BIOGRAPHY...

Stephanie King is an entertainment phenomenon of truly international status! To date she has graced many a stage, both at home and overseas and enjoyed huge critical acclaim not only from her peers but more importantly, from audiences world-wide. I asked Stephanie to contribute to her newest website by answering a few tricky questions, which might help to provide you with an insight into her life and times as a ‘serious muso’. For the younger members dropping in for a look around, that means quite simply, she’s a ‘quality act’.
Stephanie’s first ever appearance on stage was at the age of four (singing Oh! You Beautiful Doll) in a talent contest at the Maid Marion Club, Skegness. She very quickly found her stage feet and was subsequently invited back year after year. Stephanie became a regular visitor to the club, repeating her early successes and winning numerous talent contests along the way.

An Interview with Stephanie (March 2005)

Q. At what age did you really start to think that you might have a natural talent and want to become a vocalist?
A. Well, I guess it was around the age of 10, when I joined lots of other young entertainers to appear in numerous Charity Shows around the Yorkshire region, organised by the Sheffield Star Newspaper. It was so amazing; we even performed one show in front of thousands of people at Sheffield City Hall, hosted by the then famous comedian, Duggie Brown.

Q. Cool, so having tasted some success at a very young age, where did you go from there? Did you still have to audition for gigs and contests or were you offered places without having to try too hard?
A. You must be joking! The City Hall thing was a fantastic, never-to-be-forgotten experience but in my book, achieving ‘real’ success, means you have to keep pushing yourself, working hard and believing that you can always improve on your last performance.
No, I was always auditioning for some show or other and regularly checked out local bands in the hope that I might get to audition for them too. It worked though, because at the age of fourteen and a half I was invited to join a great band, The Mirror Crack’d, no it's not a typing error, we were named after the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. Believe it or not, my very first gig with them was as support band for the wonderful Martha Reeves, who created some of the most memorable and infectious dance records of the 60’s on the famous Motown label. A night to remember for all of us and something that will stay with me forever.
 

Q. Did you perform other peoples material or did you write your own songs?
A. No, we decided from the outset that we would focus on the writing side of things, simply because we desperately wanted to be original and to have our records on sale in the shops. As luck would have it, we were ‘spotted’ at a showcase gig we put together for a couple of record companies and so at the age of sixteen, landed my first recording contract with Carrere Records. My dad had to sign the contract because I wasn’t legally of an age to do it myself.

Q. What was the line up of the band and do you still keep in touch with any of them?
A. The Mirror Crack’d had two lead singers (myself and Rick Baines), Pete Hiley on guitar, Phil Staniland on bass, Steve O’Brien on drums and Vic & Keith made up the brass section. Pete went on to play for Boy On A Dolphin and Phil featured regularly as a Stars Of The Future judge in last year’s competition. We did some miles together, regularly gigging up and down the country and I think the highlight was probably playing at The Rock Garden in Covent Garden.

Q. Did you get to release a single and if so, can I have a copy please?
A. We sure did and I’ll sort you one out no problem. We put out a track called ‘Dandy Wallflower’, which was released in February 1984. We picked up quite a bit of airplay on national radio and received some excellent press reviews, particularly in the NME (New Musical Express). After a fairly arduous four years in an extremely competitive business, we decided to go our separate ways and it was time for me to earn my keep on the Cabaret and Club Circuit.

Cont'd on Page Two  CLICK HERE.