Cleo Laine dead: Singer who became first Brit to win Grammy in jazz dies

Jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine has died aged 97.

The legendary star, known for her incredible vocal range, performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles and became the first British singer to win a Grammy Award.

She first established her career with late husband and composer John Dankworth in the 1950s, with the couple going on to collaborate many times together over the years.

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The couple went on to create the Stables arts centre in Buckinghamshire, with its chairman David Meadowcroft sharing a statement today over the sad news of her death. He said: "Dame Cleo was a remarkable performer who was loved by audiences around the world and her commitment to ensuring young people had access to great music and music education will continue through the work of The Stables."

Laine born on October 28 1927 in Southall, Middlesex, to labourer and busker Alexander Sylvan Campbell and Minnie Bullock, a farmer's daughter. Most of her childhood was spent in Southall, but the family moved frequently.

She began singing and dancing lessons at an early age, but went on to work as an apprentice for a variety of jobs, including as a hat-trimmer and librarian.

However, Laine managed to successfully audition when she was 24 for a small group with husband-to-be Dankworth's small group. She then performed with a number of his big bands until 1958, the year they wed.

Laine starred in a number of theatre productions through the 50s and 60s, including as the lead in Barry Reckord's Flesh to a Tiger at London's Royal Court Theatre and the title role in The Barren One. In 1971, she landed her role as Julie in Wendy Toye's production of Show Boat at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.

She also landed two big recording successes, with You'll Answer to Me, which reached the UK top 10. In 1970, Laine and Dankworth established the Stables theatre, which went on to host around 350 concerts a year.

Laine began touring intenationally in 1972 with a successful tour of Australia and went on to release six top-100 albums in the country through the 70s. Her career in the US began to flourish soon afterwards, with Laine performing at New York's famous Carnegie Hall.

The singer went on to tour the US and Canada while appearing on a number of TV shows including The Muppet Show in 1977. Following her numerous successes in the US, Cleo was awarded her first Grammy Award for her live recording in 1983 at Carnegie Hall. This would make history as she became the first British person to be awarded the acolade in a jazz category.

Laine continued to tour up until 2018 in the UK, with some of the famous names she collaborated with including Julian Lloyd Webber, John Wiliams and Nigel Kennedy. Her duet album with Ray Charles was critically aclaimed and she also performed at London's Royal Albert Hall with Frank Sinatra in 1992 for a week of concerts.

She had one son, Stuart, from her first marriage to roof tiler George Langridge. The couple divorced in 1957 and her son sadly died before Laine did in 2019, aged 72.

Laine was wed to second husband Dankworth from 1958 until his death in 2010, which she announced at a concert at The Stables during the venue's 40th anniversary. The couple leave behind their composer son Alec, 65, and daughter Jacqueline, 62, who followed in her mother's footsteps and is regarded as one of the most impressive jazz vocalists in the UK.

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