Biography
I was born and educated in the North of England. From a very young age I studied ballet and tap at
the Pearl Yarwoods Dance Academy, which lead to me performing on stage for the very first time.
Later, I emigrated to California, U.S.A. where I studied Business Management, and worked as Catering
Coordinator for a prominent Hotel near Los Angeles. A couple of years further on I moved to Holland
to join a large American oil company just starting up their Headquarters in The Hague.
After my marriage to a Dutchman, I emigrated to the Far East as an Ex-pat. First Hong Kong, later
Singapore. In England I had done some free-lance fashion modelling which I continued doing again in
Hong Kong .
On the Ex-pat scene, I was put in charge of many fund raising events for various charities.
We also held Karaoke Nights, and after a while people started requesting me to sing, and soon
I was singing with bands at many prestigious events.
In Singapore I was an active member of the Ladies Committee at the Hollandse Club, in charge of
Youth Entertainment and other Social Club events. This gave me the opportunity to meet some of
Hollands top entertainers such as Youp van’t Hek, Herman Van Veen, Paul van Vliet, and Berdien
Stenberg, just to mention a few. Some of these celebrities even stayed at our home whilst visiting.
It was so nice to get to know them off stage! When the Club offered me the position as their
Public Relations Officer I was very flattered, but, unfortunately, I had to decline due to the
strict employment regulations in Singapore. Singing, however, could not be my top priority at
this moment in time due to my busy social and personal life.
After returning to The Netherlands I began singing again in 2000 with various bands, during which
time I became the lead singer for The Continental Six Band, and I travelled the world with them,
playing for the Ministries, Corps Diplomatique , Business Launches and Jazz Festivals. What a
thrill it is to play at the most luxurious venues on earth and be wined and dined by some most
gracious hosts! On the other hand, performing in a Jazz Club or a “brown café” can be just as
rewarding. Numerous bands have asked me to sing with them over the years, and happily requests
are still coming in. My own band, THE JAZZYJAX, is always ready and willing to play when and
wherever required. My repertoire covers many genres from Jazz, Dixieland, the American Songbook,
Latin, Blues and Mainstream, to Country and even Pop.
For the past couple of years I am singing quite often with a “little” big band, Archie & the Bunkers,
we do lots of great old Swing numbers from the thirties and fourties. I’m lovin’ it!
I’m not going to mention all my “career”ventures in this biography, but in hindsight I wish I had
taken up singing a lot earlier. There is a big difference between Business and Show Business!!
Nothing is as scarey ,exhilarating and rewarding at the same time as singing live in front of an
audience.
