Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 20 May 2011)[2] was an English singer.

She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest where she finished in second place.

[citation needed] Kirby was born in Ilford, Essex, (later part of Greater London),[3] the eldest of three children of Irish parents.

[4] Kirby grew up on Tomswood Hill, Barkingside, in Ilford, and attended the Ursuline Convent School where she sang in the choir.

[5] Kirby's vocal talent became apparent early in life, and she took singing lessons with a view to becoming an opera singer.

[8] In 1959, Kirby joined vocalists Tony Mansell and Rikki Henderson in the Denny Boyce Band, and appeared regularly at the Lyceum Ballroom in London.

They sold few copies but helped her get a six-month contract at Mayfair's Blue Angel nightclub.

In 1962, she signed a contract with Decca Records, for which her first single was "(He's a) Big Man", released in October 1962.

[8] Kirby became one of the biggest stars of the early to mid-1960s, appearing in the Royal Command Variety Performance and two television series for BBC TV.

Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor describes Kirby's "I Belong" as being far more representative of current musical tastes than other songs from the contest,[12] but she was beaten by France Gall from France and representing Luxembourg, singing an even more contemporary song written by Serge Gainsbourg.

[17] Kirby did not perform in public after her retirement, but interest in her and her work continued,[18] particularly among gay men, for whom she was something of an icon.

[6] A biography was published in 2005, and there was a 2008 stage show about her life, written and produced by Graham Smith, called Secret Love.

Smith re-wrote the show for the 2012 Haworth Festival, entitling it: Dance On: The Kathy Kirby Story.

Kirby met bandleader Bert Ambrose in her teens and, despite his being 42 years older and having an estranged wife at the time,[4] began a relationship with him that lasted until his death in 1971.

[3][7] Following her bankruptcy in 1975 and a court case following an arrest over an unpaid hotel bill, she was referred to St Luke's psychiatric hospital in London in 1979.

[23][24] In the early 1980s Kirby had relationships with musician David Cross[25] and lawyer Alan Porter.