Mary Hopkin

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Mary Hopkin (1980)

Mary Hopkin (born May 3, 1950 in Pontardawe , Glamorgan , Wales ) is a British singer. It had its greatest success in 1968 with the title Those Were the Days .

Life

Mary Hopkin at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970

She started her musical career while she was still at school as a folk singer in the folk band Selby Set and Mary . She also sang in Welsh . At 17, she was spotted by model Twiggy on the TV show Opportunity Knocks , who reached out to Paul McCartney . A little later, Mary Hopkin was the Beatles - music label Apple Records under contract taken. In 1968 she made her international breakthrough with Those Were the Days . In 1969 she had a hit with the song Goodbye , which Paul McCartney wrote. The single Temma Harbor was also a great success. With Knock Knock Who's There Mary Hopkin took second place for Great Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest on March 21, 1970 . Mary Hopkin was also able to land a great success in 1976 with the single Tell Me Now .

In 1971 Hopkin married the American producer Tony Visconti ; the marriage lasted until 1981. In May 1972 she appeared in the Royal Festival Hall in London in the opening act of Ralph McTell . In late 1972 she brought out the single Mary Had a Baby . She worked for various bands (e.g. Thin Lizzy , Steeleye Span ) as a background singer . After various television appearances between 1973 and 1977 she worked on the first British folk-rock concept album The King of Elflands Daughter with, among others, Alexis Korner , Chris Farlowe and Christopher Lee . In 1976 their second daughter Jessica was born.

The early 1980s were Mary Hopkins' busiest period. After the breakdown of their marriage, she took part in the Christmas musical Rock Nativity at the Hexagon Theater in Reading , where she sang the part of the Virgin Mary. During this time she met the record producer Mike Hurst and founded the group Sundance with him and the ELO musician Mike de Albuquerque. The group released only one single called What's Love ... on the Bronze record label. However, it was so successful that the band Dr. Hook took her on a UK tour.

In 1984 she worked on a new project, a group called Oasis (not to be confused with the rock group Oasis ). The group consisted of Julian Lloyd-Webber, Peter Skellern, Mitch Dalton, Bill Lovelady and Mary Hopkin. After a promising start, however, the group broke up when Lloyd-Webber quit because of a solo project and Mary Hopkin fell ill during a tour in Cardiff and the performances had to be canceled despite thousands of tickets already sold.

In 1988 Mary Hopkin teamed up with other Welsh artists and sang the part of Rosie Probert in the musical Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas under the direction of George Martin . Other contributors included a. Anthony Hopkins , Jonathan Pryce , Bonnie Tyler , Tom Jones and Harry Secombe . The musical was performed in 1992 with the same cast in the presence of Prince Charles . In late 1989 she released her first album since 1971. The album was called Spirit and was released on the Trax label. In 1990 she appeared on a charity show with Deep Purple musicians Jon Lord and Ian Paice , as well as Beatle George Harrison and his wife. The CD Back to Bach , which was released in 1992, contained lyrics by Mary Hopkin. In the early 80s she worked with Vangelis , with whom she also recorded a piece for the film Blade Runner .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Those Were The Days
  DE 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 10/14/1968 (20 weeks)
  AT 2 11/15/1968 (16 weeks)
  CH 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 10/01/1968 (13 weeks)
  UK 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 07.09.1968 (21 weeks)
  US 2 09/28/1968 (14 weeks)
Goodbye
  DE 15th 05/12/1969 (7 weeks)
  CH 3 04/29/1969 (8 weeks)
  UK 2 04/05/1969 (14 weeks)
  US 13 04/19/1969 (9 weeks)
Temma Harbor
  UK 6th January 31, 1970 (11 weeks)
  US 39 02/21/1970 (8 weeks)
Knock, Knock Who's There
  DE 12 04/27/1970 (9 weeks)
  AT 11 05/15/1970 (8 weeks)
  UK 2 March 28, 1970 (14 weeks)
  US 92 December 9, 1970 (4 weeks)
Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be)
  US 77 07/11/1970 (5 weeks)
Think About Your Children
  UK 19th 10/31/1970 (9 weeks)
  US 87 11/21/1970 (4 weeks)
Let My Name Be Sorrow
  UK 46 07/31/1971 (1 week)
If you love me
  UK 32 03/20/1976 (4 weeks)

Albums

  • Y Caneuon Cynnar / The Early Recordings (recorded 1967, released as CD 1996)
  • Postcard (1969)
  • Earth Song / Ocean Song (1971)
  • Live at the Royal Festival Hall 1972 (2005)
  • Those Were the Days (Singles compilation, released 1995)
  • Spirit (1989)
  • Valentine (recorded 1972–1980, published 2007)
  • Recollections (recorded 1972–1980, published 2008)
  • Christmas Songs (recorded 1972)
  • Now and Then (recorded 1972–1980, published 2009)
  • You Look Familiar (with Morgan Visconti) (2010)
  • Painting By Numbers (2013)
  • Sundance: Sundance (1982, as a band member)
  • Oasis: Oasis (1984, as a band member)

Singles (with chart positions)

  • 1968: Those Were the Days
  • 1968: Sparrow
  • 1969: Goodbye
  • 1970: Knock Knock Who's There
  • 1971: Jefferson
  • 1971: Kew Gardens
  • 1971: Streets of London
  • 1971: Silver Birch and Weeping Willow
  • 1972: Summertime, Summertime (as a member of Hobby Horse )
  • 2006: Snowed Under

As a guest singer, she has appeared on albums by Vangelis, Brian Willoughby, RAM Pietsch, Bob Johnson & Pete Knight, Tony Visconti, Strawbs, Crocketts, Ralph McTell, Jon & Vangelis, Thin Lizzy, David Bowie, Osibisa, Sparks, Bert Jansch and Dolly Parton.

Web links

Commons : Mary Hopkin  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH
personal data
SURNAME Hopkin, Mary
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Pontardawe , Glamorgan , South Wales