Earlier this year, Cherry Red's El imprint paid tribute to one of the most unusual girl groups to come out of Great Britain.  The Vernons Girls collects the lone album from the 16-strong female choir as well as additional sides from one of the Girls, Lyn Cornell.

The Vernons Girls were formed at the Vernons Football Pools company in Liverpool, England.  The company initially sponsored the singing group, which initially numbered 70 - all drawn from the women who worked at Vernons to check the consumers' betting coupons.  The formation of the singing group had a negative effect for Vernons, however; it seems that young women were applying to work for the company simply in the hopes of breaking into show business!  The Vernons Girls were whittled down to 16 when impresario Jack Good enlisted them to perform on his BBC Saturday evening television show Six-Five Special in 1957. When Good moved to rival ITV to launch Oh Boy! in 1958, he took the Vernons with him.

Performing alongside the hitmaking likes of Billy Fury, Alma Cogan, Cliff Richard, and future film maestro John Barry, The Vernons Girls maintained their popularity.  They moved onto Boy Meets Girls, opposite Marty Wilde, in fall 1959, by which time they had already recorded a debut album.  They were accompanied by the Peter Knight Orchestra for a self-titled album on the Parlophone label; that LP forms the centerpiece of El's CD release.  The Vernons Girls was a collection of lushly-arranged standards performed by the full choir including "The Song is You," "Over the Rainbow," and "The Boy Next Door."  All sixteen girls were pictured on the front cover.  Eventually the group shrunk down to a trio format (consisting of Maureen Kennedy, Jean Owen, and Frances Lee), more in line with what was expected of a pop group.  This iteration of the group went on to record for Decca beginning in 1962.  Meanwhile, many other members pursued solo careers and remained in the music business, including Lyn Cornell.

Jack Good had predicted solo stardom for Cornell in 1960, and she would record not only with Good, but with noted musical directors of the era including Johnnie Spence, Charles Blackwell, and Ian Fraser.  Thirteen of her own recordings are featured on this collection, including her top 30 hit version of "Never on Sunday," future Hair composer Galt MacDermot's "The African Waltz," and a both sides of a Christmas single.  The Vernons Girls had a number of connections with The Beatles, including many dates sharing a bill and an appearance on the 1964 television special Around the Beatles.  Lyn Cornell was part of the group The Carefrees, whose "We Love You Beatles" (based on "We Love You Conrad" from the musical Bye Bye Birdie) became a U.S. top 40 hit at the height of Beatlemania.  In 1962, Cornell married Andy White - who (very!) briefly replaced Ringo Starr at the drum kit.

El's collection is rounded out with a single in which the "Voices of Vernons" (including the Girls, seemingly as part of a mixed male/female chorus) backed Irish personality Eamonn Andrews' spoken word stylings.  This wasn't their only appearance on background vocals; they also lent their voices to hits like Billy Fury's "Maybe Tomorrow."

The Vernons Girls' story is a fascinating one, the early part of which is chronicled on El's CD, which has been released in accordance with current U.K. public domain laws.  The booklet contains an informative essay about the group's history, but no annotations as to the original appearances of each track (originally recorded between 1958 and 1962).  You can check out the track listing and order links below!

The Vernons Girls/Lyn Cornell (Cherry Red/El ACMEM334CD, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

The Vernons Girls:

1. White Bucks and Saddle Shoes
2. Lost and Found
3. Ten Little Lonely Boys
4. Anniversary Song
5. The Song is You
6. Rain on the Roof
7. I've Told Every Little Star
8. Over the Rainbow
9. Come Dance with Me
10. We'll Gather Lilacs in the Spring
11. Sing for Your Supper
12. Lonely Ballerina
13. The Cuckoo in the Clock
14. The Boy Next Door
15. Dancing on the Ceiling
16. Song of Songs

Eamonn Andrews with the Voices of Vernons:

17. The Legend of Wyatt Earp
18. High Wind

Lyn Cornell:

19. Never on Sunday
20. Swain Kelly
21. Demon Lover
22. Like Love
23. The Angel and the Stranger
24. Xmas Stocking
25. The Sweet Life
26. When is Someday
27. African Waltz
28. Moanin'
29. I Sold My Heart to the Junkman
30. Step Up and Rescue Me
31. Adios, My Love (The Song of Athens)