Mari Wilson
Encyclopedia
Mari Wilson is an English
singer, best known for her sometimes quirky, early 1960s-influenced pop music
song
s, and her beehive hairstyle
.
, she scored six UK
hit single
s in the early 1980s, including her biggest hit, "Just What I Always Wanted" (UK #8) in 1982. The following year she scored a Top 30 hit with a cover
of "Cry Me a River" and released her debut album Showpeople
- also a Top 30 hit. In 1985, she performed the song "Would You Dance with a Stranger", theme for the film Dance With a Stranger
, and turned her career towards live performances. Although for a while she distanced herself from her beehive days, she started touring with her old songs again in 2007. In 1992, the album The Rhythm Romance, which combined jazz standard
s with 1960s songs and original material, failed to return her to the charts
. She continued performing with jazz
bands, and sang the theme-song to the TV sitcom
Coupling
, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and contributed the song "Cry Me a River" to the crime drama series McCallum
. In 2005, Wilson returned to recording with the album Dolled Up. This was followed by a compilation
of her hits, The Platinum Collection to celebrate her 25th anniversary in show business
. Apart from pursuing her solo career, she toured with Barb Jungr and Claire Martin as the cabaret act, 'Girl Talk'. Claire has now been replaced in 'Girl Talk' by Gwyneth Herbert .
Mari has also performed in musicals
such as Dusty the Musical , and has been a feature on a BBC Television
series about celebrities and their health (she has Type 1 Diabetes
).
Her band was colloquially known as The Wilsations, and her backing vocalist
s were called The Marionettes. Occasional featured artists were Michelle Collins
(Cindy
from EastEnders
), Julia Fordham
and bassist
'Thumbs' Cunningham.
Wilson's fourth studio album Emotional Glamour was released on her Beehive label in October 2008 (though she has long ago changed her former trademark hairstyle). She has also written and starred in a one-woman musical – The Love Thing:
She is a long time resident of Crouch End
in North London.
Mari has a new album of covers coming out in 2011 funded by public subscription, and a regular blog with witty updates about it and her life in general:
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer, best known for her sometimes quirky, early 1960s-influenced pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, and her beehive hairstyle
Beehive (hairstyle)
The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is elegant and it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from...
.
Career
Recording on the Compact Records labelRecord label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, she scored six UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
s in the early 1980s, including her biggest hit, "Just What I Always Wanted" (UK #8) in 1982. The following year she scored a Top 30 hit with a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Cry Me a River" and released her debut album Showpeople
Showpeople
Showpeople is the debut album by UK singer Mari Wilson. It was released in 1983 and featured her breakthrough hit "Just What I Always Wanted".- Background :...
- also a Top 30 hit. In 1985, she performed the song "Would You Dance with a Stranger", theme for the film Dance With a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger is a 1985 British drama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson...
, and turned her career towards live performances. Although for a while she distanced herself from her beehive days, she started touring with her old songs again in 2007. In 1992, the album The Rhythm Romance, which combined jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
s with 1960s songs and original material, failed to return her to the charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. She continued performing with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands, and sang the theme-song to the TV sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Coupling
Coupling (UK TV series)
Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three...
, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and contributed the song "Cry Me a River" to the crime drama series McCallum
McCallum
McCallum is a British television series that was produced by STV Productions .Dr Iain McCallum was the original lead character, played by John Hannah. McCallum was a forensic pathologist who traveled by Triumph Motorcycle, and solved murders...
. In 2005, Wilson returned to recording with the album Dolled Up. This was followed by a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of her hits, The Platinum Collection to celebrate her 25th anniversary in show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
. Apart from pursuing her solo career, she toured with Barb Jungr and Claire Martin as the cabaret act, 'Girl Talk'. Claire has now been replaced in 'Girl Talk' by Gwyneth Herbert .
Mari has also performed in musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
such as Dusty the Musical , and has been a feature on a BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
series about celebrities and their health (she has Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose...
).
Her band was colloquially known as The Wilsations, and her backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
s were called The Marionettes. Occasional featured artists were Michelle Collins
Michelle Collins
Michelle Danielle Collins is a British actress best known for her roles on television in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, Coronation Street as Stella Price, and BBC dramas Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky...
(Cindy
Cindy Beale
Cindy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Collins.Cindy always had an eye for the lotharios of Walford and despite trying to settle down repeatedly with the more reliable Ian Beale, she was unable to remain faithful to him. She had a selfish...
from EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
), Julia Fordham
Julia Fordham
Julia Fordham is a British singer-songwriter based in California. Her professional career started in the early 1980s, under the name "Jules Fordham", as a backing singer for Mari Wilson and Kim Wilde.-Career:...
and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
'Thumbs' Cunningham.
Wilson's fourth studio album Emotional Glamour was released on her Beehive label in October 2008 (though she has long ago changed her former trademark hairstyle). She has also written and starred in a one-woman musical – The Love Thing:
She is a long time resident of Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...
in North London.
Mari has a new album of covers coming out in 2011 funded by public subscription, and a regular blog with witty updates about it and her life in general:
Singles
- "Loveman" (1980)
- "Dance Card" (1981)
- "Beat the Beat" (1982) UK #59
- "Baby it's True" (1982) UK #42
- "Just What I Always Wanted" (1982) UK #8
- "(Beware) Boyfriend" (1982) UK #51
- "Cry Me a River" (1983) UK #27
- "Wonderful" (1983) (Mari Wilson and The Wilsations) UK #47
- "Ain't That Peculiar" (1984)
- "Let's Make This Last" (1984)
- "Would You Dance with a Stranger" (1985)
- "The Rhythm" (1991)
- "My Funny Valentine" (1991)
- "Storyline" (2005)
EPs
- "I'm Coming Home" / "No Moon at All" / "Out of the Blue" / "It's Got to Be You" (10" maxi-single) (1992)
Albums
- ShowpeopleShowpeopleShowpeople is the debut album by UK singer Mari Wilson. It was released in 1983 and featured her breakthrough hit "Just What I Always Wanted".- Background :...
(1983) (Mari Wilson and The Wilsations) (1983 - UK #24) - Rhythm Romance (1991)
- Beat The Beat (CompilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) (1992) - Dolled Up (2005)
- The Platinum Collection (CompilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
)(2007) - Emotional Glamour (2008)