Kathy Kirby was an English pop singer who became the highest-paid female singer on British television in the 1960s. She is best remembered for her 1963 hit “Secret Love” and for finishing second for the United Kingdom at the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest with “I Belong.” Her fame faded fast after the death of her manager, and her later years were marked by money trouble and ill health. She died on May 19, 2011, and would have turned 88 on October 20, 2026.
| Date of Birth | October 20, 1938 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death | May 19, 2011 |
| Aged | 72 |
| Nationality | British |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Occupation | Soul singer, actress, songwriter |
| Spouse | Frederick Pye (m. 1970s) |
| Notable | Represented UK at 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, runner-up |
Kathy Kirby Biography
Kathy Kirby was born Catherine Ethel O’Rourke on October 20, 1938, in Ilford, Essex, a town that later became part of Greater London. She was the eldest of three children born to Irish parents. Her father left the family when the children were young, so her mother, Eileen, raised them alone.
Eileen later married Jim Kirby, and Kathy took his surname as her stage name, according to the 2009 documentary Kathy Kirby: My Story. She grew up on Tomswood Hill in Barkingside, Ilford, and sang in the choir at the Ursuline Convent School. Her younger siblings were her sister, Pat, and her brother, Douglas.
Singing was her plan from the start. “Ever since I was a child, I wanted to sing professionally. You know, I was totally determined to become a star,” she said in My Story. She took singing lessons with an eye on opera, and she later said she “pushed everything aside for singing.”
Career
Her big break came in 1956, when bandleader Bert Ambrose played the Ilford Palais. She was about 16 and asked if she could sing a song with his band. “He said yes, kid,” she recalled in My Story. “He liked me cuz all the kids applauded me.” She spent the next three years singing with his band, and Ambrose became her manager and mentor.
In the summer of 1957, she sang at the Florida Park Restaurant in Madrid. Back in Britain, she worked with Ambrose’s orchestra and with Nat Allen and his band. In 1959 she joined the Denny Boyce Band with singers Tony Mansell and Rikki Henderson and played the Lyceum Ballroom in London. The same year, she made her solo cabaret debut at the Astor Club.
Pye Records signed her in 1960. Her two singles there, “Love Can Be” and “Now You’re Crying,” sold few copies, but they won her a six-month run at the Blue Angel nightclub in Mayfair. Ambrose styled her with platinum hair and red lips, and the press called her Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe.
She moved to Decca in 1962 and released “(He’s a) Big Man” that October. It missed the British chart but became a hit on Vancouver radio station CFUN in early 1963. Her real breakthrough came in the summer of 1963, when she became a regular on the ITV variety show Stars and Garters.
Hit Songs and The Kathy Kirby Show
“Dance On!” was her first hit in 1963. It reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 1 in Australia. Her bright, up-tempo version of Doris Day’s “Secret Love” followed and climbed to No. 4 in the UK, the biggest hit of her career. That year, NME readers voted her Top British Female Singer.
More hits came in 1964. “Let Me Go, Lover!” reached No. 10 and “You’re the One” reached No. 17. She also set a box office record with a summer season at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool.
The BBC then gave her The Kathy Kirby Show, which ran from May 1964 to February 1966. It made her the highest-paid female singer on British television. In a 1981 ITV interview with Simon Reed, she said the series drew 18 million viewers. Guests included Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Billy Fury and the Beverley Sisters.
Eurovision 1965
Kirby represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Naples on March 20, 1965. Viewers of her BBC show picked her entry from six songs, and they chose “I Belong,” written by Peter Lee Sterling and Phil Peters. She went into the contest as a favourite but finished second behind France Gall, who sang “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” for Luxembourg.
“I Belong” reached No. 36 in the UK, and her A Song for Europe EP reached No. 10. Later in 1965, “The Way of Love” became her only US chart entry, peaking at No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1966 she recorded the theme for the BBC series Adam Adamant Lives!
Later Career and Retirement
Her BBC run ended in 1966 when she signed with ITV. In the 1981 ITV interview, she said it happened “through total misunderstanding.” Her agent told her the BBC had nothing more for her, and she learned from Bill Cotton, too late, that they did have another series planned. “I was absolutely heartbroken,” she said.
Her singles mostly stopped charting after 1965, but she kept working in cabaret and on TV. She appeared on The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club in the 1970s and sang “Secret Love” on BBC1’s A Jubilee of Music on December 31, 1976. Her last single, “He,” came out in March 1981. She gave her final concert in Blackpool in December 1983 and then left show business for good.
Personal Life
Kirby’s longest relationship was with Bert Ambrose, who was 42 years older and still married to an estranged wife. “When I was 16, I started to become very, very attracted to him,” she said in My Story. “But um I really loved him.” They kept the romance quiet until Ambrose collapsed at a TV studio in Leeds in 1971. He died that night, and she later said, “I never got over that.”
In a 2009 interview with the Express, her first in 26 years, she said she had an affair with Bruce Forsyth during her years with Ambrose. She told My Story that she ended it because it made Ambrose very ill. In the 1970s she was briefly married to Frederick Pye, a writer and former London police officer. She told ITV in 1981 that the end of that marriage left her “close to a nervous breakdown” because she “was very much in love” with her husband.
Her money problems began in the mid-1970s. She was declared bankrupt in 1975, and her arrest over an unpaid hotel bill led a court to send her to St Luke’s psychiatric hospital in London in 1979. She was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. After her release she lived with a fan, Laraine McKay, who was later jailed for fraud and forgery. In the early 1980s she had relationships with musician David Cross and lawyer Alan Porter.
Death
Kathy Kirby died on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at the age of 72, after a short illness. Her family’s statement said she would be “greatly missed.” A relative later said she had a heart attack. Only days earlier, she had moved into Brinsworth House, the home for retired entertainers in Twickenham, at the urging of her niece Sarah, Lady Thatcher.
Interest in her music never really went away, and she remained an icon to many gay fans. A biography came out in 2005, and Graham Smith’s stage show Secret Love followed in 2008. A new version, Dance On: The Kathy Kirby Story, played the Haworth Festival in 2012.
Kathy Kirby Net Worth
Kathy Kirby’s net worth at the time of her death was less than $1 million, based on her bankruptcy, her years living on state benefits and her modest record royalties. It is a sharp fall for a woman who was once the best-paid female singer on British TV.
Her peak income came from 1963 to 1966, from her BBC series, record sales on Decca, theatre seasons and cabaret. Ambrose handled her money, and a contributor to My Story said she “never had any money in her pocket.” A bankruptcy court later ordered her to repay debts of £37,000, and she told ITV in 1981 that “a lot of my money was embezzled.” In retirement she lived in a flat at Emperor’s Gate, South Kensington, on benefits and some royalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old was Kathy Kirby when she died?
She was 72 when she died on May 19, 2011. She would have turned 88 on October 20, 2026.
What did Kathy Kirby die of?
Her family said she died after a short illness, and a relative said she had a heart attack.
What was Kathy Kirby’s real name?
Her birth name was Catherine Ethel O’Rourke. She took the surname Kirby from her stepfather, Jim Kirby.
What was Kathy Kirby’s biggest hit?
Her biggest hit was “Secret Love,” which reached No. 4 in the UK in 1963.
Did Kathy Kirby win Eurovision?
No. She came second at Eurovision 1965 in Naples with “I Belong,” behind France Gall of Luxembourg.
Was Kathy Kirby married?
Yes. She was briefly married to Frederick Pye, a writer and former London police officer, in the 1970s.
