Born on February 26: Sandie Shaw, the barefoot English singer

The British singer, icon of the swinging sixties and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, was born in 1947 in the suburbs of London

She started working at a very young age as a typist (at a time when typewriters clicked happily) in a Ford car factory in her hometown of Dagenham. As she had a pretty face, she posed for a few advertisements. Her shrill voice also made those around her proud. She even won an honorary place in a local competition. That's how she was noticed and, like in fairy tales, it didn't take her long to reach success. A cover of a song written by Burt Baccharach, her second single "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" gave her her first hit in 1964. The song remains a reference of the time.

Still very wise and despite everything a heroine of Swinging London alongside the model Twiggy or Mary Quant, inventor of the mini skirt, Sandie Shaw has had a string of hits with, for example, "Long Live Love" or the famous "Puppet On A String" which ultimately bears very little resemblance to her but with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. Systematically appearing on stage without shoes, she was then called "the singer with feet". As was often the case in the 60s, for female performers more than for singers from the 60s, it was also suggested that she sing songs in German, Spanish and especially French. The result flirts with a sometimes delicious kitsch that Petula Clark wouldn't deny. 

After the whirlwind of the 60s, the public gradually lost interest in the artist. Sandre Shaw then tried new experiences by illustrating children's books and writing a musical comedy. In the early 80s, Chrissie Hynde first invited her to perform with her with The Pretenders. 

A year later, Morrissey and Johnny Marr, then respectively singer and guitarist of the Smiths, persuaded her to record her version of their emblematic "Hand In Glove". Thus dubbed, she returned to the recording studios and the album "Hello Angel" finally saw the light of day in 1988.

Today, in Italian or Spanish as much as in French and English, very happy to have finally recovered the rights to her catalog in 2002, she no longer practices music except as an amateur. For fun…

(Stéphane Soupart - Tr.: MH - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Portrait of Sandie Shaw at the Astoria Hotel in Brussels (Belgium) on July 18, 1984 for the promotion of the 45 rpm Hand In Glove on the Rough Trade label