In 1957, the actress and vocalist from Hull performed at the Eurovision Song Contest at the age of 22. Patricia Bredin was chosen after being discovered in London’s Savoy. She also appeared alongside Ian Carmichael and Sid James in a number of films.
Ms. Bredin, who married Canadian magnate Charles MacCulloch and relocated to Nova Scotia, died on Sunday, according to her family.
She told the BBC in 2016:
“Singing in the final in Frankfurt, Germany, with a 60-piece orchestra, was like floating on clouds.”
Patricia Bredin began her vocal career as a member of the Hull Operatic Society, performing at City Hall and other venues.
Following a brief encounter with BBC executives, who asked her, “Would you like to be on television? “, she received the Eurovision opportunity.
At the time, only ten countries entered the competition, and the unidentified Ms. Bredin placed seventh with her All Love song.
The song was less than two minutes long, and although her performance was broadcast on television, the public was unable to submit it to the charts because it was never recorded.
Reflecting on her Eurovision performance in a BBC interview, she stated,
“Two songs had been selected, and each one had to be sung by two different performers, but there was a problem because nobody wanted to sing that awful song called All.”
Despite the setback, Ms. Bredin pursued a lengthy career on stage and screen before retiring on a farm in Canada.
Patricia Bredin starred alongside Sid James in the film Desert Mice and Ian Carmichael and Alastair Sim in the film Left Right and Centre.
Ms. Bredin became a fixture in West End and Broadway musicals, once taking over a role originated by Julie Andrews.
Prior to their divorce, she was married to Welsh performer and actor Ivor Emmanuel. She met Mr. MacCulloch while she was singing on the QE2 liner. The couple wed and settled on a farm in Nova Scotia.
She remained in Canada raising cattle after she was bereaved shortly after the nuptials.
David Reeves’s analysis for BBC Radio Humberside
Meeting Patricia Bredin was both exciting and nerve-wracking.
“I had exhaustively investigated her life and career in the days leading up to our first meeting at her residence in Nova Scotia eight years ago.
I should not have been anxious. Within five minutes of Patricia’s entrance, the champagne was already being poured due to her immediate tenderness and affability.”
Patricia, a person with a large, vibrant personality, recounted tales from a career spanning decades.
Patricia Bredin had worked with Roger Moore on Ivanhoe in the late 1950s and had lunch with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in London after representing the United Kingdom at Eurovision for the very first time.
In addition to her extraordinary voice, she was also a generous person. She raised money for her community by screening her old films at charity events.
In her words,
“I had a wonderful career and thoroughly enjoyed it, but now it’s time to move on.”
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