Mari Wilson

Not to be confused with Meri Wilson.

Mari Wilson
Also known as	Miss Beehive, Neasden Queen of Soul
Born	29 September 1954 (1954-09-29) (age 57)
Origin	Neasden, London, England
Genres	Pop, jazz
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Compact Records

Mari Wilson (born Mari MacMillan Ramsey Wilson, 29 September 1954, Neasden, London)^[1] is an English singer, best known for her sometimes quirky, early 1960s-influenced pop music songs, and her beehive hairstyle.

Career

Recording on the Compact Records label, she scored six UK hit singles in the early 1980s, including her biggest hit, "Just What I Always Wanted" (UK #8) in 1982.^[2] The following year she scored a Top 30 hit with a cover of "Cry Me a River" and released her debut album Showpeople - also a Top 30 hit.^[2] In 1985, she performed the song "Would You Dance with a Stranger", theme for the film Dance With a Stranger, and turned her career towards live performances. Although for a while she distanced herself from her beehive days, she started touring with her old songs again in 2007. In 1992, the album The Rhythm Romance, which combined jazz standards with 1960s songs and original material, failed to return her to the charts. She continued performing with jazz bands, and sang the theme-song to the TV sitcom Coupling, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and contributed the song "Cry Me a River" to the crime drama series McCallum. In 2005, Wilson returned to recording with the album Dolled Up. This was followed by a compilation of her hits, The Platinum Collection to celebrate her 25th anniversary in show business. Apart from pursuing her solo career, she toured with Barb Jungr and Claire Martin as the cabaret act, 'Girl Talk'. Claire has now been replaced in 'Girl Talk' by Gwyneth Herbert ^[3].

Mari has also performed in musicals such as Dusty the Musical ^[4], and has been a feature on a BBC Television series about celebrities and their health (she has Type 1 Diabetes).^[5]

Her band was colloquially known as The Wilsations,^[6] and her backing vocalists were called The Marionettes. Occasional featured artists were Michelle Collins (Cindy from EastEnders), Julia Fordham and bassist 'Thumbs' Cunningham.

Wilson's fourth studio album Emotional Glamour was released on her Beehive label in October 2008 ^[7] (though she has long ago changed her former trademark hairstyle). She has also written and starred in a one-woman musical – The Love Thing: ^[8]

She is a long time resident of Crouch End in North London.

Mari has a new album of covers coming out in 2011 funded by public subscription, and a regular blog with witty updates about it and her life in general: ^[9]

Discography

Singles

• "Loveman" (1980)
• "Dance Card" (1981)
• "Beat the Beat" (1982) UK #59
• "Baby it's True" (1982) UK #42
• "Just What I Always Wanted" (1982) UK #8
• "(Beware) Boyfriend" (1982) UK #51
• "Cry Me a River" (1983) UK #27
• "Wonderful" (1983) (Mari Wilson and The Wilsations) UK #47
• "Ain't That Peculiar" (1984)
• "Let's Make This Last" (1984)
• "Would You Dance with a Stranger" (1985)
• "The Rhythm" (1991)
• "My Funny Valentine" (1991)
• "Storyline" (2005)^[2]

EPs

• "I'm Coming Home" / "No Moon at All" / "Out of the Blue" / "It's Got to Be You" (10" maxi-single) (1992)

Albums

• Showpeople (1983) (Mari Wilson and The Wilsations) (1983 - UK #24)
• Rhythm Romance (1991)
• Beat The Beat (Compilation) (1992)
• Dolled Up (2005)
• The Platinum Collection (Compilation)(2007)
• Emotional Glamour (2008)^[2]

References

1. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=NmuDGfrd7h9wYpRBDJVQLg&scan=1. Retrieved 27 September 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 606. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
3. ^ http://www.girltalkdivas.co.uk/
4. ^ http://www.simonbell.com/musical.html
5. ^ "I Was Top of the Pops but crippled by pain. Now, at 53, I finally feel fit and healthy, says Eighties soul star Mari Wilson" Daily Mail (4 October 2008). Retrieved 4 August 2010.
6. ^ Holden, Stephen (20 September 1983). "Pop Vocalist: Mari Wilson". The New York Times. p. 21. http://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/20/arts/pop-vocalist-mari-wilson.html. Retrieved 29 May 2010. 
7. ^ http://old.awal.com/category/label-name/beehive-records
8. ^ http://www.whatsonstage.com/press+releases/index.php?md=details&id=189
9. ^ http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/mariwilson/updates

External links

• The official Mari Wilson web site

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Mari
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 September 1954
Place of birth	Neasden, London, England
Date of death
Place of death