Mary Hopkin

File:M Hopkin.JPG

Mary Hopkin

Mary Hopkin (May 3, 1950 - September 6, 2007) is a Welsh folk singer.

Overview

Mary was born in Pontardawe, Wales to a Cymraeg/Welsh English-speaking family. Her actual date of birth is May 5, 1950. However, some freaks changed her birthdate to May 3, 1950 when she became popular after singing Those Were the Days in the late 1960s, so almost all discrepancy has existed as to her actual birth date. She began her musical career as a folk singer with a local group called the Selby Set and Mary. She released an EP of Welsh language songs for a local record label called Cambrian who were based in her home town, before signing to the Beatles' Apple Records. She was 'discovered' by Twiggy who saw her winning the British ITV television talent show Opportunity Knocks and recommended her to Paul McCartney. She became one of the first artists to record on the Beatles Apple record label.

Early singing career

Her debut single, Those Were the Days, produced by Paul McCartney, was released in the UK on August 30 1968 (catalogue number APPLE 2). Despite competition from a well-established star, Sandie Shaw, who released her version of the same song as a single that same year, Hopkin's version became a number one hit in the UK singles chart, and reached #2 in the United States. On 2 October 1968 appears at St Pauls Cathedral London for the "Pop Experience" sings "Morning Of My Life", "Turn Turn Turn", "Plasir D'amour". On 21 February 1969 her debut album, Postcard, also produced by McCartney, was released. It included covers of three songs from Donovan, who also played on the album, and one song each from George Martin and Harry Nilsson. It reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, although it proved to be her solitary success story in that particular chart.

The next single was Goodbye, written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney) , released on 28 March 1969 (APPLE 10); it reached #2 in the UK singles chart. It was kept off the top of the charts by the Beatles' single Get Back. Goodbye has never been officially released by the Beatles, although a demo version can be found on some of the Beatles' bootlegs.

She represented the UK in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest singing Knock, Knock, Who's There?, which came second to All Kinds of Everything, performed by Irish singer Dana. Knock, Knock, Who's There? was released as a single on 23 March 1970, reaching #2 again in the UK. Her second, folky album, Earth Song, Ocean Song, was released by Apple on 1 October 1971. The record was produced by her then-husband Tony Visconti and included covers of songs written by Cat Stevens, Gallagher and Lyle, and Ralph McTell.

After the hit singles

After marrying Visconti in 1971, Hopkin withdrew from the pop music scene to have a family. Although reportedly unhappy with show business, Hopkin did not stop recording. With the help of Visconti, 1972 saw the release of the Christmas song Mary Had Baby/Cherry Tree Carol on the Regal Zonophone record label, which was re-released in 1973. Later that year, the single Summertime Summertime/Sweet And Low was released on Bell Records' label under the name of Hobby Horse.

Although no other singles or albums came out in her name until 1976, she sang on numerous recordings that her husband Visconti produced, such as those featuring Tom Paxton, Ralph McTell, David Bowie, Bert Jansch, The Radiators From Space, Thin Lizzy, Carmen, Sarstedt Brothers, Osibisa, Sparks, Hazel O'Connor and Elaine Page.

On all of these recordings (and also on her husband's own album Inventory) she is credited as Mary Visconti. During this time, she also appeared on various TV shows such as Cilla Black's and various radio programmes.

Return to recording

In 1976, she returned to recording under her own name and released the single If You Love Me (originally recorded by Edith Piaf). The B-side, Tell Me Now, was an original composition by Hopkin.

Her next single was Wrap Me In Your Arms, with the B-side again written by Hopkin (Just A Dreamer). These singles came out on Visconti's Good Earth Records label. Several songs recorded for an album at the time have now been released under Hopkin's own label, Mary Hopkin Music [8].

Two members of Steeleye Span (Bob Johnson and Pete Knight) chose Hopkin to play "Princess Lirazel" on their concept album The King of Elfland's Daughter. She also appeared at the prestigious Cambridge Folk Festival with Bert Jansch. 1976 also saw the birth of her second child. Before the 1970s ended, Decca released a compilation LP of Hopkin's Cambrian recordings, The Welsh World of Mary Hopkin.

The 1980s

Hopkin's first project in the 1980s was a well-reviewed stint playing the Virgin Mary in Rock Nativity at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading, Berkshire. After this, Mike Hurst (record producer and formerly of The Springfields) asked her to sing lead in a new group named Sundance that he had formed with Mike de Albuquerque of ELO. Their only single, What's Love, allowed them to tour the UK with Dr. Hook, but Hopkin quickly left the group, dissatisfied with the gigs. In 2002, Hurst released recordings from this time on the Angel Air label.

