St Winifred's School Choir | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Stockport,Greater Manchester, England |
| Works | "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" |
| Years active | 1968 (1968)–2009 (2009) |
| Past members | Sally Lindsay Jennifer Hennessy Dawn Ralph Dominic Blythe Nicola Williams Carolyn O'Driscoll Tara Daynes |
St Winifred's School Choir was a children's vocal ensemble fromSt Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School inStockport,Greater Manchester. Formed in 1968, the choir achieved significant commercial success in the late 1970s and 1980s, most notably for their 1980 single "There's No One Quite Like Grandma". This track, written for the 80th birthday ofQueen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and sold over one million copies.
Under the direction of conductor Terri Foley, the choir previously appeared as uncredited backing vocalists forBrian and Michael's 1978 hit "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs". Over the decades, the ensemble released multiple albums and participated in various charitable recordings, including a 2009 reunion to support Age Concern. Notable former members include actressesSally Lindsay andJennifer Hennessy.
The choir had formed in 1968 and been recording songs since 1972,[1] when Miss Terri Foley played the guitar with the choir and the conductor was Miss Olive Moore. In 1978, they were the uncreditedbacking vocalists on the number one hit "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" byBrian and Michael (actually Kevin Parrott and Michael Coleman). The single concerned the paintings ofL.S. Lowry and gave the choir their first appearance on the BBC One showTop of the Pops.[2]
Their first major single under their own name came in November 1979. During this time, Foley trained and conducted the choir. In 1980, the choir signed toMusic for Pleasure, an EMI associated label also known as MFP and released "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in time for the Christmas market.[3]
The song featured Dawn Ralph as the soloist and was written for the 80th birthday ofQueen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1980 by record producerGordon Lorenz and sold one million copies, most of them Christmas presents from grandchildren. It spent two weeks atnumber one, and 11 weeks on theUK Singles Chart in total.[4] It was also the only UK No. 1 single for theMFP record label.
Over the next ten years, they would release nine albums[5] including in 1982,Christmas for Everyone; and in 1986Children's Party Time, which included 32 arrangements of songs includingABBA's "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen" andBoney M.'s "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday" and "Brown Girl in the Ring".
In 1990, St Winifred's School Choir teamed up with Ziba Banafsheh and recorded "A Better World"[6] in aid ofMother Teresa of Calcutta's charity, for BMG's Ariola label. In 1993, they recorded a cover ofBarry Manilow's "One Voice" withBill Tarmey (who playedJack Duckworth inCoronation Street), but ended up being uncredited on the release.[2][7] This cover would be produced byMike Stock andPete Waterman from 1980s hitmaking production teamStock Aitken Waterman and would reach number 16 on the UK Singles Chart for Tarmey (and BMG's Arista label).[8]
In November 2009, 14 of the original choir members reunited to record a new version of "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in association with Innocent Drinks to raise money for theAge Concern charity.[9][10]
One of the children who appeared ontelevision in the 1980 recording of "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" wasSally Lindsay, who has gone on to become an actress,[11] appearing in theITVsoap operaCoronation Street and theBBCsitcomThe Royle Family. Another,Jennifer Hennessy, is also a television actress and has appeared in the BBCdramaDoctor Who and the BBCcomedyThe Office.[12]
The choir released several albums, mostly through the Music For Pleasure (MFP) label:
