Vincent Hill (16 April 1934 – 22 July 2023) was an English traditional pop music singer, best known for his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune "Edelweiss" (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart (staying on the chart for 17 weeks). He recorded 25 studio albums and several soundtracks, wrote songs and plays and hosted TV shows during the 1970s and 1980s, including They Sold a Million (BBC), Musical Time Machine (BBC) and the chat show Gas Street (ITV). Outside of his work in show business, he was a patron of the Macular Society, a UK charity for anyone affected by central vision loss.
Early life
Vincent Hill was born in Holbrooks, Coventry, on 16 April 1934. He first sang professionally in a public house called The Prospect in Margate, Kent, when he was 17 years old. He decided to become a full-time musician after working as a baker, truck driver and coal miner.
His first lucky break as a singer came when he read an advert in Melody Maker magazine, which said The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals needed a vocalist. He travelled to Catterick camp in Yorkshire where the band was based, did the audition, and got the job. This offered Hill a way to do his National Service as well as experience performing all around the world. After completing his military service, he toured with the musical Florodora, and he then became a singer with Teddy Foster's Band, a big band based in London. At the beginning of the 1960s, Hill joined the critically acclaimed British vocal group, The Raindrops, which gave him his first opportunity to perform in television and radio shows, especially on the BBC radio show Parade of the Pops. The Raindrops also had in its ranks Jackie Lee, Len Beadle and Johnny Worth.
By late 1961, Hill left The Raindrops for a fledgling solo career. His debut entry in the UK Singles Chart was the Les Vandyke penned "The River's Run Dry", which went to No. 41 in June 1962. In 1963, he participated in A Song for Europe, the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, with another Vandyke penned song, "A Day at the Seaside". The next few years proved fallow, as a succession of single releases failed to chart.
Solo career
In January 1965, Hill was offered an international recording contract with the EMI group, which signed him to their Columbia label. His first Top 20 chart success with his new label came a year later with "Take Me to Your Heart Again", Hill's cover of the Édith Piaf hit, "La Vie En Rose", which climbed to no. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1966 and no. 18 in Canada. "Roses of Picardy", composed during the First World War, was another Top 20 success, reaching No. 13 in mid 1967. Further notable songs that he recorded included "Heartaches" (no. 28, 1966), "Merci Cherie" (written by the Austrian singer Udo Jürgens), which was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, (no. 36, 1966), "Love Letters in the Sand" (no. 23, 1967), "The Importance of Your Love" (music by Gilbert Bécaud, English lyrics by Norman Newell) and "Look Around (And You'll Find Me There)". The latter track, taken from the soundtrack to the film Love Story, was another Top 20 hit, but proved to be his chart swansong, peaking at no. 12 in the latter half of 1971.
His most successful hit was his cover recording of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song, "Edelweiss", from their 1959 musical, The Sound of Music. The recording was a no. 2 hit in the UK Singles Chart in March 1967. It was to become his signature tune for the rest of his career, which saw him top the bill at the London Palladium and Talk of the Town. His album, Edelweiss, was also a hit for EMI Columbia.
Although known mainly for his voice, Hill was also a songwriter and composed many songs with his musical director Ernie Dunstall. These were used on his studio albums and flip sides to his singles of the day. The Dunstall-Hill composition, "Why Or Where Or When", was also recorded by Mr. Lee Grant and topped the New Zealand chart in 1968, whilst "I Never Did As I Was Told" was covered by Broadway star Robert Goulet in 1971. Hill's song was the overall winner of the 1973 Castlebar Song Contest with I'm Gonna Make It", sung by Joe Cuddy.
Hill's long-term recording contract with EMI Columbia came to an end in 1974, by which time he had released 14 studio albums and countless singles. The following year, Hill signed to a new recording deal with CBS Records, for whom he released a further three studio albums of contemporary song material. Hill also continued to perform regularly in clubs, cabaret and various stage productions.