Barry St. John | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Liz Thomson |
| Born | Eliza Janet Thomson November 1943[1][2] Gallowgate, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 24 July 2020 (aged 76)[3] Hither Green, London, England |
| Genres | Pop,R&B |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | c.1961–1990s |
| Labels | Decca,Columbia,Major Minor, Bradley's |
Eliza Janet Thomson (November 1943[2] – 24 July 2020),[3] who recorded asBarry St. John, was a Scottish female singer who had a No. 47 hit in theUK Singles Chart in December 1965 with "Come Away Melinda".[4][5] It was her only solo chart success.[6]
Born and raised inGallowgate, Glasgow, Scotland, Liz Thomson sang from a young age, and joined localbeat group, Bobby Patrick's Big Six, before they moved to London in January 1962. The group toured Germany and played clubs inHamburg, before Thomson decided to start a solo career and returned to England.[7]
As Barry St. John, she signed withDecca Records in 1964 and released her first single, a version ofthe Jarmels' "A Little Bit of Soap". Her follow-up, acover version ofthe Newbeats' hit "Bread and Butter", made the German pop chart later that year. Although she continued to release singles in the UK, they had little success. In 1965, she moved toColumbia Records, and had her onlyUK Singles Chart entry with "Come Away Melinda", aWeavers song previously recorded byHarry Belafonte which St. John recorded at the suggestion of record producerMickie Most.[1] Later releases on Columbia were less successful, although several became popular a few years later on theNorthern soul scene. In 1968, she recorded further solo singles, on theMajor Minor label, and also released an album,According to St. John, produced by Mike Pasternak, aliasEmperor Rosko.[8][9]
She was a member of theLes Humphries Singers between 1972 and 1973, but stayed on as a session singer for the band until 1975. St. John was also a background singer on many records, includingT. Rex'sTanx (1973),Pink Floyd'sThe Dark Side of the Moon (1973),Rick Wakeman'sThe Six Wives of Henry VIII in the same year, the concept albumThe Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (1974), andAndy Fairweather Low's,La Booga Rooga (1975).[10][11][12] She performed as asession musician for a string of other artists includingAlexis Korner,Long John Baldry, andDuster Bennett in the late 1960s, and withBryan Ferry,Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel andElton John in the 1970s.[13] Her other project work the following decade encompassedVivian Stanshall,Kevin Coyne,John Cale,Daevid Allen,Tom Robinson andWhitesnake.[6] Her work continued into the early 1990s withSqueeze andJorge Ben Jor.[14]
She died in July 2020, in London, England, at the age of 76.[3]
BARRY ST JOHN ; UK singer from Glasgow who sang backing for Pink Floyd, Elton John, Rick Wakeman and the Tom Robinson Band
