Jackie Trent
Encyclopedia
Jackie Trent is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.
Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music. Her first single, "Pick Up the Pieces," was released in 1962, but it was not until two record label
s and three years later that she scored her first hit
, "Where Are You Now
" which was featured in the popular TV series "[The Inspector Rose Mysteries]" and was written
by Tony Hatch
, who at that time was involved in a successful professional collaboration with Petula Clark
. "Where Are You Now" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
in May 1965, topping the chart
for one week.
With Clark's 1966 hit, "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
" inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and Hatch, they went public with their relationship. A year later, they were married in Kensington
, London.
Although she recorded
several singles and albums, both as a solo artist
and in tandem with her husband, Trent was more successful as a songwriter rather than a singer. In addition to their compositions for Clark, over the years she and Hatch wrote a wealth of material for other artists, including Frank Sinatra
, Jack Jones
, Nancy Wilson
, Des O'Connor
, Val Doonican
, Shirley Bassey
, Vikki Carr
, and Dean Martin
.
In the late 1960s, Trent returned to the stage with a UK tour of the musical Nell with Hermione Baddeley
. In 1970 Trent recorded the Les Vandyke
composed, "I'll Be Near You". In March that year she appeared on the cover of the British music magazine, NME
.
The 1970s saw Hatch and Trent diversify into the world of musical theatre. The first of their projects, The Card
, based on Arnold Bennett
's novel, with book by Keith Waterhouse
and Willis Hall, ran in London's West End with Jim Dale
and Millicent Martin
in the starring roles. (Coincidentally, Clark had starred in the 1952 film version with Alec Guinness
). An original cast album was released in 1975. A rewritten version of the show, starring Peter Duncan
and Hayley Mills
, played the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in the 1990s and spawned a new cast album. The second Hatch/Trent musical was Rock Nativity, with book and lyrics by David Wood. Initiated and produced by Cameron Mackintosh
, it first played in Newcastle upon Tyne
. An updated version of the show toured nationally in 1976, and was broadcast nationally by Scottish TV. A full-length concert version was also recorded at the Cork Opera House
for transmission by RTÉ
.
In 1972 the couple wrote the song "We'll Be With You", a celebration of Trent's home town football club Stoke City reaching the final of the Football League Cup
. It was released under the name The Potters (the club's nickname), and reached number 34 on the UK chart. Stoke beat Chelsea F.C.
2-1 in the final. The track is still played at Stoke's home games to this day.
In August 1978, Trent appeared on the BBC Television
programme, Seaside Special
. Later the same year, the couple left the UK for a four-year residency in Dublin, where they hosted their own TV
series Words And Music and It's A Musical World, before moving to Australia in 1982. It was while down under that the couple wrote what might be their most famous composition, the theme tune
for the TV soap, Neighbours
.
Trent and Hatch separated in 1995, and divorced in 2002.
Following the couple's initial separation, Trent made a successful return to the British stage, touring the country in the musical High Society
. After spending several years in semi-retirement, she toured Australia with a series of concerts in April and May 2004.
On 24 November 2005, Trent married Colin Gregory.
In 2008, Trent collaborated with the record producer, Ted Carfrae, to work on her latest album entitled Trentquility.
Career
Trent's first stage appearance was as a ten-year-old ingenue in the pantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music. Her first single, "Pick Up the Pieces," was released in 1962, but it was not until two record label
Record 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,...
s and three years later that she scored her first hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, "Where Are You Now
Where Are You Now (My Love)
"Where Are You Now " is a 1965 song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, and was recorded by Trent. The single gave Trent her one and only solo #1 hit when it reached the top of the UK Singles Chart for one week in May 1965...
" which was featured in the popular TV series "[The Inspector Rose Mysteries]" and was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
, who at that time was involved in a successful professional collaboration with Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
. "Where Are You Now" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in May 1965, topping the chart
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....
for one week.
With Clark's 1966 hit, "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" is a 1966 single written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by Petula Clark. It was inspired by the affair the songwriters were having at the time....
" inspired by the ongoing affair between Trent and Hatch, they went public with their relationship. A year later, they were married in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London.
