Beryl Bryden

Beryl Audrey Bryden (11 May 1920 – 14 July 1998) was an English jazz singer, who played with Chris Barber and Lonnie Donegan. Ella Fitzgerald once said of Bryden that she was "Britain's queen of the blues".

Life and career Beryl Audrey Bryden was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, on 11 May 1920, and was the only child of Amos and Elsie Bryden. Her enthusiasm for jazz music began during her teenage years. She became a member of the National Rhythm Club when she was 17 and became secretary of the local branch in 1941. An ardent jazz fan she established a Nat Gonella fan club in her teens, before taking up the washboard and singing. Her vocal style was influenced by Bessie Smith but she avoided affectation of an American accent. Bryden was a friend of Black Anna Hannant who ran the Jolly Butchers pub in Ber Street, Norwich.

In 1942 at the age of 22, she moved to Cambridge. In 1945, after the war had ended, she moved to back to London, hoping to start a music career. and later worked with Mike Daniels. At the same club in 1952 she met the French clarinettist Maxime Saury and sang with his band at The Club Du Vieux Colombier, District of Saint Germain Des Pres, Paris.

In 1955 she joined the Chris Barber band on washboard, and played on the group's gold disc, "Rock Island Line" with Lonnie Donegan on vocals.

Bryden, and her Norwich roots, are celebrated in the theatre show, Norwich A Love Story, by theatre maker and poet John Osborne.

Personal life and death Bryden was a keen traveller. She was renowned for her flamboyant gowns and sculptured blonde wigs. She travelled widely and practised her hobbies of photography and deep-sea diving. She lived for many years at 166, Gloucester Terrace, Paddington in London.

She died from Lymphoma, aged 78, at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, on 14 July 1998.

Discography Two Moods of Beryl Bryden (Audiophile, 1994)