Betty Thatcher
| Betty Thatcher | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Betty Mary Newsinger |
| Also known as | Betty Thatcher |
| Born |
16 February 1944 Westminster, London, England |
| Died | 15 August 2011 (aged 67) Hayle, Cornwall, England |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, lyricist |
| Years active | 1969–2011 |
| Associated acts | Renaissance, Jane Relf, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, Annie Haslam, John Tout, Michael Dunford, Terry Sullivan, Louis Clark and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Terry Sullivan's Renaissant, Don Airey (featuring Gary Moore, Cozy Powell, Chris Thompson and Colin Blunstone) |
Betty Thatcher (16 February 1944 – 15 August 2011) was an English lyricist who wrote most of the lyrics for the progressive rock band Renaissance.
Betty Mary Newsinger was born in Great Titchfield Street, central London. She was taught to read newspapers at home, started conventional school at the age of eight, and became a fast and prolific reader. After passing the Eleven-plus exam, she won a scholarship to a grammar school, where she refused to take part in any examinations. After two years excelling in English and art, she transferred to a school that accepted difficult students.
Thatcher's friend Liz Kellett introduced her to Kellett's school friend Jane Relf, the younger sister of ex-Yardbirds singer Keith Relf. When Keith and Jane formed Renaissance, they asked her to be the lyricist, Relf having read Thatcher's letters to Jane. When the threesome moved to St Ives, Cornwall, she sent her lyrics from there to Jim McCarty who would write songs around them, including "Love Is All" and "Past Orbits Of Dust" from the album Illusion, produced by Paul Samwell-Smith and released in Germany in 1971, but not released in the UK until 1976.
After many personnel changes, the Renaissance lineup finally stabilised from 1972 to 1980, featuring Annie Haslam (vocals), John Tout (keyboards), Michael Dunford (guitar), Jon Camp (bass guitar/vocals) and Terence Sullivan (drums). Dunford sent tapes of his compositions to her when it was inconvenient to play through his ideas in person and claimed that "she writes amazingly quickly... three days later I get these stunning lyrics back in the post!"
During this period, Thatcher wrote most of the band's lyrics for the studio albums Prologue, Ashes Are Burning, Turn of the Cards, Scheherazade and Other Stories, Novella, A Song for All Seasons and Azure d'Or. Notably, she wrote the lyrics to their 1978 UK top 10 hit single "Northern Lights". After further personnel changes, she wrote lyrics for the 1981 album Camera Camera; these lyrics were her final contributions to the band. She wrote the words to "Bonjour Swansong" as "a private goodbye to the group."
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