Editing Clodagh Rodgers (section)

==Biography==
Rodgers was born in [[Warrenpoint]]<ref name="AMG">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p300623/biography |title=Biography by Jason Ankeny |publisher=Allmusic.com |access-date=8 April 2009 |archive-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206004733/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p300623/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> and began her professional singing career at the age of thirteen, when she opened for [[Michael Holliday]].<ref name="AMG"/> Her father, a dancehall tour promoter, helped her sign with [[Decca Records|Decca]] in 1962, where her earliest singles were produced by [[Shel Talmy]].<ref name="AMG"/> Her UK TV debut came on 26 September 1962, appearing as a guest on BBC TV's ''[[Adam Faith]] Show'' performing ''[[Let's Jump the Broomstick]]''. She made four [[single (music)|singles]] with Decca, before moving to [[Columbia Graphophone Company|EMI's Columbia label]] in 1965, where 'Cloda Rogers' made the 1966 single "[[Stormy Weather (song)|Stormy Weather]]"/"[[Lonely Room]]".<ref>Sleeve notes, Backcomb 'n' Beat: Dream Babes Volume Three (RPM CD, 2001)</ref> Although none of her Decca or Columbia singles made the [[UK Singles Chart]], Rodgers became a regular face on British television and appeared in the musical films ''[[Just for Fun (film)|Just for Fun]]'' (1963) and ''[[It's All Over Town]]'' (1964).<ref name="AMG"/> She also appeared in various song festivals, finishing third in the European Song Cup competition in [[Greece]] with "Powder Your Face With Sunshine".<ref name="AMG"/> In November 1963, she flew to [[Nashville, Tennessee]] at the invitation of the American singer [[Jim Reeves]], to perform at the [[Grand Ole Opry]]. On his Irish tour earlier that year, he had recognised that Rodgers was a promising artist with a bright future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jimreevesfanclub.com/didyouknow.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615094733/http://jimreevesfanclub.com/didyouknow.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=15 June 2009 |title=Did You Know? |website=Jimreevesfanclub.com |access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref><ref name="45-rpm"/>

Rodgers appeared with [[Honeybus]] on [[BBC2]]'s music programme ''[[Colour Me Pop]]'' on 12 October 1968.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Her career changed dramatically when she married John Morris, who became her manager. She signed a three-single deal with [[RCA Records|RCA]] in 1968, but the first two failed to [[record chart|chart]]. When producer and songwriter [[Kenny Young]] saw her on ''Colour Me Pop'' he telephoned the BBC to find out who she was. Rodgers had chart success in 1969 under his creative wing and with Morris' management (Morris also later managed [[The Rubettes]], [[Kenny (band)|Kenny]] and [[Fox (band)|Fox]]),<ref>Wilde, Diana: ''The Glam Rock Files''. Independent September 2017. {{ISBN|978-1549647253}}. pp. 62–63</ref> – "Come Back and Shake Me" was the first hit, reaching #3 (the song reached #2 in Ireland) and "Goodnight Midnight" followed later in the year reaching #4 – the two songs made her the best-selling female singles artist of 1969.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Needs |first=Kris |date=1979 |title=1979 ZigZag Reader's Poll! |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9824609.cmp.4 |journal=University of Michigan Press |doi=10.3998/mpub.9824609.cmp.4 |access-date=22 May 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The same year, she won 'The Best Legs' in British showbusiness and [[insurance|insured]] her voice for one million [[pounds sterling|pounds]]. Her next two single releases "Biljo" and "Everybody Go Home, The Party's Over" were both hits, "Biljo" being Rodgers third Top 20 hit.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

She also recorded "Scrapbook", penned by [[Billy Ritchie (musician)|Billy Ritchie]], which appeared on her 1969 album ''Midnight Clodagh''. In 1970, she [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] the Labi Siffre song "Give Me Just a Little More Line" with Young under the name Moonshine; though it achieved airplay and critical notice, it failed to chart. Rodgers picked this track as one of her eight favourite discs when she appeared as the featured castaway on the BBC's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' in March 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/1be9d555#p009nd4m|title=Desert Island Discs – Castaway: Clodagh Rodgers|publisher=BBC|date=27 March 1971|access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref>

In May 1970, Rodgers appeared on the bill at the ''[[NME]]'' poll-winner's concert, hosted by presenters, [[Tony Blackburn]] and [[Jimmy Savile]].<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book|first=John|last=Tobler|year=1992|title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition=1st|publisher=Reed International Books Ltd|location=London, UK|page=212|id=CN 5585}}</ref> She was voted favourite female singer for 1969.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Eurovision===
Rodgers became a television [[celebrity|star]] and a household name and in 1970, she was asked to represent the [[List of Eurovision: Your Country Needs You contestants|UK]] in the 1971 [[Eurovision Song Contest 1971|Eurovision Song Contest]] in Dublin. The [[BBC]] were concerned over the reaction the UK entrant would get on the stage from the Irish public. As a [[Roman Catholic]] female from Northern Ireland, she received death threats from the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] who regarded her as a traitor, as a result of her appearing for the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/eurovision-singer-clodagh-rodgers-dead-aged-78-3650193?srsltid=AfmBOopSDpvEQ_8xD9eZ3cdwHWKlrsCFd_ZsnbIZQ_EwC9YUeeAUWOOM
|title=Popular Eurovision singer Clodagh Rodgers dies aged 78|author=Francis, Alannah|website=[[The i Paper]]|
date=19 April 2025|access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref>

Heralded by two separate front-cover features on the BBC listing's magazine, the ''[[Radio Times]]'', Rodgers appeared as the resident guest on ''[[List of Cliff Richard television appearances#It's Cliff Richard: Series 2|It's Cliff Richard]]'', a prime-time variety show hosted by [[Cliff Richard]] on [[BBC1]] from January 1971, performing one shortlisted song a week for six weeks, followed by a performance of all six on week seven and with a repeat of the six songs immediately after. Viewers would normally have been asked to send in postcard votes for their favourites, but because of a postal strike, regional juries decided the winner, with "[[Jack in the Box (song)|Jack in the Box]]", written by [[Les Vandyke|John Worsley]] and David Myers, being named the winner the following week.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

For the first time in the Eurovision Song Contest, broadcasters were required to prepare a '[[Eurovision Song Contest Previews|preview]]' [[music video|video]] of the song for broadcast in all the participating Eurovision countries to help promote the songs before the contest. For the performance in Dublin, Rodgers wore a pink frilly top and spangled [[shorts|hot pants]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lastfm.com.br/music/Clodagh+Rogers|title=Clodagh Rodgers profile|website=Lastfm.com.br|access-date=28 June 2014|language=pt|archive-date=15 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515095358/https://www.last.fm/pt/music/Clodagh+Rodgers|url-status=live}}</ref> She finished in fourth place, behind [[Monaco]], Spain and Germany.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

After Eurovision, the single reached #4 on the [[UK Singles Chart]], her third UK Top 10 success.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/The%20Persuaders|title=Official Charts Company|website=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=28 June 2014|archive-date=4 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904040025/https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/the%20persuaders/|url-status=live}}</ref> It remains her most famous hit.<ref name="45-rpm">{{cite web|url=http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirc/clodaghr.htm|title=Clodagh Rodgers profile at|website=45-rpm.org.uk|date=5 March 1947|access-date=28 June 2014|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093006/http://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirc/clodaghr.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The record was also successful all over Europe.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

At Eurovision, Rodgers' sister Lavinia joined [[The Breakaways]] as her four backing vocalists. Lavinia was almost part of a backing group called Three’s a Crowd.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} In [[United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982|1982]], Lavinia and brother Louis attempted to represent the UK in the contest with "Every Day of My Life" as part of the group Good Looks, but finished second to [[Bardo (band)|Bardo]] in the ''[[A Song For Europe]]'' contest.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

===Post-Eurovision career===
Rodgers admitted to [[Ken Bruce]] during his eponymous [[BBC Radio 2]] show in an interview broadcast on Friday, 25 May 2012, that the intention had been to release "Another Time, Another Place", which had placed fourth of the six entries in the ''Song for Europe'' contest as the follow-up single to "Jack in the Box" and she began promoting it whilst in Dublin for the Eurovision final.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hq292|title=25/05/2012, Ken Bruce – BBC Radio 2|website=BBC|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030122426/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hq292|url-status=live}}</ref> However, [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]] released a cover version before her track was available, denying her the opportunity to release it, but gaining himself a #13 hit single.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/another-time,-another-place/|title=another time, another place – full Official Chart History – Official Charts Company|website=Officialcharts.com|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705171810/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/another-time,-another-place/|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite only one more Top 30 chart single, "Lady Love Bug" in autumn 1971, Rodgers continued to be a major TV star in the UK, guesting on many shows (including playing herself in the BBC sitcom ''[[Whack-O!]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9fe1eec7951242cf8e981bcf54941861 |title=Whacko! – BBC One London – 19 February 1972 – BBC Genome |website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |date=19 February 1972 |access-date=2016-03-13 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305203218/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9fe1eec7951242cf8e981bcf54941861 |url-status=live }}</ref>), and appearing successfully in the biggest cabaret clubs throughout the country.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Rodgers also became the face of [[Bisto]] gravy, in a series of television advertisements.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

