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Eliza Janet Thomson (November 1943 – 24 July 2020), who recorded as Barry St. John, was a Scottish female singer who had a No. 47 hit in the UK Singles Chart in December 1965 with "Come Away Melinda". It was her only solo chart success.

Biography

Born and raised in Gallowgate, Glasgow, Scotland, Liz Thomson sang from a young age, and joined local beat group, Bobby Patrick's Big Six, before they moved to London in January 1962. The group toured Germany and played clubs in Hamburg, before Thompson decided to start a solo career and returned to England.

As Barry St. John, she signed with Decca Records in 1964 and released her first single, a version of the Jarmels' "A Little Bit of Soap". Her follow-up, a cover version of the Newbeats' hit "Bread and Butter", made the German pop chart later that year. Although she continued to release singles in the UK, they had little success. In 1965, she moved to Columbia Records, and had her only UK Singles Chart entry with "Come Away Melinda", a Weavers song previously recorded by Harry Belafonte which St. John recorded at the suggestion of record producer Mickie Most. Later releases on Columbia were less successful, although several became popular a few years later on the Northern soul scene. In 1968, she recorded further solo singles, on the Major Minor label, and also released an album, According to St. John, produced by Mike Pasternak, alias Emperor Rosko.

She was a member of the Les Humphries Singers between 1972 and 1973, but stayed on as a session singer for the band until 1975. St. John was also a background singer on many records, including T. Rex's Tanx (1973), Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII in the same year, the concept album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (1974), and Andy Fairweather Low's, La Booga Rooga (1975). She performed as a session musician for a string of other artists including Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, and Duster Bennett in the late 1960s, and with Bryan Ferry, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Elton John in the 1970s. Her other project work the following decade encompassed Vivian Stanshall, Kevin Coyne, John Cale, Daevid Allen, Tom Robinson and Whitesnake. Her work continued into the early 1990s with Squeeze and Jorge Ben Jor.

She died in July 2020, in London, England, at the age of 76.

Discography

Singles

• "A Little Bit of Soap" / "Thing of the Past" (Decca, 1964)
• "Bread and Butter" / "Cry to Me" (Decca, 1964)
• "Mind How You Go" / "Don't You Feel Proud" (Decca, 1965)
• "Hey Boy" / "I've Been Crying" (Decca, 1965)
• "Come Away Melinda" / "Gotta Brand New Man" (Columbia, 1965)
• "Everything I Touch Turns To Tears" / "Sounds Like My Baby" (Columbia, 1966)
• "Cry Like a Baby" / "Long and Lonely Night" (Major Minor, 1968)
• "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" / "Turn on Your Light" (Major Minor, 1969)

Albums

• According to St. John (Major Minor, 1968)

References

1. ^ "Come Away Melinda (Barry St John)", JonKutner.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017
2. ^ ltd, company check. "BARRY ST. JOHN GALVIN director information. Free director information. Director id 700410501". Companycheck.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
3. ^ Barry St John obituary, The Guardian
4. "Barry St. John". Oxfordindex.oup.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 479. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. ^ "Barry St. John | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
7. "Crayons To Perfume Girl of the Week: Barry St. John – the lil' gal with the big voice!", WFMU Rock'n'Soul Ichiban, 28 July 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2017
8. Barry St John, "According to St John", Discogs.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017
9. Lee Ricketts (20 May 2015). "Barry St John: Cry Like A Baby 60s Music". YouTube. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
10. Graham Betts (2006). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2006. p. 721. BARRY ST JOHN ; UK singer from Glasgow who sang backing for Pink Floyd, Elton John, Rick Wakeman and the Tom Robinson Band
11. "Barry St John (Major Minor) Northern Soul - s w e a t s o a k e D". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
12. "La Booga Rooga – Andy Fairweather Low | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
13. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 2355/6. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
14. "Barry St. John | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
15. "Magic Potion Listings". Magic-potion.net. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

• 1943 births
• 2020 deaths
• 20th-century Scottish women singers
• Scottish pop singers
• Scottish session musicians
• Singers from Glasgow