Sandie Shaw

Our pick of the pops

Beat babe Sandie Shaw was one of Britain’s top female singers of the 1960s – enjoying three UK number one singles and a win at the Eurovision song contest.

She was born Sandra Goodrich in Dagenham, Essex, east of London, on 26 February 1947. After leaving school she worked at the nearby Ford factory and did some part-time modelling. However, as a result of coming second in a talent contest, she got to appear at a charity concert in London at which singer Adam Faith was singing. He spotted her potential and introduced to his manager, Eve Taylor.

Taylor was initially unimpressed, assuming that Faith’s interest lay more in her beauty than in her singing ability. However, she relented and within a fortnight, the singer had a contract – and a stage name – with the Pye record label.

Young songwriter Chris Andrews was assigned to Sandie and he penned her first single, As long as you’re happy baby, issued in July 1964. The single flopped, but on a trip to the US, Taylor heard a song that had been a minor hit for Lou Johnston. The song, (There’s) always something there to remind me, had been written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, whose Anyone who had a heart had given fellow Brit girl Cilla Black her first number one earlier that year.

Sandie recorded it and her version topped the UK charts for three weeks in October 1964.

The Chris Andrews penned I’d be better far

better off without you was issued as the

follow up, but DJs preferred its B-side and the

sides were officially switched. The result was a

top three hit for Sandie in December 1964 with

Girl don’t come.

It was swiftly followed into the top five by I’ll

stop at nothing, in February 1965.

Another Andrews song, Long live love, gave

Sandie her second UK number one, in May

1965. Though she wasn’t the greatest vocalist,

she was arguably the coolest of the girl singers

of the day. Mods, in particular, loved her and

her trademark barefoot performances

endeared her to the public at large.

By this time was also issuing versions of her hits in French, German, Italian and Spanish, to increase her appeal in the rest of Europe. Many of these were also released as EPs at home.

Her next UK release, Message understood, made number six in the autumn of 1965, but the shouty How can you tell (deservedly) missed the top 20 at the end of the year.

1966 started well, with the gem Tomorrow sweeping into the top ten, but Nothing comes easy only made number 14, suggesting that the public had began to tire of the Chris Andrews formula. Her next two singles, the atmospheric Run and the ballad Think sometimes about me, both stalled at number 32. (The latter should, arguably, have been flipped to make Hide all emotion – a song written by Marty Wilde, who also penned hits in the 1960s for Lulu and, in the 1980s, for his daughter Kim – the A side.)

When I don’t need anything missed the top 40 altogether, it looked like Sandie’s career was washed up.

Sandie enjoyed her third UK number one – a record for a female singer at that time – with her winning song and a huge hit throughout the rest of Europe. Interestingly, she also released an EP of the other songs from the final, called Tell the boys, after the first-rate but second-placed song from the national final.

She turned to Martin and Coulter for a follow up to their Eurovision winner. Unfortunately, the best they could offer was the rather limp Tonight in Tokyo, which didn’t exactly consolidate her position when it stalled just outside the top 20 in the charts.

She returned to Chris Andrews for further singles, though You’ve not changed proved an appropriate title for this standard Andrews fare. It made number 18 in the autumn of 1967, and the follow up, Today (a thinly disguised revisit of the hit Tomorrow), managed only number 27 in February 1968.

Don’t run away, issued in April 1968, missed the charts altogether.

With her tall, slim frame, modelling experience and, by now, fashion designer husband (Jeff Banks), it was no surprise when Sandie launched her own range of clothes later that year. She also began hosting her own television show, The Sandie Shaw supplement, which spawned an album of the same name.

In a bid to capitalise on her popularity in mainland Europe, Sandie released the not-great Monsieur Dupont, a cover of an 18-month-old hit by German singer Manuela. It was her last top 40 hit of the decade, making number six in the UK charts February 1969 and the French top 20 shortly afterwards.

However, the even worse follow up, Think it all over, missed the UK top 40, and her last single of the 1960s, Heaven knows I’m missing him now, surprisingly, flopped completely.

She also took over production on her last album of the decade, Reviewing the situation, on which she surprised the industry and the public by covering songs by Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, amongst others.

She went through a lean period in the 1970s, but returned to the charts in the 1980s, thanks initially to a collaboration with the Smiths, and enjoyed further small hits.

She now runs her own psychiatric practice.

Long live love

1965

Tomorrow

1966

Tell the boys

1967

Sandie Shaw on YouTube

Puppet on a string

1967

Girl don't come

1965

Hide all emotion

1966

Run

1966

(There's) always something there to remind me 1964

However, salvation came in the form of 1967’s Eurovision song contest. Sandie was invited by the BBC to perform all five entries for the UK selection. Although she had reservations about doing it, she recognised that she needed the exposure and was guaranteed another hit. She performed the songs on the Rolf Harris Show and the public picked the Bill Martin/Phil Coulter composition Puppet on a string. She was disappointed, as the song was the least representative of her material.

However, she gave it her all at the contest in Vienna in April and it won convincingly (beating, amongst others, Greek-born Vicky’s entry for Luxembourg, L’amour est bleu, which went on to become a worldwide hit for the Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra).

Cover cuts

Buy online now

Sandie Shaw

Nothing comes easy (Box set)

Amazon.co.uk

Other languages

Sandie Shaw online