Barry St. John - Hey Boy (1969)

Elizabeth Thompson (aka Barry St. John) was born in Glasgow in 1943, and enjoyed singing from a young age, joining Ian Campbell & The Midnighters as a teenager. In 1961 she became vocalist and backup singer with Bobby Patrick Big 6, before moving to London with the band in 1962, and then onto a tour of American bases in Germany, eventually taking up residence at a club in Hamburg. It was at this time that she took the stage name Barry St John, and after a couple of years with the Bobby Patrick Big 6 her management encouraged her to leave the band and pursue a solo career in England, so in 1964 she recorded her first single for Decca, with covers of The Jarmels 'A Little Bit Of Soap' and The Shirelle's 'Thing Of The Past'. Both highlighted perfectly her soulful vocal stylings, and the follow up single 'Bread And Butter' made the German top 40. In 1965 she had a minor UK hit with Chris Andrews' 'Mind How You Go', but when the follow up 'Hey Boy' failed to attract chart attention she was dropped by the label. Moving to Columbia Records, she had her only UK singles chart entry with an anti-protest song 'Come Away Melinda', although it wasn't in her usual style, with the b-side 'Gotta Brand New Man' being more popular with her true fans, later becoming much in demand on the northern soul dance scene. The more soulful 'Everything I Touch Turns To Tears' didn't match the previous success, and once again she was dropped by her label. In 1967 she joined The Krew as lead vocalist, and this brought her back to work with former Bobby Patrick Big 6 member Archie Legget, with the band releasing the album 'According To St. John' in 1968, produced by Mike Pasternak, alias the DJ Emperor Rosko. In the late 60's Barry became a regular session singer and worked with Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, and Duster Bennett, and between 1972 and 1973 she was a member of The Les Humphries Singers, singing backing vocals on Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' and Roger Glover's rock opera 'The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast'. Whilst still a session singer and working with Bryan Ferry, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Elton John in the 70s, she carried on with her solo career, releasing several singles in 1974 and 1975, and was still working in the music business into the early 90's, working with Elton John and Jorge Ben Jor.

Track listing

01 A Thing Of The Past (single 1964) 
02 Little Bit Of Soap (b-side of 'A Thing Of The Past') 
03 Bread And Butter (single 1964) 
04 Cry To Me (b-side of 'Bread And Butter')
05 Mind How You Go (single 1965) 
06 Don't You Feel Proud (b-side of 'Mind How You Go')
07 Hey Boy (single 1965)
08 I've Been Crying (b-side of 'Hey Boy') 
09 Come Away Melinda (single 1965)
10 Gotta Brand New Man (b-side of 'Gotta Brand New Man')
11 Everything I Touch Turns To Tears (single 1966)  
12 Sounds Like My Baby (b-side of 'Everything I Touch Turns To Tears')
13 Cry Like A Baby (single 1968)
14 Long And Lonely Night (b-side of 'Cry Like A Baby')
15 By The Time I Get To Phoenix (single 1969) 
16 Turn On Your Light (b-side of 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix')