Sandie Shaw

Singer, model and fashion icon Sandra Ann Goodrich is better known by her stage name Sandie Shaw. She was born in Dagenham, Essex, England and after leaving school worked in the Ford Plant Factory there. She loved to sing from an early age and entered several talent shows. In 1963, she came second in one such competition which led to her performing in a concert where she was spotted by Adam Faith. He introduced her to his agent, and she released her first single 'As Long As You're Happy' in 1964. Her second single was a cover version of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song '(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me' which became her first UK number one single, spending three weeks at the top of the charts. Several more singles followed including 'I'd Be Far Better Off Without You/Girl Don't Come', of which the B side 'Girl Don't Come' was more popular, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart. Next, Shaw released 'I'll Stop at Nothing' (1964) and 'Long Live Love' (1965), the latter becoming her second UK number one.

Shaw made many TV appearances in the 1960s, including on 'Top of the Pops', 'Ready, Steady Go' and 'Thank Your Lucky Stars'. Her trademark was to perform without shoes. Most of the songs she released were written by Dave Andrews, and she released several albums in the early '60s including 'Sandie' (1965) which reached number three in the UK Albums Chart, 'Me' (1965), 'Love Me, Please Love Me' (1967) and 'Puppet On a String' (1967). It was the title single from 'Puppet On a String' which she became best known for, as it was the song with which she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. She went on to become the first British artist to win the competition, which raised her profile in Europe considerably. The single and album both reached number one in the UK, and reached the top ten in several European countries including Germany. Also in 1967, Shaw became the first British artist to perform behind the Iron Curtain with a filmed show in Czechoslovakia which was broadcast throughout the USSR.

In 1968, Shaw started presenting her own TV show, 'The Sandie Shaw Supplement', and released an album of the same name. Her next album 'Reviewing the Situation' was released in 1969, but after this she took a break when her contract with Pye Records expired and concentrated on other ventures instead, for example writing a book and a musical, and establishing her own fashion brand. In the early '80s she started singing again, releasing a cover version of Cilla Black's 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' and performing a duet with Chrissie Hynde of her hit single 'Girl Don't Come'. She released the album 'Choose Life' in 1983, to promote the World Peace Exposition in London in March of that year. Also in 1983 she released a cover version of one of Morrissey's singles 'Hand in Glove' after it transpired that Morrissey, the lead singer of The Smiths, was a fan of hers. She also released covers of two Lloyd Cole songs, 'Are You Ready to be Heartbroken' and 'Frederick' (1986), and embarked on several tours of University campuses and festivals. Her album 'Hello Angel', named in reference to another Morrissey song, was released in 1988 and included the tracks 'Please Help the Causes of Loneliness' and 'Nothing Less Than Brilliant'.

During the 1990s, Shaw continued to perform regularly and released a greatest hits album. She studied for a psychotherapy degree and wrote her autobiography 'The World at My Feet' in 1991. She rerecorded several of her 1960s songs for the album 'Nothing Less Than Brilliant' (1994). She has fought to gain ownership of her recording output and has rerecorded many of her songs, releasing a 4CD set entitled 'Nothing Comes Easy' in 2003. She has been a guest on iconic TV and radio shoes including Jools Holland, with whom she went on tour, and Desert Island Discs, and does much work to promote music through the Featured Artists Coalition. In 2017 she was awarded an MBE for services to music. In 2019, she released the 25-track album 'The Very Best of Sandie Shaw'.