Draft:Blanche Finlay

Blanche Finlay

Blanche Finlay was a jazz vocalist and social worker based in Manchester.

Biography

Finlay was born to two American parents, and she began singing in a family band, called the Parkins Kids, with her two sisters and her brother. They mainly concentrated on charity work, performing at concerts and hospitals, and later they ventured into broadcasting and entering competitions. After her brother was unable to continue singing, the band was transformed into the Parkins Sisters, where they performed as a close harmony group.

In 1955, Finlay moved to Britain to train as a nurse. When a supervisor overheard her singing, her supervisor took her to the Green Dolphin, and Finlay began working there part-time. During this time, she was also singing to a few other bands, and she was introduced to jazz music. In 1957, she joined the Jackson-Bradshaw band and toured Britain.

In 1965, Finlay started a solo career, and auditioned for Chico Arnez, who offered her a twenty-five-year contract to sing in his band. At some point during this time, she had to break her contract. She continued working in Manchester while meeting many jazz and blues singers at Manchester's Free Trade Hall.

In 1974, Finlay formed a group called The Prophets, which was comprised of former members of the Manchester Youth Stage Band, where they did a summer season in the Isle of Man at the Gaiety Theatre. Then, in 1978, she did a summer season with the Memphis Seven and performed at the Welsh Jazz Festival.

In addition to her musical career, she graduated from Manchester and Oxford Universities, and the Manchester School of Music, and she became a trained social worker.