Dorothy Squires

Dorothy Squires
Birth name	Edna May Squires
Born	25 March 1915(1915-03-25) Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK
Died	14 April 1998(1998-04-14) (aged 83) Llwynypia, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, UK
Genres	Traditional pop music, pop
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocalist
Years active	1936–1990
Labels	Parlophone Records, Columbia Records, Polygon Records

Dorothy Squires (25 March 1915 — 14 April 1998^[1]) was a Welsh vocalist. Among her recordings were versions of "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening", "I'm in the Mood for Love", "Anytime", "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" and "And So to Sleep Again".

Biography

Born as Edna May Squires in her parents' carnival caravan in Pontyberem (about 12 miles from Llanelli), Carmarthenshire, Wales, to a steelworker, Archibald James Squires and his wife, Emily, she wanted a piano as a child. Her mother bought her a ukulele. While working in a tin plate factory, she began to perform professionally as a singer at the age of 16 in the working men's club of Pontyberem.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Squires decided to pursue her dream in London, so while working as a nurse^{[citation needed]} she would audition unsuccessfully for various jobs, during which she met agent Joe Kay, who got her night time work in various clubs. While working in the East End, Squires worked at a club which gave her the name Dorothy, which she liked and used on stage after that time. Squires did most of her work with the orchestra of Billy Reid, who was her partner for many years. After she joined his orchestra in 1936, he began to write songs for her to perform.^{[citation needed]}

Billy Reid

In the immediate post-war, she worked on the BBC radio show Variety Bandbox, which subsequently made her the highest paid female singer in the UK. Squires and Reid bought a 16-bedroom house in Bexhill on Sea, and working with Reid recorded the original version of Reid's composition, "A Tree in the Meadow", best known in the United States for the recording by Margaret Whiting, which reached No.1 on the U.S. pop chart.

Her version of another Reid-penned song, "I'm Walking Behind You" was covered by Eddie Fisher which became a No.1 hit single in the U.S., and her recording of "The Gypsy" also became a No.1 hit there after being waxed by The Ink Spots — their biggest hit. It was also a major hit for Dinah Shore.

Whilst working with Billy Reid, Dorothy Squires lived at 16 Chaucer Road, Herne Hill Brixton

Roger Moore

Squires married actor Roger Moore (12 years her junior) in New Jersey in 1953. Resident in New York, Hollywood and Llanelli, the marriage lasted until 1961, when Moore left her and moved in with Luisa Mattioli. Moore was unable to marry legally until Squires granted him a divorce in 1969 - the day on which Squires was convicted of drunk driving.^{[citation needed]}

Returning to living in the UK, Squires had a career revival in the late 1960s at the age of 55 with a set of three singles making the UK Top 40, including a cover of "My Way". New albums and concerts followed included a sell out set of concerts at the London Palladium. Squires herself had hired the Palladium for a series of shows, and they exceeded expectations and sold out of tickets within hours. A double album of the event was issued.

Later life

In 1971 she undertook the first of 30 court cases over the next 15 years. In 1971 she successfully sued the News of the World over the story "When Love Turned Sour", and was awarded £4,000. In 1972 she took out a libel action against the actor Kenneth More for mistakenly referring to Mattioli as Roger Moore's 'wife' (Michael Havers acted for Kenneth More).^[2][3] In 1973 she was charged with high kicking a taxi driver who tried to throw her out of his cab. She was also one of several artists charged with allegedly trying to bribe a BBC radio producer as part of a scheme to make him play her records - the case was dropped.^[4][5]

In 1974 her Bexley mansion burned down, from which she escaped with her dog and all her love letters from Roger Moore. She then moved into a house in Bray next to the River Thames, which flooded three weeks later.

By 1982 she had been banned from the High Court, and had spent much of her fortune on legal fees. Her litigiousness was so excessive that, on 5 March 1987, the High Court declared her to be a vexatious litigant, preventing her from commencing any further legal actions without the permission of the Court.^[6] In 1988 she lost her home in Bray following bankruptcy proceedings - which she returned to the following night to recover her love letters from Moore. Her last concert was in 1990, to pay her poll tax.

Death

Squires was provided with a home in Trebanog, Rhondda, South Wales by a fan, Esme Coles. Squires retired there a recluse. Squires died in 1998 of lung cancer, aged 83, in Llwynypia Hospital, Rhondda. She is buried in a family plot in Streatham Park Cemetery, South London.

Hit singles

• "I'm Walking Behind You" (1953) - UK Number 12
• "Say It With Flowers" (1961) - UK Number 23 (with Russ Conway)
• "For Once in My Life" (1969) - UK Number 24
• "Till" (1970) - UK Number 25
• "My Way" (1970) - UK Number 25

^{[1] [7]}

Selected filmography

• Stars in Your Eyes (1956)

See also

• Polygon Records discography

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Larkin, Colin (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of 50s Music (1st ed.). London: Virgin Books. p. 414. ISBN 1-85227-937-0. 
2. ^ Davies, Hugh (2000-10-10). "Roger Moore pays wife £10m in divorce deal". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1369755/Roger-Moore-pays-wife-10m-in-divorce-deal.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. "When the actor Kenneth More introduced the couple at a charity event as "Mr Roger Moore and his wife", she sued him too, for libel." 
3. ^ More, Kenneth (1978). More Or Less. Hodder And Stoughton. ISBN 978-0340226032. "The evening seemed to pass off splendidly. But within a few weeks I received a letter from a firm of solicitors claiming that I had slandered their client, Miss Dorothy Squires, who was in fact Mrs. Roger Moore, in that I had called another woman his wife. At that time Louisa was not married to Roger, although she had borne him two children. I knew that he had been married to Dorothy Squires, but so far as the world was concerned, he was living with Luisa as his wife. I wrote a letter of apology, but the solicitors replied that this was not sufficient. Dorothy Squires was going to sue me in the High Court. I therefore consulted my old friend, Michael Havers (the future Attorney General). .... The jury took thirty minutes to decide what I had said was not defamatory ...." 
4. ^ "Record-Plugging Scandals Hit British Broadcasting". Nashua Telegraph: p. 5. 1973-05-18. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DJ4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L_wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=7016,3085999&dq=dorothy-squires+payola&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
5. ^ "Payola Scandal Hits British Broadcasting". St Petersburg Independent: p. 20A. 1973-05-18. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m-ILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9lcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3502,935531&dq=dorothy-squires&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
6. ^ "Vexatious Litigants". Her Majesty's Courts Service. http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/vexatious_litigant/index.htm#m. Retrieved 20 October 2008. 
7. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 523. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• The story of Dorothy Squires
• Dorothy Squires biography from BBC Wales
• Webfantastic.co.uk biography
• Dorothy Squires homepage
• Dorothy Squires information and Blue Plaque from Llanelli Community Heritage

Persondata
Name	Squires, Dorothy
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 March 1915
Place of birth	Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK
Date of death	14 April 1998
Place of death	Trebanog, Rhondda, South Wales, UK