Dorothy Squires

In 1947, during my National Service, I got three brand-new stripes and was posted to R.A.F. Debden, Essex. The Sergeants’ Mess possessed a radiogram and, amongst the few records available, was one of Dorothy Squires singing a Billy Reid song, Unchangeable You. It was a great favourite and seldom off the turntable. It was then that I fell in love with that voice (and the song, which sadly I have never heard since) little knowing that she would ever be an eventful ingredient of my life. Some years later I saw her around the BBC radio studios a few times, but I didn’t really meet her until 1963. At the time I was producing a programme introduced by Craig Douglas and titled ‘On the Scene’ – designed to feature well-known artistes who had something to sing about. Dorothy was still going strong with Say it With Flowers so, having the right ingredient, I duly booked her, along with Rolf Harris, The Bachelors and a 7-piece band directed by Les Reed. I do remember one or two older colleagues asking me if I had ever worked with her before – my reply being “No”, they seemed eager to tell me that she was ‘difficult’, so be prepared! Well, I am happy to say I found her thoroughly professional and she couldn’t have been more pleasant to deal with. Maybe by then she had mellowed. We became quite good friends and she worked for me on several more occasions during succeeding years.

As a Director of The Songwriters’ Guild of Great Britain, I was invited in 1967 to Gibraltar, to sit on the jury of their newly established International Song Festival. The Spanish had closed the border with the Rock, owing to their ongoing dispute about sovereignty, and the restrictions were tough on the Gibraltarian populace. Ronnie Bridges was a juror in 1968, so he too became aware of the adversity the people were enduring. On his return he suggested it might be a worthwhile idea to write a patriotic song for the 1969 festival, to help boost morale, to which I agreed. He wrote a fine martial-type melody and I wrote the words to a song we titled ‘The Gibraltar Anthem’. Because we were both known to the Gibraltar organisers, and not wanting to risk any favouritism, we gave ourselves a pseudonym and posted it. The Festival committee considered it too ‘National’ for entry into their ‘International’ contest, but suggested reserving it as interval entertainment for the 1970 festival. Might we agree to this? We were only too pleased to do so and, revealing who we really were, said we would find a famous artiste to sing it.

The rest is history – I asked Dorothy if she would perform it, she said she would and duly did so, on Saturday 14 November 1970, in St Michael’s Cave in Gibraltar. The venue may sound strange, but it is actually a magnificent natural 500 seat auditorium, halfway up the Rock, resplendent with stalactites and stalagmites as a stage background.

It was an exciting occasion for all. The anthem was so well received that Dorothy had to encore it twice, with Ronnie Bridges proudly conducting the second encore. We had 1,000 numbered and autographed song copies printed and they were sold out the moment they went on sale. Copy No. 1 was later presented to Her Majesty the Queen, and copy No. 2 to Sir Varyl Begg, the then Governor of Gibraltar. Dorothy was so thrilled with its reception that she programmed it for inclusion in her first London Palladium concert just three weeks later, on Sunday 6^th December 1970. It’s interesting to note that the song is still alive and well in Gibraltar, and regularly performed by many of the Rock’s star vocalists, choirs and schools.

In the early autumn of 1971, Dorothy held a party at St Mary’s Mount, her home in Wansunt Road, Bexley, to which she invited many show-biz friends, and graciously included me in the guest list. I took a photograph of the house, as seen from the garden, and it’s now a treasured souvenir of the past, for the house burned down and was demolished in 1974.

I was slightly caught up in the aftermath of the original BBC ‘Bribes’ scandal - the accusations against a compassionate and warm-hearted Dorothy and a blameless colleague of mine. Having been to Gibraltar with Dorothy I was accused of accepting a free holiday from her. I had to point out that, technically I was responsible for taking her – we each stayed in different hotels and all expenses were paid by the Gibraltar Festival committee. I heard nothing more and the case was subsequently dropped.

As we know, in subsequent years, Dorothy became a sadly troubled figure – so much had gone wrong with her life, she was suing all sorts of people and, in legal parlance, eventually became known as a ‘vexatious litigant’. I met her a few times, out in the street, and endured her prolonged tirades, she always insisting on telling me all her problems. She also used to talk of a show she had an interest in, called ‘Old Roly’ – she hoped it would revive her fortunes – but I never heard what became of it. We then lost touch completely, but I did speak to her on the phone, not long before she died. I attended her funeral in Mitcham in 1998, and threw a rose into the grave, finding it hard to believe the coffin could contain that dynamic, vivacious and talented lady who, for 50 years, I had so admired.

Brian Willey has also written The Composer And The Voice, an excellent piece about Billy Reid and Dorothy Squires, complete with illustrations, for the January 2007 issue of Best Of British.

Found on the Internet – published in The Independent, 24 April 1998, and written by John Lyttle

She was our Judy Garland. The British Judy Garland, though as everyone knows Dorothy Squires was born in Wales.

She was a lady. Not like these singers you see today. Not like Madonna and …what’s her name? That Michael Jackson’s sister. I saw her on television the other night, wearing nothing up top but a bra. She was grabbing her breasts and touching herself. Terrible. Janet Jackson, that’s her name.

Dorothy Squires was a professional. She didn’t need to touch herself to sell a song. And Dorothy Squires could sell a song. She was of the old school. You could give her any song and she’d put it over. You hadn’t heard My Way until you heard Dorothy Squires sing it. She gave 110 percent of herself to a lyric. Shirley Bassey is the only other one with that sort of talent. You had to have talent in those days. She’d lived, you see. She understood the words of My Way. She’d lived My Way. Dorothy Squires had been up and she’d been down. She’d suffered. She loved Roger Moore so much and when he left her, well, it broke her heart. That’s why she fought the divorce for so long.

That’s what she writes in her autobiography. It’s called Rain, Rain Go Away. Have you read it? You should. It’s very moving. The first time I read it, I cried buckets. I was so shocked when she sold the jewellery Roger Moore gave her. I think all her fans, her loyal fans, were shocked. The press were cruel. They gloated. But we shouldn’t dwell on the heartbreak or on the drink. The drink took its toll, didn’t it?

I followed her from nearly the beginning and made sure I bought the records the day they came out. I remember buying I Love You For Sentimental Reasons and There’s A Tree In The Meadow. And I remember her at the Palladium … it must have been 1970. Big enormous furs and glamorous dresses. She had style. They don’t make them like Dorothy Squires anymore.

Webmaster: Dorothy’s autobiography Rain, Rain Go Away was never actually published, although it’s possible Mr Lyttle did read an original draft of the book. There were apparently two typed manuscripts of Dorothy’s book, and one is known to have been taken by the Receiver when she was evicted from Bray. The other is presumably still in the hands of Robin McGibbon’s Everest Books which was due to publish the manuscript.

