Jackie Trent
Jackie Trent | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Yvonne Ann Burgess |
Also known as | Yvonne Ann Gregory[1] |
Born | Newcastle-under-Lyme, England | 6 September 1940
Died | 21 March 2015 Menorca, Spain | (aged 74)
Genres | Popular music, theatre |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, actress |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1962–2015 |
Labels | Pye, Piccadilly, Oriole, Columbia |
Yvonne Ann Gregory (born Yvonne Ann Burgess;[2] 6 September 1940 – 21 March 2015), better known by her stage name Jackie Trent, was an English singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for co-writing (with Tony Hatch) several hits for Petula Clark in the 1960s and the theme tune to the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1985.
Career
Early years
Trent was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, the daughter of coal-miner Les Burgess and his wife Lily.[3] Her first stage appearance was as an eight-year-old ingenue in the pantomime Babes in the Wood[4] and at the age of nine she won first prize in a national poetry competition. At the age of 11 she won the Carrol Levis and His Discoveries talent show[5] and thereafter changed her stage name to "Jackie Trent", having lived in Stoke-on-Trent for the few years previous.[4] She sang at local venues and was known as "the Vera Lynn of the Potteries".
Her first single, "Pick Up the Pieces", was released in 1962 on the
Petula Clark's 1966 hit, "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" was inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and Hatch, and they subsequently went public with their relationship.[8] In August 1967 they were married in Kensington.[8] Their duet "The Two Of Us" topped the Australian charts and created a demand for concert and cabaret performances earning the duo the nickname of "Mr & Mrs Music".
Although she recorded several singles and albums, both as a solo artist and with her husband, Trent was more successful as a songwriter than a singer..
In 1968 the couple also wrote the song "Joanna", a hit for Scott Walker.[11]
In the late 1960s, Trent returned to the stage with a UK tour of the musical Nell, playing Gwynne opposite Hermione Baddeley as the title character. The show opened at the Richmond Theatre for a season in 1970.[12]
1970s
In 1970, Trent recorded the
The second Hatch/Trent musical was Rock Nativity, with book and lyrics by
In 1972, the couple wrote the song "We'll Be With You", a celebration of Trent's home town football club
Theme to Neighbours
After Trent and Hatch relocated to Australia in the 1980s, they were asked to write the theme song for the television soap-opera Neighbours.[5] The soap opera was going to be called Ramsay Street, before the couple penned the song. Trent told Jessie Stoelwinder from The West Australian, "We wrote the song as Neighbours because we said Ramsay Street was too close to Coronation Street, which was the major soap in Britain."[16] The theme was written and recorded in a day and Trent said "We called in Barry Crocker at about 10pm to put his voice on it and it was on the producer's desk by 10am the following morning. And they loved it, so the series was then called Neighbours."[16]
Recording career
In a recording career spanning 1962–1990, Trent issued a total of twelve albums, five compilations and 51 singles.[17]
Later years
After returning to the UK, Trent toured with the musical High Society, in 1995.[3]
In 2014 Trent worked with the Porthill Players on a stage show of her life.[18] Prior to her death, she had been scheduled to appear in Jackie in May 2015.[19]
Personal life
When Trent and Hatch married in August 1967, Hatch already had two daughters from his first marriage. The couple went on to have a son and daughter together. They separated in 1995 and divorced in 2002. Hatch married Maggie Clough in May 2005, living with her in Spain.[8]
Trent married Colin Gregory[3] in November 2005.[20] She died in hospital on 21 March 2015, aged 74, in Menorca, Spain, after a long illness.[8]
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
- ^ a b c "Jackie Trent obituary". The Guardian. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85712-360-2.
- ^ a b Ault, Richard (18 December 2017). "Being Me: How Jackie Trent came to romance Elvis and write songs for Frank Sinatra". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Leigh, Spencer (22 March 2015). "Jackie Trent: Singer who wrote hits for Petula Clark as well as the theme tunes to Neighbours and Crossroads". The Independent. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Jackie Trent, singer – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Singer-songwriter Jackie Trent dies, aged 74". BBC News. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Biography by Richie Unterberger". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^ "Jackie Trent, singer-songwriter, dies at 74". The Guardian. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Lee, Adrian (23 March 2015). "We say farewell to Jackie Trent – the songwriter to the stars". Daily Express. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ISBN 9781843835424.
- ^ "THEATRE / Plain dealer: Rhoda Koenig on The Card in Regent's Park". The Independent. 3 August 1994.
- ^ a b "The story of the nativity is put to music in a stage production at the Cork Opera House". RTÉ. 1980.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Stoelwinder, Jessie (18 January 2013). "Tunesmith back in Neighbourhood". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Jackie Trent discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Musical about songwriter Jackie Trent". BBC News. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ Profile Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, stoksentinel.co.uk; accessed 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Songwriter Jackie Trent dies at 74". Belfast Telegraph. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2023.