Mary Hopkin

Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be signed to the Beatles' Apple label.
Hopkin was born into a Welsh-speaking family in Pontardawe, Wales. She took weekly singing lessons as a child and began her musical career as a folk singer with a local group called the Selby Set and Mary. She released an EP of Welsh-language songs for a local record label called Cambrian, based in her hometown, before signing to Apple Records, owned by the Beatles, one of the first artists to do so. The model Twiggy saw her winning the ITV television talent show Opportunity Knocks and recommended her to Paul McCartney.
Her debut single, "Those Were the Days", produced by McCartney, was released in the UK on 30 August 1968. Despite competition from well-established star Sandie Shaw, whose own single version of the song was also released that year, Hopkin's version became a number 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart. It reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, where for three weeks it was held out of the top spot by the Beatles' "Hey Jude", and spent two weeks at number 1 on Canada's RPM singles chart. It sold over 1,500,000 copies in the United States alone, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Global sales topped 8,000,000.
(Read more at Wikipedia)
==Links to Peel==
thumb|220x220px
Peel had an early play for Mary Hopkin's "Those Were The Days", on his 25 August 1968 show, probably because it was one of the first releases on the Beatles' Apple label (others were by the band themselves, Jackie Lomax and the Black Dyke Mills Band). JP was present at the "Pop Experience" festival at St Paul's Cathedral in October of that year, where she performed several songs. 
On his 22 January 1969 programme, Peel played Alexander Vertinsky's 'By The Long Road' (English translation), whose melody was used by the composers of 'Those Were The Days'. During that year at the Melody Maker Pop Star Awards, where Peel was present, he is shown at the British Pathe: Pop Star Awards, giving second place prize for the "top girl singer" award. 
After that, she recorded an album produced by Paul McCartney and featuring three Donovan songs, had further hit singles and represented Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1970. She also collaborated with many artists Peel admired, mostly via her husband Tony Visconti, producer of, among others, T. Rex and David Bowie. She even sang in the chorus on the Radha Krsna Temple's single "Govinda", as well as backing vocals on Bowie's "Sound And Vision". But Mary Hopkin never became a Peel favourite, with only one play of a track by her showing in currently available playlists.
==Shows Played==
;1968 
*25 August 1968: Those Were The Days (7") Apple
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists