September 2003 article from 'The Chester Chronicle' newspaper about Barbara's participation in the "Peter Karrie & Friends" UK tour.
STAYING POWER
The first thing that strikes you about Barbara Dickson is just how normal she is.
Considering a career that has spun nearly four decades, included numerous high-profile television and theatre roles, a number one single that was the biggest selling record by a British female artist and an OBE for services to music and drama, it is remarkable how unstarry and down-to-earth she is. Within minutes of chatting to her, I feel as if I've known her for years.
And in an industry filled with jaded entertainers of a bygone age, complaining about how the business has supposedly cheated them as they desperately cling on for one last chance in the spotlight, it is refreshing to talk to someone whose enthusiasm and energy for the entertainment business remains undiminished.
So much so that she can barely contain her excitement at her forthcoming concert at the William Aston Hall, Wrexham, on Friday, September 12, where she will be joining Peter Karrie on stage to perform hits from a variety of West End musicals, including Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Jesus Christ Superstar.
`I can't wait,' she says in her soft, Scottish accent. `I love singing on stage at concerts; it's really the nuts and bolts of my world. I don't know Peter terribly well, but he asked me to do a duet with him on his television series a few months ago and so we've had a connection for some time. When he asked me if I'd like to join him for a handful of dates touring Wales, I couldn't resist.
`I'm only doing a few songs - it's a short spot but it's nice to be invited along as a guest. Usually when I tour, I have to take my own orchestra and my own musicians with me and it's quite a complex process, but on Friday I'll just be able to turn up, do what I love doing which is sing, and leave the rest to Peter!
`But the really great thing about the concert in Wrexham is that not only are all the proceeds going to the Noah's Ark Appeal, but they are also giving locals the chance to audition on the day and perform on stage as backing singers later on in the evening. I think it's fantastic that they are giving the concert a local connection and if it works it will be brilliant.
`Speaking from experience, it's wonderful to be able to get up on stage and perform, and I think people do truly love to be involved in something. A lot of people want to pursue a career in showbusiness and this will be a great opportunity for them to sample the atmosphere of singing live to thousands of people. I think it's great for people living in Wrexham, and I'll consider it an honour and a pleasure to be involved in it if it succeeds.
`It's going to be a crazy day! With all the people auditioning and joining in, it's going to be hilarious backstage. I'll have to find some deserted corner to put my trunk in or tell Peter to find me a Winnebago for the night! But I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope the evening is a success.'
Despite her status as one of the most popular and versatile singers/actresses in Britain, Dickson modestly describes herself as a `folk singer who got lucky', and claims not to know what the fuss is all about. However, a CV that includes some of the grittiest and most demanding roles in television and theatre belies a very real determination to succeed, inkeeping with her tough Scottish upbringing.
Born in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1948, her father was a cook on a tugboat at Rosyth Dockyard and her mother a strong-willed Liverpudlian. At the age of 17, she left Dunfermline for Edinburgh where she worked in the Registrar General's office by day and sung in folk clubs by night. After giving up her day job to concentrate on her blossoming singing career, she moved in England in 1974 where Liverpool playwright Willy Russell offered Dickson her first big break in his musical John, Paul, George, Ringo and ... Bert.
`I think if there'd been a rep theatre in Dunfermline I might have gone into acting earlier,' she says, fondly recalling memories from her early career. `But I never saw theatre as a girl and I don't come from the kind of background where people go to drama school.
`It was when I moved to England when I met Willy Russell, who was then at teacher training college. I also met a man who decided I was better than just playing upstairs in pubs and decided to become my agent. He thought I should be singing at the Albert Hall, something that did eventually happen.
