Kerrie Biddell
| Kerrie Biddell | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kerrie Agnes Biddell |
| Born |
8 February 1947 Kings Cross, New South Wales |
| Died | 5 September 2014 (aged 67) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Session singer, teacher |
| Years active | 1967–2001 |
| Associated acts |
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Kerrie Agnes Biddell (8 February 1947 – 5 September 2014) was an Australian jazz and session singer, as well as a pianist and teacher.
Born in Kings Cross, New South Wales, an only child of alcoholic parents, Biddell was sent to St Vincent's Convent in Potts Point at a young age, soon after her father left her mother. In 1962, Biddell suffered a collapsed lung and rheumatoid arthritis, the latter of which affected her piano playing. She decided to become a singer, and, in 1967, sang for Dusty Springfield on backing vocals. Impressed, Springfield suggested she become a lead singer.
Biddell joined the local band The Echoes, and in 1968, The Affair. Affair guitarist Jim Kelly called Biddell "a world-class vocalist". With her voice, the group could do various musical styles, such as Aretha Franklin-type soul, Sly Stone funk, and Jimmy Webb compositions. In 1969, the national competition Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds added a vocal-group category to its main pop/rock category. Kelly stated that The Affair was not a vocal group, but Biddell "rehearsed us till we were". The group won the category, with its prize being a trip to London, where the group relocated in mid-1970, only to disband months later. Before disbanding, they recorded Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song", which would become one of Biddell's signature songs.
Biddell returned to Australia in 1970, where she toured with the Daly-Wilson Big Band, which performed swing music. In 1972, she married David Glyde, a former saxophonist for Sounds Incorporated, who opened for The Beatles on tour. Glyde had contacts in Canada, and he and Biddell moved there. Her career as a session singer began soon after. She and her husband toured in the United States, including clubs in Las Vegas. She was offered a three-year six-figure USD contract with the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and, despite being desperate to be a star, she discovered she did not care for the business side of Vegas. "I started to see that the amount they wanted to take away from me was too much," she stated, and moved back to Australia in 1972, enrolling in the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
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