Chart entered : 23 January 1964
Chart peak : 38
Although you don't hear this single much these days ( actually never ) this must be one of the most famous farewells to the chart of all. Helen has spent the last fifty years as a walking "Where are they now ? " story. I imagine her in August 2009 hearing news of the death of sad old Simon Dee and thinking "Christ, I'm on my own now !" ( Tellingly, Helen appeared on his one-off valedictory Dee Time in 2003 ) How did it happen that Helen was a has-been before she'd turned eighteen ? Why did we let this talented singer drift into the shadows while allowing Cilla to assault our eardrums for the best part of a decade ?
It's often said that the Beatles ( her support act in 1963 ) made her seem old-fashioned and unhip but "Fever" doesn't support that. Yes it's the old Peggy Lee number but it sounds exactly like the yet-to-chart Zombies ( what a shame they can't be included here ) with a different singer. ( Mr Blunstone himself is another fantastic vocalist that we've failed to adequately reward ). Johnny Keating is credited as the arranger. Helen's vocal is far from technically perfect as you'd expect from a 17 year old but it's still impressive.
Her next single in April 1964 ironically titled " Look Over Your Shoulder" sounds contemporary enough - the chord sequence prefigures Get Off My Cloud - but unfortunately it's not a great song and Helen ends up bludgeoning the weak melody to death. She also sounds like she's been listening to Gene Pitney without learning where to ease off. She picked a much better song for her next single in August 1964, The Miracles' "Shop Around" written by Gordy and Robinson. Helen's version was arranged by Ivor Raymonde with a short organ break but it's Helen's comfort with the R & B style that's striking here. Raymonde himself co-wrote her next single "I Wish I'd Never Loved You" a Dusty-esque ( Miss Springfield would later cover it herself ) dramatic ballad that shows off all Helen's range and is almost overpowering.
"Tomorrow Is Another Day" from March 1965 is bright Pitney pop although the way it speeds up at the end before suddenly stopping is a jarring mistake. "Here In Your Arms" is a touching ballad part written by Tom Springfield with Helen showing a greater control than on earlier recordings. "Something Wonderful" is a Rodgers-Hammerstein song from The King And I and despite a smooth vocal is rather soporific, an album track rather than a single.
"Forget About The Bad Things" is a brash and noisy R&B number in the Ike and Tina Turner style from January 1966 with a ballsy vocal but the abrupt changes in tempo don't do the song any favours. At the other end of the year she teamed up with Martin and Coulter for the lovely baroque pop of "In My Calendar" which frames her wonderful contralto vocal with dainty harpsichords and a respectful backing chorus.
Three years on from her last hit she was still trying and "Make Me Belong To You" from March 1967 is a poppier take on soul singer Barbara Lewis's US hit. It's competent but a bit average really. In August she released her final single on Columbia, "She Needs Company" a Paul Jones song previously recorded by Manfred Mann and a good example of mid-sixties beat pop. The B-side "Stop" became a Northern Soul favourite making this a very valuable single if you ever come across it.
Columbia then dropped her - you can't really blame them - and Helen , ( now Mrs Duncan Weldon ) limped off to Pye releasing "You'll Get Me Loving You" in September 1968 which I haven't heard. "Today Has Been Cancelled " is a smart , breezy pop song with a double-tracked vocal from Helen and a nice arrangement. " You've Guessed" in 1969 was co-written by her brother Ron and sounds like a failed Eurovision entry with its corny "La La La's " and Helen's is the wrong voice for such tripe.
On she went, into the seventies with Keith Forsey's "Take Down A Note Miss Smith " in February 1970. "Waiting On The Shores Of Nowhere" sounds like someone may have been listening to Dusty In Memphis with its horns and wailing backing singers but is pretty good in its own right with Helen's vocal beautifully controlled.
That turned out to be her swansong for Pye. At the same time as she was trying to revive her fortunes there she was toiling away on the cabaret circuit and waving goodbye to husband number one. In May 1972 decided she'd had enough telling her audience at Peterlee's Senate Club that she was fed up of "living out of a suitcase". The following month she got married again, to Morris Gundlash.
After taking a well-earned rest Helen dipped her toe in the water again with a single for DJM in 1975 "You're A Love Child". Two years later and freshly divorced, she tried again on Arista with Russ Ballard's "Can't Break The Habit" proving herself as adept a disco diva as anyone else but unfortunately on a mediocre song. It was enough to get her on a French TV show where she looked a bit chubbier in a horrible jump suit but still a confident performer. Arista gave her another shot but her cover of the Spencer Davis Group hit "Every Little Bit Hurts" sank without trace.
In the early eighties she branched out into musical theatre doing a year as Nancy in Oliver and also appearing as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. In 1982 she joined the cast of a new play Ello Ello Ello and ended up marrying its writer and actor John Judd ( the corrupt and racist warder in Scum ) and they're still together. She put out a new album "Straighten Up And Fly Right" in 1983 but neither it nor the single a version of Irving Berlin's "Let Yourself Go" made any impact. That was it as far as any new pop music from Helen was concerned though she still toured the hits.
In 1984 she began a long association with Humphrey Lyttleton touring with him as a jazz vocalist until 2001. She also released a string of jazz albums on the Calligraph label between 1985 and 1998 though they were apparently not particularly well received.
The following year she got a big break as an actress with a lead role in ITV's new soap Albion Market but it lasted barely a year. I don't think I ever saw it so I can't comment on what it or Helen's acting was like. I think its failure was partly due to bad timing with Eastenders still bedding in on BBC 1 and ITV concentrating on shoring up the ailing Crossroads. It's launch was also over-shadowed by the drawn-out deathbed drama of Coronation Street's Pat Phoenix ; ironically her partner and last minute husband Tony Booth was one of Helen's co-stars.
In 1987 Helen converted to Christianity and started doing gospel concerts as well as jazz and sixties revival gigs. I remember seeing an advert for her concert at Carlisle in March 1993 when I was walking the Settle-Carlisle Way. She also worked with Ken Bruce on Radio Two in the early 90s. She did a duet with Cliff on his 1998 album Yesterday Today Forever Yes . The tripartite approach to her musical career ( surely unique ) continued until 2002 when she retired from mainstream showbusiness to concentrate on her Gospel Outreach evenings. She put out a gospel album in 2010.
We shouldn't feel too sorry for Helen. She's a very likeable, well-grounded person who's in good health at 67 and has led a mostly happy and fulfilling life. There are far sadder stories to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment