Global Singer Linda Has Her New Album On Sale In Shrewsbury
An international singing star says she is “over the moon” that her latest album is on sale at her local HMV music store.
Since she was in her early teens, velvet-voiced Linda Angelis has performed around the world and with some of the biggest names in British show business, including Des O’Connor, Ken Dodd and the late Tommy Cooper.
But Shropshire-based Linda, who writes and performs her own songs and has her records played on radio stations across the globe, says she couldn’t be happier that her latest CD with its strong jazz undertones has just gone on sale at the HMV store just down the road from her in the Pride Hill Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury.
At the age of 49, Linda, from Telford, has had a glittering and varied showbiz career which began soon after she completed her formal training at the Royal Northern College of Music in her home town of Manchester.
She said: “From my early teens I was working as a professional entertainer, starting in the big variety shows of the northern club circuit.
“What helped me along was that I also had specialist singing training from jazz great Sir John Dankworth and his wife Cleo Lane.
“In the clubs I was working with all the big stars such as Des O’Connor, Dick Emery, Tommy Cooper and Ken Dodd.
“I’ve been on tours singing for British troops stationed around the world from Belfast to Belize as part of the Combined Service Entertainments programme.
“One of the gigs I did at that time was the party given for Prince Charles at Rosyth in Scotland when he left the Royal Navy in 1977.”
Kris Townsend, Manager of HMV in the Pride Hill Shopping Centre, said: “Linda came in to see me and asked if we could stock her new CD.
“Linda is clearly very talented and we are all about supporting music and musicians so we made the necessary arrangements and it’s there on our shelves and I hope it does really well.
“If someone has a CD then basically we can stock whatever we like and it’s great to see local artists there alongside the big names and Linda’s CD is definitely worth a listen.”
Of all the big names she has worked with Linda, who also plays jazz trumpet and the ukulele, rates iconic Liverpool comedian Ken Dodd as the most outstanding.
She said: “He’s a fantastic performer and the most wonderful person. He gives out natural medicine to make people feel better with the way he makes them laugh.
“He also encouraged me to play the ukulele whenever I was on the same bill as him.”
After the big clubs began to die out in the 1980s Linda turned her attention to penning her own songs and performing them at home and abroad.
Over the years she has had a number of recording deals, including one with the Black Hawk label, founded by movie idol Clint Eastwood, after she was discovered by a local radio station singing at Monterrey in California.
When she is not recording or performing, Linda also keeps herself busy by giving musical training to people of all ages at the custom-built studios she has had built at her home.
Her latest CD, entitled Everlasting Circles, features a host of her own songs and a few covers of memorable numbers such as Oh Lori.
Again with a strong jazz influence, it has been masterminded by producer Andy Whitmore who has 30 hit albums to his credit, including offerings from Dannii Minogue and Seal.
Linda said: “My album is now on sale at HMV in Pride Hill listed under jazz/pop and I am over the moon that the store has stayed open and the jobs there have been saved.
“I may have performed all over the world but I am still very much locally based and I really appreciate the fact that HMV is supporting local artistes in this way.
“I often feel that I’ve got music in my soul and it is certainly my life.
“I believe that if everyone learned to sing or play an instrument we’d all be living much greater harmony than we are at the moment.”
Linda will also be appearing at a concert to showcase her music in St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, on April 16, when she will be accompanied by pianist Steve Plews from Manchester who played on her first album, Lady of Light.