Claire and Friends were an English music group, consisting of schoolgirl Claire Usher and her friends, from St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

. Their one

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

was with the

novelty record A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

"It's 'Orrible Being in Love (When You're 8½)", which entered the UK Singles Chart on 7 June 1986, and reached number 13. The song is about a girl who has a crush on a boy in her class. The chorus consists of: The song was intended as a kind of follow-up to the number one hit "

There's No One Quite Like Grandma "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" is a song by the Stockport-based primary school choir St Winifred's School Choir, released as a single in November 1980. It was number-one on the UK Singles Chart from 21 December 1980 to 3 January 1981. The ...

", which the St Winifred's School Choir recorded at the start of the 1980s. The song was written and produced by another act who had reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their only credited entry as

Brian and Michael Brian and Michael were 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 comprised two members: M ...

, with Mick Coleman writing the song (under the name D.M. Coleman) and Kevin Parrott ('Brian') producing it. This was because Brian and Michael's 1978 number one hit " Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" had featured an uncredited St Winifred's School Choir as backing vocalists (with the choir going on to release an album called ''The Matchstalk Children''). The demo was submitted to a talent-spotting feature on the BBC

children's television programme Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

Saturday Superstore ''Saturday Superstore'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1982 to 18 April 1987. It was shown on Saturday mornings with presenters including Mike Read, Sarah Greene, Keith Chegwin, and John Craven. The ...

'', where it beat a thousand other entries. Claire and Friends' hit was released on both 7" and 12" vinyl by BBC Records and Tapes (now part of

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

) in 1986, with the 12-inch version also featuring the 'Megaminormix' version of the song. However in January 1987, future ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' chart analyst Alan Jones reported in his ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' column that only 0.2% of the sales of "It's 'Orrible Being in Love" were on

12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

, the lowest proportion of any hit single available on the format in 1986. This equated to fewer than 200 copies being sold on the larger format. After "It's 'Orrible Being in Love (When You're 8½)" was a top 40 success, the BBC followed it up with a solo single by Usher. Called "Superman", this single was credited simply to 'Claire' and continued the story from the original single, but was not a top 75 hit. Claire also issued an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, mostly of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s but with a few further originals by Coleman. Entitled ''Super Claire'', this release also was not a commercial success, missing the UK top 100 albums chart. After no further chart successes, the act has remained a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

. In adulthood, Claire Usher (later Usher-McMorrow) obtained a degree in drama and became a dancer, and appeared in the stage show ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 2000, and in the show's UK tour. She later wrote songs for indie pop band Shrag.

References

{{Reflist English pop music groups British novelty song performers Musical groups from Greater Manchester BBC Records artists English child singers

See also

References