Marti Caine

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Marti Caine

Marti on the cover of her 1979 album
Born Lynne Denise Shepherd
January 24, 1944(1944-01-24)
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Died November 4, 1995 (aged 51)
Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
Cause of death lymphatic cancer
Residence Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire
Nationality British
Occupation Comedian, singer

Marti Caine (26 January 1944 - 4 November 1995) was an English actress, dancer, presenter, singer, writer - and the foremost UK female comedian of her generation. She was born in Sheffield, real name Lynne Denise Shepherd.


Contents

[edit] Early life

Her mother had a history of alcoholism and drug abuse after Lynne's father died from cancer and, during her childhood, Lynne suffered sexual abuse from her paternal grandfather.[1] Aged 17, she married the local butcher's boy and became "just another starry-eyed wannabe... married with two babies, an ex-beauty queen, stuck on a council estate, with little hope of fulfilling any dreams for a better life."[1] Aged 19 and unable to pay the £19 cost of her mother's funeral expenses, she auditioned as Lynne Stringer (her married name) at the Chapeltown Working Men's Club outside Sheffield.[1] This resulted in a three week stint singing under the name Sunny Smith, followed by a spell as Zoe Bond.[1] Her husband Malcolm Stringer chose her eventual stage name from a gardening book, though Marta Cane (tomato cane) was mis-spelt at an early gig and 'Marti Caine' remained with her.[1]


[edit] Professional success

After working many years on the club circuit in Yorkshire as a stand-up comic and cabaret singer, she rose to national prominence when she appeared on the show New Faces in 1975. She won that year's competition, beating Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood (for whom she had immense professional respect, referring to her rival as 'uniquely talented...') 'u.[1] Marti went on make more television appearances including the self titled Marti Caine on BBC2; showcasing her dance, comedic and musical talents. Among millions of fans who watched her TV performances could be counted Liberace (who compared her with Barbra Streisand) and her American counterpart Joan Rivers (who again cited Marti with admiration in the recent BBC series The story of Light Entertainment). During the 1980s, Marti returned to New Faces as its compëre - reviving the show into a ratings winner. She also enjoyed playing to sell-out audiences in pantomime, as well as repertory, appearing frequently in Cambridge, Bath, Bournemouth and London. She successfully led a UK tour of the musical production Funny Girl. A kind, sincere and honest woman, she was also highly insecure. She seldom refused an interview and never ducked an interviewer's question.[1] She told one journalist that 'Marti Caine' was loud, brassy and egotistical, whereas Lynne had no ego, enjoyed doing the housework and still saw herself as an ugly girl with long legs and a nose job.[1] Professionally, her aim as 'Marti Caine' was always to look drop-dead glamorous whatever discomfort she might have to suffer in the process.[1]


[edit] Death

Marti eventually succumbed to lymphatic cancer after a long battle, in 1995 in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire [2]. She had spend the last years of her life campaigning tirelessly on behalf of cancer charities (the proceeds from her last album going directly to the Marti Caine Children with Leukaemia Trust). Marti once joked that 'chemo's a piece of cake after BBC coffee...' Her 1990 autobiography A Coward's Chronicles was a best seller: an intelligently written and brutally honest account of her extraordinary life story. She titled it A Coward's Chronicles to counteract the tabloid image of her as a paragon of courage and defiance. "You fight for dear life", she said, "because you are too cowardly to embrace death..."[1] She was a fan of modern art, and Mick Farrell's sculpture Sheen is dedicated in her honour. The sculpture was to have been unveiled by Marti, but she died two weeks before; it was decided to dedicate it to her instead.[3] The sculpture, frequently referred to as Marti, is situated outside Sheffield Hallam University. Marti also has a sweetpea variety named after her.


[edit] Music career

Marti recorded five albums, also working with Karl Jenkins who wrote a signature tune Quiet Please, The Lady's Gonna Sing using the theme from Sibelius' 5th Symphony. This was her third album, and her second with Jenkins, following the aptly-titled Behind the Smile. The sweeping, theatrical, delivery of this title track contrasts with the easy, fluid style with which she approaches Ebony Eyes on the same album - the latter ending with a typically comedic flourish. However, her persona as cabaret host and comedienne seemed to prevent any serious inroads into commercial musical success - though her recordings were marketed globally, in areas as far-flung as Scandinavia, South America and Australasia - with huge numbers bought by television audiences. Marti's posthumous CD, released in 1996, was complied from her BBC Radio shows; her musical director noting that "I was working with, arguably, 'the best female singer around' but who was, unfortunately, always thought of, first and foremost, as a comedienne..." This was a sentiment echoed in the sleeve notes of the 2000 retrospective You are awful... (Showbiz Comedy Titbits of the 60s and 70s) in which Mick Dillingham describes her as "Shirley Bassey with a hint of Eartha Kitt...". It raises the question: why was this track selected for a comedy album - instead of the genuinely comedic songs such as George or Sour Love Song? Marti's mid-career decision to play Sun City in South Africa during the years of apartheid was seen as a serious error of judgment by many (and as a result she was put on a United Nations blacklist). However, if naively, Marti felt she was supporting and working with the black community, for whom she writes with respect and admiration in her autobiography. A lover of black music, she recorded many Stevie Wonder songs, and dedicated a medley as a Tribute to Gladys Knight on her first studio LP.


[edit] Discography

CD:

  • Marti (1996) [Concert recordings with the Ronnie Hazlehurst orchestra]


Compilation CD:

  • You are awful... but we like you! (2000) [Features 1978 single I've Never Been To Me]


LPs:

  • Point of view (1981)
  • The lady's gonna sing (1979) [Co-produced by Karl Jenkins]
  • Behind the smile (1978) [Produced by Karl Jenkins]
  • Nobody does it like me (1979) [Third re-release of 1976 debut album]
  • Nobody does it like Marti (1976) [Re-released 1977]


Singles:

  • Can I speak to the world, please? / Tin Heart and the Rebel (1981)
  • I'll never see you again / Bitch is love (1981)
  • One more night / What's the weather like outside? (1979)
  • I've never been to me / You (1978)
  • Momma's song / Nobody does it like me (1975)


Audio book:

  • Sweet inspiration (1994) [Interview with Alan Titchmarsh]


Video:

  • Joe Longthorne: the ultimate collection (1997) [Duet with Marti on I'll never love this way again]
  • The very best of Joe Longthorne: vol II (1992) [Duet with Marti on I'll never love this way again]


[edit] Bibliography

Autobiography:

  • A coward's chronicles

Released in hardback and then paperback, as well as an American edition.

Also included as an abridged version in a Reader's Digest Condensed Books edition.


[edit] External links


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Obituary in the Independent, 6 November 1995
  2. ^ GRO Register of Deaths: NOV 1995 B28C 156 WYCOMBE - Marti Caine, DoB = 26 Jan 1945 aged 50
  3. ^ BBC South Yorkshire page on Sheffield.
Persondata
NAME Caine, Marti
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shepherd, Lynne Denise
SHORT DESCRIPTION Comedian, singer
DATE OF BIRTH 1944-01-26
PLACE OF BIRTH Sheffield, West Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH 1995-11-04
PLACE OF DEATH Wycombe, Buckinghamshire