And so, farewell then, to pop singer Twinkle. She had (her only) Top Ten hit in 1964 with Terry, a poor relation of the type of song made popular by the likes of the Shangri-Las - all about a biker and his tragic demise.
Notable at the time for her youth (she was only sixteen) and her on-trend blonde hair and kohl-eyed image, Twinkle, despite being a one-hit-wonder more than half a century ago, remained popular on the "nostalgia concert" circuit up until her recent illness. And here she is...
He said to me he wanted to be near to me
He said he never wanted to be out of my sight
But it's too late to give this boy my love tonight
Please wait at the gate of heaven for me, Terry
He said to me he wanted to be close by my side
We had a quarrel. I was untrue on the night he died
And it's too late to tell this boy how great he was
Please wait at the gate of heaven for me, Terry
He rode into the night
Accelerated his motorbike
I cried to him in fright
Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!
He said to me, you are the one I want to be with
He said to me, you are the one my love I shall give
One day he'll know how hard I prayed for him to live
Please wait at the gate of heaven for me, Terry
He rode into the night
Accelerated his motorbike
I cried to him in fright
Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!
Facts:
- Born Lynne Ripley to a wealthy Surrey family, she went to school in Knightsbridge with Camilla (now Duchess of Cornwall).
- Bizarrely, Terry was banned by the BBC and many radio stations for its doomy content.
- Chosen as the unlikely support act to the Rolling Stones in their early years, her bad experiences on tour led her to almost quit her music career before it had really begun.
- She was married to the "Milk Tray Man" from the Cadbury's chocolate adverts.
RIP Lynn Annette Ripley aka Twinkle (15th July 1948 – 21st May 2015)
I thought Twinkle was an old fat drag queen in Plymouth dear.
ReplyDeleteEither way, she's popped her clogs... Jx
DeleteThe Smiths covered Golden Lights - and following her death Marc Almond revealed he was going to cover it but didn't once The Smiths did
ReplyDelete'Tis amazing what an influence Miss Twinkle had - especially her popularity amongst camp artists of renown. Jx
DeletePeggy is a goddess,. And listening to her got me through some dark times.
ReplyDeleteShit just posted in the wrong thing. Wrong blonde.
ReplyDeleteTwo blondes who could not have been more different if they tried :-)
DeleteJx
I can't imagine Peggy Lee letting herself fade away the way Twinkle did.
ReplyDeleteMiss Lee never faded, she just became more like a drag queen version of herself... Jx
DeleteYes and I love that side of her, though there was more to her than that. I mean she really confronted ageing and death in her work which not many female singer songwriters get the chance to do. It's a bit contradictory, she was hanging on to her youth physically and having more and more surgery but singing about the passage of time. She wasn't Kylie Minogue or Madonna, trying to be a teenager forever.
DeleteShe adapted her "sound" and covered modern music a lot better than most artists of her generation. She's someone who's helped me with my fear of getting older and dying. But perhaps twinkle could do that too, remind people that you can have one moment in the sun then a quiet life in obscurity and that's OK too
Sorry I'm hijacking your Twinkle post. I'm sad she died obviously, Terry and Golden Lights are beautiful recordings.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone has to do everything they can to stay in the limelight. I hope she was happy in Surrey with the Milk Tray man.
Must have been a bit annoying him dropping in off a helicopter every time she fancied a chocolate :-) Jx
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