In 1981, Hopkin and Visconti divorced. The following year, she provided vocals on Rachel's Song for the Vangelis soundtrack of Blade Runner. Around 1984, Peter Skellern asked Mary to join him and Julian Lloyd Webber in a band called Oasis. The record Oasis was released on WEA along with two singles. A tour of the UK was planned but was brought to an abrupt end because Hopkin became ill. The group disbanded shortly afterwards.

During the 1980s, Hopkin appeared in several charity shows, including an appearance at the London Palladium with Ralph McTell. In 1988, she took part in George Martin's production of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. She played the character Rosie Probert and notably performed a piece called "Love Duet" with Freddie Jones as Captain Cat. The making of the record was filmed and made into a 'South Bank Show Special', where Hopkin and Jones were shown rehearsing and recording Love Duet. In 1992, the cast reunited for a performance of the play as a tribute to Dylan Thomas in the presence of Prince Charles for the Prince's Trust.

In 1989, Hopkin recorded a CD of songs called Spirit. This was recorded on the Trax label and is a collection of light classical songs, featuring the single Ave Maria. The record was produced by Benny Gallagher of Gallagher and Lyle, who had contributed songs to her during her days at Apple Records.

1990s and beyond

Early in 1990, she was asked to sing with The Chieftains at the London Palladium in a charity show, and later joined them on a tour of the UK.

Again she continued to do projects she wanted, working with people like Julian Colbeck, she wrote the lyrics and performed a song on his CD Back to Bach. Also, there was Marc Cerrone's The Collector, a stage play/opera, for which she performed two tracks on the CD and video. She worked again with her old guitarist Brian Willoughby and Dave Cousins (of The Strawbs) on their CD The Bridge. Hopkin also appears on a Beatles tribute album by RAM Pietsch.

Around 1996, the Welsh label Sain bought Cambrian's back catalogue and released all Hopkin's Welsh recordings on a CD called The Early Years, which removed the overdubbed drums found in the Decca recordings.

In 1999, she was again invited to join The Chieftains on their UK tour, and later that year performed a few concerts in Scotland with Benny Gallagher and Jim Diamond. More recently there have been three TV documentaries about her, one each for HTV, BBC, S4C.

She has guested on The Crocketts' album The Great Brain Robbery, sang the theme song for Billy Connolly's BBC TV series The World Tour, and recorded Those Were The Days with Robin Williams rapping. She also appeared in the Sarah Sugarman film (Very Annie Mary) and duetted with Dolly Parton on her 2005 CD, Those Were The Days, which went to #48 on the US charts (#9 Country) and number 35 in the UK (#2 UK Country).

In September 2005 she released an album on her own label, Mary Hopkin Music, called Live at the Royal Festival Hall. It was followed in December 2006 by a brand-new Christmas recording, Snowed Under, released as an mp3 download on the Welsh online store Disaudio (Disaudio.com).

To celebrate her 57th birthday, she released an album called Valentine, on her new eponymous label. It includes 12 previously unheard tracks dating from 1972 to 1980, three of which were written by Hopkin.

She kept listening to her own songs, until September 4, 2007. A kid from Germany, (aka The Angry German Kid) watches some of her latest music video, I Hate The Angry German Kid. He became mad, and he went to France on September 5, 2007 and privately kills Mary with his trusty keyboard. On September 6, 2007, she was found to be dead at her house about 3:00 pm CET.

Trivia

• She's Welsh Number 1 folk singer.
• She is still popular.
• She appears in Everbody Hates Mary.
• She hates jazz music.
• She pronounced French badly.
• She plays the banjo, electric guitar as well.
• She dubbed Dalida's voice on Those Were The Days (French version).
• She is enemy with France Gall when she moved to France.
• She can't go back to the music industry in concerts for charity even if she wants to, because she's dead.
• Her favorite words are motherfucker and (fucking) lag.
• She enjoys her retirement.
• She shares the same deathday with Luciano Pavarotti.

See also

• Apple Records
• Apple Records discography

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• Official Website (Mary Hopkin Music)
• Mary Hopkin Friendly Society
• Mary Hopkin fan page
• Mary Hopkin International Site
• Official MySpace Site
• Unofficial MySpace Site
• [9]

Year	Title	Chart positions
		UK	SUI	US (Billboard)	US (Cash Box)
1968	Those Were The Days	1	1	2	1
1969	Goodbye	2	3	13	17
1970	Temma Harbour	6		39	43
	Knock Knock, Who's There?	2		92 (in 1973)	86 (in 1972)
	Think About Your Children	19		87
1971	Let My Name Be Sorrow	46
1976	If You Love Me	32
2007	I Hate The Angry German Kid	1	1	3	2