Polly Brown
| Polly Brown | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Polly Browne |
| Born |
18 April 1947 Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Pop music, disco |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1969 – present |
| Labels | Pye Records, GTO Records |
| Associated acts | Pickettywitch, Sweet Dreams |
Polly Browne (aka Polly Brown) (born 18 April 1947) is an English singer. A member of Pickettywitch and Sweet Dreams - and with each group lead singer on a Top Ten hit, respectively "That Same Old Feeling" and "Honey Honey" - Brown had an international solo hit in 1975 with "Up in a Puff of Smoke".
Brown was born in Birmingham, England. She recorded with Pickettywitch from 1969 until 1972, when she cut her first solo album for Pickettywitch's label Pye Records working with producer Tony Eyers. In 1972, DJ Jimmy Savile claimed to be engaged to Brown; she later admitted it was a publicity stunt and said she had no idea that Savile was using her as a cover for his paedophile activities.
The songwriting/production team of Gerry Shury and Ron Roker had admired Brown's voice from her Pickettywitch recordings. Shury, who had arranged Brown's Pye album release, described her as a cross "between Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick" and in 1974 made her record "Up in a Puff of Smoke" in a session which also produced a cover of the ABBA song "Honey, Honey", on which Roker sang the male vocal. Brown's voice also resembles that of Jean Terrell. The touring band Sweet Dreams consisted of Robert Young (Robert Parkes) drums/vocals, Steve Parkes bass/vocals, Stuart Armstrong keys/vocals, and John & Marie (latterly Kim & Kerry) guitar/vocals. After rehearsals in London this band toured the cabaret circuit throughout the UK. The first live gig was as support to the "three degrees" at the Southport theatre. The band used synth and (unusually) "mellotron" keyboards in their live shows.
"Honey Honey" reached the Top Ten in August 1974 assisted by a Top of the Pops appearance by Brown accompanied by Tony Jackson miming Ron Roker's vocal. Jackson would become Brown's regular partner in the Sweet Dreams duo who had five post "Honey Honey" singles, but none of them charted. As a member of Sweet Dreams, Brown was billed as 'Sara Leone' - a pun on the name of African nation of Sierra Leone - and even performed in black face, although after a showdown with producer Robin Nash, she did not do so on Top of the Pops, although she wore a dark wig and retained a light brown face powder.
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