Julie Grant
| Julie Grant | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Vivien Foreman |
| Born |
12 July 1946 Blackpool, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Pop music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1960s |
| Labels | Pye Records |
Julie Grant (born 12 July 1946) is an English pop music singer, who was mainly active during the 1960s. She had three hits on the UK Singles Chart with "Up on the Roof", "Count on Me" (both 1963) and "Come to Me" (1964). She also recorded a cover version of "Every Day I Have to Cry" (1964).
Grant was a contemporary of Petula Clark and Cilla Black, and Allmusic journalist, Richie Unterberger, noted "she had a strong, versatile voice" but was hindered by "her inability to carve out a recognizable stylistic niche".
Julie Grant was born Vivien Foreman in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. When Grant was aged 16 months her family – besides her parents she had an older brother and sister – relocated to Cape Town where at age four Grant won a local talent contest: her prize was the opportunity to perform a concert with a local orchestra who invited Grant to sing with them regularly over a period of some two years. Grant subsequently lived with her family for brief periods in Johannesburg and Victoria Falls, then returning with her family to England, first living in London where Grant attended the Italia Conte music conservatory and at age 9 appeared onstage at the Drury Lane Theatre in The King and I. Grant then moved with her family to Leeds, where Grant trained in dance and opera, vocalising with a local orchestra on weekends.
At age 15 Grant was discovered by Frankie Vaughan and signed by Vaughan's agent Eric Easton who arranged for Grant to audition for Pye Records. Pye signed Grant who was still known as Vivien Foreman: as the label requested she adopt a stage name Grant formed "Julie Grant" from the name of her father's accountant Julian Grant. The debut single by Julie Grant, "Somebody Tell Him", was released in March 1962 and was the first of fifteen singles all produced by Tony Hatch the fourth of which, a cover of The Drifters' US hit, "Up on the Roof", gave Grant her chart debut. Despite being beaten by a rival UK cover by Kenny Lynch, which reached No. 5 compared to the No. 33 peak of Grant's version, Grant was able to use the relative success of "Up on the Roof" to gain a series of television guest spots, plus star billing on a package tour which also featured The Rolling Stones, The Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley. Grant's profile was maintained by her follow-up single, the March 1963 release "Count on Me", which became her best chart placing in the UK at No. 24.
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