Although she recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several singles and albums, both as a solo artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and in tandem with her husband, Trent was more successful as a songwriter rather than a singer. In addition to their compositions for Clark, over the years she and Hatch wrote a wealth of material for other artists, including Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
, Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, Des O'Connor
Des O'Connor
Des O'Connor, CBE is an English comedian and singer. A former talkshow host, he was the presenter of the long-running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years...
, Val Doonican
Val Doonican
Val Doonican is an Irish singer. From 1965 to 1986 he was a regular fixture on the BBC Television's schedule with The Val Doonican Show, which featured his own singing performances and a variety of guest artists...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr is an American singer and humanitarian from El Paso, Texas. She has performed in a variety of music genres, including jazz, pop and country, but has enjoyed her greatest success singing in Spanish.-Career:After taking the stage name 'Vikki Carr', she signed with Liberty Records in 1962...
, and Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
.
In the late 1960s, Trent returned to the stage with a UK tour of the musical Nell with Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Baddeley
Hermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...
. In 1970 Trent recorded the Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
composed, "I'll Be Near You". In March that year she appeared on the cover of the British music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
.
The 1970s saw Hatch and Trent diversify into the world of musical theatre. The first of their projects, The Card
The Card (musical)
The Card is a musical with a book by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall and music and lyrics by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent.Based on Arnold Bennett's 1911 comedic novel of the same name, it chronicles the rise of Denry Machin from washerwoman's son to Mayor of Bursley through luck, guile, initiative,...
, based on Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
's novel, with book by Keith Waterhouse
Keith Waterhouse
Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
and Willis Hall, ran in London's West End with Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
and Millicent Martin
Millicent Martin
Millicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer and comedienne.Martin was born in Romford, England. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend in 1954...
in the starring roles. (Coincidentally, Clark had starred in the 1952 film version with Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
). An original cast album was released in 1975. A rewritten version of the show, starring Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (actor)
Peter Duncan is a British actor and television presenter, best known as a former presenter of Blue Peter and for his later family travel documentaries.-Education:...
and Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
, played the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in the 1990s and spawned a new cast album. The second Hatch/Trent musical was Rock Nativity, with book and lyrics by David Wood. Initiated and produced by Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
, it first played in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. An updated version of the show toured nationally in 1976, and was broadcast nationally by Scottish TV. A full-length concert version was also recorded at the Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House
Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in the Republic of Ireland. It was originally built in 1855, although its existence has not been continuous; having survived the burning of much of Cork by British forces in reprisal for an ambush of a military convoy in 1920 by Irish rebels,...
for transmission by RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
.
In 1972 the couple wrote the song "We'll Be With You", a celebration of Trent's home town football club Stoke City reaching the final of the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. It was released under the name The Potters (the club's nickname), and reached number 34 on the UK chart. Stoke beat Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
2-1 in the final. The track is still played at Stoke's home games to this day.
In August 1978, Trent appeared on the 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...
programme, Seaside Special
Seaside Special
Seaside Special was a BBC light entertainment show broadcast from the mid-late 1970s. It was an outside broadcast and was always filmed in a big top in a British seaside resort. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses , but in later seasons, the BBC purchased their own big top to act...
. Later the same year, the couple left the UK for a four-year residency in Dublin, where they hosted their own TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Words And Music and It's A Musical World, before moving to Australia in 1982. It was while down under that the couple wrote what might be their most famous composition, the theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for the TV soap, Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Trent and Hatch separated in 1995, and divorced in 2002.
Following the couple's initial separation, Trent made a successful return to the British stage, touring the country in the musical High Society
High Society (musical)
High Society is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Based on the Philip Barry play The Philadelphia Story and the 1956 musical screen adaptation with Porter's songs, High Society, the plot centers on pretentious Long Island socialite Tracy Lord, who is planning...
. After spending several years in semi-retirement, she toured Australia with a series of concerts in April and May 2004.
On 24 November 2005, Trent married Colin Gregory.
In 2008, Trent collaborated with the record producer, Ted Carfrae, to work on her latest album entitled Trentquility.
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of performers on Top of the Pops