Ruby Florence Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996) was a Northern Irish singer. One of the most popular singers in Britain and Ireland in the 1950s, she scored ten hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1954 and 1959. She also made pop chart history in March 1955 by having five hits in the Top Twenty in a single week.

Child star

Ruby Florence Murray was born near the Donegall Road in south

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, the youngest child in a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family. She underwent surgery at six weeks of age due to swollen glands and, as a result, had a very husky voice. Entering a public speaking contest run by Eglinton Young Farmers Club, Londonderry in March 1947, she won a special prize for the youngest competitor under 18. A performance at the Ballymena Variety Theatre in February 1948 received a wonderful reception and she then toured in Northern Ireland as a child singer. Murray first appeared on television at the age of 12, having been spotted by producer Richard Afton. Owing to laws governing children performing, Murray had to delay her start in the entertainment industry. She returned to Belfast and full-time education until she was 14.

Chart success

Murray kept busy on the variety stage in Northern Ireland in the early 1950s and in 1954 she joined a touring revue called "Yankee Doodle Blarney" which gave her very useful exposure on the English variety stages. Richard Afton offered her the position of resident singer on the BBC's ''Quite Contrary'' television show, to replace

Joan Regan Joan Regan (born Joan E. Bethell; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English traditional pop singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Joan E. Bethell was born in either Romford, Essex, or West Ham, London (sour ...

. After being again spotted by Ray Martin on the first ''Quite Contrary'' show, Murray was signed to Columbia and her first single, "Heartbeat", reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1954. " Softly, Softly", her second single, reached number one in early 1955. That year Murray set a pop chart record by having five hits in the Top Twenty in one week, a feat unmatched for many years. In 2014, the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' issued three certificates confirming that at the date of issue, nobody had beaten this record, although it was shared with three other singers. The record by a female singer still until 2022. The 1950s was a busy period for Murray, during which she had her own television show, starred at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

with

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010), was an English actor, comedian, musician, and singer, best known for his series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966, in which he portrayed the endearingly inept charact ...

, appeared in a

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

(1955) and toured the world. In a period of 52 weeks, starting on 3 December 1954 and lasting until the end of November 1955, Murray constantly had at least one single in the UK charts – this at a time when only a Top 20 was listed. Murray appeared as "Ruby" in her only film role, '' A Touch of the Sun'', a 1956 farce with

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

and Dennis Price. A couple of hits followed later in the decade; " Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye", a No. 10 hit in 1959, was her final appearance in the charts.

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

put together a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of her hits on CD in 1989, including songs that regularly featured in her act; " Mr. Wonderful", " Scarlet Ribbons" and "It's the Irish in Me". They updated this with the release of ''EMI Presents The Magic of Ruby Murray'' in 1997 and a four CD album, ''Anthology – The Golden Anniversary Collection'', in 2005, the 50th anniversary of her peak successes on the charts.

Legacy

Murray's popularity led to her name being adopted in

Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

as a rhyme for "

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

". The phrase "have a ruby" appears in various episodes of the BBC TV comedy series ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

''. It also appeared in another BBC sitcom series, '' The Royle Family''. A play about Murray's life, ''Ruby'', written by the Belfast playwright Marie Jones, opened at the Group Theatre in Belfast in April 2000. A second play, by Michael Cameron, opened in Belfast on 13 February 2019 and was sold out at all performances. Virgin Atlantic G-VYUM a Boeing 787-9 is named the “Ruby Murray” in her honour.

Personal life

In 1957, while working in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, Murray met Bernie Burgess, a member of a successful television and recording vocal quartet, the Four Jones Boys. Shortly afterwards she left Northern Ireland to marry him and live in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

. Burgess, contrary to press reports, did not become her manager, but rather his role was that of a supporting husband. The couple included a song-and-dance segment in Murray's act during the 1960s. Murray struggled with alcoholism for most of her life and this contributed to the breakdown of her marriage in 1974. The divorce was finalised in 1976 and Murray moved to

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

to live with an old friend, Ray Lamar, a former stage dancer and theatre impresario, who was 18 years her senior. They married in 1991 and spent the evening with a small party of friends and family at an Italian restaurant in Babbacombe. Murray had two children from her marriage to Burgess, Julie (b. 1960) and Tim (b. 1965). Tim died unexpectedly from a heart condition in July 2020, aged 55. Although her days as a major star were long over, Murray continued performing until close to the end of her life, spending her last couple of years in Asprey's Nursing Home. She died of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

on 17 December 1996, aged 61. Lamar died on 3 August 2005 aged 87. Burgess died on 19 July 2024 aged 95.

Singles discography

* "Heartbeat" (1954) – UK number 3 * " Softly, Softly" (1955) – UK number 1 * "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" (1955) – UK number 6 * " Let Me Go Lover" (1955) – UK number 5 * "If Anyone Finds This, I Love You" (1955) – UK number 4 † * "Evermore" (1955) – UK number 3 * "I'll Come When You Call" (1955) – UK number 6 * "The Very First Christmas of All" (1955) – UK number 9 (Record Mirror) * "You are My First Love" (1956) – UK number 16 * "Real Love" (1958) – UK number 18 * " Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" (1959) – UK number 10 † Ruby Murray with Anne Warren For further discography, se
this page
on the official Ruby Murray website.

References

External links

Official website

45rpm.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Ruby 1935 births 1996 deaths Musicians from Belfast 20th-century women singers from Northern Ireland Deaths from liver cancer in England Pop singers from Northern Ireland Presbyterians from Northern Ireland 1950s in Irish music 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music