St. Winifred's School Choir appearing on Top of the Pops in 1980
St Winifred's School Choir was a children's choir formed by pupils of the St Winifred's Roman Catholic Primary School in Stockport, Greater Manchester, which began recording songs in 1972, later obtaining a contract with the Music For Pleasure label. The choir is best known for their UK hit There's No-One Quite like Grandma, which became the Christmas Number One in 1980, toppling John Lennon who had reached the top of the singles charts after his assassination in December. (The Choir were subsequently usurped by the re-release of Lennon's 'Imagine').
St Winifred's also featured on the 1978 number one hit "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" by Brian and Michael, and on the 1993 Top 20 hit for Bill Tarmey (better known as Jack Duckworth from Coronation Street) entitled One Voice, a Barry Manilow cover produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman. St. Winifred's were sadly uncredited on both hits.
Links to Peel[]
There are no known instances of Peel showing any appreciation of St Winifred's School Choir work, aside from playing their Christmas hit There's No-One Quite Like Grandma on the Only At Christmas show on Radio 1 in 1987. Peel's opinion of the recording remains unknown, although the song was also featured on TV Hell: Rock Bottom in 1992, "celebrating the tawdry, but with a certain admiration".
There's No-One Quite like Grandma was produced by Peter Tattersall, founder of Strawberry Studios which was close to the school and where the track was recorded. The studios had been home to many bands of the region such as 10cc (joint owners), Buzzcocks, Joy Division and The Smiths.
Sessions[]
- none
Other Shows Played[]
- none