The Vernons Girls

The Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists. They were formed at the Vernons football pools company in the 1950s in Liverpool, as a sixteen strong choir and recorded an album of standards.

Career

In 1958 and 1959 they appeared on the ITV show, Oh Boy!, with the house band, and made a series of singles for labels such as Decca and Parlophone, in a morecondensed group with between three and five members. These were mainly covers of American hits. As session singers for Decca they appeared on dozens of hits into the 1960s, and even had a few of their own.Their 1958 LP released on Parlophone as PMC 1052 was arranged and conducted by Peter Knight. Sleeve notes were by Eamonn Andrews. The record is however a far cry from the later pop hits enjoyed by the group, and here they tackle such fifties standards as “We’ll Gather Lilacs”, “Lonely Ballerina”, and “The Cuckoo In the Clock”.

In the United States the group charted with the first Beatles tribute album there, We Love The Beatles. As the Carefrees they also charted with "We Love You Beatles", and made an album only available in the U.S. Before long there were solo singers like Lyn Cornell (married to session drummer Andy White, notable for replacing Ringo Starr on an early take of "Love Me Do"); and splinter acts like The Breakaways, one of whom, Vicky Haseman, married Joe Brown. Another former Vernons Girl, Maggie Stredder, went on to form a session group with Gloria George, The Ladybirds, who are most famous for their long association with The Benny Hill Show.

The Vernons Girls were the female backing voices on many hit singles during the 1960s – one of the first being Billy Fury’s "Maybe Tomorrow". They also appeared on film as a trio on Around The Beatles with The Beatles plus Long John Baldry, P. J. Proby and Millie. (The contingent featured on Around the Beatles consisted of Jean Owen (who left the group for solo success under the name Samantha Jones; she performs two key solos on "Only You Can Do It" and a medley with Baldry), Frances Lea, and Maureen Kennedy.)

 

They backed Jimi Hendrix with the haunting vocals of "Hey Joe" on Hendrix’s first record release.

Three of them were in the Billy Fury film, Play It Cool, whilst Lyn Cornell and the Breakaways appeared in Just For Fun; the remaining Vernons Girls also appeared in this film, performing "Just Another Girl". In the later 1990s they appeared in Cliff Richard’s show, ‘Oh Boy’ from the Wembley Arena.

Afterwards

The original full troupe soon disbanded, but a smaller unit carried on headed up by Maureen Kennedy. Some of the girls continued, at least for a while, in show business ventures. Cornell became a successful soloist, and managed a chart hit with "Never On Sunday" – she later became one of The Pearls. Haseman married Brown and brought up singing daughter Sam Brown. Baker married Marty Wilde – they formed a trio with Justin Hayward called the ‘Wilde Three’, and were the parents of singer Kim Wilde. The others seem to have banded together as duets and singing trios; these include the ‘Redmond Twins’, ‘The Breakaways’, ‘The Pearls’, the ‘Two Tones’; the ‘DeLaine Sisters’, and the longest surviving and best known, The Ladybirds. The ‘DeLaine Sisters’ did quite well in Great Britain with the Goffin & King song "It Might As Well Rain Until September." For the past decade Stredder, Sheila Bruce, together with ex-Ladybird Penny Lister, have brought new life to the Vernons Girls, and now recapture some of the old magic on tour with their friends as part of the ‘Solid Gold Rock ‘n’ Roll Show’.

Main personnel

Maggie Stredder
(born Margaret Elizabeth Stredder, 9 January 1936, Birkenhead)
Later in The Ladybirds – married writer Roy Tuvey
Vicki Brown
(born Victoria Mary Haseman, 23 August 1940, Liverpool – died 1992)
Later in The Breakaways – married Joe Brown
Joyce Smith
(born Joyce Baker, 1941) – married Marty Wilde
Lyn Cornell 
Later in The Pearls – married Andy White
Maureen Kennedy
married comedian Mike Hope – died in a car accident in the early 1970s
Jean Owen
(born 17 November 1943, Liverpool) 
Performed under her real name with the group before going solo and changing her name into Samantha Jones She married her long term adviser ,showbiz accountant Jose Goumal
Francis Lea
Eileen Byrne
married Bill Homewood – died 1981 from breast cancer
Ann O’Brien (Simmons)
Later in The Pearls