St Winifred's School Choir, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in
Stockport,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, was a
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
of children whose
single entitled "
There's No One Quite Like Grandma
"There's No One Quite Like Grandma" was a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart, by the Stockport-based primary school choir St Winifred's School Choir from 21 December 1980 to 3 January 1981. It was written by Gordon Lorenz.
The song was a Chr ...
" in 1980 became that year's British
Christmas number one single.
Career
Formation
The choir had formed in 1968 and been recording songs since 1972, when Foley played the guitar with the choir and the conductor was Miss Olive Moore. In 1978, they were the uncredited
backing vocalists on the number one hit "
Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs
"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs (Lowry's Song)" is a folk song by English duo Brian and Michael. It was released as their first single in late 1977 on Pye Records, and is from their 1978 debut album, ''The Matchstalk Men''. The song re ...
" by
Brian and Michael
Brian and Michael are a British music duo best known for their 1978 UK number one hit single, " Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs". Without further chart entries, they remain one-hit wonders in the UK. They comprise two members: Mic ...
(actually Kevin Parrott and Michael Coleman). The single concerned the paintings of
L.S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...
and gave the choir their first appearance on the BBC One show ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
''.
"There's No One Quite Like Grandma"
Their first major single under their own name came in November 1979. During this time (in the late 1970s and the 1980s), Miss Terri Foley trained and conducted the choir. In 1980 the choir signed to
Music for Pleasure, an EMI associated label also known as MFP and released "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in time for the Christmas market. The song was written for the 80th birthday of
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
in 1980 by award-winning record producer
Gordon Lorenz and sold one million copies, most of them Christmas presents from grandchildren. It spent two weeks at
number one
Number One most commonly refers to:
* 1 (number)
Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song
* ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song
* ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC
* ''n.1 ...
, and 11 weeks in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in total.
It was also the only UK No. 1 single for the
MFP record label.
Over the next ten years they would release nine albums including in 1982, ''Christmas for Everyone''; and in 1986 ''Children's Party Time'', which included 32 arrangements of songs including
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...
's "
Waterloo" and "
Dancing Queen".
Recent work
In 1990, St. Winifred's School Choir teamed up with Ziba Banafsheh and recorded "A Better World" in aid of Mother Teresa of Calcutta's charity, for BMG's Ariola label. In 1993 they recorded the single "
One Voice" with
Bill Tarmey
Bill Tarmey (born William Piddington; 4 April 1941 – 9 November 2012) was an English actor and singer, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera '' Coronation Street''. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played ...
(better known as
Jack Duckworth
John "Jack" Duckworth is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Bill Tarmey. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 28 November 1979. Jack was introduced by executive pr ...
from ''
Coronation Street''), but ended up being uncredited on the release.
This
Barry Manilow cover would be produced by
Mike Stock and
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
from 1980s hitmaking production team
S/A/W and would reach number 16 in the UK singles chart for Tarmey (and BMG's Arista label).
In November 2009, 14 of the original choir members reunited to record a new version of "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" in association with Innocent Drinks to raise money for the
Age Concern
Age Concern is the banner title used by a number of charitable organizations ( NGOs) specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kin ...
charity.
Notable members
One of the children who appeared on
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
in the 1980 recording was
Sally Lindsay
Sally Jane Lindsay (born 8 July 1973) is an English actress and television presenter known for her roles as Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy series '' Mount Pleasant'' a ...
, who has gone on to become an actress, appearing in the
ITV soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Coronation Street'' and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. Another,
...