| Ruby Turner | |
| Honorific Suffix: | MBE |
| Birth Date: | 22 June 1958 |
| Origin: | Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
| Instruments: | Vocals |
| Years Active: | 1983–present |
Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress.
In a music career spanning more than 40 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North America. She is also known for her work as a session backing vocalist, with artists including Bryan Ferry, UB40, Steel Pulse, Steve Winwood, Jools Holland, and Mick Jagger. She has also written songs that have been covered by musicians including Lulu, Yazz and Maxi Priest.
Turner achieved the rare feat, for a British singer, of reaching No. 1 on the US R&B chart, with "It's Gonna Be Alright" in February 1990. Between 1986 and 1995, eight of her singles appeared in the UK Singles Chart with "I'd Rather Go Blind" being the most successful, reaching No. 24 in 1987.[1] Turner performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat 86 concert,[2] which featured George Harrison. She is a regular guest on BBC Television's Jools' Annual Hootenanny performing every year from 2007 to the present, most recently in 2023/24, and regularly joins Holland and his band on their annual arena tours. She has also appeared as an actress on stage, film and television.
Ruby Turner was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica,[3] and moved at the age of nine with her family to Handsworth, Birmingham, England, in 1967.[3]
Turner came from a musical family as her grandfather sang the lead in one of Jamaica's gospel groups. In the early 1980s, she worked with Culture Club at the height of their popularity. She received an offer of a solo recording contract soon afterwards and signed to Jive Records, part of the Zomba Group.[4]
Turner achieved her solo recording contract with Jive Records after singing backing vocals on Culture Club's From Luxury to Heartache.[3] She released four albums and a "Best of" Compilation Album over the next few years. Her first solo album Women Hold Up Half the Sky, was released in 1986 to critical acclaim[3] and produced hit singles such as a cover version of the Staple Singers song "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", a duet with Jonathan Butler, and the Etta James standard "I'd Rather Go Blind".[3] [1]
In March 1987, Turner sang on the Ferry Aid single, "Let It Be". Around this time she also released the album The Motown Songbook, on which she performed with Motown and others, including the Four Tops, the Temptations and Jimmy Ruffin. In 1988, Turner appeared on Corey Hart's album, Young Man Running on 2 duets "Spot You in a Coalmine" and "In Your Soul"
Turner achieved a no. 1 R&B chart success in the US in February 1990 with "It's Gonna Be Alright",[5] [6] becoming one of the few British artists to top that chart. Four other US R&B chart entries followed in 1990 and 1991, including "Paradise" from the movie Dancin' Thru the Dark.[5] [6]
In 1998, she recorded the album Call Me by My Name with British rhythm and blues veterans Boz Burrell, Zoot Money, Bobby Tench and Stan Webb. On New Year's Eve 1999, she sang the National Anthem for Queen Elizabeth II, who was accompanied by Prime minister Tony Blair and other dignitaries at the opening of the Millennium Dome, in London.[7]
Turner sang backing vocals on Mick Jagger's 2001 album, Goddess in the Doorway, and performed "Nobody But You" on the 2002 album Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues.[8] In 2007, Turner presented a documentary Shout Sister Shout about Sister Rosetta Tharpe for BBC Radio 2.[9] She sang on Seasick Steve's album, I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left (2008). In September 2009, Turner released her first gospel music album, I'm Travelling On.[9] Her rendition of "Jesus on the Mainline" appears on a compilation CD that accompanied the book British Black Gospel by Steve Alexander Smith.[10]
On 28 October 2009 Turner was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of her unique contribution to music.[11]
On 4 June 2012, Turner was one of the performers at the Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in London, where she joined Jools Holland on stage.
On 4 June 2022, Turner performed Climb Ev'ry Mountain with Mica Paris and Nicola Roberts at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[12]
Turner was awarded an MBE in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music.
As an actress, Turner has appeared in productions of A Streetcar Named Desire, Carmen Jones, and Fame.[3] She has also appeared in One Love, by Kwame Davies, at the London's Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. She appeared in a successful run in the London West End production of the musical Simply Heavenly, which was nominated for 'Outstanding Musical' at the 2005 Laurence Olivier Awards.[9]
Turner has appeared in a number of films, including Love Actually (2003), Reggae Britannia (2011) and Famous Fred (1996). In 2006 Turner made an appearance in Little Britain Abroad, where she played the Sheriff Judy.[13] On 12 October 2007, she appeared as a guest star (as herself) in the BBC One soap opera Doctors.[3] The episode title was entitled "Raising The Roof". In 2009, Turner appeared in the BBC drama Hotel Babylon.[14]
In 2011, Turner narrated the BBC Four documentary Reggae Britannia, which chronicled the history of British reggae music. In 2012, Turner, along with Ralph Allwood and Manvinder Rattan, was a judge on the BBC Two series .[15] In 2013, Turner was a guest judge on the BBC Songs of Praise gospel choir competition.[16] In 2015, it was announced that she would appear as Mrs. Blip in the made-for-TV movie The Land of Sometimes.
