Surprise pop stars born in Blackburn
A quartet of sisters, Ellen, Linda, Patricia and Susan Sutcliffe, were born in Belgrave Street Blackburn. They went to St. Peters School in Mill Hill before the family moved to a larger house in Rothesay Road, Shadsworth.
They then went to St. Joseph’s School and attended St. Teresa’s Church, which had no organ and no choir. Their mother and aunt started a choir, but, in 1959 the family emigrated to Australia. Their father got a job working on the Blue Streak rocket project at Woomara.
The girls started singing in church and were asked to sing at a wedding; their performance was taped and made into a cheap disc. They moved to Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia and applied for an audition on a television programme. The audition was a success, and they featured on a variety show “Adelaide Tonight' singing “A Taste of Honey”.
They achieved success and went to the top of the Australian charts with singer Johnny Perry and the song “Unchained Melody” and had a number of hits. They were known as the “Cliffmores”, and they were all still in their mid-teens.
They then decided to move back to Britain to bid for stardom. When they came to London they started at the bottom; they had no manager or material. Ellen began writing material, their act included pop, rhythm and blues and soul. The act sounds somewhere between the Andrews Sisters and the Pointer Sisters, but the girls objected to this comparison and said that they didn’t copy anyone.
They appeared at several clubs in London including the famous Marquee Club where they got their name so they went on as unknowns. They made such a big impression on the audience that everyone was saying what a 'surprise' they were.
The girls liked the name and it stuck, and so, the 'Surprise Sisters' were born. They applied for a residency at the Eagle Pub in North London which only wanted one singer, but, when they saw the act they agreed to take them on. They were seen by David Bowie who introduced them to Tony Visconti, who produced their sole album for RCA on the “Good Earth Records “ label.
The single from this album 'La Booga Rooga' was written by Andy Fairweather Low, former lead singer of Amen Corner. The 'Surprise Sisters' appeared on Top of the Pops on the 12th of December 1976, and It became the record of the week on Radio 1 Breakfast show.
The 'Surprise Sisters' also appeared on the Cliff Richard Show but, unfortunately, the single only reached number 38 in the charts. They linked up with Larry Page, the record producer, and cut two singles on the Penny Farthing label “Born to Move” and “Long Tall Glasses”. 'Born to Move' was written and recorded by John Fogarty of Credence Clearwater Revival.
Visually, the sisters combined elements of 70’s glam and 40’s chic with space age collars and colours. Unfortunately, the 'Surprise Sisters' disbanded in 1978. Ellen became the namesake of Rio and the Robots who issued two small press singles in 1980/81.
Researched and written by Jeffrey Booth (Library Volunteer).
Information and image taken from Lancashire Evening Telegraph of 26 June 2013
