Beverley Sister Babs dies at 91
SINGER Babs Beverley, who captured the nation's hearts as a member of the Beverley Sisters, has died aged 91 after a five-year battle with cancer.
Babs shot to fame with twin Teddie and older sister Joy with hits including Little Drummer Boy, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and the Irving Berlin classic Sisters.
The group, the highest paid female act of their time, were the 1950s superstar equivalent of the Spice Girls and Little Mix.
Teddie is the surviving member of the vocal harmony trio. Joy died after a stroke in 2015, also aged 91.
Agent Johnny Mans said: “Babs had been living in a care home but still looked as gorgeous as ever despite her illness. Teddie is very upset. Babs will be sadly missed.
'The legend of The Beverley Sisters will go on for ever. They were the forerunners of groups like Little Mix, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls.”
The trio were also favourites of the Queen Mother. At the height of their fame the sisters – always immaculately dressed in identical outfits – appeared on the bill at the London Palladium above names such as Danny Kaye, Bob Hope and Max Bygraves.
They had their own BBC TV show and were also the first British girl group to break into the US Top 10. Babs Beverley, far right in 2006, and with her sisters Teddie, left, and Joy, centre, in their heyday The group went into semi-retirement after Joy married Wolverhampton Wanderers and England captain Billy Wright. They enjoyed a revival in the 1980s when nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow hired them for gay cabaret nights at his club.
The sisters went on to live in adjacent homes in north London, where they bought a plot of land and built three identical houses. Performing into the new millennium they sang for the Queen at her Golden Jubilee Concert in 2002 and took part in the 60th anniversary celebrations of D-Day in 2004.
In 2002 they entered the Guinness Book Of Records as the longest surviving vocal group without a change in line-up. Four years later they were at Buckingham Palace to receive their MBEs from the Queen. Born Babette Patricia Chinery in Bethnal Green, east London, she shared a bed with her siblings until they were teenagers.
The trio first gained attention after successfully auditioning for the Ovaltineys, the promotional vehicle for Ovaltine, and were immediately signed up as “Bonnie Babies” for an impressive 15 guineas a week.
This led to broadcasts on the BBC's Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme. The trio eventually came to the attention of American bandleader Glenn Miller who was so impressed he offered some of his musicians to accompany them and write song arrangements.
Babs married Scottish dentist James Mitchell in 1963 but they divorced four years later. She died on October 28 leaving no children.