At 16, Sandie Shaw is “discovered” by singer Adam Faith at a concert in which they both perform. At the time she is working at Ford, Dagenham. While waiting to record, she is also working as a photographic fashion model. At 17, she begins her career as an international singing and recording star, soon enjoying her first worldwide No1, “Always Something There To Remind Me”. By the end of the decade, she has notched up over 20 Top Forty hits in the UK alone, including more number ones than any other female British artist, and captured the imagination of an entire generation globally. These records, all self-produced, perfectly distil the essence of that generation. All performed barefoot!

Sandie has more hits and another worldwide No 1, “Long Live Love”. Finding she has a natural linguistic skill, she starts recording and performing internationally in French, German, Italian, Spanish and other languages, with hit songs like “Pourvu Que Ça Dure”, “E Ti Avro”, “Viva L’Amore Con Te”, “Viva El Amor”, “Baby Ich Liebe Dich So”, “Und So Vast Nenst Du Nun Liebe”, “Mañana”, “Toujours Un Coin Qui Me Rappelle” and “No Vendra”, plus numerous albums in various languages and in territories worldwide.

She begins her regular Europe-wide visits for TV appearances, press, recording and concerts. Franco always insists that his children and grandchildren have seats whenever she performs in Spain. In Paris she storms the audience at the prestigious L’Olympia theatre and steals the headlines. 

Johnny Hallyday, the “French Elvis”, takes her under his wing, and she joins him on tour across France. Germany calls out brass bands to greet her as she descends from the plane. In Italy they are entranced by la cantata scalza, and she loves being there, as the only British artist the Italians have taken to their hearts. And so on across Spain, Portugal, Germany, Scandinavia – all Europe and beyond to the world.

Sandie is now the face and voice of the Swinging Sixties everywhere: the epitome of how her generation wants to look, sound and be. She engages on a triumphant cross-generational, cross-cultural exchange around Europe and the world, touring, promoting and absorbing cultural influences – an exercise in British ‘soft power’. She continues to enjoy massive international and national news coverage, as well as television performances and documentaries of her work and life, like no other British female artist before or since – and all this without a publicist!

 

From the start, her recordings are financed and produced by income from her first hit. She styles her own clothes and hair and designs her own record covers and photo shoots, while her manager books and promotes her shows. The press needs no encouragement; they follow her everywhere. For a recording artist – especially a girl – to be so much in control of her own work is unprecedented. All her record company does is manufacture and distribute the records to the shops. And she is still only a teenager. 

A five-year sabbatical where, away from the public eye, she enters a period of intense creative output, which is even more stunning as it is achieved in a time of immense personal turmoil.

Sandie sets up Tatham Music, a song-publishing company that is also a music house for musicians and writers and a recording session booking agency, based in central London. She begins honing her song-writing skills with Herbie Flowers and Roger Cook from Blue Mink.

She writes the book for a fantasy musical and then composes the accompanying music with Roger and Herbie. She also embarks on a collaborative partnership with the acclaimed Russian Parisian artist and designer, Erté, creating with him the costumes and characters for the musical.

Sandie pursues her love of writing and painting kids’ books.

She tries her hand at theatre acting, in the role of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, then in a much more demanding role as Bernard Shaw’s St Joan.  

She continues to work on her musical production and opens discussions about a film of the musical with Italian director Fellini. But by this point her husband Jeff’s financial mismanagement of his own business has suddenly led to the loss of all of Sandie’s earlier fortune, and she embarks on soulless tours to help pay back his debts. 

They end up homeless, living in a caravan parked in a field in Ireland, with Grace and Jeff’s mum (to look after Grace, as Sandie and Jeff are mostly away working to pay off his debts).

 

Sandie is hospitalised and operated on because of sudden illness. She almost dies and then suffers from physical and emotional collapse – the previous five years of constant stress, anxiety and depression culminating in a breakdown. On leaving hospital she separates from her husband and starts living as a single mother with daughter Grace in a simple rented flat with no TV, washing machine or heating. Lit mainly by candlelight.

