Just a few months ago we lost Maria Hall, one of the best female vocalists I ever knew or had the pleasure of working with. Always known as Marie, she had been married for many years to the late Tony Hall, one of the country’s best saxophone players. Originally from Ireland, Mary had three children before meeting Tony and eventually joining his excellent jazz/rock band called Redwind. She was gifted with an amazing voice, being equally at home with raucous rock ‘n’ roll as she was with big ballads and country music.

Marie had an enormous catalogue of songs to draw on, a useful asset when called upon to stand in with other bands. Famous for her irreverent sense of humour and easy-going nature she was also tough enough to see off the occasional heckler who dared to interrupt her performance! During the 70s and 80s Marie joined forces with ace drummer Carlo Little and together they enlisted some great musicians, producing some excellent songs under her recording name Heddy Power. Sadly, none of these records made the impact that they deserved. Undaunted, Marie carried on performing with Redwind, Tony always by her side, her amazing voice always impressing the audience.

I was proud to have played bass for her on many occasions and to have enjoyed her great company. Eventually with Tony Hall spending more and more time on the road as a session player, Marie finally stopped performing. If anyone deserved success it was Marie who really should have seen her talent carry her to the top. Sadly, it was not to be, but the memory of her great voice and the fun that we had will stay with me for ever.