The singer Kathy Kirby, whose fame stemmed from the 1960s, has passed away. She was 72.
Ms. Kirby had enjoyed chart success during a relatively brief period before tragedy struck.
Her cover of Secret Love reached No. 4 in the charts in 1963, the same year she was voted Top British Female Singer in a poll by the New Musical Express.
The next year she had a top ten hit with Let Me Go, Lover.
In 1965 she represented the UK in the Eurovision song contest with the song I Belong and came second.
By the end of the 1960s she had recorded two top ten hits and number of other songs which had reached the top 40.
But tragedy struck in 1971 when her manager and lover Bert Ambrose
She had met the bandleader in 1956 when she was 16 and he was 60.
Ambrose collapsed and died during a recording of a TV show that Ms. Kirby was appearing in.
Following the death Ms. Kirby’s career declined rapidly with her life entering periods of misfortune and illness.
Her last major singing appearance was during the 1980s. A number of career comebacks all failed.
For many years she shunned publicity and lived as a virtual recluse.
To hear Kathy Kirby sing Secret Love, Click here.
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