Live PA's/Entertainment
Joy Dey
Joy Dey, the eldest of three children, was born in North London to a trumpet player (Frederick) and a shop assistant (Winifred).
Joy started singing at school and was often singled out to sing solos and appear in school plays – gaining recognition for her singing and acting abilities.
In her senior school she was taken under the wing of the music teacher, Rosalind Davies (now Rosalind Carman) – with whom she has kept in close contact over the years. Miss Davies encouraged her to perform in school musicals and concerts and this was the only subject (and the only teacher) that ensured Joy’s attendance at school.
When she left school Joy began auditioning for a number of groups. She recorded various pieces of music for a songwriter and was given a good deal of session work, mainly doing voice-overs for radio and television advertisements.
In the mid 1970s Joy met up with Annie Lennox. They had both attended an audition for backing singers for a jazz artist. Nothing came of this, but Annie suggested that they team up. They found a Manager who named them "Stocking Tops" and sent them to perform cabaret at various South London clubs. They trundled around in Joy’s beaten up old Ford Anglia until they grew sick of it and decided to go their separate ways. They parted on good terms; Annie went on to join the Tourists and then the Eurythmics, and the rest is history...
Joy went to America and lived and worked there for some time, joining different bands but still not finding her niche. Back in the United Kingdom, she answered an ad for a new musical. After a year's preparation, the show ran out of funds and was cancelled at the very last minute. Though deeply disappointed, Joy had discovered in herself a love for musical theatre.
By the early 90s Joy had discovered her true passion – Opera. She was introduced to Medway Opera through a friend and she has never looked back. In true showbiz style, in her second show she was plucked from the chorus and given the role of Frasquita in Carmen. Since then she has played Casilda in The Gondoliers, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Nedda in Pagliacci and the delicious Musetta in La Bohème. Joy has won many prizes at music festivals, and in April 2002 she premiered as soprano solo in a work by Kenneth Roberts specially commissioned for the Centenary of Bexhill Choral Society.
Joy's first CD of operatic favourites "One Fine Dey" was very well received; her second CD, a collection of songs from film and stage called "The Next Dey" is selling well and her third album "Day after Dey" has just been released.
Joy Dey official web site: http://www.joydey.info