Turner has been engaged twice, but not married and has said "Many women I know, must have a man in their life. ... They seem programmed to find a man and must get married. Marriage is a priority for them. Not for me. I am not built that way. I have never felt I had to have a man in my life, or have to end up married."[17]
Her parents are separated and her father lives in the US. Her mother Violetta lives near Turner and sang on her 2009 album I'm Travelling On.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | AUS [18] | US 200 | US R&B | |||||
| 1986 | Women Hold Up Half the Sky | 47 | — | — | — | |||
| Ruby Turner Live at Glastonbury | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | The Motown Songbook | 22 | 111 | — | — |
| ||
| 1989 | Paradise | 74 | — | 194 | 39 | |||
| 1991 | The Other Side | — | 182 | — | — | |||
| 1992 | The Best of Ruby Turner (compilation) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1993 | Responsible | — | — | — | — | |||
| With Love (compilation) | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | Restless Moods | — | 144 | — | — | |||
| 1995 | The Best of Ruby Turner (compilation) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1996 | Guilty | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | Call Me by My Name | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | Live in Bristol | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2005 | So Amazing | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2007 | Live at Ronnie Scott's (double live album) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2008 | The Informer (with Jools Holland) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2009 | I'm Travelling On | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2014 | All That I Am | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2015 | Jools & Ruby (with Jools Holland) | 39 | — | — | — | |||
| 2017 | Livin' a Life of Love - The Jive Anthology 1986–1991 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2018 | That's My Desire | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2020 | Love Was Here | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [21] | NZ [22] | US R&B | US Dance | |||||
| 1980 | "Separate Ways" (Ruby Turner Band) | — | — | — | — | Singles only | ||
| 1983 | "Every Soul" | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1986 | "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)" (feat. Jonathan Butler) | 30 | 3 | 58 | — | Women Hold Up Half the Sky | ||
| "I'm in Love" | 61 | 9 | — | — | ||||
| "Bye Baby" | 52 | 10 | — | — | ||||
| 1987 | "I'd Rather Go Blind" | 24 | 21 | — | — | |||
| "I'm in Love" (UK re-issue) | 57 | — | — | — | ||||
| "In My Life (It's Better to Be in Love)" (UK only) | 95 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | 77 | 8 | — | — | The Motown Song Book | ||
| "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" (feat. Jimmy Ruffin) | 87 | 41 | — | — | ||||
| "Nowhere to Run (Nowhere to Hide)" (US only) | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Soul Set (Baby I Need Your Loving)" | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | "It's Gonna Be Alright" | 57 | 39 | 1 | 5 | Paradise | ||
| "Paradise" (feat. Ecstasy of Whodini) | — | 36 | 22 | — | ||||
| "It's a Crying Shame" | — | — | 29 | — | ||||
| 1991 | "The Other Side" (US only) | — | — | 34 | — | The Other Side | ||
| "The Vibe Is Right" (UK/Europe only) | 90 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Rumours" | — | — | 80 | — | ||||
| 1992 | "Good Love" (Que featuring Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | Singles only | ||
| 1993 | "Lysander's Theme (Lovers After All)" (Ruby Turner & Junior Giscombe) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Stay with Me" | 39 | — | — | — | Restless Moods | ||
| "Living for the City" | 92 | 28 | — | — | Responsible | |||
| 1995 | "Never Ever Gonna Give You Up" | — | — | — | — | Restless Moods | ||
| "The Club Diamonds EP" (Lead track "Change") | 84 | — | — | — | ||||
| Walk On By (The Cartell featuring Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | Single only | |||
| 1998 | "Reassure Me" | — | — | — | — | Call Me by My Name | ||
| "We Got It Going On" (Mover featuring Ruby Turner) | 93 | — | — | — | Mover (Mover) | |||
| 2000 | "Chinese Whispers" (Full Flava featuring Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | Chinese Whispers (Full Flava) | ||
| "Pokeball" (Corfu featuring Ruby Turner and Michael Dread with The Children of Wraxall C.E.V.A School) | — | — | — | — | Single only | |||
| 2009 | "This Train (Ash Howes Radio Mix 2009)" | — | — | — | — | I'm Travelling On | ||
| 2011 | "Leaves in the Wind" | — | — | — | — | Paradise | ||
| 2014 | "Move On" | — | — | — | — | All That I Am | ||
| 2015 | "Putting You First" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Peace in the Valley" (Jools Holland and Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | Jools & Ruby (Jools & Ruby and the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra) | |||
| 2017 | "Deeper in Love" (Tilt featuring Ruby Turner) | — | — | — | — | Single only | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||