The following article about Joyce Golding, who was married to Dorothy Squires’ late brother Fred Squires, and is the mother of Dorothy’s niece Emily, appeared in the Brighton Argus in July 2002.

James Bond was my child’s nanny

Not many papergirls are still delivering their daily round days before their 80^th birthday. And not many can claim to have worked with James Bond. Then again, few on newspaper rounds are like Joyce Golding, who rides her scooter through the streets of Hove every morning. But not for much longer – she will complete her last round on Friday, two days before her 80^th birthday, and 15 years after starting. Joyce, of Wilbury Gardens, Hove, said: “It’s time for a rest. I don’t know what I will do with my days now though.”

Keeping busy has been the story of Joyce’s life, especially when she juggled her glamorous theatre career with bringing up her daughter Emily in the Fifties. Joyce, however, was able to call on James Bond – actor Roger Moore helped look after Emily at weekends. And they learned to horse-ride together, as he prepared to star in the film Ivanhoe. At the time Moore was married to stage star Dorothy Squires, the sister of Joyce’s husband, Captain Freddie Squires. Joyce remembers duetting with the future Mr. Bond in a Fifties panto – though she also recalls he had a terrible singing voice.

She never dreamed of such things when she started working for the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) as a teenager in the early Forties. Her more mundane tasks were working on a shop counter and pushing a laundry basket through the streets, collecting dirty washing. However she kept her colleagues in stitches with her impressions of famous film stars. She was so good at entertaining that two friends applied for her to join ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association.

Joyce was invited to an audition at London’s Drury Lane Theatre before being sent across Europe to entertain the troops. Her act, Creating An Impression, combined jokes and sketches with musical interludes. She was always billed as Joyce Golding, rather than her married name of Squires. She had originally wanted to become an opera singer, but made her name by using her vocal range to comic effect. Joyce said: “One of my tricks was to sing The Charge Of The Light Brigade in different accents. You couldn’t get away with that these days, you would have to do a lot more.”

Her first performance was in the Hebrides, before she travelled through France, Belgium, Holland, Italy and Austria. Joyce said: “I was very young and it was very exciting. The troops all loved the shows, even when we were just crammed into a tiny hut.”

But there were terrifying moments. At a performance in Eindhoven, fifty mines went off nearby. Two dancers were injured by the blasts but Joyce escaped unhurt. She said: “There was a big bang all of a sudden, then the curtains came down. We had to scramble for cover. We would travel through countries and see burnt-out tanks with bodies hanging off them and cattle lying dead in the fields.”

After the war, Joyce’s talent was spotted by Joe Collins, father of film star Joan Collins. She was signed up to his theatre agency, based in Islington, north London, and a stream of bookings followed. She starred in the 1948 slapstick comedy film Trouble In The Air alongside Jimmy Edwards, Freddie Frinton, Jon Pertwee and Bill Owen. And she did a six-week stint at the London Palladium in 1950. Joyce, who was born in Battersea, south London, loved the glamour of her new found stardom. She said: “The first week I earned £100 – I threw it on the floor and rolled around in it. I shouted, ‘Look, mum and dad, I’m rolling in money!’

Joyce also made a name for herself playing the Dame in pantomimes, a role usually played by men. The late show business mogul Lord Grade, who presented her in some of his pantos, once said: “Joyce Golding was the funniest woman I ever saw on a stage. She could make an audience laugh without even opening her mouth.”

Joyce met her husband when she stepped in at the last minute for another actress at the Palace in Blackpool. They married in 1949 and their daughter Emily was born the following year. Joyce kept performing while pregnant, covering her bump with flowing dresses while sharing a bill with Petula Clark.

Joyce spent many weekends with her sister-in-law Dorothy and Roger Moore, who were married from 1953 to 1969. Joyce appeared on stage with both Dorothy and Roger, headlining at theatres all over the UK. She starred at the Brighton Hippodrome in the late Forties, opposite Max Bygraves. Tragedy struck however when her husband died from kidney disease in 1955, aged just 37.

Joyce continued with her stage career, forming a successful double act with Brighton actor and singer Tony Stuart. She gave up the theatre in 1962, finding interest was dwindling in her style of variety. However she and Tony opened the Temple Bar in Western Road, Brighton, and put on regular variety shows during their six years there. She later worked at the Tungstens factory from 1971 to 1983, before opting for retirement. She said: “I didn’t like having nothing to do when I got up so I took on the paper round. My dog Gus used to come with me, until he died two years ago. It never bothered me, getting up early or going out in bad weather.”

Joyce is similarly ambivalent about her time in show business. She said: “I sometimes wonder if I had done things differently, I might have made it as a big star. But I wouldn’t want to be back in the theatre. I enjoyed it once, but it doesn’t appeal now.”

Minutes after saying that, she was searching the house for her video of Trouble In The Air. She had not watched it in years. Maybe now she can find the time.

I’ve just found the website and am really pleased to see there is one dedicated to Dot. I’ve been a fan for about 20 years, ever since I saw a drag act taking her off at the famous Vauxhall Tavern in south London. I was totally blown away by her voice.

I wrote a long fan letter to Dorothy around 1991 and, a few weeks later, she called me up on the phone. I nearly dropped the receiver when I realised it was her! Dorothy was very nice and thanked me for my letter.

I told her that I had been in touch with someone (Hugh Palmer) who had prepared the Three Beautiful Words Of Love CD in 1989 and that we were planning to swap information we’d both collected, to try and put together a complete discography of her work. A year or so later Dorothy called me again, and said that Hugh Palmer had been in contact with her about re-issuing the 1970 and 1971 London Palladium concerts on CD and cassette. I told her that a lot of fans would love to see the concert recordings available on CD and that second-hand copies of the original albums were changing hands for up to £50 each. The fans were basically being ripped off and at the same time Dorothy was seeing no financial benefit from the situation.

Dorothy agreed with me on this and I got a letter from Hugh afterwards, thanking me for saying what I did. He even gave me a credit in the ‘thank you’ section of the CD inner booklet. I also contacted Living Era around 2002/2003, asking why they didn’t issue a CD of Dorothy’s, particularly as they were part of the same group that owned the rights to the old Pye and Polygon catalogues, which of course Dorothy had recorded for in the 50s.

They got back to me and suggested that I come up with a track listing, which I did and sent off. Living Era specialise in issuing CDs of recordings that are more than 50 years old, and therefore out of copyright. They got back to me and asked where they could get hold of a lot of the original recordings. I advised them that I had most of them on 78s and arranged to take them to the guy who was preparing the CD, somewhere near Olympia.

They didn’t take the full track-listing that I suggested (which included the obvious hits, plus other tracks from the 1945-1953 period that had not yet been issued on CD. They used most of them, but there were a couple of recordings that they didn’t use and which have yet to appear on a CD. I also have a mention in the sleeve notes as co-compiler of the CD, along with Ray Crick who was working for Living Era.

