Biography
Joan Regan entered the world in Romford, Essex, on 19 January 1928. While employed as a photographer’s re-toucher she recorded test discs of “Too Young” and “I’ll Walk Alone”; once these reached Bernard Delfont they secured her a contract with Decca Records. Like most British artists of the era she was initially handed American numbers to reinterpret, beginning with “Till I Waltz Again With You” and “I’ll Always Be Thinking Of You,” yet neither climbed the charts. Her third release, “Ricochet,” featured backing from the vocal group The Squadronaires and edged into the top ten by the close of 1953, prompting regular spots on the television programme Quite Contrary and, later, four series of her own show Be My Guest.
Between 1954 and 1955 she notched further successes with the covers “Someone Else’s Roses,” “If I Give My Heart To You,” “Prize Of Gold” and “Wait For Me Darling,” the last of which again featured The Johnson Brothers. She expanded her stage act to encompass impressions of Gracie Fields, Judy Garland and actress Anna Neagle. In the late 1950s she performed repeatedly at the London Palladium, among them a Royal Command Performance, and joined her longtime associate Russ Conway—formerly her rehearsal pianist—in the production Stars In Your Eyes.
After departing Decca in 1958 she moved to EMI’s HMV imprint and scored one last top-ten entry in the summer of 1959. Four modest chart entries followed in 1960 on the Pye label: “Happy Anniversary,” “Papa Loves Mambo,” “One Of The Lucky Ones” and “It Must Be Santa.” She had married Harry Claff, a Palladium staff member, in 1957; the union ended in divorce in 1963 after he received a five-year sentence for fraud. With her recording career stalled she endured a nervous breakdown, relocated to Florida and wed Martin Cowan.
A brain haemorrhage in 1984 left her paralysed, yet she regained sufficient strength to share a stage once more with Russ Conway. In 1992 she concluded a fresh agreement with Nectar Records and has continued to make occasional live appearances.
Between 1954 and 1955 she notched further successes with the covers “Someone Else’s Roses,” “If I Give My Heart To You,” “Prize Of Gold” and “Wait For Me Darling,” the last of which again featured The Johnson Brothers. She expanded her stage act to encompass impressions of Gracie Fields, Judy Garland and actress Anna Neagle. In the late 1950s she performed repeatedly at the London Palladium, among them a Royal Command Performance, and joined her longtime associate Russ Conway—formerly her rehearsal pianist—in the production Stars In Your Eyes.
After departing Decca in 1958 she moved to EMI’s HMV imprint and scored one last top-ten entry in the summer of 1959. Four modest chart entries followed in 1960 on the Pye label: “Happy Anniversary,” “Papa Loves Mambo,” “One Of The Lucky Ones” and “It Must Be Santa.” She had married Harry Claff, a Palladium staff member, in 1957; the union ended in divorce in 1963 after he received a five-year sentence for fraud. With her recording career stalled she endured a nervous breakdown, relocated to Florida and wed Martin Cowan.
A brain haemorrhage in 1984 left her paralysed, yet she regained sufficient strength to share a stage once more with Russ Conway. In 1992 she concluded a fresh agreement with Nectar Records and has continued to make occasional live appearances.
Albums
