The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dundee’s ‘queen of swing’ Yvonne Robb, 93
Dundee’s “queen of swing” has died, aged 93.
Yvonne Robb was born in the city’s Stobswell on November 13 1926 into a musical family.
She taught herself to sing and play piano, with help from her mother who performed in the local church choir.
Yvonne was renowned as one of the greatest performers to come from Dundee, playing at the London Palladium on the same bill as Shirley Bassey, Ronnie Hilton and Frankie Vaughan.
Before taking up singing professionally, she served as a nurse during the Second World War and then went on to work at Timex, before marrying and moving to Leeds to start a family.
As well as bringing up her four children – Derek, Phyllis, Graham and Angus – she became a popular name on the musical circuit in Leeds.
She played in many of the clubs in the Yorkshire city, such as the Leeds City Varieties Music Hall.
In 1955 she represented her adopted home in the television competition Top Town. Leeds won the contest and Yvonne’s name was inscribed on the trophy.
She was also the lead singer with the Alan Ainsworth Orchestra in the 1950s and 1960s.
After the death of her husband, she returned to Dundee to raise her family, where she continued to delight audiences with her voice and piano skills.
She took up a residency at legendary Dundee club Rendezvous in the 1960s, playing alongside jazz musicians such as George Ferguson, George Cabrelli, Brian Hughes and Billy Graham.
In the 1970s she joined a trio with John Huband and Jim Cruickshank, playing a string of shows to sold-out crowds in Dundee and across Scotland.
Yvonne spent the 1990s performing with the Storyville All Stars, a Dixieland “supergroup” made up of players from Havana Swing and the East Coast Jazzmen, with invited guests.
The group performed annually at Discovery Point to raise money for the organisation.
Outside of performing, she was a dedicated volunteer. In 2001, she held her birthday celebration concert at the Marryat Hall, drawing in a stellar line-up of musicians to perform.
She donated all proceeds to Ninewells Hospital’s diabetes research to mark her 75th birthday.
Music was Yvonne’s passion and, in her later life, she continued songwriting and performing in Invergowrie and Dundee.
She passed away peacefully at Janet Brougham Nursing Home on January 6 surrounded by her family.
Yvonne is survived by her four children and her grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held at Dundee Crematorium next Tuesday at 3.30pm.