Ruby Murray
| Ruby Murray | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ruby Florence Murray |
| Born | 29 March 1935 Donegall Road, Belfast |
| Died | 17 December 1996 (aged 61) Torquay, England |
| Genres | Traditional popular music |
| Occupations | Singer, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1953–1996 |
| Labels | Columbia (EMI) |
| Website | www.rubymurray.org |
Ruby Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996)[1] was one of the most popular singers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1950s.[2] In 1955 alone, she secured seven Top 10 UK hit singles.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Child star
Ruby Florence Murray was born on the Donegall Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland.[4] Her voice's unique sound was partly the result of an operation on her throat in early childhood.[5] She toured as a child singer and first appeared on television at the age of 12, having been spotted by producer Richard Afton.[1] Owing to laws governing children performing, Murray had to delay her start in the entertainment industry.[1] She returned to Belfast and full-time education until she was 14.
[edit] Chart success
Again spotted by Afton, she was signed to Columbia and her first single, "Heartbeat", reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1954.[3] Afton had offered her the position of resident singer on the BBC's Quite Contrary television show, to replace Joan Regan.[6] "Softly, Softly", her second single, reached number one in early 1955.[3] That same year Murray set a pop-chart record by having five hits in the Top Twenty in one week, a feat unmatched for many years.[1][2]
The 1950s was a busy period for Murray, during which she had her own television show, starred at the London Palladium with Norman Wisdom, appeared in a Royal Command Performance (1955),[7] and toured the world.[1] In a period of 52 weeks, starting in 1955, Murray constantly had at least one single in the UK charts - this at a time when only a Top 20 was listed.
She starred with Frankie Howerd and Dennis Price in her only film role as Ruby, in the 1956 farce, A Touch of the Sun.[1] A couple of hits followed later in the decade; "Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye", a #10 hit in 1959, was her final appearance in the charts.[1] EMI put together a compilation album 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".[1] They updated this with the release of EMI Presents The Magic Of Ruby Murray in 1997, and a triple album, Anthology - The Golden Anniversary Collection in 2005, the 50th anniversary of her peak successes on the charts.[1]
Ruby Murray's name lives on in rhyming slang as the rhyme for curry, usually with the usage 'ruby' rather than the name in full.[8]
A play about Murray's life, Ruby, written by the Belfast playwright, Marie Jones, opened at the Group Theatre in Belfast in April 2000.[1]
[edit] Personal life
During the summer of 1957, while working in Blackpool, Murray met Bernie Burgess, eventually leaving Northern Ireland to live with him in England.[1] Burgess became her manager and the couple became a double act during the 1960s. After her first marriage failed, she married Ray Lamar and lived in Torquay, Devon.[1]
Murray continued performing until close to the end of her life. She died of liver cancer, aged 61, in December 1996 in Torquay, after a long struggle with alcoholism.[1]
[edit] 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[3]
[edit] See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of Irish people
- Culture of Northern Ireland
- List of Belfast people
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Biography by Sharon Mawer". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p23722. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b Obituary in The Independent - 18 December 1996, by Tom Vallance - accessed February 2009
- ^ a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 384. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Culture Northern Ireland website.
- ^ Official Website.
- ^ "Singers of the Fabulous Fifties". CommuniGate. United Kingdom: This Is Sussex. http://www.communigate.co.uk/sussex/bmbgat/page8.phtml. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 20. CN 5585.
- ^ "Ruby Murray rhyming slang". Webster's Online Dictionary. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/Cockney+Rhyming+Slang+%2528Transliterated%2529/ruby+murray. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
