Description
The Vernons Girls were originally a choir that were formed as part of the social activities of the Liverpool-based Vernon's football Pools company. The company saw it as a unique form of promotion and initially sponsored the project. At first, the singers were drawn exclusively from the staff of young women who checked the public's pools coupons. In the event, demand for the girls to give public performances grew far beyond expectation. •The Vernons Girls turning point came when the influential television, theatre and record producer Jack Good decided that they were what he needed for his seminal BBC TV Saturday evening rock and roll show, Six-Five Special. The girls, which at this point numbered 16, were a breath of fresh air and as their popularity increased they followed Good across to Independent television for Oh Boy! and Boy Meets Girl. The Vernons Girls began also to be in demand as backing singers. The Eamonn Andrews 78 featured here being an example of their contribution in a session context. •Their own earliest recordings, including the Peter Knight produced debut album which is the centrepiece of this edition, were made by the full troupe for George Martin's Parlophone in 1958 though going into the 1960's the unit downscaled and then further still to a three-piece when they signed to Decca in 1962.