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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Lesley Duncan| image =| alt =| caption =| image_size =| landscape = | background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias = Lesley Cox| birth_date = birth date|1943|08|12| birth_place = Stockton-on-Tees , England | death_date = death date and age|2010|03|12|1943|08|12| death_place = Isle of Mull , Scotland | genre =| label = EMI , Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia | associated_acts = Dusty Springfield | website = | notable_instruments = Lesley Duncan (married name Lesley Cox; 12 August 1943 & ndash; 12 March 2010) was an English people|English singer-songwriter , best known for her work during the 1970s. She received a lot of airplay (radio)|airplay on British radio station s such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 , but never achieved great commercial success due in part to her crippling stage fright.cite news | title = Lesley Duncan: singer and songwriter | date = 2010-03-29 | publisher = Times Newspapers Limited | url = http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article1960480.ece | work = The Times of London | accessdate = 2012-03-08
Early life
Duncan was born in Stockton-on-Tees on August 12, 1943, and left school while only 14 years old. At 19, while working in a London coffee bar, she and her brother were placed on weekly retainers by a music publisher. Within a year Duncan had signed her first recording contract, with major label EMI , and appeared in the film What a Crazy World .cite news | first = David | last = Barrett | title = Lesley Duncan obituary | date = 2010-03-23 | publisher = Guardian News and Media Limited | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/23/lesley-duncan-obituary | work = The Guardian | accessdate = 2012-03-08
"Love Songs"
Considered one of Britain's first female singer-songwriters, her songs included "Everything Changes" and "Sing Children Sing", and the song for which she is most well known, "Love Song". Elton John recorded a duet with Duncan of the song, similar to her solo version, for his album Tumbleweed Connection . She appeared onstage with John in a 1974 concert at the Royal Festival Hall to perform the duet once again,Rocket man: Elton John from A-Z, Claude Bernardin, Tom Stanton, Greenwood, ISBN 978-0-275-95698-1 and the live recording of "Love Song" was included on John's Here and There (Elton John album)|Here and There album. John described "Love Song" as "one of the very few" songs he did not co-author but included on an album earlier in his career.cite web | url= http://www.scotsman.com/news/Elton-and-Bowie-mourn-Mull39s.6167799.jp| title=Elton and Bowie mourn Mull's secret pop star| publisher= The Scotsman | date=20 March 2010 Duncan's "Love Song" went on to be covered by more than 150 other artists, including David Bowie and Olivia Newton John . This success notwithstanding, and despite their receiving critical acclaim, Duncan's multiple solo albums failed to achieve commercial success.
Backing vocalist
In addition to writing and singing her own material, Duncan was in wide demand as a session singer in the mid to late 1960s, most notably working with Dusty Springfield from 1964 to 1972, a favor Springfield returned by performing backing vocals for several Duncan recordings. Duncan can in fact be seen on many of the performances featured in the BBC DVD "Dusty At The BBC".
Duncan again joined Elton John at his request to provide vocals for his 1971 album Madman Across the Water , and in exchange John played piano on her first solo album Sing Children Sing . She also co-wrote three songs with Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker for The Walker Brothers in addition to providing backing vocals for them. She can also be heard on the studio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar (album)|Jesus Christ Superstar .
Duncan famously contributed backing vocalist|backing vocals to one of the top selling albums of all timecite news |url= http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-26/pink-floyd-money-machine-leads-elvis-nirvana-u2-in-cd-battle.html|title=Pink Floyd Money Machine Leads Elvis, Nirvana, U2 in CD Battle|last=Beech |first=Mark |date=27 September 2011 |publisher=www.bloomberg.com |accessdate=2011-12-31 | location=London, Pink Floyd 's 1973 release The Dark Side of the Moon , which was engineered by Alan Parsons . Later, in 1979, she again worked with Parsons, singing lead vocals on the song "If I Could Change Your Mind" for the Alan Parsons Project album Eve (The Alan Parsons Project album)|Eve , in her final album appearance.
Later life
Duncan moved with her family to the Isle of Mull , Scotland in 1997, where most residents came to know her as a cheerful gardener and knew nothing of her previous life in the music industry. By all accounts content to lead a more private, family-oriented life in her later years, Lesley Cox (Duncan) died on 12 March 2010 of cerebrovascular disease following an extended illness. cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8577839.stm| title=Famous musicians pay tribute to singer| date=20 March 2010| publisher= BBC News online
UK singles
"I Want A Steady Guy" (as 'Lesley Duncan and the Jokers') b/w "Moving Away" - 1963 - Parlophone R5034
"You Kissed Me Boy" b/w "Tell Me" - 1963 - Parlophone R5106
"When My Baby Cries" b/w "Did It Hurt" - 1963 - Mercury MF830
"Just For The Boy" b/w "See That Guy" - 1965 - Mercury MF847
"Run To Love" b/w "Only The Lonely And Me" - 1965 - Mercury MF876
"Hey Boy" b/w "I Go To Sleep" - 1966 - Mercury MF939
"Lullaby" b/w "I Love You, I Love You" - 1968 - RCA 1746
"A Road To Nowhere" b/w "Love Song" - 1969 - RCA 1783
"Sing Children Sing" b/w "Exactly Who You Are" - 1969 - CBS 4585
"Love Song" b/w "Exactly Who You Are" - 1970 - Columbia 4-45354
"Sing Children Sing" - 1971 - CBS/64202 and Edsel/EDCD696
"Sing Children Sing" b/w "Emma" - 1971 - CBS/S7493
"Earth Mother" - 1972 - CBS/64807 and Edel/EDCD712
"Earth Mother" b/w "Love Will Never Lose You" - 1972 - CBS/S8362
http://www.lesleyduncan.net/ Website devoted to Lesley Duncan
imdb name|id=0242025
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/23/lesley-duncan-obituary Lesley Duncan obituary by David V Barrett in The Guardian , 23 March 2010
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article7079389.ece Lesley Duncan: singer and songwriter, obituary in The Times , March 29, 2010
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lesley-duncan-singer-and-songwriter-who-worked-with-elton-john-and-pink-floyd-1942138.html Lesley Duncan: Singer and songwriter who worked with Elton John and Pink Floyd, obituary by Richard Stanley in The Independent , 12 April 2010
Persondata | NAME = Duncan, Lesley | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Cox, Lesley | SHORT DESCRIPTION = English singer-songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH = 12 August 1943 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Stockton-on-Tees | DATE OF DEATH = 12 March 2010 | PLACE OF DEATH = Isle of Mull DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Lesley Category:1943 births Category:2010 deaths Category:English female singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:People from Stockton-on-Tees Category:English session musicians
