From Ilford to Mayfair
Mark Willerton remembers singing star Kathy Kirby
Back in the mid-1950s, Kathy O’rourke, fresh out of convent school, found employment working at the Ilford Recorder. She undertook various duties in the newsroom, including proofreading, before becoming a telephonist there.
But Kathy’s ambition was to be a famous singer just like her idol, Doris Day It was in 1956 that Kathy met the famous bandleader Bert Ambrose. She went along to the Ilford Palais dressed to impress, with a plan in mind – to ask Ambrose if she could sing a song with his band. Amused by her cheeky charm, he gave her a chance. Kathy sang Love Me or Leave Me, a song that Doris Day had recorded the previous year. Kathy didn’t even finish in time with the band, but Ambrose noticed her raw talent.
Ambrose was well known for spotting a singer with potential, he had previously employed a young Anne Shelton and Vera Lynn as vocalists with his orchestra during the 1940s, when he was at the top of his game.
Ambrose invited Kathy, now known as Kathy Kirby (after adopting her stepfather’s surname) to join him and the band for the rest of the tour. Ambrose groomed Kathy for stardom with singing tuition, advice on deportment, how to apply stage makeup, and he even influenced her dress sense. By 1959, with her natural red hair dyed blonde, she became the double of Marilyn Monroe. But stardom remained elusive.
Meanwhile, she gained experience singing in Spain and Portugal, before returning to London for engagements at exclusive night spots including the Astor Club.
Ambrose was an important part of Kathy’s life, he became her manager as well as her lover, despite a 40-year age gap.
It was in 1963 that Kathy came to public attention – she successfully auditioned for a new TV show called Stars and Garters and became an overnight star. She was signed to the Decca label and hit records followed: Dance On, Secret Love and Let Me Go Lover. Then she was offered her own TV series by the BBC, making her the highest paid British female singer of the time. Kathy appeared in the Royal Variety Performance of 1964 and the following year represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest. Kathy sang I Belong and achieved second place. She became one of the biggest stars of the 1960s and was instantly recognisable by her glamorous looks, powerful singing voice and her trademark lip gloss. Kathy was now enjoying her success, as a big earner she could afford designer gowns, mink coats, holidays in Barbados and a plush flat in London’s Mayfair.
By the end of the 1960s, Kathy’s star had begun to fade. After Ambrose died in 1971, her world fell apart. The 1970s saw her facing bankruptcy and problems with her mental health. There was one last “comeback” in 1981 before Kathy slipped into early retirement and a reclusive lifestyle. Kathy Kirby died in 2011, just a few days after moving to Brinsworth House, the residential home for showbusiness people.
Hot off the press is a limited-edition coffee table book containing unseen images, taken in 1957, by society photographer Douglas Burn. Thirty photos feature Kathy as a dark-haired beauty, during her Ilford days, before she became the famous blonde singing star.
From Ilford to Mayfair – Kathy Kirby: The Early Years has been compiled by Mark Willerton and Ian Parkes. It is available on ebay for £11.95 plus postage.