Mary Hopkin

Singer-songwriter. Born 5 May 1950 in Pontardawe, Glamorgan, in Wales, UK, Mary Hopkin's career as a singer took off when she appeared on the UK television talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1968. She signed with the Beatles' Apple Records shortly afterwards, her most famous recording being Those Were the Days (APPLE 2), a Russian song composed by Boris Fomin with English lyrics written by Gene Raskin, who then claimed the song as his own. In 1970, she came second in the Eurovision Song Contest with Britain's entry Knock Knock Who's There. In the early 1970s, she partially withdrew from the pop music world to focus on child-rearing. However, she continued to write songs, record, and contribute vocals to a wide and eclectic range of music acts including Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Osibisa, The Strawbs, Thin Lizzy, and others. She continued to make television appearances (including hosting her own shows) and, since the 1980s, has collaborated with various artists and issued many new recordings through her own music company. She was married to Tony Visconti from 1971 until they divorced in 1981; they have two children, Jessica Lee Morgan and Morgan Visconti.