Britain was the world’s undisputed centre of pop in the 1960s. Though male groups dominated the UK charts, each of the four main record labels had a girl singer to satisfy those teenagers in need of a heroine fix. And give all those gay men a whole new slew of icons to worship.
Together the four of the girls – Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black – scored nearly 60 top 40 UK hits between 1963 and the end of the decade, including half a dozen number ones. Petula Clark, who was older and ended up with the unenviable ‘easy listening’ tag, added a further ten hits and one chart topper to the tally.
Here is Queerguru’s Top 15 List of the best of the girls singing their hit singles. Some achieved international stardom whilst other homegrown talent were just stars in their own galaxy.
Dusty Springfield : was the most successful British female performer, with six top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sixteen on the UK Singles Chart from 1963 to 1989. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and UK Music Hall of Fame. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, as well as her flamboyant performances, made her an icon. Plus the fact she was a closeted lesbian made us all feel closer to her.
Sandie Shaw: With “Puppet on a String”, this barefoot songstress became the first British entry to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She had another two UK number one singles with “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” (1964), “Long Live Love” In 1984 she returned to the UK top 40, for the first time in 15 years with her cover of the Smiths song “Hand in Glove“
Cilla Black hailed from Liverpool and knew the Beatles when they all played at The Cavern Club together and they championed her early career. Her singles “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “You’re My World” both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between then and 1971. Later on Black very successfully hosted TV Chat and Game Shows and at one time was the highest paid entertainer on British TV.
Lulu is a Scottish singer-songwriter known for her powerful singing voice. Known for her 1964 hit “Shout” and also for her Eurovision Song Contest 1969 winning entry “Boom Bang-a-Bang“, Later in her career she had hits internationally with “To Sir with Love” from the 1967 film of the same name and with the title song to the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.
Marianne Faithfull achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single “As Tears Go By” and became one of the lead female artists during the British Invasion in the United States. Discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham. the manager of the Rolling Stones, Faithfull had a highly publicised romantic relationship with Mick Jagger. Her popularity was further enhanced by her film roles, such as I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), and Hamlet (1969).
Helen Shapiro is a British pop singer, jazz singer, and actress best known for her two 1961 UK chart toppers, “You Don’t Know” and “Walkin’ Back to Happiness“, both recorded when she was just fourteen years old. When she went on Tour in 1963 The Beatles were actually her Supporting Act.
Petula Clark had her first hit in 1954 with “The Little Shoemaker” — the first of her big UK hits . In late 1964 Clark’s global success extended to America with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch (and Jackie Trent). These include her signature song “Downtown“, “I Know a Place“, “My Love“, “A Sign of the Times“, “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love“, “Who Am I“, “Colour My World“, “This Is My Song” (by Charlie Chaplin), “Don’t Sleep in the Subway“, “The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener” and “Kiss Me Goodbye“. She has sold more than 68 million records.
Jackie Trent was a singer-songwriter and actress. who was best known for co-writing (with Tony Hatch) the theme tunes to the dating game show Mr & Mrs for Border Television in 1975 and the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1985. Her first single, “Pick Up the Pieces”, was released in 1962 and three years later that she scored her first hit with “Where Are You Now“
Mary Hopkins is a Welsh folk singer was one of the earliest signings to the Beatles‘ Apple label, and she best known for her 1968 UK number one single “Those Were the Days. Her next single was “Goodbye“, written by McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and released on 26 March 1969
Twinkle, was an English singer-songwriter who had chart successes in the 1960s with her best known songs “Golden Lights and Terry. Her song “Terry” was a teenage tragedy song about the death of a boyfriend in a motorcycle crash. Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page and Bobby Graham were among the high-profile star session musicians who played on the recording. The record caused a furore, accusations of bad taste leading to a ban from the BBC.
Billie Davis is an English female singer who is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, “Tell Him” (1963) and “I Want You to Be My Baby” (1968). Davis was an early proponent of many of the fashion styles for which the 1960s are remembered: bobbed hair, long boots of the kind popularised by Honor Blackman in early episodes of The Avengers and leather mini-skirts.
Susan Maughan’s most famous and successful song, “Bobby’s Girl” (a cover of the Marcie Blane single), reached number three in the UK Singles Chart at Christmas time in 1962. It also reached number six in the Norwegian chart in that year. Maughan had further minor UK hits entitled “Hand A Handkerchief To Helen” and “She’s New To You”.
Alma Cogan, was an English singer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the “Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice”, she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Many of her recordings were covers of U.S. hits and “Bell Bottom Blues“, became her first hit. She was also famous for her obsession with glamourous gowns. Her early death at aged 34 cemented her reputation as a gay icon.
Julie Rogers is an English pop singer best known for her multi-million selling song, “The Wedding“. She had further UK hits with “Like a Child” (UK No. 20, US No. 67) and “Hawaiian Wedding Song” (UK No. 31), both in 1965.
Julie Grant is an English pop music singer who had three hits on the UK Singles Chart with “Up on the Roof”, “Count on Me” and “Come to Me” (1964) She also recorded a cover version of “Every Day I Have to Cry” (1964).