I used to live in London – until 2003 – in Streatham and, when Dorothy called me the first time, she mentioned that she knew the area well – I think that she said her parents were buried there. I went to the funeral at Streatham Vale Cemetery in April 1998. I remember the day well - the only person I knew was John Lloyd – but I’m glad I went. It would make sense that Dorothy’s parents were buried there, if that’s where she chose to be buried rather than back in Wales (webmaster’s note: Dorothy’s parents are, indeed, buried close to Dorothy’s grave, although to my knowledge there is no marker stone).

I hope that EMI Records will consider commemorating Dorothy’s career in someway, perhaps with a 3CD box set, as they have done for Alma Cogan, Ruby Murray and Michael Holliday. Hopefully they will also release the 1972 Palladium concert on CD too, and they’ll also find the complete master tapes and restore the album CD to the full concert, rather than the heavily edited version that was released back in 1973.

I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the Drury Lane CD. I had hoped that they’d be able to restore the Nobody Does It Like Me opening number to the CD – I was never quite sure what the problem about that was, whether it was down to copyright problems with the change of lyrics, or whether it was deemed to be in contempt of court (webmaster: Dorothy was awaiting trial at the Old Bailey at the time, in the infamous BBC payola court case) and had to be withdrawn for that reason (webmaster: it was due to copyright problems, Dorothy had changed the original Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields lyrics, making references to her own life and current predicament!). I was also hopeful that they’d restore the hits to the concert – I know we have got versions of them on the 1970 and 1971 CDs but I was hopeful of ‘new’ versions to listen to! Hopefully Pye (or whoever owns the rights to the recordings these days) can be prevailed upon to issue a similar, complete CD set of everything they own (in the correct chronological order – including the complete Sings Billy Reid album from 1958.

One thing I did notice is that I Tunes has an album listed called Our Song by Dorothy. It’s just a plain cover and the released date is 5^th July 2006. I’m not sure if it’s an actual album that can be purchased, as I can’t find it listed anywhere else, or whether it is an album just to be downloaded. The snippet I could play of Waiting seems to be a lot better than the one on the If You Love Me CD (webmaster: this has certainly not materialised as an official CD release to date, October 2006).

I am a Dusty fan as well and I’ve been involved with a few things to do with Dusty during the past five or six years, mainly with the organisation of the Dusty Day in Henley – where she lived towards the end of her life – around the time of what would have been her birthday (April 16). It’s usually the Sunday closest to it. As far as I know, Dot and Dusty never met – they probably inhabited different worlds in the 60s and 70s. I do know of someone who once asked Dot what she thought of Dusty and she said she really liked her – really admired her for having her own mind and having so much control over the material she recorded – and Dot thought that she exercised that control very well.

I’m not sure what Dusty would have thought of Dot – my guess is that, as Dot was British, Dusty probably wouldn’t have been that big a fan. Most of her influences from that period were American, and Dusty (and her parents) didn’t really seem to seriously rate British singers of the era – Anne Shelton, Vera Lynn, and so on – and Dot would have been in the same bracket as them back in the 40s and 50s.

Webmaster: Thanks Fraser for this long and interesting e-mail. It’s particularly interesting to read about Dorothy’s thoughts of the great Dusty. Not only did they share the same initials (DS), but also the same couturier company – Doug Darnell designed Dorothy’s stage gowns and his partner Eric Darnell made many of Dust’s. In fact, back in the early 70s Dusty used to joke in her stage performances: “Do you like the frock? I’ve borrowed it from Dorothy Squires; only she has to have it back by midnight because she’s hired the Vatican for a one-night stand!”

Incidentally it’s not inconceivable that Dorothy and Dusty may have met – they could well have bumped into each at the Darnels’ premises, and of course both Dusty and Dorothy were both big friends of Danny La Rue who regularly held lavish show business parties. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who can cast light on this.

It must have been 1971 when Dorothy Squires first came to my attention. A friend of mine came to visit me, clutching a copy of her 1970 Live At The London Palladium double-album. I was blown away by the sheer power of her voice and stage presence that literally jumped off the turntable. It must have been too late for me to catch the 1971 show but, in 1972, I got my first taste of Dorothy live. I can remember to this day sitting on the edge of my seat as the overture played, and the thrill of seeing this vision in pink feathers appear onstage. For the next two hours I was under her spell -and indeed forevermore afterwards.

That night was special in so many ways. That same evening I got to go backstage and meet Dot in the crowded dressing room that was full to overflowing with adoring friends and fans. Dot’s distinctive voice could be heard taking or making a telephone call to California. I am not quite sure which. When we finally met it was the beginning of a friendship that lasted many years, and one that I will never forget.

Dorothy was always a gracious host and a knockout entertainer. The collage of pictures consists of some famous shots of Dorothy in concert, but also includes some photos of me backstage with Dot at the Palladium, Drury Lane and the Dominion Theatre. There is also one that I took of her in concert at Wimbledon Theatre.

It would be wonderful if Dorothy’s 1972 concert were to be reissued on CD as she sang some great songs that evening, including Rod McKuen’s Solitude’s My Home, which so suited Dorothy’s emotive style and seemed as though it had been written specially for her. Dot also performed her current single of the time, If I Could Go Back, taken from the Ross Hunter film musical version of The Lost Horizon. I remember being a little disappointed that the show had been cut down to only one album, even though many of the songs performed that night had appeared on previous live albums. Dorothy’s banter with the audience alone makes the show unique. I hope that whoever has the tapes will one day release them on CD so that we can all enjoy that historic Palladium concert once again.

I am also sending you some other photos that I thought you might like to see. One is a photo of Dorothy in her pink feathers that featured in a Radio Times article. Unfortunately I no longer have the article. The other photos were issued through Dorothy’s fan club.

My best wishes to you, and thanks for the great work you do in keeping Dorothy’s memory alive.

Colin has kindly provided some photographs of Dorothy to share with everybody, including a collage of pictures from her shows and his own meetings with her.

Obituary – Ronnie Bridges

Ronnie Bridges, who along with Brian Willey co-wrote The Gibraltar Anthem, performed by Dorothy at her 1970 London Palladium concert, died towards the end of 2005 at the age of 86 years. Ronnie began his professional career as a musician when he joined ENSA as a pianist during the Second World War. He later worked at the famous Windmill Theatre in London, writing songs for the various shows there. Ronnie played piano for the Windmill auditions of Bruce Forsyth and Bob Monkhouse, and over the years he played on television for many artists including Tommy Cooper, Jimmy Edwards, Doris Hare and Leslie Crowther.

