Pam Ayres
| Pam Ayres | |
|---|---|
| Born |
14 March 1947 Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire, England |
| Occupation | Poet, songwriter, presenter of radio and television programmes |
| Nationality | English |
| Genre | Poetry, Songs |
| Website | |
| www |
|
Pam Ayres MBE (born 14 March 1947) is an English poet, comedian, songwriter and presenter of radio and television programmes. Her 1975 appearance on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks led to appearances on other TV and radio shows, a one-woman touring stage show and performing before the Queen.
Pam Ayres was born at Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire, now in Oxfordshire. After leaving Faringdon Secondary School at the age of 15, she joined the Civil Service as a clerical assistant and worked at the Army (RAOC) Central Ordnance Depot in Bicester. She soon left and signed up for the Women's Royal Air Force, where she worked in a drawing office dealing with operational maps. Whilst serving in the air force, she gained O-level passes in English language and English literature and began her career as an entertainer. She began reading her verses at the local folk club in Oxfordshire, and this led to an invitation to read on the local BBC Radio station in 1974. Her reading was re-broadcast nationally, and then broadcast again as one of the BBC's Pick of the Year.
Bob Dylan inspired Ayres to write poetry, and in a 2006 interview she added that, at the age of twelve, she enjoyed writing parodies of the Lonnie Donegan songs popular at that time.
In 1975, Ayres appeared on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks. This led to a wide variety of guest appearances on TV and radio shows. Since then she has published six books of poems, toured in a one-woman stage show, hosted her own TV show and performed her stage show for the Queen.
Her poetry has a deceptively simple style and deals with everyday subject matter. Her poem Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth, was voted into the Top 10 of a BBC poll to find the Nation's 100 Favourite Comic Poems. In the UK Arts Council's report on poetry, Ayres was identified as the fifth best-selling poet in Britain in 1998 and 1999.
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