On Irish television, ''The Clodagh Rodgers Show'' won an award at the [[Rose d'Or|Golden Rose]] TV festival in [[Montreux]]. She starred in many other shows, including ''[[Sunday Night at the London Palladium]]'' in 1974, singing three songs, including her latest single "Get It Together". Rodgers also appeared in ''[[Seaside Special]]'' for [[BBC Television]] in 1975<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/02d5d613f23541eea45834f199114ee3 |title=Seaside Special – BBC One London – 2 August 1975 – BBC Genome |website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |date=2 August 1975 |access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> and ''[[Morecambe and Wise|The Morecambe and Wise Show]]'' in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8faaa6ffdd8a4b9590da9c99afb561de |title=Show of the Week The Morecambe and Wise Show – BBC Two England – 25 March 1970 – BBC Genome |website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |date=25 March 1970 |access-date=2016-03-13 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305235554/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8faaa6ffdd8a4b9590da9c99afb561de |url-status=live }}</ref> She was a regular guest of ''[[The Two Ronnies]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} In August 1973, Rodgers hosted the first edition of BBC2's ''Show Of The Week: The [[Dougie Squires|Young Generation]] Big Top'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/027fd46a081c4198b05e697d87501200|title=Show of the Week: The Young Generation Big Top – BBC Two England – 6 August 1973 – BBC Genome|website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|date=6 August 1973|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220213406/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/027fd46a081c4198b05e697d87501200|url-status=live}}</ref> the forerunner of the later BBC1 series ''[[Seaside Special]]''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Rodgers also made a mark with her [[Impressionist (entertainment)|impressions]] of fellow artists such as [[Cilla Black]], often working with [[Mike Yarwood]], [[Des O'Connor]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Bob Monkhouse]], and [[Dickie Henderson]] in variety.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} She was a regular performer in UK [[resort]]s' [[summer season]]s, sharing the bill with [[Mike and Bernie Winters]] in Blackpool and [[Matt Monro]] in Great Yarmouth among others.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

This success was mirrored on stage, where she starred in London's [[West End (theatre)|West End]] in her own show at the [[Talk of the Town (nightclub)|Talk of the Town]] (breaking [[Sammy Davis Jr.]]'s box office record), and in ''[[Cinderella]]'' at the [[London Palladium]] in 1971, which was also a success and ran for months. The Cinderella show (co starring Ronnie Corbett) then ran at the Manchester Palace in 1972 and at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1973.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

As part of BBC1's celebration of the UK and Republic of Ireland both joining the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973, Rodgers appeared on ''Top Of The Year'' on 31 December 1972, alongside [[Bruce Forsyth]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ca6448aac84b4a49b218f37b35547c55 |title=Top of the Year – BBC One London – 31 December 1972 – BBC Genome |website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |date=31 December 1972 |access-date=2016-03-13 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305193122/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ca6448aac84b4a49b218f37b35547c55 |url-status=live }}</ref> and with [[Jimmy Tarbuck]] in ''The Tarbuck Follies'' on 1 January 1973<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bc693adf18f6401a8e35c80bac9a9d42 |title=The Tarbuck Follies – BBC One London – 1 January 1973 – BBC Genome |website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |date=January 1973 |access-date=2016-03-13 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305200638/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bc693adf18f6401a8e35c80bac9a9d42 |url-status=live }}</ref> to see in the new year.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Having left RCA in early 1974 (after two well received albums ''It's Different Now'' and ''You are my Music'', Rodgers then released a single for the Pye label, "Saturday Sunday" later that year. Numerous TV work supported all these three releases, including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Pebble Mill At One''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

