Ruby Murray
| Ruby Murray | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ruby Florence Murray |
| Born | 29 March 1935 Donegall Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Torquay, Devon, England |
| Genres | Traditional popular music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1953–1996 |
| Labels | Columbia (EMI) |
| Website | www.rubymurray.org |
Ruby Florence Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996)[1] was one of the most popular singers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1950s.[2] In 1955 alone, she secured seven Top 10 UK hit singles.[3]
Contents
Child star
Ruby Florence Murray was born on the Donegall Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland.[4] Her voice's distinctive sound was partly the result of an operation on her throat in early childhood.[5] She toured as a child singer and first appeared on television at the age of 12, having been spotted by producer Richard Afton.[1] Owing to laws governing children performing, Murray had to delay her start in the entertainment industry.[1] She returned to Belfast and full-time education until she was 14.
Chart success
Again spotted by Afton, Murray was signed to Columbia and her first single, "Heartbeat", reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1954.[3] Afton had offered her the position of resident singer on the BBC's Quite Contrary television show, to replace Joan Regan.[6] "Softly, Softly", her second single, reached number one in early 1955.[3] That same year Murray set a pop-chart record by having five hits in the Top Twenty in one week, a feat unmatched for many years.[1][2]
The 1950s was a busy period for Murray, during which she had her own television show, starred at the London Palladium with Norman Wisdom, appeared in a Royal Command Performance (1955),[7] and toured the world.[1] In a period of 52 weeks, starting in 1955, Murray constantly had at least one single in the UK charts — this at a time when only a Top 20 was listed.
Murray appeared with Frankie Howerd and Dennis Price, in her only film role, as "Ruby" in a 1956 farce, A Touch of the Sun.[1] A couple of hits followed later in the decade; "Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye", a No. 10 hit in 1959, was her final appearance in the charts.[1] EMI put together a compilation album of her hits on CD in 1989, including songs that regularly featured in her act; "Mr. Wonderful", "Scarlet Ribbons" and "It's the Irish in Me".[1] They updated this with the release of EMI Presents The Magic Of Ruby Murray in 1997 and a triple album, Anthology — The Golden Anniversary Collection, in 2005, the 50th anniversary of her peak successes on the charts.[1]
The name "Ruby Murray" lives on in rhyming slang, quite often in Only Fools And Horses, as the rhyme for "curry".[8]
A play about Murray's life, Ruby, written by the Belfast playwright Marie Jones, opened at the Group Theatre in Belfast in April 2000.[1]
Personal life
In 1957, while working in Blackpool, Murray met Bernie Burgess, a member of a successful television and recording vocal quartet, the Four Jones Boys. Shortly afterwards she left Northern Ireland to marry him and live with him in England.[1] Burgess contrary to press reports didn't become her manager, his role was that of a supporting husband. The couple included a song and dance segment in Ruby's act during the 1960s. After their marriage failed in 1974, she was granted a divorce in 1976. She married an old friend, Ray Lamar, in 1991 and lived in Torquay, Devon. She had two children from her marriage to Burgess.[1]
Although her days as a major star gradually diminished, Murray continued performing until close to the end of her life. She died of liver cancer, aged 61, in December 1996 in Torquay after a long struggle with alcoholism.[1]
Spending her last couple of years in Asprey's Nursing Home, she often delighted her carers with a song and was visited by her special friend, Max Bygraves.
Singles discography
- "Heartbeat" (1954) — UK number 3
- "Softly, Softly" (1955) — UK number 1
- "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" (1955) — UK number 6
- "Let Me Go Lover" (1955) — UK number 5
- "If Anyone Finds This, I Love You" (1955) — UK number 4 †
- "Evermore" (1955) — UK number 3
- "I'll Come When You Call" (1955) — UK number 6
- "The Very First Christmas Of All (1955) — UK number 9 (Record Mirror)
- "You are My First Love" (1956) — UK number 16
- "Real Love" (1958) — UK number 18
- "Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" (1959) — UK number 10
† Ruby Murray with Anne Warren[3]
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of Northern Irish people
- Culture of Northern Ireland
- List of Belfast people
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Culture Northern Ireland website.
- ↑ Official website
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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