Mrs Mills

Gladys Mills Mrs Mills
Mrs Mills album cover
Background information
Birth name	Gladys Jordan
Born	(1918-08-29)29 August 1918 Beckton, London, England
Died	24 February 1978(1978-02-24) (aged 59) London, England
Genres	Sing-along
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1960s & 1970s
Labels	Parlophone Capitol (Canada)

Gladys Mills, née Gladys Jordan (29 August 1918 – 24 February 1978), known as Mrs Mills, was an English pianist who was active in the 1960s and 1970s, and who released many records. Her repertoire included many sing-along and party tunes made popular in the music hall.

She was born in Beckton, East London, England. Her uncle Henry was a harp player and her mother was a main influence in developing her musical ability. She took piano lessons from the age of 3½ to the age of seven.

While working as the superintendent of the typing pool in the office of the Paymaster General in London, she was spotted by a talent scout at a Woodford Golf Club dance near her home in Loughton, Essex (where she lived most of her life). In December 1961, she made her first television appearance on The Billy Cotton Show. By the end of January 1962, she would be a household name.

She shot to fame during the same period as her stable-mates The Beatles, with whom she shared space at Abbey Road Studios (as mentioned in the Beatles Anthology DVD bonus materials).

Mills was signed to a management contract by Eric Easton who later went on to manage The Dave Clark Five and The Rolling Stones. After signing to Parlophone, she released her first record – the "Mrs Mills Medley" single – which entered the Top Twenty of the UK Singles Chart, and her career as an entertainer began – a career that would last well into the 1970s. She toured the UK, making many appearances on TV and radio throughout this period. Mills was also a successful recording artist overseas in territories where there were large numbers of expatriates from the UK including Australia, Canada and Hong Kong.