Billie Davis
Our pick of the pops
The career of British singer Billie Davis was blighted by bad luck, preventing her from achieving the kind of success she, arguably, deserved.
She was born Carol Hedges on 22 December 1945 in Woking, Surrey. After leaving school she worked briefly as a secretary for an engineering firm until, after winning a talent contest, she recorded some demos for legendary producer Joe Meek.
Her manager, Robert Stigwood, gave her the stage name Billie Davis (as a kind of tribute to singer Billie Holiday and entertainer Sammy Davis Jnr) and, under this moniker, she signed with record label Decca in 1962.
Her first success came with the comic Will I what?, a UK top 20 hit in September of that year, on which she played the foil to Mike Sarne, much as future TV actress Wendy Richard had on Come outside, a number one hit earlier that year.
Billie followed this with a solo release in February 1963, a cover of the Exciters’ US hit Tell him, written by Bert Russell (also known as Bert Berns, the man behind much of Scottish singer Lulu’s early output). With her squeaky vocals and bang up-to-date bobbed hair, long boots and leather skirts, Billie caught the attention of British record buyers and the song made number ten in the UK charts.
A second-rate soundalike, He’s the one,
reached number 40 several months later.
Then, unhappy with Stigwood’s financial
arrangements, she quit Decca to join Columbia.
However, her career came to a standstill in
September 1963, when she and former
Shadows guitarist Jet Harris were involved in a
car crash on the way back from a concert in
Evesham, in the West Midlands. Billie’s jaw was
broken and Harris received serious head
injuries. But the biggest problem was her
demonisation by the tabloid press over her
relationship with Harris, who, though separated
from his wife, was technically still married. She
was unable to promote her first release on the
new label, Bedtime stories, and it disappeared
without trace.
Further singles, That boy John, School is over (a cover of L’école est finie, a French million seller by yé-yé girl Sheila) and the pounding Whatcha gonna do, a song which recaptured the vitality of Tell him, also bombed.
In 1965, she joined the Piccadilly label, but fared no better with singles such as The last one to be loved, the excellent No other baby, Heart and soul and Just walk in my shoes.
It wasn’t until she joined Pye in 1967 that her career began to pick up again, under the guidance of producer Michael Aldred (co-presenter of TV’s Ready, steady, go! music programme). Billie’s first single with the label, a version of Carole King’s Wasn’t it you, was a gem but didn’t sell.
Later that year, Aldred had her record Angel of the morning, with Kiki Dee, Madeleine Bell and PP Arnold on backing vocals. Arnold also recorded her own version and it was this that became the UK hit.
Make the feeling go away
1969
Whatcha gonna do
1964
I want you to be my baby
1968
Billie Davis on YouTube
Tell him
1963
Nobody's home to go home to
1969
No other baby
1965
I can remember
1969
Wasn't it you
1967
Follow the links to hear other singers' versions of Billie Davis songs
Angel of the morning
Liliane Saint-Pierre: Au revoir et à demain
PP Arnold: Angel of the morning
Hands off
Liz Brady: Bas les pattes
Tell him
Alma Cogan: Schneller
Billie went on to release the highly danceable I want you to be my baby, a cover of a Louis Jordan song from 1952, that looked like becoming a huge success. However, a strike at the record plant affected its availability and the single stalled at number 33 in the UK charts in November 1968. It has since become a favourite on the Northern soul dance scene.
Further singles followed, including the first-rate Make the feeling go away in January 1969, the melancholy I can remember (with the equally good Nobody’s home to go home to on the B-side) in May 1969, and a version of Nights in white satin at the end of the year.
Cover cuts
Buy online now
Billie Davis
Tell him: The Decca years
Billie Davis
Whatcha gonna do? Complete singles 1963-1966
In 1970 she released one further single for Decca, the Joe Cocker composition There must be a reason, and an album, before leaving the label for work in Spain in South America, where she continued to record throughout the 1970s and 80s.
In 2006, she joined former beau Jet Harris for a series of concerts.
Billie Davis online
