Girls of the British Invasion
The Unsung Girls of the Invasion
The British Invasion is remembered for the bands who changed the face of music in America and the world. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Billy J Kramer and Gerry & The Pacemakers. So where were the women? Were there any women on the scene?
Yes, there were women on the scene in swinging London. Not many were in bands.
The two main exceptions were Ann “Honey” Lantree, drummer with the Honeycombs, who had a No. 5 hit “Have I The Right?”, and Megan Davies, bass player with The Applejacks. They had a hit with “Tell Me When”
So outside of mop top British Band Mania, British solo female artists were another major export at the time. Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black and Marianne Faithful were all topping the charts during the days of “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “You Really Got Me”. These women commanded our attention 50 years ago, whether through their distinctive voices or cutting-edge fashions – but, in the years since, their cultural contributions have become somewhat overlooked.
So the girls were solo singers, and they rode the British Invasion wave to chart success in both their home country, and the United Sates.
Before 1964, Americans had only been privy to a smattering of Britain’s star quality. There were Shirley Bassey’s James Bond themes and Helen Shapiro’s brief turn as a teenage pop star. It wasn’t easy being a female artist in the Beatlemania era, most of the attention going to the mop top bands. And, what publicity there was, tended to be negative, and told of great conflict between the girls. In fact, they all got on very well.
So Who were these Girls of the Invasion ?
Lulu...who was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie began singing with bands in her native Glasgow, Scotland, when she was barely in her teens. By the age of 15, she had signed with Decca records and notched up her first hit, a fiery cover of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” which reached No. 7 in the U.K. (and hit the Top 10 again when it was reissued in 1986). She had nine more U.K. Top 40 hits in the ’60s, but her only big hit in America was far milder, the theme for the film To Sir With Love, in which she also appeared. The song topped the U.S. charts, but in England was ironically relegated to the B-side of the single “Let’s Pretend,” which peaked at No. 11.
Cilla Black, (Priscilla Marie Veronica White) swept to fame from being the hat check girl at The Cavern. Her photo from that time is proudly displayed in the rebuilt Cavern. Signed by Brian Epstein, Cilla was the only successful girl singer from Liverpool.
George Martin produced her first hit, a Lennon-McCartney composed (naturally) “Love of the Loved”, which reached No.35 in the UK. But it was the follow up, the Dionne Warwick old hit “Anyone Who Had a Heart” got to No. 1, then “You’re My World” finally cracked the USA reaching No. 1 there.
George Martin produced her first hit, a Lennon-McCartney composed (naturally) “Love of the Loved”, which reached No.35 in the UK. But it was the follow up, the Dionne Warwick old hit “Anyone Who Had a Heart” got to No. 1, then “You’re My World” finally cracked the USA reaching No. 1 there.
The 60’s were good to Cilla, having several hits, including “Alfie,
“Love’s just a Brocken Heart”, “Surround Yourself with Sorrow” and the theme
from her 1968 BBC TV Series, Paul McCartneys Step Inside Love”. “Baby we Can’t
Go Wrong” was Cilla's last hit in the 80”s.Cilla’s career lasted well into the
80’s.
Cilla died August 1, 2015.
Read More About Cilla and he Vinyl Albums
Sandie Shaw, born Sandra Ann Goodrich; 26
February 1947) is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful
British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK No. 1 hit records with
"There’s Always Something There to Remind Me" (1964), "Long Live
Love" (1965) and "Puppet on a String” (1967). With the latter, she
became the first British entry to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She returned
to the UK Top 40, for the first time in 15 years, with her 1984 cover of The
Smiths song "Hand In Glove". Shaw retired from the music
industry in 2013.
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE ( yes really!)
Her unique, distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country, and also jazz in her repertoire.
With her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Feild, Dusty formed the folk-pop vocal trio The Springfields. Two of their five 1961–63 Top 40 UK hits – "Island of Dreams" and "Say I Won't Be There" – reached no. 5 in the charts, both in the spring of 1963. In 1962 they scored in the United States with their cover of "Silver Threads and Golden Needles".
Going solo in 1963, Dusty got off to a good start with the Ivor Raymond penned, "I Only Want to Be With You", which not only reached No. 4 in the UK but scraped into the US charts at 63.
This was followed by the breakthrough "Wishing and Hoping" getting to No. 6 USA. Her biggest hit was the classic "You Don't Have to say You Love Me", No 1 UK, and 4 USA.
Enjoy this site? Share with friends!