Later Ronnie joined Liber-Southern Music as a composer, and he was a founder member and director of the Songwriters’ Guild of Great Britain and BASCA. Ronnie wrote over 200 songs including The Gibraltar Anthem – now known as Rock Of Ages – which was originally intended for Harry Secombe. However Sir Harry passed on the song, and the accolade of performing The Gibraltar Anthem went to Dorothy. Dorothy performed the song in a special concert at St Michael’s Cave, Gibraltar, in 1970 and such was the audience’s great reaction that the song had to be reprised several times, with Ronnie himself conducting the orchestra. As mentioned, Dorothy also performed the song at her 1970 Palladium concert. Rock Of Ages was frequently featured during the 300^th anniversary celebrations of British Gibraltar in 2004.

John Lloyd, honourable secretary of the Dorothy Squires Fan Club (22 Trinity Court, 254 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8JX – telephone 020 7837 0597) recently hosted a table at a tribute lunch for Jess Conrad, held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London’s Park Lane. The event was attended by many show business personalities, and comedian Tom O-Connor – who was the Master of Ceremonies – mentioned Dorothy when introducing Johnny Tudor (who was the guest artist on many of Dorothy’s concert bills, including the famous Palladium concert). The event was organised by David Graham of the Heritage Foundation which has been responsible may such popular events. Among those at the lunch were Pete Murray, Craig Douglas, Harry Fowler, Pamela Cundell, Jean Ferguson, John Inman, Gareth Hunt, Tommy Bruce (who received a special award), and Stella Vaughan (widow of Frankie).

Dougie Darnell, who designed many of Dorothy’s stage gowns (as well as Shirley Bassey’s), with Emily and Johnny

John Lloyd pulls no punches with circus trapeze artist Robert Foxall (who contributed the Marie Roberts interview in the Memories section)

Dorothy Squires at a press conference in November 1970, to announce that she was hiring the London Palladium for her own self-financed show.
Taken from the BBC Archives, and kindly loaned by John Lloyd

The veteran evergreen singer and performer Val Doonican was recently the guest of honour at a special lunch hosted by the Concert Artists Association in Covent Garden. These events are held every few months and recognise the achievements of some of our most enduring showbusiness personalities. The last two events honoured Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, and Joan Regan.

Val, who is now in his 80^th year, delighted the guests with anecdotes from his own career, which started in 1947. Amazingly it was another 18 years before his big breakthrough with the Top 10 hit Walk Tall. Since then he has hosted no less than 26 television series, and is listed at number 180 in the Top 500 of the all-time best-selling recordings artists in the Guinness Hit Singles & Albums book.

John Lloyd, secretary of the Dorothy Squires Fan Club, bid successfully for a signed print of an original watercolour, On The River, painted by Val and which was signed by him, “To John of Squires’ fan club”. Val recalled working with Dorothy on several occasions when he was a member of the Four Ramblers. “We did a week at The Met, Edgware Road, in 1957, with Dorothy topping the bill. She had been booked to play the Hippodrome in Leicester Square but there was a dispute about who got top bill billing – her or rock and roll performer Charlie Grace, who had just had a number 1 hit at the time, so Dorothy played the Met – one of London’s biggest music halls – instead. We also did a week with her in Cardiff but there was no contest there because Dorothy was working on her home turf and went down a storm.”

Val also recalled advice that Dorothy once gave him, before he had his first hit in 1965 with Walk Tall. “She told me to retain the rights to my own recordings, which was very unusual back then. Eve Taylor, my manager, was in total agreement. I made the first hit Walk Tall for about £350 and leased it to the record company (Decca) and that’s the way I have worked ever since.”

Pictured is the Val Doonican watercolour, bought by John Lloyd in the charity auction.

I think I was probably 20 when I met Dorothy Squires. I was working for Record Mirror and Record Retailer (now Music Week) and went along to Dot’s office in Oxford Street in the autumn of 1969 to do the interview. She had just hit the singles charts again after a few years absence with For Once In My Life.

She was a fascinating person to talk to. She reminded me very much of Alma Cogan – that same glamorous appearance, the same laugh in her voice. She had signed the previous year with a new record company (President) and talked enthusiastically about her future plans. She was also, I recall, extremely patient with me. I was young and largely unaware of her earlier success in the 1950’s. I hadn’t even been first choice to do the interview – it should have been RM’s editor Peter Jones, but I think he was off work with the flu!

Twice more, in my career, our paths crossed in some respect. First, when I joined the BBC in 1971 as Publicity officer for Radio 2, I got involved in all the business running in the national newspapers at that time about Dorothy Squires and plays for one of her other President singles (the infamous ‘payola’ allegations made by the News Of The World). Later, Ed Kassner at President fixed me up with tickets for one of her Palladium shows. Unfortunately I couldn’t go – I will always regret never seeing her in concert. Edwin Shaw, the Box Office Manager at the Palladium (and someone I had worked with at Stoll Moss from 1970-1971) told me: “Rodney, you missed one hell of a performance from one hell of a lady”.

Rod has had a long career in radio and media. A part from working for Record Mirror/Record Retailer, and BBC Radio’s 1 and 2, he was also director of news programming for Radio Luxembourg and was part of the set-up team for Atlantic 252. Rod presented Radio Luxembourg’s long-running 208 Editorial programme for ten years. Rod is now part of the team that is setting up the new long wave radio station on 279 which opens this year.

Rod has a regular programme on www.offshoremusicradio.com and he recently mentioned Dorothy in a President Records feature, which ran twice, and attracted several phone calls requesting plays for Dorothy. He plans to play Dorothy’s Till on his March 20th, 2006 programme.

If you enjoyed the programmes from the pirate radio ships in the 1960’s and 1970’s, such as Radios Caroline, London, 270, City, Scotland, Nordsee, Veronica, Mi Amigo and Atlantis, then check out Offshore Music Radio at the above web address. If you want to contact Rod direct, and request a Dorothy track, then e-mail him at Rodney.Collins@offshoremusicradio.com

Pool Party - Roger Moore and his wife Dorothy Squires invited friends round to the swimming pool at their Bexleyheath home, but it turned out to be a dry run. It's not until next week the water goes in!
With thanks to Mark Willerton and the Burtey Fen Collection

Jeffrey John was born in Llanelli in 1946. He lived in London 1965 to 1993, and has lived in the Poole and Bournemouth district ever since. Describing himself as”one of Dorothy Squires’ devoted fans”, Jeffrey has provided some memories of Dorothy for the web-site.

Whenever I smell a newly tarred road I think of the Queen and Prince Philip. In preparation for their arrival at Llanelli railway station in 1953(?), the station forecourt was tarred and I used to pass that way when I went to Copperworks Infants School.

Guess what I’m reminded of by red velvet curtains, red carpet, red plush seats, black lacquer, and gilt. Yeah – DOROTHY SQUIRES.

