The McKinlay Sisters were a Scottish

pop duo A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guit ...

comprising sisters Sheila (born 12 December 1941, Little France, Edinburgh, Scotland – 16 December 2012, Bournemouth, England) and Jeanette McKinlay (1 September 1948, Little France, Edinburgh, Scotland). The sisters recorded pop singles such as "Sweet and Tender Romance", which they sang on the TV pop show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

''. They also performed on the same bill with such groups as

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and

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Subsequent music careers

Following the release of their fourth single in 1965, the sisters moved to Germany where they toured as The McKinlay Sisters. Jeanette later became one-half of a vocal duo called Die Windows, scoring a #1 hit in 1972 with a German language cover of the

Mouth & MacNeal Mouth and MacNeal were a Dutch pop duo that enjoyed commercial success in the 1970s. Their recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972 topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit and number 2 in Canada. They represented the Netherlands at the ...

song " How Do You Do". Both sisters also provided backing vocals for

Paice Ashton Lord Paice Ashton Lord was a short-lived British rock band featuring Deep Purple band members Ian Paice and Jon Lord with singer Tony Ashton. The band was formed in 1976, released its only album in 1977 and broke up in 1978. History After Deep Pur ...

's 1977 album '' Malice in Wonderland''. Sheila sang on

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

's '' Stop and Smell the Roses'' and ''Das erste Mal'' by

Marius Müller-Westernhagen Marius Hubertus Hans Müller-Westernhagen (born 6 December 1948) is a German musician and actor. He has been a feature in German rock music since the mid-1970s. Müller-Westernhagen is known for his energetic public concerts, and his fans know h ...

Later life

Both women eventually returned to the UK, Sheila settling down in Bournemouth with her husband

Howie Casey Howard William Casey (born 12 July 1937) is a British rhythm and blues and rock saxophonist. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors, the first rock and roll band from Liverpool to play clubs in Germany, a ...

, (saxophonist for

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and band leader of Howie Casey and the Seniors), where they still performed music on a regular basis. Jeanette meanwhile returned to Edinburgh, settling down and marrying a local man, going on to have 4 children. On 16th December 2012, Sheila passed after battling cancer, aged 71. In 2024, the McKinlay sisters were featured prominently in the documentary film "Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands", which features an interview with Jeanette recounting her music career with her sister. This went on to win "Best Scottish Film" in The List Festival Awards.

Singles

*"Someone Cares for Me" (Columbia, 1964) *"When He Comes Along" (Columbia, 1964) *"Sweet and Tender Romance" (Parlophone, 1964) *"Give Him My Love" (Columbia, 1965) written by

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

*"I Want You" (Fontana, Germany, 1967) *"Wer nicht hören will muss fühlen" (Fontana, 1967) *"Große Katastrophe" (Fontana, 1968)

References

External links

The McKinlay Sisters
at allmusic.com

at classicbands.com * Die Windows Wikipedia entry at de.Wikipedia.org
Since Yesterday Edinburgh film festival entry
at edfilmfest.org
Since Yesterday IMDB page
at imdb.com Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Musical groups from Edinburgh Scottish musical duos Sibling musical duos Scottish pop music groups Parlophone artists EMI Records artists 1962 establishments in Scotland Scottish all-female bands Scottish girl groups {{Scotland-band-stub