Formed in 1962, female vocal trio The Breakaways became Britain’s premiere session vocalists throughout the 1960s, also recording a handful of little-known girl group singles.
The original members were Vicki Haseman (who later married Joe Brown), Margot Quantrell, Barbara Moore (who was also a member The Ladybirds) and Betty Prescott. The girls had all been members of the Liverpool vocal group The Vernons Girls.
Prescott was replaced by Jean Ryder in 1963 but returned later to replace Haseman.
They worked with Dusty Springfield on her first solo recordings and with Cilla Black, being credited as backing vocalists on her 1964 single, You’re MyWorld. They were backing singers on her BBC television series, Cilla, and went on to sing on hundreds of sessions supporting several top artists of their day.
The girls also backed Cliff Richard‘s performance of Congratulations in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 1971, they returned to Eurovision, backing Clodagh Rodgers in her performance of Jack in the Box, joined by Clodagh’s sister Lavinia.
The Breakaways first single for Pye Records was That Boy of Mine (1964), written by Tony Hatch. The follow-ups included He Doesn’t Love Me and That’s How It Goes. Their last single was the Mike Leander song Sacred Love (1968).
Vicki died of breast cancer on 16 June 1991 in Henley-on-Thames at the age of 50. Margot died on 24 June 2016 at the age of 74.
Vicki Haseman
Vocals
Margot Quantrell
Vocals
Betty Prescott
Vocals
Jean Ryder
Vocals Barbara Moore
Vocals
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