It rehearsals. After Jackson's death in 2009, she, along with the rest of the This Is It cast members, performed at Jackson's memorial service and attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "Heal the World". Hill's rise to fame is recounted in 20 Feet from Stardom, a documentary film that tells the untold story of the backup singers behind some of the "greatest musical legends of the 21st century". She is also a featured artist on the film's soundtrack. She won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film for her performance in this film.
The Pearls were an English 1970s girl vocal duo from Liverpool, England, featuring Lyn Cornell and Ann Simmons. They released a total of 12 singles, the most successful being "Guilty", which reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1974. Various Pearls singles were released around the world with different catalogue numbers and sometimes different labels. They had releases throughout Europe and in the Far East, USA, Canada, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Wendy Anne-Marie Stapleton is an Australian pop/rock singer-songwriter, musical theatre performer and television actress and presenter Stapleton has performed as a backing singer, session musician and a solo artist; she fronted various Melbourne-based groups including Wendy Stapleton Band (1976–1978) and Wendy & the Rocketts [sic] (1980–1985) which had a top 30 hit single with "Play the Game" in June 1983.
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