Dickson was born in Dunfermline. Her singing career started in folk clubs around her native Fife in the sixties, exposing her to a rich combination of traditional and contemporary music. In the early seventies, she sang at a Liverpool folk club run by a young student teacher called Willy Russell. He showed Barbara the first draft of what would later become the award winning musical, ‘John, Paul, George, Ringo….and Bert’ and asked her to perform the music. The combination of fine writing, a superb cast of young unknowns, (including Antony Sher, Bernard Hill and Trevor Eve), and Barbara’s idiosyncratic interpretation of Beatles songs made the show hugely successful.
The show’s co-producer, Robert Stigwood, signed Barbara to his record label, RSO Records, where she recorded the album ‘Answer Me’, the title track becoming a top ten hit in 1976. This led to her guest residency on the much-loved series ‘The Two Ronnies’, which brought Barbara’s singing to the attention of more than 10 million BBC viewers every week.
Also impressed by Barbara’s performance were Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who invited her to record ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ from the new musical ‘Evita’, which became her second hit in 1977.
Other hits including ‘Caravan Song’ and ‘January, February’, followed in 1980.
In 1982, Willy Russell asked Barbara to star in his new musical ‘Blood Brothers’ in the pivotal role of the mother, Mrs. Johnstone. Although at first reluctant to accept, having never acted before, (not even in a school play!), she rose to the challenge, in the process garnering critical acclaim as well as Actress of the Year in a Musical from the Society of West End Theatres in 1984.
Later that year, Tim Rice approached Barbara to take part in the cast album recording of the musical ‘Chess’, which included the song ‘I Know Him So Well’, a duet sung with Elaine Paige. The song was a worldwide hit and remained at number one in the UK charts for many weeks.
During the 1990s Barbara appeared in various TV dramas including ‘Taggart’, the award winning ‘Band of Gold’ and ‘The Missing Postman’.
Acclaimed writer and director Chris Bond created a show for Barbara in 1996 called ‘The Seven Ages of Woman’ which won her the Liverpool Echo Actress of the Year Award. It premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse and toured extensively in 1997 and 1998.
In 1999, Barbara starred in ‘Spend, Spend, Spend’, a new musical by Steve Brown and Justin Greene. The show, based on the rollercoaster life story of pools winner, Viv Nicholson, played in the West End to capacity audiences. For her portrayal of Viv, Barbara was awarded ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ at the 2000 Laurence Olivier Awards.
Barbara continues to appear in concert and on record. She has in the last few years had great success with ‘The Platinum Collection’, which featured some of her most successful recordings.
Her last album, ‘Full Circle’, a journey back through her musical history, was hugely admired and well reviewed. Barbara’s most recent CD is an eclectic collection of the songs of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison called ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My World.’
During 2006 she has appeared as the Timekeeper in Alan Ayckbourn and Denis King’s fantasy musical play
‘Whenever’ for BBC Radio 4 and presented ‘Finding A Voice’, also for BBC Radio 4.
Married with three teenaged sons, Barbara lives in Lincolnshire. An O.B.E. was conferred upon her in the Queens’ New Year’s Honours in 2002.
Lush Life
Barbara Dickson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those come-what-may places
Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
To get the feel of life
From jazz and cocktails
The men I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
With distinguish traces
By too many through the day
Twelve o'clock tales
But you came along with your siren song
To tempt me to madness
I thought for a while that your poignant smile
Was tinged with the sadness of great love for me
But I was wrong
I was wrong
Life is lonely again
And only last year, everything seemed so sure
Now life is awful again
A drawer full of hearts could only be a bore
A week in Paris couse ease the bite of it
All I really care is to smile in spite of it
I'll forget you, I will
And yet you are still
Burning inside my brain
Romance is mush
Stifling those who strive
I'll live the lush life in some small dive
And there I'll be, while I drift with the rest
Of those whose lives are lonely too
The song Lush Life by Barbara Dickson narrates the singer’s past experiences of frequenting places filled with life and sound, to shake off the monotony of everyday life. The character describes the jazz clubs and bars as the “very gay places” that they would visit “to get the feel of life from jazz and cocktails.” However, with every visit, the people and the surroundings seemed to be wearier, and the men in the clubs had “sad and sullen gray faces.” Despite the monotony and dullness of life, a woman comes along singing her siren song, which tempts the singer to “madness” for a while. Believing that the woman's smile was filled with the "sadness of great love," the singer realizes they were wrong. In the end, the character chooses to live the “lush life” in some small dive where they can just drift amongst the lives of others whose lives are lonely too.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to visit all the very gay places
I used to frequent lively and vibrant locations
Those come-what-may places
Those places that could go either way, but were worth the experience nonetheless
Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
Where one takes a moment to experience life in the moment
To get the feel of life
To fully experience the energy of life
From jazz and cocktails
Through the medium of jazz music and mixed drinks
The men I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
The people I knew before had melancholy and dreary expressions
With distinguish traces
With visible signs of a past experience
That used to be there, you could see where they'd been washed away
That had once been present, but were now erased or faded away
By too many through the day
Through too many experiences throughout the day
Twelve o'clock tales
Stories or experiences that had occurred late at night
But you came along with your siren song
But then you appeared with your captivating call
To tempt me to madness
To entice me towards frenzied activity or emotion
I thought for a while that your poignant smile
For a moment, I thought your sad smile
Was tinged with the sadness of great love for me
Was imbued with the sorrow of an intense love for me
But I was wrong
But I was mistaken
Life is lonely again
Life has returned to a feeling of isolation
And only last year, everything seemed so sure
It was just a year ago that everything felt secure
Now life is awful again
Now life feels terrible once more
A drawer full of hearts could only be a bore
Even a collection of love letters would be uninspiring
A week in Paris could ease the bite of it
A trip to Paris might soften the pain of my current situation
All I really care is to smile in spite of it
My only desire is to find joy in the midst of this sorrow
I'll forget you, I will
I will try to forget you
And yet you are still
Yet, you are still a presence in my mind
Burning inside my brain
A persistent, fervent thought in my mind
Romance is mush
Romance seems futile and insipid
Stifling those who strive
Restricting and discouraging those who seek something more
I'll live the lush life in some small dive
I will attempt to live extravagantly in humble surroundings
And there I'll be, while I drift with the rest
I will be there along with the others, adrift in life
Of those whose lives are lonely too
Of those whose lives are just as solitary and mournful
Contributed by Carson S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.