Anne Shelton

Anne Shelton, OBE (10 November 1923 – 31 July 1994^[1]) was a popular English vocalist, who is remembered for providing inspirational songs for soldiers both on radio broadcasts, and in person, at British military bases during the Second World War. Shelton was also the original singer in the United Kingdom of the song, "Lili Marlene".^[2]

Early life

Shelton was born Patricia Jacqueline Sibley on 10 November 1923 in Dulwich, London.^[3] She began singing at the age of 13, and by 15 had her own recording contract as a solo artist.^[4]

Singing career

In 1942, Shelton began playing military bases across England and as her popularity grew, was offered her own radio program, Calling Malta, which remained on the air for five years. In 1944, Shelton was invited to sing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and although some of these shows were recorded, none have ever surfaced in their entirety. Miller invited Shelton to stay on with the band and travel to Versailles, France for a series of shows; she had to turn him down because of prior commitments in Britain, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Miller's aircraft crashed shortly after the shows.^[4] But Shelton soon performed with another American: Bing Crosby. Crosby and Shelton appeared on the Variety Bandbox radio show together and afterwards played a show together, duetting on the songs "Easter Parade" and "I'll Get By". In 1948 she recorded "If You Ever Fall in Love Again" written by Irish songwriter Dick Farrelly who is best remembered for his song "Isle of Innisfree", which Anne also recorded. In 1949, Shelton began to make headway Stateside, scoring a pair of hits with "Be Mine" and "Galway Bay," which resulted in her inaugural U.S. tour two years later (all the while continuing to entertain the troops).^[4]

She had a No.1 hit song in 1956 in the UK with "Lay Down Your Arms", engineered by Joe Meek.^[5] She also had a Top 10 hit in 1961 with her cover version of "Sailor".^[5] In the same year she participated in BBC Television's A Song for Europe contest, the UK qualifying heat for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her entry, "I Will Light a Candle" was placed fourth. Shelton made another attempt at Eurovision in 1963 with "My Continental Love" – and came fourth again. In addition to her hits 'Lay down your arms' and 'Sailor' she also charted with other hits in the late 1950s with 'Seven Days' and the beautiful 'The village of St Bernadette'.

As well as singing and acting in several films, including Miss London Ltd. (1943), Shelton appeared in several Royal Variety Performances. On occasion in her career, she was accompanied by her sister, Jo Shelton, also an accomplished and popular singer. There was even an interesting appearance on a 1973 episode of The Benny Hill Show where she sang "Put Your Hand in the Hand", a biblically inspired tune by the group Ocean that was a 1971 hit in the U.S. Shelton changed the words of one verse to describe briefly her father's positive influence on her family when she was growing up.

Shelton was never able to follow up her big hit, but remained a popular concert attraction nonetheless, performing shows until her death on 31 July 1994. Following her death, numerous compilation albums were published, including such titles as Early Years: Lili Marlene and At Last: The Very Best.^[4]

Honours

In 1990, she was awarded the OBE for her work with the 'Not Forgotten Association', a charitable organization for disabled former service personnel from all wars. Ann Shelton's Dulwich residence at 142 Court Lane was awarded a Blue Plaque by Southwark London Borough Council in 2007.

Personal life

Shelton was married to David Reid, a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy in 1958. She died in Herstmonceux, England on 31 July 1994 of a heart attack,^[2] and was interred in the Brenchley Gardens Cemetery in South East London.

References