Barbara Dickson

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Barbara Dickson
Birth name Barbara Ruth Dickson
Born 27 September 1947 (1947-09-27) (age 60)
Dunfermline, Scotland, United Kingdom
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, actress, presenter
Instrument(s) vocals, guitar, piano
Years active 1968–present
Label(s) Voiceprint (2008)
Website www.barbaradickson.net

Barbara Dickson OBE (born Dunfermline, Fife, 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer, best known for her stage and concert performances, and some hit singles.

Contents

[edit] Early Years

Dickson's singing career started in folk clubs around her native Fife in 1964. Her first commercial recording was in 1968. Archie Fisher ran a folk club in Edinburgh, and invited her to sing with him on The Fate O' Charlie, a collection of Jacobite songs, in 1969. Her first solo album was Do Right Woman in 1970.

[edit] Success

She became a well-known face on the British folk circuit of the late '60's and early '70's but changed course after meeting Willy Russell. He was at that time a young student running a folk club in Liverpool. He showed Barbara the first draft of what would later become the award winning musical, John, Paul, George, Ringo….and Bert and asked her to perform the music. The combination of fine writing, a superb cast of young unknowns, (including Antony Sher, Bernard Hill and Trevor Eve), and Barbara’s idiosyncratic interpretation of Beatles songs made the show hugely successful.

The show’s co-producer, Robert Stigwood, signed Barbara to his record label, RSO Records, where she recorded the album ‘Answer Me’, arranged & produced by Junior Campbell, the title track becoming a top ten hit in 1976. This led to her guest residency on the much-loved series ‘The Two Ronnies’, which brought Barbara’s singing to the attention of more than 10 million BBC viewers every week.

Also impressed by Barbara’s performance were Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who invited her to record ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ from the new musical ‘Evita’, which became her second hit in 1977. She contributed two tracks to 'Scouse the Mouse' a children's album (1977) with Ringo Starr and others. Other hits including ‘Caravan Song’ and ‘January, February’, followed in 1980.

During the late 1970s, Barbara also contributed distinctive backing vocals to two best-selling albums by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty: City to City in 1978 and Night Owl in 1979.

[edit] Blood Brothers

In 1982, Willy Russell asked Barbara to star in his new musical ‘Blood Brothers’ in the pivotal role of the mother, Mrs. Johnstone. Although at first reluctant to accept, having never acted before, she rose to the challenge, in the process garnering critical acclaim as well as Actress of the Year in a Musical from the Society of West End Theatre in 1984. She has reprised the role many times, the latest being 2004 at the Liverpool Empire.

Later that year, Tim Rice approached Barbara to take part in the cast album recording of the musical ‘Chess’, which included the song ‘I Know Him So Well’, a duet sung with Elaine Paige. The song was a worldwide hit and remained at number one in the UK charts for many weeks. It is still in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling female duet.

[edit] Acting

During the 1990s Barbara appeared in various TV dramas including ‘Taggart’, the award winning ‘Band of Gold’ and ‘The Missing Postman’. Acclaimed writer and director Chris Bond created a show for Barbara in 1996 called ‘The Seven Ages of Woman’ which won her the Liverpool Echo Actress of the Year Award. It premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse and toured extensively in 1997 and 1998.

In 1999, Barbara starred in ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’, a new musical by Steve Brown and Justin Greene. The show, based on the rollercoaster life story of pools winner, Viv Nicholson, played in the West End to capacity audiences. For her portrayal of Viv, Barbara was awarded ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ at the 2000 Laurence Olivier Awards. She went on to star in the UK tour of the show.

Further theatre work followed in 'Friends Like This', the Heather Brothers musical ‘A Slice of Saturday Night’ and ‘Fame (musical)’. During 2006 Barbara appeared as the Timekeeper in Alan Ayckbourn and Denis King’s fantasy musical play ‘Whenever’ for BBC Radio 4. She has returned to TV recently in the BBC daytime drama series ‘Doctors’ and her episode, 'Mama Sings The Blues', was broadcast in March 2008.

[edit] Today

In 2003 Dickson worked with Willy Russell again, providing backing vocals for his album "Hoovering the Moon". In 2004 ‘The Platinum Collection’ reached number 35 in the UK album charts. It featured some of her most successful recordings. Her 2004 album, ‘Full Circle’, was produced and arranged by Troy Donockley and saw Barbara returning to her folk roots. In 2006 she issued a critically-acclaimed collection of the songs of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison entitled ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My World'.

Barbara's latest album, ‘Time and Tide’, was released in January 2008. It features a mix of contemporary and folk songs, and includes ‘Palm Sunday’, which marks Barbara's return to songwriting after a break of almost 20 years. A new live DVD, ‘Into the Light’, recorded in November 2007, has recently been released and includes, as well as some of her best-loved hits, several tracks from her new album. Barbara is also due to appear with Troy Donockley on ‘Songs of Praise’ in May 2008.

[edit] General

Married with three teenaged sons, Barbara lives in Lincolnshire. She was awarded an O.B.E. medal in the Queens’ New Year Honours in 2002.

[edit] Selected Album & Single Discography

Archie Fisher and Barbara Dickson

  • The Fate o' Charlie (1969)
  • Thro' The Recent Years (1970)

Solo albums

  • Do Right Woman (1970)
  • From The Beggar's Mantle (1972)
  • Answer Me (1976)
  • Morning Comes Quickly (1977)
  • Sweet Oasis (1978)
  • The Barbara Dickson Album (1980)
  • You Know It's Me (1981)
  • All For A Song (1982)
  • Here We Go (1982)
  • Tell Me It's Not True (1983)
  • Heartbeats (1984)
  • The Barbara Dickson Songbook (1985)
  • Gold (1985)
  • The Right Moment (1986)
  • After Dark (1987)
  • Coming Alive Again (1989)
  • Don't Think Twice It's Alright (1992)
  • Parcel of Rogues (1994)
  • Dark End of the Street (1995)
  • The 7 Ages of Woman (1998)
  • For The Record (2002)
  • The Platinum Collection (2004)
  • Full Circle (2004)
  • Nothing's Gonna Change My World (2006)
  • Time and Tide (2008)

Singles 7"

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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