I was born in 1946 in the area of Llanelli called New Dock. In those post war years the air was filled with the sounds of steam trains from the nearby main line railway station, or wagons being shunted, also of steel works, copper works, tinplate works with their hooters blowing to signify the end of a shift. There were a lot of industrial sites around.

What a thrill, what excitement when in the early 1950’s the cinema round the corner was being taken over by someone called Dorothy Squires and Billy Reid. All around there was a buzz in the air with people commenting, “She’s from Dafen isn’t she”. “She used to sing at the Ritz” (the ballroom in town). They refurbished the Astoria ready for all the variety acts that would come and perform. We had five other cinemas in the town but The New Astoria theatre with its red plush seats, gilt, and black lacquer (perhaps it was black paint really), was something new to me. My mother used to take me to the second house every Saturday night and we always sat in the aisle seats in the second row to the right of the aisle. On the way we would stop at the local sweet shop and buy a quarter of chocolate almonds. I now had glamour, and colour in my life. I was agog and enjoyed every minute. Dorothy Squires, blond, attractive and glamorous, with that special strong voice, with its unique tones and volumes, which I have never forgotten. They said she didn’t need a microphone when she sang at the Astoria. The thrill when the lights went down, when the orchestra in the pit struck up, and when the curtains went back. The shows always began with a troop of tap dancers. Often they danced to that tune which contained the words “.... and we’ll all go riding on a rainbow to a new land far away...”. There followed all kinds of variety acts – comedians, singers, magicians, acrobats, ventriloquists, jugglers, and knife throwers. Names like Max Wall, Ted Lune, and Ray Allan spring to mind. The programme changed every week and you could look at the photos of the artistes in the cabinets on the walls outside. The theatre was (still there), by the railway station, and you could always hear trains coming and going during performances, and if it was a non-stop train, the theatre used to vibrate as the train went by at speed. I remember seeing the polished shoes on the feet of the two men who opened and closed the curtains on the stage, and the usherettes who had to tip up the seats at the end of the performances. I was always filled with wonder about what went on in the wings and back stage. I never found out. Sometimes they came in coach loads to see the shows. Once there was a radio broadcast, and I saw my first pantomime there. Like a lot of people living nearby, my parents used to provide lodgings for the visiting artistes. I remember one Christmas time when we had a ventriloquist staying, and he spoke to Father Christmas for me up the chimney.

It didn’t last long did it? It was around this time that Roger Moore came on the scene. Also TV was replacing the variety theatres. The New Astoria went back to being a cinema for a while but it wasn’t long before it was turned into a Bingo Hall.

I left Llanelli in 1965 for London. I wasn’t in Llanelli for her 1966 concert at the Regal. I wasn’t able to reconnect with my admiration for Dorothy Squires until the mid 70’s when I stumbled on her 1970 Palladium double album at that record shop in Great Marlborough Street, in London’s West End. I became a collector straight away. I wrote to her a couple of times and she replied each time. The replies came on her personal stationery but always on her behalf and signed by Brenda. I am convinced that Brenda was actually Dorothy herself, because you can tell from the way they are written that the comments came from the heart. I only went to her concerts at the Dominion, Drury Lane, Wimbledon Theatre, and the last one at the Dome in Brighton.

Talking about the concert at the Dome, does anyone have the list of songs she sang that night? I remember there was one I’d never heard before, which reached me quite deeply, and which I’ve never heard since.

I’ll close with three quotes from the Llanelli press which make interesting reading. These articles come from the book “A Llanelli Chronicle” compiled by Gareth Hughes: -

Celebrated Crooner – Dancers will be delighted to learn that Miss Dorothy Squires, the celebrated crooner, is to visit Llanelli and to take part in the dance to be held under the auspices of the Llanelli and District Rugby Supporters Club at the Ritz Super Ballroom on Easter Monday night. The special engagement of Miss Squires is testimony of the enterprise of the organisers of the dance. She now acts as a crooner with Billie Reed’s Accordion Band, London, and has recently gained prominence in weekly continental broadcasts. Previously, she crooned for the Kunz Casani Dance Band. Quite a number of Llanelli “Exiles” have already purchased tickets for the event, which is certain to be a big social success. Mr. C.R. Mansel Lewis, Stradey Castle, and Mr. T.R. Mills, the President of the Club, will act as M.C. The music will be provided by Len Colvin and the Denza Broadcasting Band. The dance is to be from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and the tickets are: Single 6/-, Double 10/6, inclusive.

Astoria £4,500 Repairs Sanctioned – Delays in obtaining permits for alterations at the Astoria before the re-opening under new management have ended. Announcing this yesterday, Mr. F.W. Johnson, manager, said that Dorothy Squires, Dafen-born variety star, had received approval from the Ministry of Works of plans involving a total of £4,500. The theatre, which would be known as the “New Astoria”, would therefore, re-open on February 27 with a programme headed by Dorothy Squires and her composer-husband Billy Reid. Arrangements had this week been completed for a St. David’s Day broadcast from the theatre.

Failure of Reid Club Appeal – Well known businessmen appeared as witnesses in support of an application made on Wednesday on behalf of Mr. Billy Reid, composer and music hall celebrity, for registration of the “Billy Reid” Club at premises in Inkerman Street. They stated that there was at present no licensed club in Llanelli, which offered suitable recreational facilities for married couples. The justices, dismissing the application, upheld an objection by the Chief Constable that the proposed club would not meet a genuine and substantial need. Appearing for the objector, Mr. W.E. Williams alleged that the proposed club was intended to be “nothing but a private drinking club”. Mr Leslie Williams, for Mr. Reid, said that the Llanelli area, with a population of 60,000, did not possess a social club of the type intended by the applicant. He added that there were, of course, the political clubs, but he did not see why anyone in need of recreation and refreshment should have to join the Conservative Club and listen to what Mr. Disraeli said in 1860, or the Liberal Club to hear what Mr. Gladstone said in 1870, or the Workingmen’s club to have arguments as to whether Mr. Aneurin Bevan was right or wrong in what he had done in 1951. Mr. Reid, who would be the proprietor of the club, was the owner of the Astoria Theatre in the New Dock district and was prepared to expend about £1,500 to £2,000 on the club. Mr. W.E. Williams said that there had been no evidence regarding the provision of recreational facilities, and it seemed that the only educational need it would supply would be an education in the consumption of intoxicants. It did not seem that the club was intended for 200 members, but merely for private purposes.

Matt Yeull has sent in this photograph of Dorothy with her mother, taken around 1937. Emily (Squires), Dorothy’s niece, says: “Dorothy adored her mother. It is lovely to see this picture. Looking at my grandmother I can see myself. I never knew my grandmother, who was also called Emily Squires, because she died in 1946 before I was born. She was only 56-years-old.

“Auntie Rene (Dorothy’s sister) nursed her at home when she was very ill. She actually died from the drugs she was given. All I know about the origins of that part of my family is that two sisters called Perry arrived in Liverpool from America in 1890 and travelled to South Wales. Emily came from a large family. That is as far as I know to date but my intention is to trace my grandmother’s ancestry.

