1947 - Barbara Ruth Dickson is born in Dunfermline, Scotland on September 27th.
1952 - Barbara attends Camdean Primary School in Rosyth.
1956 - The Dickson family move to Ochil Terrace in Dunfermline where Barbara attends Pitcorthie Primary School.
1958 - Barbara moves to Woodmill Junior High School. Her music teacher is Sandy Saddler, who becomes a great influence.
1964 - Barbara leaves school. Her friends encourage her to sing on stage at the Howff folk club in Dunfermline. She goes on to develop a musical partnership with guitarist Jack Beck - they play three weeks at the Aberdeen summer music festival.
Aged 17, Barbara moves to Edinburgh and works in the Registrar General's office.
1965 - A civil servant by day, Barbara performs in folk clubs by night and at weekends. She contributes a song, 'The Waters of Tyne', to the privately-pressed LP 'Folksong '65'.
1966 - Barbara continues to play live locally - venues include the Kinema Ballroom, The Green Tree and the Belleville Hotel in Dunfermline plus a residency at the Rosyth Hotel.
1967 - Another privately-issued album, "Folk Song '67" is released via Scottish folk clubs and includes Barbara's live recording of "The Dreadnought."
1968 - Resigning from the Civil Service, Barbara turns professional. She travels to Denmark for a six week engagement at the Tivoli in Copenhagen. Back in Scotland she contributes four tracks to the double folk LP, "The Golden Bird."
1969 - "The Fate O' Charlie" LP recorded with Archie Fisher and John MacKinnon is released by Trailer Records.
Barbara and Archie appear at the Thurso Folk Festival alongside Hamish Imlach.
Hamish sets up gigs for Barbara in the folk clubs of the north of England.
1970 - Barbara gets her first recording contract when she is signed to Decca Records. Her first release is the album "Thro' The Recent Years - The Folk Experiences of Archie Fisher and Barbara Dickson".
Later in the year "Do Right Woman", Barbara's first solo LP is released.
1971 - Barbara continues to play live extensively on the folk scene in Scotland and England.
She appears in two Scottish TV music series, 'Silver City Folk' and 'Once Upon A Song'.
1972 - The album "From The Beggar's Mantle... Fringed With Gold" is released in June.
1973 - Barbara leaves Scotland and moves to England where she is increasingly finding more work.
She continues touring the folk scene, playing at the Stainsby Brighouse, Hexham, Cleethorpes and Bromyard Folk Festivals. During October and November Barbara tours Belgium with 'The Boys of the Loch'.
1974 - Barbara gets her big break when she is offered the part of the singer and pianist in Willy Russell's play "John Paul George Ringo... and Bert" - it opens at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre in May. The show is a smash hit and transfers to the Lyric Theatre in London in August.
Barbara's first ever single, "Here Comes The Sun" is released from the play's soundtrack album.
1975 - Barbara continues her run in "John Paul George Ringo...and Bert" which runs for a year in London's West End.
Robert Stigwood, boss of RSO Records also sees the show and immediately offers Barbara a recording deal.
1976 - Barbara's third single "Answer Me" provides her first hit, reaching # 9 on the UK chart.
Her debut album for RSO Records, "Answer Me" is released in April.
Barbara appears as the musical guest in 8 episodes of the BBC's "The Two Ronnies", seen weekly by 20 million viewers.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, having seen Barbara in 'John Paul George Ringo... & Bert,' invite her to sing on the studio recording of their new musical "Evita".
In December Barbara supports David Essex for a week of concerts at the London Palladium.
1977 - Barbara flies to Nashville in January to record her second RSO album, "Morning Comes Quickly".
She flies home to Britain to promote her second hit, "Another Suitcase In Another Hall," from "Evita," which reaches UK # 18.
During May and June Barbara plays her first major UK tour of 17 dates.
Barbara scores her first hit album when "Morning Comes Quickly" charts in June.
November sees Barbara in the USA again - she films a walk-on role in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in Los Angeles.
1978 - Barbara signs a new deal with CBS Records and records "Sweet Oasis", her debut album for the label in Los Angeles.
In June Barbara takes part in the Tokyo Music Festival and wins Bronze Prize for her self-penned song, 'Second Sight.'
"Sweet Oasis" is released in October - Barbara promotes it with a 24 date, two month UK tour.
1979 - Barbara begins work on a new studio album with producer Alan Tarney.
She is also invited to record the title track for the movie "Caravans," produced by Mike Batt.
1980 - Released at the end of 1979, "Caravan Song" provides Barbara's third UK hit, reaching # 41.
It is eclipsed by "January February" which Epic rush-release in January. The new single reaches # 11 on the charts.
The accompanying album, "The Barbara Dickson Album," is released in April, reaching # 7 and earning Barbara a gold album.
The single "In The Night", released in June, is Barbara's first self-penned hit.
Barbara performs at the Castlebar Song Contest in Ireland on October 6th.
Between August and December she plays a 40 date UK tour which includes the Royal Albert Hall.
1981 - In February Barbara again plays 2 nights at the Royal Albert Hall, headlining with Ray Charles.
In May the album "You Know It's Me" is released.
July and August sees Barbara undertake a 37 date UK tour.
She then flies to the USA and on to Holland to begin work on a new album with Mike Batt.
