60s pop star Kathy Kirby has died at the age of 71.
Kirby was at one-time the highest paid female singer in England. She rose to international fame after representing the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. She won second prize. Prior to that she had 5 Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1965 including her cover of Doris Day’s ‘Secret Love’ and her own ‘Dance On’.
Kathy stopped performing after 1976 when one of her last appearances was for Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
However, in 2005, she was recorded singing the song ‘He’ with Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch but the song was never officially released.
Her story was tragic. She had two failed marriages, went bankrupt, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and put in a psychiatric hospital and then had a lesbian affair with a fan who was later jailed for fraud and forgery.
Her last ever interview (and first in 26 years) was conducted by the Sunday Express in 2009. In it she revealed that some unreleased recordings would be released in 2010 but it never eventuated.
