Singer. Nicknamed "The Golden Girl of Pop", she was one of the most successful female singers to hail from Great Britain during the 1960s. Born Kathleen O'Rourke, she received a Christian School education and was in possession of a voice with operatic range at an early age. In 1956 she was brought to the attention of bandleader Bert Ambrose (whom she would perform with), and he served as her manager during the peak of her career in the mid-1960s. Kirby, would adopt the "blonde bombshell" look with her hairstyle which was compared to that of Marilyn Monroe and after signing with the Decca record label, she was voted Top British Female Singer (1963), as she scored five Top-40 hits on the UK Charts which included "Secret Love" (1963) and "I Belong" (1965). Her popularity reached across the Atlantic, as she appeared on a 1965 episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show", and back in England she hosted her own TV series "The Kathy Kirby Show" (1964 to 1965). By the late-1960s, she was recording with Columbia Records and remained with the label until the early 1970s. At that period, her career was on the decline and with the exception of sporadic performances in public, she was no longer associated with the entertainment industry.
Singer. Nicknamed "The Golden Girl of Pop", she was one of the most successful female singers to hail from Great Britain during the 1960s. Born Kathleen O'Rourke, she received a Christian School education and was in possession of a voice with operatic range at an early age. In 1956 she was brought to the attention of bandleader Bert Ambrose (whom she would perform with), and he served as her manager during the peak of her career in the mid-1960s. Kirby, would adopt the "blonde bombshell" look with her hairstyle which was compared to that of Marilyn Monroe and after signing with the Decca record label, she was voted Top British Female Singer (1963), as she scored five Top-40 hits on the UK Charts which included "Secret Love" (1963) and "I Belong" (1965). Her popularity reached across the Atlantic, as she appeared on a 1965 episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show", and back in England she hosted her own TV series "The Kathy Kirby Show" (1964 to 1965). By the late-1960s, she was recording with Columbia Records and remained with the label until the early 1970s. At that period, her career was on the decline and with the exception of sporadic performances in public, she was no longer associated with the entertainment industry.
Bio by: C.S.
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