She celebrates her 60th birthday – and the 40th anniversary of her Eurovision win – in the spring. She also finally concedes to cosmetic surgery – on her feet! She explains, “I am very grateful that the gods designed me rather attractively from the top down. However, when they got to my ankles they must have gone on a tea break.”

She now continues to lobby for the campaign for recording copyright-term extension throughout Europe, while also concentrating more on Buddhist activities with SGI-UK. She celebrates 30 years of Buddhist practice with friends at Under The Walnut Tree party

Her stepson, Toby, fathers a son, Jake.

On hearing about her Copyright campaign work, the founding directors of the Featured Artist Coalition (FAC) invited her to join them. This is the world’s first organisation to represent the rights and interests of recording artists. The FAC is formed with directors including Annie Lennox, Robbie Williams, Ed O’Brien of Radiohead, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Billy Bragg, Fran Healy of Travis and Mark Kelly from Marillion. In a digital world where things are rapidly changing, recording artists need representation to shape and contribute towards the new order. This is Sandie’s chance to help make that possible by becoming a director.

But she finds out that the FAC is in a chaotic state. Sadly, they have wasted their initial funding on unnecessarily expensive lawyers brought in by music managers and overpaid staff.  Although the ambition of the founders is inspirational and passionate, it is still in a startup position, with no real leadership of the board. The rest of the music industry regards it with suspicion, nicknaming it “the Taliban”. With support from the other directors Sandie puts together a three-year strategic plan for the FAC, to give it focus and recognition. She is voted in as executive chair. Aware of the historically misogynistic culture of the music industry, Sandie requests that Ed O’Brien of Radiohead and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd become vice chairs as back-up.

The FAC begin introducing themselves in the House of Commons to all-party MPs and ministers, as well as members of the House of Lords, to inform them of their ambitions and gather support. They argue that for the future change is needed to establish new practices better suited to the music industry in the rapidly evolving digital world. Historic practices that are unfair and inequitable need to be addressed. They are taken aback by their warm welcome and politicians’ desire to listen to them.

Finally, FAC recording artists are taking a seat at the table rather than merely being on the menu. 

Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, invites Sandie to be honorary guest at the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) staff awards ceremony. A thank you note was sent:

She is multi-tasking: running the Arts Clinic, and campaigning and lobbying on behalf of artists with the Featured Artists Coalition for the creative and commercial rights of recording artists and new, fairer internet business models for the digital age. 

Sandie’s daughter Grace gives birth to Forest, Sandie’s third granddaughter.

Sandie’s skill at strategy and her canny way with politicians are beginning to be recognised and her tenacious pursuit of artists’ rights and justice with the Extension of Recording Copyright Extension Bill since 2006 is respected. The year kicks off with FAC being invited to join the Board of UK Music alongside all the other trade bodies, and things start to change. This is the first time that recording artists have ever had a voice within a music trade organisation. 

UK Music was formed in 2008 to promote the interests of the British industry, to engage in high-level political lobbying and to undertake extensive research, tracking market trends.

Andy Heath, chairman of UK Music: “I have been unbelievably impressed by the progress of a credible well-run organisation controlled by artists, speaking for artists with a voice that has real authority. UK Music will be a stronger force now the FAC is a member.”

Neil Davidge, Massive Attack’s highly acclaimed writer and producer, invites Sandie to record and make a video, of “Riot Pictures” to be released by Warners. She gives an incredible performance of an incredible song. This is an amazing production by Neil Davidge, based on an unrecorded song written by Daddy G of Massive Attack. It is also an extraordinary finale performance.