“Everyone told me she was a lovely woman and my father, aunt (Rene) and Dorothy worshipped her. I am just sorry that I never knew her myself.”

Patrick Newley, the well-known entertainment writer who has a regular column in The Stage magazine, mentions Dorothy in some reminiscences about the late great drag artist Mrs Shufflewick, who was very popular on the London pub and club circuit back in the 70’s. Patrick writes:

Mrs Shufflewick was a drunken old dear, a Cockney of the type you used to see propping up the bar, perched on a stool and drinking port and lemon. Sometimes she got so drunk and fell off the stool, and they’d throw her out.

I knew the real Mrs Shufflewick, who was a small man who looked like a pixie. His name was Rex Jameson and he was a variety artist who hit the big time in the fifties and sixties, and went on to attract cult audiences in the seventies. I was his manager for several years up until his death in 1983.

Offstage nobody called him Rex – he was known as ‘Shuff’ and he looked nothing like his brilliant characterisation. The only thing he had in common with Mrs S was that he too was a notorious old soak, so much so that managements were often loath to take a chance on him despite his talent.

One lady who did give him work was his old pal Dorothy Squires, the singing ex-Mrs Roger Moore. A volatile lady, she was known as Batting Dot and was not to be trifled with.

One day my phone rang and a crazed voice shouted, ‘Is that Rex Jameson’s manager?’ Startled at this approach, I nervously said yes, but before I could get any further the voice, now hysterical, said: ‘This is Dot Squires, see. I’m hiring the Palladium next month. It’s my fans, they won’t let me go. I want Shuff to open the show.’

Delighted, I reached for his date book. Dot added: “There’ll be no bloody drinking on my show either,” and slammed the phone down.

Come the big day, Shuff arrived in the Palladium No 2 dressing room with two carrier bags. One had the costume. The other was stacked with booze. Don’t worry,” he said smugly. “I’m only having the one”. My face broke into a worried smile.

“Five minutes please, Mr Jameson.” That was the tannoy. We went upstairs and into the wings.

When Shuff opened the show the audience roared its approval. His ten-minute slot ran to 18 and the audience loved it, especially when he looked up at the theatre ceiling and said, “Look at the fucking dust up there”.

Unfortunately Dot had been standing in the wings and had heard the remark. As Shuff came off to loud applause, Battling Dot ran towards me and grabbed me by the arm. “Mr. Newley,” she screamed, “let me tell you this – nobody, but nobody, swears on my fucking stage” and, as she pushed me, I nearly fell down the stairs.

Dazed, I returned to Shuff’s dressing room where the great man was pouring a large scotch. “I’ve always loved Dot,” he said with a smile. “She’s real variety you know.” Quite.

Somewhat bizarrely, Dorothy is mentioned on the Pet Shop Boy’s official website, Absolutely Pet Shop Boys. The site reproduces an article The Pet Shop Boys Story, which had originally been featured in Smash Hits pop magazine in 1989.

In an interview with Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe, about his early life, the article says: “In the end Chris decided that this pop stuff wasn’t worth bothering with. ‘I ended up listening to my grandma and grandpa’s music,’ he recalls, ‘like Dorothy Squires and Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones’.

Dorothy must have made some impression on a very young Chris Lowe because the website also has an interview with both him and Neil Tennant, which took place in Chris’ flat on 8^th May 1997 just prior to the duo’s Somewhere tour. The article says: “Though it is only four weeks before their Savoy Theatre residency begins, and hectic preparations have been underway for some time, they are yet to start actual rehearsals, and many of the details are far from decided. Chris jumps up and plays Neil the eccentric spoken introductions from a Dorothy Squires album recorded live at the London Palladium in 1970; this, he tells Neil, is how he should present the Pet Shop Boys songs from the theatre stage. As with many other things they say today, they may not be entirely serious, but they may not be entirely joking.”

Dorothy’s 1969 recording of For Once In My Life was given a rare Radio Two airing recently when Brian Matthew included it in his popular Saturday morning show Sounds Of The 60s (May 25 2005). Strangely though Dorothy was featured in the ‘one hit wonder’ segment! Not strictly true as Say It Was Flowers was also a hit in the Sixties, although the argument could be that was a duet (with Russ Conway)! And, of course, Till and My Way were both 70s hits!

Dorothy is mentioned in the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles. The reference book lists all the number 1 songs from August 1945 (based on sheet music sales) until the launch of the first official pop chart (based on record sales) in November 1952. Prior to the pop chart, sheet music sales were used to judge the popularity of a song and artist. Dorothy is the second listed (14^th September 1945) along with The Ink Spots, for The Gypsy, and the song remained at the top of the sheet music chart until 19th October.

BBC Radio Essex presenter Eric Hall is paying tribute to Dorothy Squires on 12^th June 2005 with a special three-hour edition of his popular weekly Sunday afternoon programme, Making Memories. The programme will go out between 3pm and 6pm, and will be completely devoted to Dorothy’s life, career and music.

Eric worked with Dorothy back in the 70s when he was the chief plugger for EMI Records and worked on her recording of Rod McKuen’s Solitude’s My Home, released by the company. He also interviewed her several times when he was broadcasting for LBC in London. Eric is also a firm fan and elsewhere on this website has said that, as far as he is concerned, Dorothy was the most under-rated singer in Britain.

Dorothy’s niece Emily will be interviewed on the programme, and Webmaster Chris White is also taking part. A large selection of Dorothy’s recordings throughout the years will be played.

Local listeners can find BBC Essex on 103.5 and 95.3FM. The station can also be heard in Kent and in North London. Those further afield, and with access to a computer, can hear the programme through the station’s own website. If anyone wants to phone in while the programme is going out live, and ask a question or give a Dorothy anecdote, the telephone number is 01245 495050. Listen Online»

Dorothy’s 1973 concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, is finally being released on CD. The double album, which was originally released in July 1974, is being re-issued by Sanctuary on the Castle Pulse label (cat. No PDSCD611). The 2CD release will feature much of the original artwork. Dorothy’s Drury Lane concert was memorable for her ‘Auntie Mame’ segment, in which she performed some of the show-stopping songs from the musical Mama, including a stunning version of If He Walked Into My Life. Other highlights included Heart Of A City, which was one of the Dorothy/Ernie Dunstall songs from the projected musical Old Rowley. The original Pye album also included Nobody Does It Like Me but had to be quickly withdrawn because Dorothy had re-written some of the lyrics, so that they applied to her own life, and the song’s composers Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields objected! The album reappeared minus the offending track. Other numbers featured on the CD release include Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, Smile, I’m Walking Behind You, On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Danny Boy, Some Enchanted Evening and I Could Have Danced All Night. Order Online»

Clive Fuller, a regular contributor to In Tune, has written this review of the Drury Lane CD set for the magazine.

