Born on 26 July 1949, Glenys Groves was working mainly for the Ambrosian singers when she was contacted by Kate Bush in February 1979 to sing backing vocals during the Tour of Life.
Glenys took the highest notes, whereas Liz Pearson sang the lowest notes. That way, Kate didn’t have to use the whole breadth of her vocal range.
Glenys Groves about Kate Bush
When a pop star goes on tour, they have to reproduce the sounds on the record that they are promoting, but on every record she made Kate did her own backing vocals. She had an extraordinary voice. She had a very high facility and then the next day she would go in and do the low notes. But to reproduce that sound live is beyond the remit on your regular backing vocalists. We were regularly squeaking top Bs and Cs. Her singing teacher suggested to her that she needed to have a good and proper singer. I was approached, and we went on tour for about six months. (Glenys recalls the highlights of a lifetime in opera. Chichester Observer, 19 October 2017)
References
- Episode 27 – Bush Telegraph – Glenys Groves interview. The Kate Bush Fan Podcast, retrieved 23 September 2019
