Vicki Wickham Awarded OBE - Noise11.com
Vicki Wickham

Vicki Wickham

Vicki Wickham Awarded OBE

by Paul Cashmere on June 16, 2013

in News

Music industry legend Vicki Wickham has been awarded the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in the UK.

Vicki was the producer of Ready Steady Go!, the iconic British music television show which created the media platform in the 60s for acts like The Beatles and Rolling Stones to perform on British television.

Ms Wickham managed the career of Dusty Springfield and later Labelle.

Dusty had a string of hits in the 60s including ‘I Only Want To Be With You’, ‘Stay Awhile’, ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’, ‘Goin’ Back’ and the classic ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’.

Together with her friend Simon Napier-Bell, who managed The Yardbirds at the time, they took the Italian song ‘Lo Che Non Vivo (Zenza Te) and wrote the English lyric to what became Springfield’s first number one hit ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’.

The song reached no. 1 in the UK, no. 2 in Australia and no. 4 in the USA. Four years later, in 1970, Elvis Presley covered it and a hit all over again.

Vicki is overjoyed by the honor. “O.B.E., it really is HUGE for me – something that I have never thought about, didn’t enter my world remotely and still doesn’t! It’s a bit like when I was a kid tipping Cornflakes out of the box to get to the toy that was at the bottom,” she said upon hearing the news.

She said her mother would love to have seen her achievement but she has long-term partner, soul star Nona Hendryx to share the moment with. “(It’s) Incredible, mostly ‘cos my Mum would have been so thrilled and already bought a new hat to come ‘and get it’ with me! (But Nona will keep up our side!) I feel somewhere between astounded, astonished, excited (‘cos we get to see inside the Palace) and not at all sure ‘why me’ …. thanks to everyone who helped make this happen”.

Vicki says she still has one more thing to aim for but maybe not in this life. “I’ll go for “Dame” in my next life,” she says.

Congrats to our good friend Vicki Wickham, O.B.E. on her award today.

Related Posts

The Springfields
Tom Springfield Dies At Age 88

Songwriter Tom Springfield, the brother of Dusty Springfield and writer of many of The Seekers hits, has died at age 88.

August 21, 2022
Dusty
The Production Company To Revive Dusty For 2016 Season

The Production Company line-up for 2016 has been revealed with a revival of the Dusty Springfield bio-musical ‘Dusty’ making its long overdue return.

March 8, 2016
Lulu
Lulu To Play First Headline Show In London In A Decade

Singer Lulu will play her first headline show in London in almost ten years on October 4 when she appears at Under the Bridge.

June 25, 2013
Burt Bacharach Anyone Who Had A Heart
Burt Bacharach Releases Six CD Career-Spanning Set

Few songwriters have had the success that Burt Bacharach has had over the last 50 years. Along with songwriting partner Hal David, their music has scaled the pop, rock, R&B and country charts with music that has become a major part of the rock era songbook.

May 9, 2013
The Bobby Darin Show
The Bobby Darin Show Heads To DVD

The Bobby Darin Show, which ran on NBC in 1972 and 1973, is headed to home video via MPI according to TV Shows on DVD.

January 16, 2013
Big Jim Sullivan
Legendary Session Guitarist Big Jim Sullivan Passes Away At 71

Big Jim Sullivan, one of the most prolific studio guitar players in British music history, passed away on Tuesday (2nd October) in his West Sussex home at the age of 71.

October 8, 2012