For many years, Jane McDonald (born on April 4, 1963) was just known for singing standards and cover versions on the notoriously demanding Northern English club circuit interspersed with entertaining travelers on cruise ships. There were plenty others like her with few expectations of making their name on a grander scale or becoming a major recording artist. But in 1998 at the age of 35, she was invited to appear in a BBC TV documentary about life aboard a cruise ship titled The Cruise, which filmed her in action on board the luxury ship Galaxy, sailing around the Caribbean. The show became a huge hit, at one point attracting 14m viewers, and Jane McDonald's powerful voice and irrepressible personality made her an instant star, triggering not only a successful recording and touring career, but turning her into a variety show presenter and all-round TV personality.
Hailing from Wakefield in Yorkshire in the north of England, she was strongly encouraged and supported by her father who acted as her roadie, driving her to gigs where she sang standards and covers for some of the country's most famously tough audiences. She learned stagecraft and how to please audiences with the power of personality, even in the most trying circumstances. She had to provide her own equipment and on one occasion had to buy it anew after it was destroyed in a bar-room brawl.
She worked on various cruise ships voyaging to different parts of the world until The Cruise documentary, which transformed her life. Her self-titled debut album topped the UK charts for three weeks in a row and was followed by her autobiography Follow Your Dreams, high profile tours and the opportunity to present and guest on a high-profile range of TV shows from Loose Women, National Lottery and Ready Steady Cook to Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and The Sunday Night Project. She also appeared in the musical Cats and by 2017 had released several more albums.
In 2017, she returned to the ocean for inspiration with a new TV show Cruising with Jane McDonald and in 2018 released an album of the same name, also launching a major tour celebrating her 20th anniversary. The following year, she dived back in with a second volume of Cruising with Jane McDonald. In 2021, she made a splash with her 10th studio album, Let the Light In, comprised of re-recorded songs from across her repertoire, covers performed at her live shows and new tracks.