Malcolm Vaughan was born Malcolm James Thomas, the son of a miner, in Abercynon, Glamorgan in March 1929. The family were to move to Troedyrhiw, near Merthyr Tydfil, where his grandfather was a cobbler. The young boy was soon singing in the local choir, and, in 1943, his aunt wrote to the actor, Emlyn Williams, about joining his wartime repertory company. Thomas appeared in a touring version of The Druid's Rest which ended up in the West End. Richard Burton also made his stage début in this play. After this, Thomas had a singing role in another West End show, Jenny Jones.
Malcolm Thomas was still a boy soprano when he was 16 but his voice broke on stage while he was singing "Danny Boy" at the Glasgow Empire. Overcome with embarrassment, he returned home. He took jobs as they came along, appearing as an errand boy in the film Bedelia with Margaret Lockwood and being the voice of Dennis the Dachshund in a television production of Larry The Lamb. He was in the West End productions of two Thornton Wilder plays, Our Town and The Skin Of Our Teeth, which was directed by Laurence Olivier.
In 1947 Thomas did national service in Greece and Egypt. He then returned to show business, appearing in Aladdin and Dick Whittington on ice in Brighton. In 1952, he teamed up with three other vocalists to become the Welsh Street Singers and then supported Old Mother Riley in pantomime.
In 1953, Thomas appeared in the revue Going Gay in Eastbourne and befriended a comedian, Kenneth Earle. They thought of becoming a double act but didn't care for the sound of "Earle and Thomas". They walked around the high street, trying out different names, and settled on "Earle and Vaughan". Their humour was mundane by today's standards but they got by:
Earle: "Why was Bernard Shaw very like me?"
Vaughan: "I don't know. Why was Bernard Shaw very like you?"
Earle: "We're both clean-shaven, except for Bernard Shaw."
When the BBC disc jockey Jack Jackson saw Earle and Vaughan at the Chiswick Empire in 1955 he was impressed with Vaughan's impersonation of Mario Lanza. He arranged an audition with Wally Ridley, the head of HMV Records, who steered him away from light opera to the ballads of the day.
His first record, "Ev'ry Day Of My Life", became a Top 10 hit and he followed it with a successful version of Gilbert Bécaud's "Mes Mains", now called "With Your Love". Vaughan incorporated his records into Earle and Vaughan's act but he did not want to break up the partnership. They spent Christmas 1955 as Chinese policemen in Aladdin in Salford.
During 1955, Earle and Vaughan had judged a beauty contest at a holiday camp in Guernsey. Vaughan was attracted by the winner, Gaye Hands (Earle renamed her "Sad Feet"), and they were married in June 1956. They settled in Tooting and they were to have two children, Daryl Earle Haydn Samuel in 1957 and Damon Charles Michael in 1963. In 1963, Malcolm changed his name by deed poll to Malcolm Vaughan.
In 1957, Earle and Vaughan toured with the American rock'n'roll stars, Bill Haley and the Comets, and did surprisingly well in the circumstances. Later in the year, Vaughan appeared alongside other balladeers including David Whitfield and Ronnie Hilton in a special production number in the Royal Variety Performance. At the time he was enjoying another Top 10 single with "My Special Angel": in this case, Wally Ridley had amended the lyric of Bobby Helms' original to avoid a BBC ban.
Vaughan had further hits in the 1950s with "To Be Loved", "More Than Ever (Come Prima)" and "Wait For Me", and sang the theme song from the Kenneth More film about the sinking of the Titanic, A Night To Remember (1958). Strangely, Vaughan did not make an album until Hello in September 1959. Ridley, his producer, told the New Musical Express: "I felt it was better to let his voice mature before getting him to tackle the better quality songs needed for an album."
Earle and Vaughan continued to work as a double act throughout the 1960s but never realised their ambition of making comedy films like Morecambe and Wise. It would have been better for Vaughan's career if he had continued making records and capturing the same market as Matt Monro. The duo split up in 1972 with Earle becoming an agent and Vaughan touring in productions of The Good Old Days. A biography, The Reluctant Star, by Edward Thomas was published in 2009, the title reflecting the fact that Malcolm Vaughan put family life above everything.
Spencer Leigh
Malcolm James Thomas (Malcolm Vaughan), singer: born Abercynon 22 March 1929; married 1956 Gaye Hands (two sons); died Eastbourne 9 February 2010.
My Special Angel
Malcolm Vaughan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Angel, Angel, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh
You are my special Angel sent from up above
My face smiled down on me
And sent an Angel to love
You are my special Angel
Right from paradise
I know that you're an Angel
Heaven is in your eyes
A smile from your lips
Brings the summer sunshine
The tears from your eyes
Bring the rain
I feel your touch, your warm embrace
And I'm in heaven again
You are my special Angel
Through eternity
I'll have my special Angel
Here to watch over me
A smile from your lips
Brings the summer sunshine
The tears from your eyes
Bring the rain
I feel your touch, your warm embrace
And I'm in heaven again
You are my special Angel
Through eternity
I'll have my special Angel
Here to watch over me
Angel, Angel do, Do, Do, Do, Do, do
Angel.
Malcolm Vaughan's "My Special Angel" is a love song that expresses the depth of one's feelings when they find the person who they believe is sent from up above. The song is an emotional description of how the singer feels about the person they consider their special angel. Vaughan uses the word "Angel" repeatedly in the lyrics to drive home this idea that they have found something close to divine.
The opening lines of the song, "Angel, Angel, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, You are my special Angel sent from up above," reveals that the person is so special that they must be otherworldly, from the heavens. The singer believes that the special Angel is a gift from God, someone who has come to make their life complete. The lyrics suggest that the Angel's presence brings happiness and light to their world.
In the following lines, "I know that you're an Angel, heaven is in your eyes," Vaughan creates a picture of the spiritual connection between the singer and their loved one. This line suggests that the person has a spiritual and divine quality, which brings heaven down to earth. Moreover, the song compares the Angel's presence to the warmth of the sun, and their tears to the rain. It reveals that the Angel has the power to bring joy and happiness, as well as tears and sorrow, and all those aspects make them special for the singer. In conclusion, "My Special Angel" is a song about finding true love, an Angel sent from above, someone who the singer believes has come to make their life complete.
Line by Line Meaning
Angel, Angel, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh
The singer is addressing someone as their angel and expressing their appreciation multiple times.
You are my special Angel sent from up above
The singer sees the person they're addressing as a special angel that came to them from a higher power.
My face smiled down on me
It's not a literal smile, but the singer feels that they're extremely lucky to have this person in their life.
And sent an Angel to love
The singer believes that this person is their special angel sent to them to love.
You are my special Angel
The singer repeats the notion that the person they're addressing is a special angel in their life.
Right from paradise
The singer believes that the person they're addressing came from paradise, or a perfect place.
I know that you're an Angel
The singer is sure that the person they're addressing is truly an angel.
Heaven is in your eyes
The singer loves the person's eyes and feels like there's heaven in them.
A smile from your lips
Brings the summer sunshine
The tears from your eyes
Bring the rain
I feel your touch, your warm embrace
And I'm in heaven again
The person they're addressing has a profound impact on the singer, from bringing joy to rain to comfort and happiness in their embrace.
Through eternity
I'll have my special Angel
Here to watch over me
The singer believes that this person will always be with them and take care of them, even after they're gone.
Angel, Angel do, Do, Do, Do, Do, do
Angel
The singer is repeating their acknowledgement of the person as an angel.
Contributed by Elijah P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.