Maggie Stredder RIP

The voice of Maggie Stredder, who's died at the age of 82, threads through British pop over 50 years. Born in Birkenhead in 1936, she worked at Vernons, the football pools betting company founded in Liverpool in 1925 (just a year after pioneers Littlewoods). Hundreds of women were hired to check coupons, working at weekends in huge open plan halls, scanning for punters' forms for those that had found the magic eight draws.  In the 1950s (and perhaps earlier) there was a works women's choir (as there was at Littlewoods), but the Vernons Girls moved with the times, and in 1958, 16 of them were hired by Jack Good to appear on 'Oh Boy !'



They appeared in all 38 editions, but in 1960 broke up. The Vernons Girls shrunk to three, but others went on their own - The Breakaways, The Pearls, The Redmond Twins.  Maggie set up The Two Tones, and then The DeLaine Sisters, before forming The Ladybirds in 1962.

Maggie, far left, in her trademark glasses, with some other singers

In late 1965 the Ladybirds signed to Decca Records, and in November that year provided backing vocals for Marc Bolan's first single, The Wizard.  Maggie was added to the voices of Madeline Bell and Lesley Duncan behind Dusty Springfield for her 1966/67 BBC TV series.





Also in 1966, The Ladybirds were recruited to provide vocal backing for Top of the Pops.   They lasted until 10 August 1978, when they were replaced a week later by The Maggie Stredder Singers. They were dropped in 1980, but the Ladybirds by then had a huge portfolio of tv light entertainment shows, including 60 Benny Hill shows. myriad Two Ronnies, and more SingalongaMax Bygraves shows than anyone needs.

They sang on Sandie Shaw's 1967 Eurovision winner Puppet On A String, and on Olivia Newton-John's 1974 entry, Long Live Love.