St. Winifred’s School Choir were a successful UK performing group, from St Winifred’s Roman Catholic Primary School. The school is located in Stockport, England. They ran from 1972 – 2009.
They are known for being part of two #1 hits on the UK singles chart. In 1977 they performed prominent backing vocals on Brian and Michael’s Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs (Lowry’s Song). In 1980 they’d have their own, with There’s No One Quite Like Grandma – which replaced (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon at the top placement.
The group continued recording, but mostly for keepsakes rather than wide releases. They have a few albums of popular cover songs arranged for the children’s voices.
Some of those involved have gone on to wider acclaim, such as actresses Sally Lindsay and Jennifer Hennessy who were part of the choir. The writer of There’s No One Quite Like Grandma, Gordon Lorenz became a popular music producer, working with artists such as Shirley Bassey. The track’s soloist Dawn Ralph took part in various theatre roles.
In November 2009, 14 of the original members got together to re-record There’s No One Quite Like Grandma, to raise money for Age Concern in the UK.