Sandie achieves her dream of integrating and collaborating with European recording artists to lobby the EU. The International Artists Organisation (IAO) is brought together by Sandie and Paul Pacifico on behalf of the FAC, composed of nine member countries, to give European music artists a single collective voice that can be clearly heard by the EU Government. These founding members are Spain, Norway, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Denmark and the UK. The IAO is the first ever international collaboration between national recording artist organisations, who are now representing their rights and interests, in a digital environment, across Europe and beyond. This is a unique achievement and a key win, with artists’ remuneration now added to the EU copyright reform agenda.

The IAO is invited by the EU Parliament to play a major part in representing artists’ interests in EU Digital Copyright reform. Sandie and Nick Mason, as representatives of British FAC, visit the European Parliament in Brussels to address the parliament in a conference on music rights, and to secure MEP advocates.

MIDEM (Marché du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale), the international music conference event, which includes panels on policy, copyright and creativity, awards Sandie a special honour to celebrate 50 years since its inauguration, and for being associated with the organisation over all those 50 years “as a person of excellence and innovation in service to the international music community”.

The FAC is invited to become a founder member of the Creative Industries Federation, an advocacy group including all sectors of creative industries. 

She continues her visits to the Robert Clack school to talk to and encourage students as Patron of Alumni.

After steering the FAC through its tumultuous birth into its acceptance as a bona fide respected music trade organisation, initiating and seeing through the extension of the recording copyright bill, as well as Brexit and Covid-related issues, Sandie steps back from her role as Honorary President of FAC to concentrate fully on being senior advisor to the UK Music Futures Board that she founded in 2016. This is a role she particularly loves, being able to offer young people the kind of support and encouragement she herself did not receive when she started in the music industry. UK Music is the umbrella organisation which represents the collective interests of the entire music industry. The Futures Board includes young people from all sectors of the industry – labels, publishers, live agents, managers, publicists, lawyers, producers, artists, and songwriters – and from all regions of the UK and three countries of Britain. The Futures Board meets regularly to identify and discuss key issues affecting the future of the music business and inputs directly into the Board of UK Music. As senior advisor, Sandie encourages a culture of open, respectful, collaborative, and brave dialogue with a spirit of camaraderie and support. It is training in leadership for music industry leaders of the future.

Throughout her life, Sandie has received many wonderful awards, which now fill a container. But her most treasured award is from her hometown community: being named an Honorary Freewoman of The Borough of Barking and Dagenham – the most honorable distinction it lies within the power of the council to confer – in recognition of her musical achievements and her community work in the borough. 

For Record Store Day 2022, Sandie Shaw released a 12" vinyl of "Hand In Glove" featuring The Smiths. The release included a red vinyl version with a bonus promo poster and insert. It was a limited edition, featuring three songs: "Hand In Glove", "I Don't Owe You Anything", and "Jeane". 

 

At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Eurovision Song Contest, due to be hosted there, as Ukraine had won the contest in 2022, is moved to Liverpool. Prime Minister Sunak requests Sandie to join him as his guest at his reception for the Ukrainian Eurovision delegation at 10 Downing Street, as an ambassador for British music and the Song For Europe. Sandie is delighted, as she has maintained a place in her heart for all the people of the former USSR that she had entertained and inspired during the Cold War. She shares the stage with Prime Minister Sunak and the Ukrainian entrant to the contest, dancing and singing together with an enthusiastic audience of Ukrainian artists, musicians and politicians. “Oh Rishi, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind! Hey, Rishi!”

After hearing a British midwife talking on Woman’s Hour about the plight of women in Ukraine, having premature babies because of the stress of the war, and wanting to achieve conception when their husbands are home on leave to ensure the legacy of the Ukrainian people, without access to incubators, nappies, medicine or midwifery assistance, Sandie wants to raise awareness of the situation. She re-mixes “Puppet On A String” as a dance tune, releasing it with a wistful ballad version, with proceeds going to support the midwife in bringing the help the women, babies and children so desperately need. Sandie knows that music and culture have the soft power to move hearts and minds all over the world. Liverpool Town Council asks her to perform the song live at the outside stadium for all those Liverpudlians unable to afford a ticket to the Eurovision contest.