Marion Ryan (4 February 1931 – 15 January 1999) was a British singer in the 1950s in the early years of British Independent Television. She was once called "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song".

Early life

Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, England, she attended Notre Dame Collegiate School for Girls in Leeds, now

Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College Notre Dame is a Catholic Church, catholic Sixth Form College in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The college is situated on Saint Mark's Avenue, near the engineering departments of the University of Leeds in Woodhouse, Leeds. It is near the (for ...

Career

Marion Ryan was working in a hosiery shop in Leeds and she broke into show business when she approached Ray Ellington who was performing at the Locarno in Liverpool in July 1953 and asked to sing with his quartet. He allowed her to do so and the audience reaction was so good he signed her up to work with the quartet. She made her debut with them at the Locarno, Glasgow in September 1953. Her first radio appearance took place on the show "Stepping Out at Radio Roadhouse" on the Light Programme on 27 October 1953 when the Ellington quartet were the guest band. She continued to tour with Ellington until 1957 and made further radio appearances with them including the popular

Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

. She began recording for

Pye Nixa PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

in 1956 and mainly made cover versions of American hits. Her version of " Love Me Forever" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1958. Her first LP "A Lady Loves" was released in 1959. Beginning in June 1956, she was the regular singer in the popular musical quiz ''Spot the Tune'' on

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

for seven years, with a total of 209 half-hour programmes, which featured several star hosts including

disc-jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

Pete Murray, the Canadian pop singer Jackie Rae, and the comedians Ken Platt and Ted Ray, and also Peter Knight and his orchestra. The show re-emerged in the 1970s as '' Name That Tune''. Ryan went solo in 1957 and undertook her first variety tour and then went on tour with Cyril Stapleton and his Show Band. She made six appearances in BBC's ''

Six-Five Special ''Six-Five Special'' is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain. Description ''Six-Five Special'' was the BBC's first attempt at a rock-and-roll programme. ...

'' in 1957 and 1958 and she appeared in the ''

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

'' in 1959 Ryan appeared on '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in 1963 and made one brief appearance as herself in the film '' It's All Happening'', with singer

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

the same year. She had important guest spots on The

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Show in 1958 and The

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Show in 1961.

Personal life

Her first marriage, at the age of 17, was to Lloyd George Frederick Sapherson (known as Fred) (1913–2001) in the second quarter of 1948. They had twin sons, Barry and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

(born

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, 24 October 1948), a successful vocal duo in the 1960s. In 1969, she married the

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

agent Harold Davison (1922–2011) and they had a daughter named Caroline. After which, she gradually eased herself into retirement. She died from a heart attack at age 67 in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

, United States.

References

External links

"Best Before the Beat"
(Obituary in ''The Guardian'', 17 January 1999) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Marion 1931 births 1999 deaths Musicians from Middlesbrough 20th-century English singers English women pop singers 20th-century English women singers Pye Nixa artists