Biography
In 1963 Joe Meek subjected the minor vocalist Thorne to his signature Svengali-style studio manipulation. A photographer’s discovery of her appearance, rather than any vocal prowess, apparently prompted the attention she received. On EMI’s HMV imprint she issued just one single, Geoff Goddard’s “Merry Go Round” backed by Meek’s “Go On There,” which vanished almost immediately after release. Ritchie Blackmore supplied aggressive guitar on both sides, yet his playing and whatever qualities the tracks possessed were buried beneath an unusually heavy application of Meek’s production tricks. Seeking to mask Thorne’s Swedish accent, Meek double-tracked and sped up her vocal, an effect that led even Melody Maker’s reviewers to observe that “she sounds as if she’s played at the wrong speed.” Nothing has been known of Thorne’s location since the mid-1960s.