More than just a Postman

In the last 24 hours my news feeds and social media have all been reporting "voice of Postman Pat dies" to mark the passing of singer Ken Barrie. But, as his daughter Lorraine Peterson told the PA "his legacy is not so much Postman Pat – he did a lot more and he loved singing after starting in the late 1950s".

Ken had been one of the singers working for Woolworth's own record label Embassy Records providing cover versions of popular hits under the pseudonym Les Carle. He was also a backing singer, advertising jingle singer and voiceover artist. During the 60s and 70s he could be heard on various Light Programme/Radio 2 shows such as Non Stop Pop and Sing It Again as well as performing as 'Ken Barrie and the Barrietones'. For many years Ken was one of the Cliff Adams Singers - remember Sing Something Simple? - and the Neil Richardson Choir.

This is a rare recording of Ken singing solo under his own name backed by the BBC Radio Orchestra conducted by Neil Richardson. I can't exactly date this recording of String Sound, introduced by Sarah Kennedy, which was kindly given to me by Paul Langford but Ken is singing Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You and Blues in the Night.

Ken Barrie 1933-2016