BOOK: Dame Vera Lynn - Some Sunny Day
AMONGST the acres of newsprint devoted to reminding us that Dame Vera Lynn is the forces sweetheart her genuine record selling and live performance success tends to be overlooked.
So it is good to be reminded in her autobiography, called Some Sunny Day, that she was a talented hit-making and concert-performing singer in her own right for decades.
In her own laid-back style she mentions almost in passing that her sentimental recording Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart became the first British record to top the hit parade at the same time in Britain and
the USA.
And she adds almost as an aside: "As a matter of fact, I was the first British popular singer to make it all the way to the top of those great long charts they publish in trade magazines like Variety and Billboard."
In short she was genuine star even without her stamina-sapping concerts in dangerous theatres of war that made her indelibly famous for two other reasons- compassion and courage.
The book faithfully records her path through local clubs, radio, stage and television shows both here and in the USA, and appearances in the Royal Variety Show.
There is also a strong sense of a shrewd young woman who knew her own worth in terms of her voice and what it could achieve for her, even down to the style of songs she preferred to sing.
Although always focused she never allowed the tough nature of the business she was in- she was once shamefully rejected by the BBC- to allow her to become hard-boiled.
The world almost lost Vera before her life had begun in full. Not yet two, she survived a life-threatening bout of diphtheric croup, showing the sort of toughness that stood her in good stead when she endured the privations of trips to war zones such as Burma that won her the indelible tag of forces sweetheart.
The young long-legged and attractive Vera was someone else's sweetheart. She married talented musician Harry Lewis, who became not only her soulmate but a shrewd and determined manager, smoothing out the snags and traps of promoters and concert halls.
Her mother was clearly driven to see her succeed but Dame Vera loyally steers clear of the word "pushy" limiting herself to comments like: "After I started singing in public at the age of seven, my childhood changed. I tended to be working when most little girls were simply enjoying themselves."
Anyone who has met Dame Vera professionally or socially will find her direct and down to earth; a woman grateful for the success and fame life offered her but content that she worked hard for it.
In a world of muck-raking Some Sunny Day is a sensation-free zone of honesty that sums up Dame Vera's approach to life perfectly.
Published by HarperCollins 18.99 (hbk).
Dame Vera Lynn will be signing copies of her autobiography at Waterstones in Brighton on Friday 28th August, 12.30pm.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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