Some exciting news is that the much acclaimed and talked about “Dorothy Squires, Live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane” was issued by Sanctuary on their Castle Pulse label on 30/5/2005, Catalogue Number, PDSCD611 (2 CD set) and includes the entire original double LP set issued back in 1974 on Pye Records NSPD 501 (stereo). Much of the original art work is included in miniature and for those not familiar with this recording Dorothy Squires performs the musical numbers from “Mame” followed by many different songs for example “Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head”, “The Whiffenpoof Song”, “Some enchanted evening”, “I could have danced all night” and “Climb every mountain”. There are also 4 Dorothy Squires compositions that have stood the test of time very well indeed. The whole evening has the flavour of “the musical” and I was lucky enough to be there in 1973 having missed the legendary Palladium dates. It was a full house and a magical event. Nicky Welsh directed the orchestra and for me this is the best concert recording that she ever did because of the quality of the material included. It is also a complete departure from any of her other recorded concerts as it includes very little of the standard Squires repertoire. It gives you for example an opportunity to hear her interpretation of “Something Greater” from the musical “Applause” and a very gentle version of “Danny Boy”. E.g. she does not sing “My Way” choosing to close with “Going Nowhere” a new song from new writers. The sound quality is excellent throughout and to my ear is superior to the old LPs. The chance to have this for around £5 when the LPs have been selling for £20+ is a great treat for collectors and a very good indication that once again Sanctuary are giving the customer what they want! The liner notes are by our own Gerry Stonestreet and with a total running time of 95 minutes this goes straight onto my Top 10 of 2005 list.

Track listing: Overture orchestral medley/She’s that someone (The Coffee Set)/Mame (The Coffee Set)/Heck of a score/Open a new window/My best girl (DS and Michael Ward)/If he walked into my life; Open a new window and Mame/Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head/Who else but me/Smile/Something greater/I’m walking behind you/On the sunny side of the street/Danny Boy/Young men with heads on high/The Whiffenpoof song/Until the real thing comes along/Eyes of a man/Some enchanted evening/Hello, young lovers/I could have danced all night/Will there be a place/Heart of a city/Climb every mountain/ My Way(instrumental); Going nowhere and My Way (instrumental).

Dorothy has been back in the charts, albeit in the company of 54 others! Her classic recording of My Way features on the current EMI/Virgin Records double-CD Memories Are Made Of This Volume 2. Dorothy appears alongside such other great names as Matt Monro, Shirley Bassey, Alma Cogan and many others, and she has the accolade of bringing the collection to a close! My Way is the final track on the set. The recording is the original hit version and has been licensed from President Records. This is only the second time that Dot’s hit recording (it spent a total of 23 weeks in the charts back in 1970) has appeared on a CD, and it is the first time that it has appeared on a ‘various artists’ compilation. The great news is that memories Are Made Of This Volume 1 sold more than 200,000 copies and Volume 2 has also done very well. It is available in all the major stores like Woolworth, Safeway, Tesco and ASDA, as well as HMV and Virgin, and all good record shops. The inclusion of Dorothy’s My Way will help introduce her music to a generation of music fans who have probably never even heard her before, and serves as a reminder to the older buyers of just what a powerful and remarkable singer Dorothy was.
Order Online»

As a child I was brought up in the suburbs of London. For the best part of my teenage years we lived in Bexley, Kent, a mere 14 miles from the centre of the metropolis. In those days (god, I sound like my grandmother!) the village teetered on the edge of the Green Belt and just a few hundred yards away were rolling heathland, fields and very posh houses.

In one of those posh houses lived the woman know to the locals as 'The Wicked Witch of the West'. Ms Dorothy Squires, star of stage and screen. A belter of a singer in the Ethel Merman mould but not someone you wanted to live next to, nor even in the same village.
The tales of her abuse of local tradesmen was legendary; her abuse of the local constabulary regularly landed her on the wrong side of the law. Then, in the early seventies, the house burnt down and she saved only her jewels and a box of love letters from Roger Moore, her ex-husband. And there in her hands were the two things that mattered most to her in the world. Her one enduring love, Roger Moore, and her stage accoutrements.

For the next 20 years she railed against the one and wore out the other. It was only in 1997 that she and Moore were finally reconciled and it was the film star who paid all her hospital bills of late. She gave up the fight on Tuesday 14th April 1998 when cancer finally managed to sink the indomitable Dorothy Squires at the ripe old age of 83. If the gods had been kinder she would have died in her prime and been a legend. As it was she fought her way into her dotage and long outlived her reputation in most people's eyes.

On Saturday 17th March 1990 I travelled down from London to Brighton to see 'An Evening With Dorothy Squires' at The Dome. The legend I saw onstage that night lived up to the caricature portrayed by a hundred drag queens of the seventies and eighties. A tiny figure swathed in organza clutching a flower belting out old numbers that filled every corner of the theatre. Never mind that she forgot most of the words except the chorus; never mind that she swayed drunkenly about the stage and never mind that her language would have made a docker blush. Her star quality oozed across the footlights. Like Judy and Marilyn before her it was her very fallibility that endeared her to her legions of loyal fans across the years. In this, her last ever performance (although we didn't know it), she, as ever, gave her all. Well, all that there was left to give.

Dot, as she was affectionately known to her fans, was born Edna May Squires on March 25th 1915 in a caravan in a field in South Wales. And it was to South Wales that the worn out star finally returned to in 1995, wondering if she could, just one more time, rise from the ashes. But it was not to be. This time she was down, never to rise again.

Dorothy's rise to prominence began, to all intents and purposes, when she left Wales at the age of 15 for London and the fabled gold-paved streets. She trained as a nurse but always wanted to sing. Her chance came when she was spotted performing in cabaret by band leader and composer Billy Reid. Over the next 11 years Reid groomed and directed his protege to stardom on radio and records as well as in panto. However, Reid became ever more possessive and eventually Dorothy decided it was time to move on. When they divided up the spoils of their relationship (they never married. He was already wed) he got the Astoria Theatre, Llanelli and she got the house in Bexley. That year saw her at the pinnacle of her career. Much in demand on both sides of the Atlantic, she often had acts like Morecombe & Wise as her support act.

The summer of 1952 saw Dorothy throwing yet another of her fabled parties and the arrival of her future downfall. Roger Moore.

