{{Short description|British singer}} {{about|the singer|the scientist|Helen McKay (plant physiologist)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|Dance band singer Helen McKay circa. 1935 '''Helen McKay''' (born '''Ruby Ellen Northover''' in Woolwich, London on 15 April 1910 - died {{death date and age |2008|8|29 |1910|4|15 |df=yes}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Willey |first=Brian |date=2021 |title=Helen McKay - Radio's Radiant Redhead |journal=Memory Lane |issue=210 |pages=25–27}}</ref>) was a dance band singer, active during the 1930s and 1940s. She was the first person to sing on the then high-definition standard (405 lines) in test transmissions by the BBC for the RadiOlympia Exhibition from 26 August to 5 September 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 July 1951 |title=Article clipped from Evening Standard |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/100915771/evening-standard/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of the BBC - The Story of the BBC - Television As We Know It|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/general/tvstory6|website=BBC|accessdate=23 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Andrew |date=2 November 2016 |title=Television Begins |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/genome/entries/e8a2fa30-7729-4256-aba1-e00cbb187f93 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2020-11-09 |website=British Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Helen was born in Woolwich, London to Ellen May Edwards, a tailoress from Deptford, London and Albert William Northover, a lance corporal in the Royal Engineers from Surrey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 August 2023 |title=Search |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ |website=Ancestry}}</ref> McKay began work at Marshall & Snelgrove's department store in Oxford Street, London but left to pursue a theatrical career. After 12 dancing lessons, her ambition was to become a ballerina. She danced with a touring ballet company but then started in chorus work, notably C. B. Cochran's production, "One Damn Thing After Another."
She was noticed by band leader Lew Stone while in a publisher's office and was offered a contract as a vocalist with his band. However, Lew did not like her name and so she was given the stage name of Helen McKay. After singing in Lew Stone's band, McKay freelanced with bands led by Sydney Baynes, Oscar Rabin and Bram Martin.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 1936 |title=Television at RadiOlympia? |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Television-UK/30s/Television-and-Short-Wave-World-1936-09-S-OCR.pdf |journal=Television and Short-Wave World |volume=9 |issue=9 |pages=510}}</ref>
== RadiOlympia TV transmission in 1936 == [[File:Helen_McKay_Singing_at_Alexander_Palace.jpg|thumb|right|Helen McKay singing at BBC Alexandra Palace television studio during a test transmission, 27 August 1936]] For the RadiOlympia transmissions, McKay sang ''Here's Looking At You'', written especially for the test transmissions by Ronnie Hill.<ref>{{cite web|title=TV Technology 4. Here's Looking at You|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/technology/technology4.html|website=BFI Screenonline|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=23 November 2016}}</ref> On the 26 August transmission, using the Baird 240 line system, she was accompanied solely by piano due to the limitations of the Baird system.
During the 27 August transmission, the EMI 405 line system was used, allowing McKay to be accompanied by the BBC Television Orchestra.
In 1986, she gave an interview to The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Television Comes to Bradford |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19871242/ |archive-date= |website=IMDB}}</ref> in which she spoke about her experience.<ref>{{cite web|title=Television Comes to Bradford|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOQD6nWpSIc|website=YouTube|publisher=National Media Museum|accessdate=29 November 2016}}</ref> For the Baird transmission, in the flying spot scanning room, she had to wear yellow face paint with purple lips and eye make-up to ensure there was enough contrast so that she could be seen. At the time, she didn't think anything would come of television.
== Later life == In 1939, Helen was invited to join a new dance band called the London Fire Forces Dance Band, which was directed by singer, musician and song writer Ernest W Winnette (born 1913). McKay and Winnette married in April 1940 and set up home in Maidenhead.
In the 1940s McKay was a contributor to the war effort with ENSA concerts on the BBC Forces Programme.<ref>{{cite web|title=12.30 Break For Music|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/forces/1941-01-13|website=BBC|accessdate=29 November 2016}}</ref> In 1942 the London Fire Forces Dance Band had taken on a new director and so on leaving the band Ernest changed his name to Bob and set up a quartet called the Debonaires, consisting of McKay, Alex Dore, Nadia Dore and Harry Brooker.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Debonaires|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0c85f36d92754f96aec702a2bf74d5a6|website=BBC Genome|publisher=BBC|accessdate=5 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Whitehouse|first1=comp. for This England by Edmund|title=This England's second book of British dance bands : the singers and smaller bands|date=2001|publisher=This England Books|location=Cheltenham|isbn=978-0906324370|edition=1st}}</ref> The Debonaires sang with the Ambrose Orchestra, Felix Mendelssohn's Hawaiian Serenaders, Eric Winstone and his band, and also had a late night radio show.
In the 1950s, the personnel of the Debonaires changed to Nadia Dore, Bob Brown, Helen McKay and Bob Winette. McKay and Winnette then formed The Song Pedlars quartet. Helen died in Maidenhead on {{death date and age |2008|8|29 |1910|4|15 |df=yes}}. Her husband Bob had predeceased her (died May 2000).
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Helen}} Category:1910 births Category:2008 deaths Category:20th-century British women singers Category:British jazz singers Category:British women jazz singers
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