She signed to [[Polydor Records]] in 1976.<ref name="AMG" /> Her 1977 single "[[Save Me (Clodagh Rodgers song)|Save Me]]" was in Capital Radio's Top 30, reaching #21. The track was [[cover version|covered]] in the U.S. by [[Louise Mandrell]], who took it to #6 on the U.S. [[Hot Country Songs|country chart]] in 1983. "Save Me" was also covered by the South African [[all-female band]] [[Clout (band)|Clout]] (an SA no. 7 hit in 1979). Other artists who recorded this song included [[Merrilee Rush]] and [[Helen Reddy]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 1978, Rodgers hosted UK [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s [[St. Patrick's Day]] variety show for the first time, appearing on the cover of the ''[[TVTimes]]'' to promote the show and at the same time was confirmed as the host for the 1979 show. Later in 1978, Rodgers teamed with [[Terry Wogan]] on the ITV game show ''[[3-2-1]]'' in the programme's first Christmas Special Celebrity edition. Other TV shows around this time featured Rodgers with The Two Ronnies and The Ronnie Corbett show.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

She split from her manager/husband not long after their son's birth and opted for motherhood over a musical career; although she released two singles on the Precision label in 1980.<ref name="AMG" /> One of these tracks was "My Simple Heart", which was placed on a [[A-side and B-side|B-side]]. Shortly after its release, [[The Three Degrees]] released their version of it, which reached the UK Top 10. Similarly, Rodgers had released "[[Stand by Your Man]]" as the B-side of her 1971 single "Lady Love Bug." "[[Stand by Your Man]]" (co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill) had previously been a hit for Tammy Wynette in the United States.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

===Later years===
Rodgers appeared in two hit musicals in the West End, ''[[Pump Boys and Dinettes]]'' at the [[Piccadilly Theatre|Piccadilly]] and [[Albery Theatre|Albery]] Theatres (co starring with Joe Brown) and in the lead role of Mrs Johnstone in the long-running hit ''[[Blood Brothers (musical)|Blood Brothers]]'' at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]].<ref name="AMG"/> She appeared in the UK tour of ''Blood Brothers'' between 1995 and 1998. This included shows in York, Liverpool, Bromley and Bristol. Rodgers co-starred with [[David Cassidy]] in the Bristol production.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In 1996, the first of two CD retrospectives was issued, bringing Rodgers back into the limelight. In 1998, she made a TV appearance with other former Eurovision artists such as [[Johnny Logan (singer)|Johnny Logan]] and [[Lynsey de Paul]], (one of her co stars in ''Pump Boys and Dinettes'') performing on comedian [[Graham Fellows|John Shuttleworth]]'s Eurovision [[parody]] ''Europigeon'' on BBC Two, just before the 1998 contest in [[Birmingham]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In 1999, [[Mint Royale]] issued the track "Shake Me," which [[sampling (music)|sampled]] Rodgers' original recording of "Come Back And Shake Me"; it was featured on the British television programme ''[[Queer as Folk (UK TV series)|Queer As Folk]]''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 2001, Rodgers played a recurring character in the ITV police drama series ''[[The Bill]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In 2012, Rodgers released a CD ''The Kenny Young Years''. It features all Rodgers' recorded highs with Young.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

===Personal life, illness and death===
Rodgers was married twice. Firstly she married John Morris in 1968, in London; he later became her manager.The marriage, which produced one son, ended in divorce in 1979.<ref name=DT>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=19 April 2025 |title=Clodagh Rodgers, Northern Irish pop star who took Jack in the Box to the 1971 Dublin Eurovision |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/04/19/clodagh-rodgers-northern-ireland-pop-eurovision-jack-box/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 April 2025 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Her second husband, guitarist Ian Sorbie, whom she married in 1987 and with whom she had had a son in 1984, died of a brain tumour in 1995, not long after their [[Paignton]]-based restaurant business collapsed, leaving them bankrupt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/bristoltimes/Larry-Ronnie-provided-laughsarticle-624150-details/article.html|title=The Bristol Post|website=Thisisbristol.co.uk|access-date=28 June 2014}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="DT" /> Rodgers' sister Lavinia was also a singer.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Rodgers, who had been ill for around three years, died at her home in [[Cobham, Surrey]], where she had lived for many years, on 18 April 2025, at the age of 78.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Abigail |date=19 April 2025 |title=Clodagh Rodgers: UK Eurovision singer dies aged 78 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3x8mpznlgo |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Michelle |date=19 April 2025 |title=British Eurovision legend dies as heartbroken son says 'life's not the same' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/clodagh-rodgers-eurovision-death-b2736082.html|access-date=20 April 2025 |website=independent.co.uk}}</ref>