British easy listening singer Vince Hill, a UK chart regular in the 1960s and hugely popular entertainer on television and on stage for decades, died yesterday (22) at the age of 89. He had eight Top 10 hits and is best remembered for his version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune “Edelweiss,” which reached No.2 in 1967.
A post on Hill’s social media announced: “Sadly we have to share news none of us want to hear. We’re very sorry to have to tell you Vince has left us. He passed peacefully at home. Vince created a musical legacy…his tunes will remain forever in our hearts. Here’s to you V…you bloody legend”. Veteran BBC broadcaster Tony Blackburn added: “So sorry to hear that singer Vince Hill passed away yesterday. We were in the same agency in the 60’s and he was a very nice guy. He had a great voice and his version of ‘Edelweiss’ in 1967 was a big hit. R.I.P Vince.”
Hill was born in the Holbrooks area of Coventry in the West Midlands and began to sing in public as a teenager, turning professional after a number of day jobs. After a spell with vocal group the Raindrops, he went solo and had his first, minor UK chart entry with “The River’s Run Dry,” on the Piccadilly label, in 1962. Three years later, a new deal on EMI’s Columbia level improved his fortunes and led to his first Top 20 hit, “Take Me To Your Heart Again,” in early 1966.
“Edelweiss” was held off No.1 only ‘Release Me,” by another staple of Britain’s light entertainment scene, Engelbert Humperdinck. Hill went on to further Top 20 successes with the follow-up, a version of the World War I favorite “Roses of Picardy,” and with 1971’s “Look Around.”
His place in the top division of vocal entertainers was emphasized by headline spots at the London Palladium and the Talk of the Town, and later when he was the subject of radio’s Desert Island Discs and TV’s This Is Your Life. Hill continued with a busy live schedule, overcoming a number of family tragedies and health issues. Macular degeneration eventually forced him into a reluctant retirement.