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Mrs Mills

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 Mrs Mills

Who is she...?

These days little is remembered of the popular 1960s pianist, and very little is to be found on the internet.
The only published information on the artist appears in the form of the scant publicity pieces found on the back covers of her numerous albums. Vague memories: Gladys (Glad) Mills, husband of Bert, shot to fame during the same period as her stable-mates The Beatles, with whom she shared studios at Abbey Road (as mentioned in the Beatles Anthology DVD bonus materials).
Superintendant of the typing pool in the Paymaster General's office in London in December 1961, she would become a household name by the end of January 1962, having been spotted by a talent scout at a Woodford Golf Club dance near her home in Loughton, Essex.
Secured by Parlophone Records, her very first release - the Mrs Mills Medley single - entered the Top Twenty, and her career as an entertainer began - a career that would last well into the 1970s.
She toured the UK, made many appearances on TV and radio, and her albums were exported around the world, with great success (judging by eBay auctions) in Canada.
(Glad is not to be confused with Mrs Miller, whose contemporaneous Happy Piano (1973) LP cover and overall image are quite similar.)

Where is she...?

A few paces inside any of Britain's charity shops would find at least one LP, which could easily be bought for a few pennies. Singles are far rarer, and possibly of lesser aesthetic value being sold in generic Parlophone sleeves, akin to those of the UK-issued Beatles singles, displaying none of Glad's glorious grandeur, as seen on LP covers for Look Mum, Know Hands! (1967) (Glad on horseback), or I'm Mighty Glad' (1966) (Glad as a sailor), and the hallucinatory post-Sgt Pepper cover of Your One And Only Mrs Mills (1967) (with a kaleidoscopic image not far removed from the contemporary debut of (fellow EMI'ers) Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn).
Apart from album covers, little has been seen on television of Mrs Mills since her heyday. One rare example - albeit a recreation - of Mrs Mills' style of performance came in an edition of the BBC's The Two Ronnies. The sketch (Family Entertainment - John & Mrs Mills) occupied the end-of-the-show musical slot, with Ronnie Barker as the silk-laden Mrs Mills at piano, and Ronnie Corbett as a uniformed Sir John Mills. They performed a medley of Mills-style classics (on the theme of Mills' character in Oh What A Lovely War (1969)). (NB: The show (series 4; episode 4) was originally broadcast on BBC2, 23/01/75 (and last repeated as part of Granada Plus' Two Ronnies Weekend, 11/04/04).

Ah, but where is she exactly...?

Unfortunately, Glad Mills is no longer with us. She died of a heart attack toward the end of the 1970s.

How does she sound...?

A Best Of CD is available from the usual retailers, on the EMI Gold imprint, and a (possibly complete) list of her UK output (according to a vast - now lost - Parlophone listing from the web) is as follows (catalogue number (month/year of issue) title):
EMI/Parlophone Records - Singles (all mono; *with the Geoff Love Orchestra)

  • R 4856 (00/61) “Mrs Mills Medley” parts 1&2
  • R 4863 (00/62) “Popcorn”/”Bobbikins”
  • R 4933* (00/62) “Entry Of The Tradiators”/”South Rampart Street Parade”
  • R 4975 (00/63) “Mrs Mills Hoe-Down Party” parts 1&2
  • R 5008 (00/63) “Bubblin’ Over”/”The First Waltz”
  • R 5081 (00/63) “We’re Gonna Throw A Little Party (Y’ All Come)”/”Ten Green Bottles”
  • R 5214 (00/64) “Mrs Mills’ Party Medley” parts 1&2
  • R 5238 (00/64) “Mrs Mills’ Minstrel Medley” parts 1&2
  • R 5367 (11/65) “Mrs Mills’ Party Medley” parts 1&2
  • R 5399 (01/66) “Newsboy”/”Someone Like You”
  • R 5549 (12/66) “Glad Today Medley”/”Glad Yesterday Medley”
  • R 5599 (04/67) “I Was Queen Victoria’s Chambermaid”/”Thank You Everybody”
  • R 5653* (11/67) “Party Hit Parade” parts 1&2
  • R 5678 (00/68) “Candy Floss”/”Indian Summer”
  • R 5748 (00/68) “Glad’s Party” parts 1&2
  • R 5834 (00/70) “The Champs Elysees”/”Kiss Curl Caper”
  • R 5877 (11/70) “Mrs Mills’ Minstrel Medley” parts 1&2
  • R 5950 (04/72) “Sunshine”/”Bobbikins”

EMI/Parlophone Records - EPs (all mono)

  • GEP 8861 (00/62) “The Happy Piano Player”
  • GEP 8865 (00/62) “Mrs Mills Plays The Roaring Twenties”
  • GEP 8918 (00/64) “Everybody’s Welcome At Mrs Mills’ Party”
  • GEP 8935 (00/65) “Any Time’s Party Time With Mrs Mills”
  • GEP 8943 (00/65) “It’s Party Time!”
  • GEP 8958 (00/66) “Mrs Mills’ Party”

EMI/Parlophone Rcords - LPs (PMC: mono, PCS: stereo)

  • PMC 1178 (00/62) Mrs Mills Plays The Roaring Twenties
  • PMC 1212 (11/63) Everybody’s Welcome At Mrs Mills’ Party
  • PMC 1234 (00/64) It’s Party Time!
  • PMC 1254* (09/65) Music For Anytime
  • PMC 1264 (11/65) Mrs Mills’ Party
  • PCS 3030 (00/62) Mrs Mills Plays The Roaring Twenties
  • PCS 3049 (11/63) Everybody’s Welcome At Mrs Mills’ Party
  • PCS 3070 (09/65) Music For Anytime
  • PCS 3074 (11/65) Mrs Mills’ Party
  • PMC/PCS 7002 (04/66) Especially For You
  • PMC/PCS 7010 (00/66) Come To The Party
  • PMC/PCS 7020 (04/67) Look Mum - No Hands!
  • PCS 7035 (12/67) Let’s Have Another Party
  • PCS 7046 (04/68) Summer Party
  • PCS 7066 (11/68) Party Pieces
  • PCS 7080 (07/69) Back To The Roaring Twenties
  • PCS 7087 (01/70) Party Mixture
  • PCS 7117 (11/70) Bumper Bundle Party
  • PCS 7129 (07/71) More Music For Anytime
  • PCS 7143 (01/72) Music Hall Party
  • PCS 7152 (07/72) Anytime Is Party Time
  • PCS 7153 (10/72) Another Flippin’ Party
  • PCS 7166 (06/74) Hollywood Party
  • PCS 7167 (11/74) It’s Party Time Again

EMI/Music For Pleasure Records - LPs (all stereo)

  • MFP 5335 (00/66) I’m Mighty Glad
  • MFP 1406 (00/67) Your One and Only Mrs Mills
  • MFP 50009 (00/74) Piano Singalong
  • MFP 50220 (00/75) Glad with Love (Mrs Mills and Geoff Love Singalong Together)
  • MFP 50230 (00/75) Mrs Mills Knees-Up Party

Other Recordings (all stereo)

  • EMI/Starline Records: SRS 5029 (00/70) Party Sing-Along
  • EMI/Starline Records: SRS 5089 (00/71) All Time Party Dances
  • EMI/Encore Records: ONCR 508 (00/71) All Time Party Dances and Other Favourites
  • EMI/One-Up Records: OU 2076 (00/7?) It’s Party Time! (reissue)
  • EMI/Sounds Superb Records: SPR 90012 (00/73) Non-Stop Honky-Tonk Party (blue or purple background)
  • EMI/Double-Up Records: DUO 122 (00/76) Jumbo-Party (double album)
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