Alma Cogan, once Britain's most famous and highest-paid female singer, died at the age of 34 sixty years ago this month, having been forgotten by the public she once dominated. The singer, known for her giggle-in-the-voice style, was cast into obscurity by the rise of rock'n'roll and her alleged secret lover, John Lennon.
The Rise of a Glamorous Star
Born to an East End haberdasher, Alma Cogan topped the charts and dominated radio and TV throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. In one year alone, she released a dozen singles, a couple of extended plays, and an album. She headlined the London Palladium and the Royal Variety Performance, shared a stage with Judy Garland, and starred in the first Morecambe and Wise TV series.
Her fame brought wealth, with endorsement contracts for Coca Cola, TVs, vacuum cleaners, knitting patterns, and chocolates. Her Kensington apartment became a social hub, hosting guests such as Joan Collins, Terence Stamp, Elizabeth Taylor, Noel Coward, Princess Margaret, Cary Grant, and Roger Moore.
The Rock'n'Roll Revolution
While Alma rode high, the musical landscape was shifting. In 1955, Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner opened London's first skiffle club in Soho. Within two years, there were 50,000 skiffle groups in Britain, and rock'n'roll arrived with Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."
The Beatles came south in autumn 1962, and by January 1964, Alma co-starred with the band on ITV's Sunday Night At The London Palladium. She invited them to her Kensington flat, where her mother, Fay Cogan, fed the boys scrambled eggs.
The Downfall and Final Years
Lennon, eight years Alma's junior, had ridiculed her style as a Liverpool art student but later fell deeply in love with her. His then-wife Cynthia believed they had an affair, though there is no categorical evidence. Months later, Lennon introduced Alma on Ready, Steady, Go!, where her rendition of "Tennessee Waltz" was met with a cold audience and failed to chart.
After that appearance, Alma never returned to the hit parade. She toured northern clubs but became ill and struggled to perform, according to her fan Steven Woods. On a tour of Sweden, she collapsed and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died unmarried, and Lennon is said to have wept.
Cynthia recalled that had Alma lived, Lennon would not have begun his relationship with Yoko Ono, who appeared in his life weeks after he heard the news. In the 1970s, Alma's mother Fay sold her belongings, including furs, awards, and personal photos, on a stall in Kensington Market to pay rent.
