THE SONG THAT LAUNCHED A SINGING CAREER

Julie Rogers was born on April 6 1943 not too far away from Essex, but on the south side of the River Thames at Bermondsey where she attended the Oliver Goldsmith Primary School. However she didn't remain in London's East End. She moved to Kingsbury in north west London where she received most of her education.

Julie learned the piano at an early age and also started singing. She entered talent competition and came to the attention of the former trumpeter and musical director Teddy Foster. He would become her long term manager, mentor and companion, but first they became a double act, after she sang for his orchestra for two seasons at Butlins holiday camp at Filey.

Following that great success, she toured American army bases in Europe as a double act with Teddy, along with Luis Prima and Keely Smith.

After a year and a half, it was suggested Julie go solo, and she met up with Johnny Franz at Philips Records. He signed her up almost immediately and in April 1964 she entered a five year contract.

Her first release It's Magic didn't do much chartwise, but it did get her recognized on radio and tv. The record that followed made her.
'The Wedding' guaranteed her an audience for life. It sold sold massively, rapidly passing a million copies. Although it did not quite reach the top in the UK, peaking at Number Three, it was the year's fourth best selling single in the UK. It also proved popular world wide gaining high chart positions in very many countries including Number 10 in the USA.

You by my side, that's how I see us,
I close my eyes, and I can see us,
Were on our way to say I do
My secret dreams have all come true.
I see the church, I see the people,
Your folks and mine happy and smiling,
And I can hear sweet voices singing, Ave Maria.
Oh my love, my love this can really be
That someday I'd walk down the aisle with thee,
Let it be, make it be that I'm the one for you,
I'll be yours, all yours, now and forever.
I see us now, your hand in my hand,
This is the hour, this is the moment,
And I can hear sweet voices singing, Ave Maria,
Ave Maria, Ave Maria, Ave Mari-i-a.

The huge success of the song led immediately to appearances on every major TV show - on 'Sunday Night At The Palladium' with Tom Jones and Roy Orbison.

That style of variety show was something that Julie did so well, that the BBC hired her to present music shows and she appeared regularly on screen for the next twenty years. She also became a leading cabaret act, appearing eleven times at The Talk Of The Town in London. She also appeared at the Savoy, The Green Room and at the Pizza On The Park.

Julie Rogers is no stranger to Royal appearances. She's performed for many members of the Royal Family and several times at Buckingham Palace.

And it's not just in Britain that Julie Rogers has been a regular performer. She's appeared at top nightspots around the world, including then famous Sporting Club in Monte Carlo where she appeared on the same bill as Frank Sinatra and Shirley Bassey.
Julie Rogers has also sung on the world's great liners - the QE2, the Canberra and the Sea Goddess.

For her many years of performances, Julie was made a Freeman of the City of London for all her charity work with the Variety Club of Great Britain, the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, the Stars Organisation for Spastics and many others.

But did she have another chart hit following The Wedding ? Well none as big as that first smash. She had two other singles which made the UK Top Forty. The follow up to The Wedding was Like A Child, which charted in December 1964 and made No.20. The following March she made No.31 with the Hawaiian Wedding Song.