Housewives’ Choice?: Vera Lynn as Lady DJ in the 1950s and 1960s
Publication Details
Author(s): Christina Baade
Date: 2023
The DJ sits in semi-profile before the windows of the sound booth, holding a record and looking purposefully past a BBC microphone into the middle distance. Smiling, with her hair coiffed, makeup perfect, and pearl necklace, she is the image of white feminine poise, respectability, and professionalism.
The music fans and industry professionals who read Melody Maker, which printed the photograph on page 4 of its January 12, 1957, issue, would have recognized the subject—the singer Vera Lynn, who came to fame as the Forces Sweetheart during World War II and had just signed a major contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation—but they may have been surprised by her pose.
The music fans and industry professionals who read Melody Maker, which printed the photograph on page 4 of its January 12, 1957, issue, would have recognized the subject—the singer Vera Lynn, who came to fame as the Forces Sweetheart during World War II and had just signed a major contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation—but they may have been surprised by her pose.