Billie Davis

Carol Hedges (born 22 December 1945), known professionally as Billie Davis, is an English singer who had hits in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, "Tell Him" and "I Want You to Be My Baby" (1968).

Early career She was born in Woking, Surrey, England. In her teens, Hedges was an engineering secretary before she started her recording career.

After winning a talent contest in which she was backed by Cliff Bennett's band, the Rebel Rousers, she cut some early demo records with the Tornados for record producer Joe Meek. However, her first commercial success, under Stigwood's guidance, was "Will I What", released in August 1962, on which she performed as a foil to Mike Sarne, rather as Wendy Richard had done on Sarne's chart-topping disc, "Come Outside". This reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1962.

In February 1963 Davis had her biggest success with a cover version of The Exciters' "Tell Him". Written by Bert Russell (also known as Bert Berns), this song was covered in the sixties by a number of artists, including Helen Shapiro and Alma Cogan, and was successfully revived in the late 1990s by Vonda Shepard, for the American Fox television program, Ally McBeal. Davis' recording reached number ten in the UK chart, and was followed by "He's The One", which crept into the Top 40 in May 1963.

Setback In 1963, the year in which popular music was transformed by the rise of The Beatles, Davis left Decca records owing to financial disagreements. In September of that year she suffered a broken jaw when a chauffeur-driven limousine in which she and Jet Harris, former bass guitarist of the Shadows, were returning from a concert in Worcester, crashed in the West Midlands. Harris received head injuries that seriously affected his already troubled career. The reporting in the press of a relationship with Harris (24 at the time), an unhappily married man, earned Davis, still only 17, some unwelcome publicity at a difficult time and may have been one of the factors which held back her career. In an interview included in the liner notes of the 2007 compilation CD Whatcha Gonna Do? (RPM 326), Davis acknowledged the scandal, but also placed blame for the "lost momentum" on being unable to record for four months due to having her jaw wired shut after the accident.

Style Davis was an early proponent of many of the fashion styles for which the 1960s are remembered: bobbed hair, long boots of the kind popularised by Honor Blackman in early episodes of The Avengers, and leather mini-skirts. She was said to have beaten the latter for "percussive effect" when recording. The biographer of the "supergroup" Cream described her as "astonishingly photogenic".

Davis left Decca in April 1971 after a stay of eight years. She continued to record into the 1980s and was popular, in particular, with audiences in the Spanish-speaking world. Her cover of Burt Bacharach's "The Last One to Be Loved" appeared on the compilation album Trains & Boats & Covers (1999).

In 2006, she was re-united with Jet Harris for a series for concerts.

In 2007, RPM Records released Whatcha Gonna Do? Singles, Rarities and Unreleased 1963-1966, compiling Davis's releases between her two tenures with Decca, as well as "What I Will", and five unreleased tracks.

In 2024, Cherry Red Records released Do The Strum! Joe Meek's Girl Groups And Pop Chanteuses (1960-1966), which included five tracks performed by Davis, amongst its three CDs.

Personal life

Davis has lived in North London for most of her life and career. She had two children: her son, born in 1972, was a DJ, but died in 2014. Her daughter, born 1982, is an artist, designer and milliner.

Discography Albums Billie Davis (Decca, 1970) Tell Him - The Decca Years compilation (Universal, 2005) Whatcha Gonna Do? Singles, Rarities and Unreleased 1963-1966 compilation (RPM Records, 2007)

UK singles "Will I What" (as 'Mike Sarne featuring Billie Davis') b/w "Bird, You Know I Love Ya" (Mike Sarne only) – August 1962 – Parlophone R4932 UK No. 18