Jump to content

Ronnie Carroll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Radosław Wiśniewski (talk | contribs) at 07:24, 22 November 2016 (He was declared bankrupt in 1974 and his second marriage ended + ref). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ronnie Carroll
Ronnie Carroll at the Eurovision Song Contest 1962
Ronnie Carroll at the Eurovision Song Contest 1962
Background information
Birth nameRonald Cleghorn
Born(1934-08-18)18 August 1934
Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
Died13 April 2015(2015-04-13) (aged 80)
London, England, U.K.
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals

Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer, and political candidate.

Career

Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, the son of a plumber.[1] He scored his first hit in 1956 with "Walk Hand in Hand" on the Philips label.[2]

He is the only singer to have represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest two years in succession.[3] Having taken part in the 1960 UK Eurovision selection contest with the song "Girl with a Curl", he returned to win the selection and be Britain's entry in the 1962 contest, and with the song "Ring-a-Ding Girl" shared fourth place, the same placing he reached in 1963 with "Say Wonderful Things". This success was followed by two Top 10 hits during 1962 and 1963, but a lack of good material meant that he could not sustain a chart presence.

Carroll subsequently worked on cruise ships, including the QE2, with John Marcangelo who was the drummer with the Ronnie Carroll Orchestra. He played a pop musician named 'Ronnie' in the 1965 film Man in the Dark.

In 2005, he released a comeback album, Back on Song.[1]

Political career

Carroll contested his home Hampstead and Highgate constituency seat in the 1997 UK General Election, and the Uxbridge by-election in July that year with the Rainbow Alliance.[4][5] He stood in the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election as a candidate for Make Politicians History and received 29 votes, despite announcing that he was trying to enter the record books by receiving no votes.[6][7]

He stood as a candidate (under the name 'The Eurovisionary Carroll') for the 2015 general election, in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. Nominations had closed on 9 April 2015, just four days before his death, but polling day was not until 7 May. He was standing as an independent so the poll continued; if he had won the election, the ballot would have been re-run at a later date. In the event he polled 113 votes to finish sixth out of seven candidates.[8]

Personal life

Through work in variety theatre he met his first wife, Millicent Martin, to whom he was married from 1958 to 1960. His second wife was the Olympic runner June Paul with whom he ran an unsuccessful nightclub in Grenada.[9] He was declared bankrupt in 1974 and his second marriage ended.[10] Carroll later married and divorced a third wife, South African-born Glenda Kentridge.[9]

He latterly lived in Hampstead, London, and was a regular caller to phone-in shows on BBC London 94.9. He died in London on 13 April 2015, at age 80.[11][10] He was survived by two sons with June and a daughter and son, his children with Glenda.[9]

Singles discography

References

  1. ^ a b "Ronnie Carroll biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  2. ^ Quinn, Michael (23 April 2015). "Obituary: Ronnie Carroll". The Stage. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007. ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
  4. ^ "London Boroughs 1983-97". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  5. ^ "United Kingdom Parliamentary Byelection results 1997". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. ^ "A record-breaking by-election?". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Haltemprice and Howden: Result in full". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  8. ^ "A Dead Man Is Standing In The General Election". BuzzFeed.
  9. ^ a b c "Ronnie Carroll, singer and 'Eurovisionary' - obituary". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Ronnie Carroll: Eurovision Song Contest singer who later stood for Parliament as a candidate for the Rainbow Alliance". The Independent. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Ronnie Carroll: Former Eurovision singer and election candidate dies - BBC News". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  12. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 95. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ronnie Carroll.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
1962, 1963 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronnie_Carroll&oldid=750922662"