| Helen Clare | |
 Helen Clare in 1930s | |
| Birth: | 29 November 1916 Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK |
| Death: | 15 September 2018 London, England, UK |
| Age: | 101 years, 290 days |
| Country: |  UK
|
| Centenarian | |
Helen Clare (29 November 1916 – 15 September 2018), known as Nelly Harrison, was a British centenarian, and singer who was well known in the 1930s and 1940s through her work in variety, radio, television and recording. Clare worked extensively in light entertainment, appearing on BBC Radio and recording with British dance bands. Her distinctive soprano voice saw her working with some of the biggest names of the era, including bandleaders Jack Jackson and Henry Hall. She was one of the last surviving British singers who had been active in the 1930s.
War and post-war frame[]
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Clare was asked to join the BBC Variety department in Bristol, where they had evacuated to, and were forming a variety company. Clare remarked that "It was hard work to begin with, we were just one little company and had to dash from one studio to another but the company was lovely, people you'd worked with for years and we were all together and doing our bit". She worked with stars such as Flanagan and Allen, Tommy Trinder and Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson, appearing regularly on BBC Radio. She broadcast with the BBC's in-house orchestras and those led by such notable bandleaders as Carroll Gibbons, Henry Hall, Billy Ternent and Jack Hylton.
It was thought that Bristol would be safer than London, but this was proven wrong when the city suffered air raids in November 1940 and into 1941. The BBC Variety department consequently moved even further from London, this time to Bangor in North Wales. She became a freelance singer in 1941, and toured Britain's variety theatres. She also gave concerts for the troops at factories, naval stations, army bases and factories. In June 1941, she recorded a cover of "Beneath The Lights Of Home (In A Little Old Sleepy Town)", from Deanna Durbin's film Nice Girl? as the vocalist on The Organ, The Dance Band and Me, a group led by Billy Thorburn. Two years later, with Thorburn's band, she recorded "Say A Pray'r For The Boys Over There", an Oscar-nominated song from Durbin's film Hers to Hold, and "Comin' In On A Wing And A Pray'r", both wartime-themed songs.
Offered the chance to work with bandleader Jack Payne, she broadcast with him for the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), singing songs such as "I'll Walk Beside You", a popular hit during the war. She also appeared in BBC programmes such as Music While You Work, Calling Forces Gibraltar and Workers' Playtime singing requests for the troops and their loved ones. Clare hosted It's All Yours from 1942 to 1944, in which she read out messages and performed songs sent in by children with relatives in the Allied forces. It was in this programme that the 9-year old Petula Clark made her broadcasting debut, later described by Clare as "this lovely little thing".
In early 1944, she recorded vocals at three sessions with Harry Leader and his Band for Regal Zonophone, who were based at the Astoria Ballroom in London. In addition to ENSA, she also performed for the Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service, which made radio programmes for British forces stationed abroad. One of her favourite songs was Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are", which she often sang on the BBC, notably with the Allied Expeditionary Force band in April 1945. Commenting on this, she said, "When I sang I was part of that song, and the songs then spoke of so many sentiments, and they tell a story".
Following the end of the war in Britain, Clare continued to work in variety and light music. The latter included operetta, in which she would be accompanied by orchestras led by Sidney Torch and George Melachrino. She continued to broadcast on popular radio shows such as Variety Bandbox and Palace of Varieties. In 1957, Friday Night Is Music Night, which had begun on the BBC Light Programme in 1953, featured Clare, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Death[]
She died on 15 September 2018 at the age of 101 years, 290 days.
Gallery
References[]
- Tributes paid to one of television's earliest songstresses who has died at 101 Your Local Guardian, 28 September 2018