Moore, at that time still a struggling actor and part-time model (most famously for knitting patterns) was married but that didn't stop them seeing each other and, soon afterwards, moving in together. Moore's wife divorced him and he and Dorothy married in 1953 in Jersey City.
Coincidentally soon after, Roger Moore's acting career started to take off and he landed the lead in Ivanhoe (1958), a TV series on the embryonic commercial network ITV. His star was in the ascendant while Dorothy's was beginning to fade. It was at this time that they decided that having children would be a good idea. Both wanted them but, after several miscarriages, it seemed that something was wrong. Of course, it had to be a problem with Roger. At Dorothy's urging Moore went to see a specialist in America. Returning with a prescription for 'baby pills' they set to again, but to no avail. She still couldn't carry to full term.

By 1961 Dorothy's career was on the ascendant again and she re-entered the charts with her anthem, penned by her, 'Say It With Flowers'. Cresting the wave of popularity she looked down into the trough only to hear Roger Moore saying that he was leaving her for an Italian actress called Luisa. Such was Dorothy's ire that she started on what was to become a lifetime obsession with litigation. Her first foray into the legal minefield which is the British legal system was with a suit against Roger Moore for 'restitution of conjugal rights', an ancient and archaic statute which is still enshrined in the law. Surprisingly, she won and the judge ordered Moore to return to the marital bed within 28 days. He, understandably, refused. Eventually, in 1968, Dottie finally admitted that her marriage was over and petitioned for divorce on the grounds of desertion. However, a year later the News of the World (and why am I not surprised at this) published a totally ficticious 'account' of Dorothy's view of the marriage. She sued and got £16,000. With two wins to her name Squires thought she was legally invincible and spent the next two decades suing anyone and everyone. Usually unsuccessfully. Her issuing of writs finally became so prolific that the then Attorney General barred her from launching any further legal actions without express permission from the High Court.

In 1970, convinced that all and sundry had written her off, she invested the only thing she had left, her talent, in a bravado gesture. She hired the London Palladium for the night at a cost of £5,000 and was not surprised when it sold out within 4 hours. She was back on top and she went on to storm round all the other big venues of the world with sellout nights at the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall amongst others. All may have looked bright and sparkly on the surface but, beneath the glamour and the glitz her aching heart was gnawing away as she became more and more dependant on alcohol. In 1986 she was declared bankrupt (something she refused to admit) and in 1988 she lost her last possession, her house in Bray. This was the final straw. Despite being discharged from bankruptcy in 1989 and that final concert in 1990 Dorothy Squires was a broken woman.

For the final 8 years of her life she scraped by on the charity of friends and devoted fans until she finally gave up the fight in a hospital in South Wales. The woman was a monster in real life but, somehow she never sold her fans and devotees short, so they forgave her.
© Paul Towers 1998

An article that appeared in TV Mirror on March 29^th 1958

The Marriage They Said Couldn’t Last

Dorothy Squires is eight years older than husband Roger (Ivanhoe) Moore. In this moving article she tells John K. Newnham just what this has meant to their lives.

It’s the marriage that people said could never last. The marriage of a singer who had been a star for many years to an unknown actor. The marriage of a woman to a man over eight years her junior.

But it has lasted .It will last. And you’d find it very difficult to find a happier couple than Roger Moore and Dorothy Squires.

‘I’ve never been so happy in my life, never so contented’ Dorothy told me in a subdued voice. The usual flamboyant exuberance was missing.

Dorothy is no fool. She was well aware of what people were saying when she and Roger were wed in New York on July 6^th 1953, just a little over a year after their first meeting.

She knew people were shaking their heads and saying it couldn’t work out. The age difference was too great. The fact that she was a top pop star and he was more or less at the beginning of his career was a threat to potential happiness.

‘I did feel embarrassed, though I hope I never showed it’ she confessed.

‘Not embarrassed at having married him, but because so many people seemed to have doubts whether we could make a go of it … embarrassed in case Roger should feel embarrassed’.

‘But we both knew it would turn out all right. We were – and still are – really in love. And he has been so good to me. I’m a different person. I was always a hothead, flaring up on the slightest provocation and upsetting myself. Roger is quite calm and he has soothed out my temperament. He has cooled me down, quite deliberately but without making a fuss of doing so’.

‘I’m a much happier person because of this alone. I don’t worry any more. It takes a lot to upset me. I can laugh off things that would have driven me crazy in the old days.

‘To start with, he’s got a wonderful sense of humour. That’s a good basis for marriage. We laugh at the same things and we laugh together a lot’

‘He’s affectionate and very sentimental. When we do quarrel - and all married couples have their disagreements - it’s only over little things and usually over other people and not ourselves; and he never lets the quarrel last more than a few minutes. He just bursts into laughter, and it’s all over and forgotten’.

I was talking to Dorothy in town. Roger was at home. But she had made a point of telling him where she could be found. At that point the telephone rang and it was Roger on the line. They chatted for a few moments.

‘Didn’t want anything in particular’ she remarked. ‘That’s another thing about him. When we’re separated for any reason, he always phones me up at least twice a day. And he does everything to talk me out of tours, which mean my going away’.

If there is one thing about him that she has held against him, it’s his amazingly good looks.

‘He has always looked so much younger than his real age!’ she exclaimed.’ Now, thank goodness he is beginning to look a bit older. There are a few lines appearing on his face. But even so I don’t think he looks over thirty, do you?’

I asked her, frankly, if she thought it was a good thing for a wife to be older than her husband.

‘The last time I was in Hollywood, I was talking to a psychiatrist who remarked that the most successful marriages in Hollywood were those in which the wife was the elder- Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers, Rosalind Russell and Freddie Brisson, for instance. A lot more too’.

‘But so much depends on the people concerned. It’s not only that the wife should have a young outlook. The man has got to be mentally matured.

Roger has always, ever since he was a young boy, like mixing with people older than himself. He was always mentally in advance of his own age. And he’s always been a home lover, not a gadabout’.

She and Roger met for the first time just six years ago, when Dorothy flung a party for her recording manager. Her sister asked if she could bring along a young man she had met recently, his name was Roger Moore.

Dorothy grinned. ‘To be absolutely truthful, I thought he was a bit of a bore! Strange how you can get the wrong impression of a person the first time isn’t it? Yet it’s this very quietness of his that has since appealed to me so much’.

‘It just so happened that we kept running into each other after that. I went along to the Palladium, and there he was with a bunch of my friends. Then we met again when I went along to the London Casino’.

‘He sent me a bottle of perfume for my birthday (and it broke in my case soon afterwards, making an awful mess of everything!). And before we knew it, were in love. Just like that!’

‘With every year that passes, the difference in age becomes less and less important. When you’re 15, a fellow of 19 seems very old. When you’re 70, there’s not much difference if the man is ten years younger or ten years older’.

Dorothy and Roger have overcome all their first hurdles. They have confounded their critics. They have both found a deep, solid happiness and a perfect understanding.

James Bond was my child’s nanny

Obituary – Ronnie Bridges

An article that appeared in TV Mirror on March 29th 1958

The Marriage They Said Couldn’t Last

An article that appeared in TV Mirror on March 29^th 1958