Ray Martin [disc]
Billy Mayerl
George Melachrino
Mitch Miller
Angela Morley
Norrie Paramor [disc]
Cyril Ornadel
Tony Osborne
Donald Phillips
Franck Pourcel
Clive Richardson
Roger Roger
David Rose
Edmundo Ros
Raymond Scott

 Born 19 January 1928, Romford, Essex, England. A popular singer in the UK during the 50s and early 60s, with a particularly glamorous image, it was after working at various jobs, including one as a photographer's re-toucher, that Regan first made an impression on the music scene in 19.53. Her private recordings of 'Too Young' and 'I'll Walk Alone' gained her a contract with Decca Records, partly because she was thought to have a 'Vera Lynn sound'. Her first releases, "Till I Waltz Again With You' and 'I'll Always Be Thinking Of You', were followed by 'Ricochet', on which she was backed by Ronnie Aldrich's Squadronaires. It made the UK Top 10, and led to the nationwide fame she achieved when she became the resident singer on producer Richard Afton's television series Quite Contrary, followed later by four series of her own Be My Guest programmes. After being knocked out by a descending safety curtain during her first appearance in variety, she developed her act to include effective impressions of artists such as Gracie Fields, Judy Garland, and actress Anna Neagle, to whom Regan bore a remarkable facial resemblance. During the late 50s and early 60s, Regan appeared in several shows at the London Palladium, including We're Having A Ball with Max Bygraves; Stars In Your Eyes with Russ Conway, Cliff Richard, Edmund Hockridge and Billy Dainty; in pantomime with Frankie Vaughan and Jimmy Edwards; and several Royal Command Performances. Her other record hits, through to 1961, included 'Someone Else's Roses', 'If I Give My Heart To You', 'Prize Of Gold', 'Open Up Your Heart', 'May You Always', 'Happy Anniversary', 'Papa Loves Mama', 'One Of The Lucky Ones', 'Must Be Santa' and 'Wait For Me' (with the Johnston Brothers) She also recorded several duets, such as 'Seven And A Half Cents'"Good Evening Friends' with Max Bygraves, 'Cleo And Me-O' with Dickie Valentine, and 'Open Up Your Heart' with her son, Rusty. In July 1957 Regan married Harry C1aff the joint general manager and box office manager of the London Palladium. In November, the Daily Herald reported that she was to have a baby in February of the following year - seven months after the wedding. After receiving 'abusive and wounding letters from people who were personally unknown to her', Regan successfully sued the newspaper for libel, and her daughter was born in April. In 1963, she was involved in a far more serious court case, when her husband was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for 'frauds on his employers involving £62,000'. Regan, who had known nothing about the deceptions, suffered a nervous breakdown, and divorced him later on the grounds of adultery. She resumed work later, and in 1968 married a doctor, Martin Cowan, eventually settling in Florida, USA. In 1984 she slipped in the shower, hit her head on the tiles, and suffered a brain haemorrhage. After an emergency operation she was left paralyzed and speechless. Her recovery, which entailed much physical and speech therapy, was aided by her miming to her old records. In 1987, some of those tracks, together with others by various 'Stars Of The Fifties', including Dickie Valentine, Lita Roza and Jimmy Young, were issued on the double album Unchained Melodies. In the same year, while on holiday in the UK, Regan was invited by her old accompanist, Russ Conway, to sing on stage again. Such was the response, that she has become a familiar figure in UK shows in the 90s.